Chapter Two: Brooklyn
Genesis strolled down the Brooklyn street with sneer on her face and a glare in her eyes. Her shoulders were slumped forward slightly not showing off her true 5'9 frame. Her gaze passed by people sitting on the docks as she cursed Jet for not telling their father where he was going, which had landed her out of the streets of an unfamiliar city searching (although not very hard) for him. Angry, she kept her gaze downward on the cobble streets. Until of course, she ran right into someone.
" 'Ay! Watch were yer goin!" The male voice said huffily. She glanced at the boy in front of her, looking him over briefly. He was wearing baggy clothes and had a few newspapers stuck under his arm. She raised an eyebrow at his outburst.
"Oh, so sorry, did I interrupt your paper route?" She asked sarcastically. Gesturing slightly to the papers. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Youse ain't from around 'ere are ya?" He said.
"Gee, I bet people tell you how brilliant you are all the time don't they?" She countered. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that New Yorkers could tell foreigners right away, so she kept her guard up.
He smirked at her sarcasm. She noticed he had a small scar just above his upper lip and idly wondered how he had gotten it, but also managed to keep her thoughts on the present situation. What was he smirking at anyway?
"What are you grinning at?" She asked.
He grinned wider and slowly trailed his eyes down her body, the kind of lingering look that made Genesis's skin crawl in disgust. Slowly she took a decent sized step away from him, balling her hands into fists.
"You certainly are a pretty one ain't 'cha?" He commented, counter-acting the step to resume their positions.
"Touch me and I'll break your nose," She growled at him, trying to look intimidating. It didn't work, her little rebellion only succeeded in making the boy more amused. Damn, she wished she was in Detroit right now, people there knew not to mess with her.
"Aww. . . c'mon. What's da matter? You can trust me," He said, curling his lips into a smile, or the closest thing that he could come to. She took another step backwards.
"I don't trust anybody," She said, watching him for any sudden movements. Behind her, she heard slight movement around the crates above her. She listened closely to the moving while watching the teenager in front of her as well.
She heard the stretching to something being pulled and out of the corner of her eye she saw what she thought was a person holding what appeared as a sling shot, aimed for her. When she heard the stretching stop she counted down then turned just in time to catch the flying object with her right hand. It took a few seconds before the numbness faded into a blinding pain in the palm of her hand.
She hissed and opened her hand to find a round smooth object that looked like glass resting peacefully, and a dark red mark where it had landed. She bit her lip furiously to keep from screaming, she bit it so hard at her bottom lip ended up bleeding. That's when she lifted her gaze to the crates to see the face of the person who had attacked her. She only caught a moments glance. Just enough to know it was a boy, holding his sling shot and a cane, he looked younger then her and had a sneer planted on his face before disappearing without a word. She turned back around to face the first boy only to find that he too had disappeared.
Realizing she was alone, she finally let out a angry and painful cry at her bruised and red hand. In frustration she grabbed the small object which had caused her pain and threw it as hard and far as she could. She took a deep breath, turned on her heel and headed back in the direction of Manhattan and where she could hopefully find so ice to dull the pain and possible swelling. She gripped her hand as she walked angrily away from Brooklyn.
"When I find Jet he is as good as dead," She muttered to herself, walking faster, not even bothering to watch the people staring at her curiously as she cursed to herself every few seconds.
Neither did she notice the pair of cold blue eyes watching her as she crossed into Manhattan territory. His lips in frown of confusion. And slight wonder.
* * *
Manhattan Lodging House
Jack watched his new friend laugh loudly at the joke that Skittery had just told to the group. Off in the corner Race was playing poker with some of the guys while everyone else was just lounging around having fun and being relaxed. He wasn't too surprised when Jet fit right in with his boys, he was normally a good judge of character.
Knowing Jet (no matter how short the length of time) made him wonder about what his sister was like. And he looked forward to meeting her, especially if she was anything like Jet was. Jack brought the beer can to his lips and took a long drink, he needed it, the morning hadn't been that great, but the afternoon made up for the lost time. Jet was just one of those likeable guys.
Jack smirked wondering how Spot Conlon, the small leader of the Brooklyn Newsies, would react to this new comer. Judging Spot, probably not too well, he wasn't too keen on people who weren't from around New York, but then again, maybe Jet could win the tough leader over after all. How could he be really sure?
"Hey, Jack, you know what time it is?" Jet yelled to him breaking him free from his thoughts.
Jack shook his head and looked out of the window briefly before making a guess. "Don' know. Probably 'round eight er so."
Jet nodded and excused himself from the group of Manhattan boys he'd been sitting with, saying he had better be getting home before everyone thought he was dead already. He shook Jack's hand and thanked him again.
"Hey, you wouldn't mind if I brought Genesis down here to meet you guys tomorrow or something would you? Because she really needs to get out more," Jet questioned. "Genesis. . . yer sister right?" Jet nodded. "Sure, same time, maybe a lil earlier, k?" He said. Jet smiled.
