Chapter One
Disclaimer: All of the original newsies belong to Disney, and the chapter quotes are from the poem "If-" which belongs to Rudyard Kipling and was copied out of Read-Aloud Poems for Young People. I own Leprechaun, Sweetheart, Sketch, Demon, Refugee, Pepper, Jungle, Trickster, Newsprint, Sparrow, Switchblade, James McLaws, and Benjamin "Bricks" Saunders. Ruby and Ketchy's is an actual diner near Morgantown, West Virginia.
A/N: Any grammatical mistakes in the dialogue are meant to imitate the newsies' way of speaking.
A/N 2: This is my first fan fic, so please R/R!
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;"
Racetrack Higgins climbed down the fire escape at the Manhattan Newsgirls Lodging House, stunned. He rapped on the second-story window until Switchblade finally opened it and let him in.
"Where's Blink?" Race asked. Switchblade pointed to a corner where Kid Blink and his girl Sweetheart were kissing. Racetrack frowned-this was one night when he really didn't need to see two people in love.
"What's the matter, Race?" Switchblade asked, seeing his expression. "And where's Leprechaun? Did you leave her on the roof?"
"No, she left me," Race muttered angrily.
"Then why is she still up on the roof and you're down here?"
"I don't mean left me physically, I mean left me as in broke up with me," Racetrack explained. "She just told me tonight."
"She broke up with you?" Switchblade exclaimed. "Why?"
"Not so loud!" Racetrack cautioned. "The whole lodging house doesn't need to know."
"All right," Switchblade said in a whisper. "Why?"
"She said she wasn't ready to commit to anything," Race began. "She said she needed her space and her independence and all that. But I didn't think I ever took any of that away from her...did I?"
"Don't ask me, Race," Switchblade reminded him. "Leprechaun's the one that just dumped you. Maybe you should go back up to the roof and try to get a better answer."
"I tried!" Race said. "But she just told me to leave her alone, she wasn't my girl anymore and she didn't have to answer to me."
"That's not like Leprechaun," Switchblade said. "Maybe something's bothering her. I could go talk to her for you, if you want."
"Nah," Racetrack declined, "I'll go talk to Spot about it tomorrow. Maybe he'll be more helpful."
Switchblade tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. "Spot! What does he know about staying with a girl? Usually he dumps 'em in two weeks or less."
"I know, but he's still my best friend," Race pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess my best friend's kind of the same way," Switchblade replied, glancing to another part of the bunkroom where Pepper, the Manhattan newsgirls' leader, was talking with Sparrow, Jack, Dutchy, and Sketch. "She's not big on holding onto her boyfriends, either."
Racetrack and Switchblade shared a rueful smile before Race looked toward the back corner once more. Kid Blink and Sweetheart were still making out. "I suppose I'll go pry Blink off of Heart now so that we can head home," he decided tiredly. "Thanks for talking with me, Switchblade."
The Next Day
After selling the afternoon edition of The World, Racetrack headed for Brooklyn. At the entrance to the docks, one of Spot's "birdies" stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going, Higgins?" Refugee asked.
"To see Spot," Race replied confidently, staring up at the stocky, dark-haired newsie.
"All right," Refugee said, moving out of the way. Racetrack and Spot had grown up together in Manhattan, and Spot made sure that none of his goons ever harmed his best friend.
Race walked past Refugee and the other surly Brooklyn newsies until he reached Spot's perch at the end of the docks.
"Heya, Higgins, how's it rolling?" Spot asked.
"Not so great, Spot," Racetrack replied.
"Why, what happened?" Spot wondered, jumping down from his roost and standing next to Racetrack.
"Well...is there somewhere else we can talk, Spot?" Race asked, remembering Switchblade's exclamations from the previous night. "I don't really want the whole world to hear."
"Sure," Spot said, giving Race a concerned look. "We can go to the lodging house; I don't think anyone's there right now."
"Great."
"Hey, boys, Race and me are going to the lodge now," Spot called to the other newsies on the dock. A few nodded or shouted back replies, and then Race and Spot turned and headed for the lodge.
The Brooklyn Lodging House was run by a husky former newsie by the name of Benjamin "Bricks" Saunders. He was out at the moment, so Racetrack and Spot had the lodging house to themselves. They ambled up the stairs and down the hall to Spot's private room, one of the perks of being the Brooklyn leader.
"So, what's going on, Race?" Spot asked.
Racetrack took a deep breath. "Leprechaun broke up with me last night."
"Hmm...Demon didn't say anything," Spot muttered. Demon was a Brooklyn newsie and Leprechaun's older brother.
"I don't think Lep told anyone yet," Race said. "The only people I've told are you and Switchblade."
"Did she say why?" Spot asked.
"Yeah, she said she wasn't ready for a commitment yet," Racetrack said. "But I didn't think I asked her to commit to anything! It seems like she had some other reason, or something."
"Like what?" Spot wondered.
"I don't know, maybe she likes someone else," Race suggested.
"I doubt it," Spot said. "Leprechaun's usually pretty honest. But it is strange