"Good, good. Talk to you later then Jack." He turned to the others in the room. "See ya later guys," He shouted, they shouted back the scattered 'byes' and 'good to meet 'cha's'. And with the dip of his head, Jet Glory left the Manhattan lodging house.
* * *
"Hey Genesis! Where are ya?" Jet shouted upon finally finding his way home an hour and half later. His eyes wondered over the quiet house then heard some faint talking in the living room down the hall. When he reached the destination he found his father, red faced and mad, yelling at Genesis who had ice in her right hand and a bored expression on her face. Both turned to face Jet when he made his presence known.
"Ah, you're home. Surprise, surprise," His father sneered. Gen rolled her eyes and motioned for him to sit next to her on the velvet couch.
"What's going on?" He asked hesitantly.
"Where were you? I sent Genesis out to find you and obviously she didn't," He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"With some guys, they were showing me around," He answered truthfully. His dad narrowed his eyes at him while Genesis laughed out loud next to him.
"Why not? You make friends your first day and I make enemies," Genesis rolled her eyes again and snorted. Jet raised an eyebrow.
"What happened to your hand?" He asked, both siblings were now ignoring their father's overbearing figure while he just watched his children talk.
Genesis tenderly took the ice off her hand and showed Jet her hand. His eyes widened and he whistled at the bruise that was building on her hand. Her entire palm was black and blue and swelled slightly. He looked at Genesis questioningly.
"I was in Brooklyn, looking for you, and so little punky kid shot something out of his sling shot at me," She explained.
"And you what? Blocked your face with your hand?"
"No, it would've hit my hip, I caught it."
Jet shook his head. "That was smart. Next time someone does something like that move out of the way, okay?"
"Gee, I could've used your brains for that one," She scoffed.
"You could use my brains for everything." She glared at him.
By this time their father had left the library leaving the two alone in the quiet of the room.
"So, who did it?"
"I don't know, didn't get a name. But I'd recognize him if I saw him. Damn kids these days."
Jet laughed good-naturedly. "Speaking of kids, there are some I want you to meet tomorrow sometime."
"Same people you were hanging with today?"
"Yeah."
Genesis leaned back on the couch as if to think about the offer before nodding in agreement. She closed her eyes briefly, replaced the ice on her palm and winced when the coldness hit her bruise.
"C'mon Jetty, time for bed," She finally said and stood up. He followed her up the stairs until they parted ways in the hall to go to their assigned rooms, nodding their good nights.
That night Jet slept peacefully for the first time in months, thinking about his new life just beginning in New York. Gen also slept well, her dreams consisted of her shooting little objects at the kid who had hit her that afternoon.
Genesis strolled down the Brooklyn street with sneer on her face and a glare in her eyes. Her shoulders were slumped forward slightly not showing off her true 5'9 frame. Her gaze passed by people sitting on the docks as she cursed Jet for not telling their father where he was going, which had landed her out of the streets of an unfamiliar city searching (although not very hard) for him. Angry, she kept her gaze downward on the cobble streets. Until of course, she ran right into someone.
" 'Ay! Watch were yer goin!" The male voice said huffily. She glanced at the boy in front of her, looking him over briefly. He was wearing baggy clothes and had a few newspapers stuck under his arm. She raised an eyebrow at his outburst.
"Oh, so sorry, did I interrupt your paper route?" She asked sarcastically. Gesturing slightly to the papers. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Youse ain't from around 'ere are ya?" He said.
"Gee, I bet people tell you how brilliant you are all the time don't they?" She countered. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that New Yorkers could tell foreigners right away, so she kept her guard up.
He smirked at her sarcasm. She noticed he had a small scar just above his upper lip and idly wondered how he had gotten it, but also managed to keep her thoughts on the present situation. What was he smirking at anyway?
"What are you grinning at?" She asked.
He grinned wider and slowly trailed his eyes down her body, the kind of lingering look that made Genesis's skin crawl in disgust. Slowly she took a decent sized step away from him, balling her hands into fists.
"You certainly are a pretty one ain't 'cha?" He commented, counter-acting the step to resume their positions.
"Touch me and I'll break your nose," She growled at him, trying to look intimidating. It didn't work, her little rebellion only succeeded in making the boy more amused. Damn, she wished she was in Detroit right now, people there knew not to mess with her.
"Aww. . . c'mon. What's da matter? You can trust me," He said, curling his lips into a smile, or the closest thing that he could come to. She took another step backwards.
"I don't trust anybody," She said, watching him for any sudden movements. Behind her, she heard slight movement around the crates above her. She listened closely to the moving while watching the teenager in front of her as well.
She heard the stretching to something being pulled and out of the corner of her eye she saw what she thought was a person holding what appeared as a sling shot, aimed for her. When she heard the stretching stop she counted down then turned just in time to catch the flying object with her right hand. It took a few seconds before the numbness faded into a blinding pain in the palm of her hand.
She hissed and opened her hand to find a round smooth object that looked like glass resting peacefully, and a dark red mark where it had landed. She bit her lip furiously to keep from screaming, she bit it so hard at her bottom lip ended up bleeding. That's when she lifted her gaze to the crates to see the face of the person who had attacked her. She only caught a moments glance. Just enough to know it was a boy, holding his sling shot and a cane, he looked younger then her and had a sneer planted on his face before disappearing without a word. She turned back around to face the first boy only to find that he too had disappeared.
Realizing she was alone, she finally let out a angry and painful cry at her bruised and red hand. In frustration she grabbed the small object which had caused her pain and threw it as hard and far as she could. She took a deep breath, turned on her heel and headed back in the direction of Manhattan and where she could hopefully find so ice to dull the pain and possible swelling. She gripped her hand as she walked angrily away from Brooklyn.
"When I find Jet he is as good as dead," She muttered to herself, walking faster, not even bothering to watch the people staring at her curiously as she cursed to herself every few seconds.
Neither did she notice the pair of cold blue eyes watching her as she crossed into Manhattan territory. His lips in frown of confusion. And slight wonder.
* * *
Manhattan Lodging House
Jack watched his new friend laugh loudly at the joke that Skittery had just told to the group. Off in the corner Race was playing poker with some of the guys while everyone else was just lounging around having fun and being relaxed. He wasn't too surprised when Jet fit right in with his boys, he was normally a good judge of character.
Knowing Jet (no matter how short the length of time) made him wonder about what his sister was like. And he looked forward to meeting her, especially if she was anything like Jet was. Jack brought the beer can to his lips and took a long drink, he needed it, the morning hadn't been that great, but the afternoon made up for the lost time. Jet was just one of those likeable guys.
Jack smirked wondering how Spot Conlon, the small leader of the Brooklyn Newsies, would react to this new comer. Judging Spot, probably not too well, he wasn't too keen on people who weren't from around New York, but then again, maybe Jet could win the tough leader over after all. How could he be really sure?
"Hey, Jack, you know what time it is?" Jet yelled to him breaking him free from his thoughts.
Jack shook his head and looked out of the window briefly before making a guess. "Don' know. Probably 'round eight er so."
Jet nodded and excused himself from the group of Manhattan boys he'd been sitting with, saying he had better be getting home before everyone thought he was dead already. He shook Jack's hand and thanked him again.
"Hey, you wouldn't mind if I brought Genesis down here to meet you guys tomorrow or something would you? Because she really needs to get out more," Jet questioned. "Genesis. . . yer sister right?" Jet nodded. "Sure, same time, maybe a lil earlier, k?" He said. Jet smiled.
"Good, good. Talk to you later then Jack." He turned to the others in the room. "See ya later guys," He shouted, they shouted back the scattered 'byes' and 'good to meet 'cha's'. And with the dip of his head, Jet Glory left the Manhattan lodging house.
* * *
"Hey Genesis! Where are ya?" Jet shouted upon finally finding his way home an hour and half later. His eyes wondered over the quiet house then heard some faint talking in the living room down the hall. When he reached the destination he found his father, red faced and mad, yelling at Genesis who had ice in her right hand and a bored expression on her face. Both turned to face Jet when he made his presence known.
"Ah, you're home. Surprise, surprise," His father sneered. Gen rolled her eyes and motioned for him to sit next to her on the velvet couch.
"What's going on?" He asked hesitantly.
"Where were you? I sent Genesis out to find you and obviously she didn't," He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"With some guys, they were showing me around," He answered truthfully. His dad narrowed his eyes at him while Genesis laughed out loud next to him.
"Why not? You make friends your first day and I make enemies," Genesis rolled her eyes again and snorted. Jet raised an eyebrow.
"What happened to your hand?" He asked, both siblings were now ignoring their father's overbearing figure while he just watched his children talk.
Genesis tenderly took the ice off her hand and showed Jet her hand. His eyes widened and he whistled at the bruise that was building on her hand. Her entire palm was black and blue and swelled slightly. He looked at Genesis questioningly.
"I was in Brooklyn, looking for you, and so little punky kid shot something out of his sling shot at me," She explained.
"And you what? Blocked your face with your hand?"
"No, it would've hit my hip, I caught it."
Jet shook his head. "That was smart. Next time someone does something like that move out of the way, okay?"
"Gee, I could've used your brains for that one," She scoffed.
"You could use my brains for everything." She glared at him.
By this time their father had left the library leaving the two alone in the quiet of the room.
"So, who did it?"
"I don't know, didn't get a name. But I'd recognize him if I saw him. Damn kids these days."
Jet laughed good-naturedly. "Speaking of kids, there are some I want you to meet tomorrow sometime."
"Same people you were hanging with today?"
"Yeah."
Genesis leaned back on the couch as if to think about the offer before nodding in agreement. She closed her eyes briefly, replaced the ice on her palm and winced when the coldness hit her bruise.
"C'mon Jetty, time for bed," She finally said and stood up. He followed her up the stairs until they parted ways in the hall to go to their assigned rooms, nodding their good nights.
That night Jet slept peacefully for the first time in months, thinking about his new life just beginning in New York. Gen also slept well, her dreams consisted of her shooting little objects at the kid who had hit her that afternoon.
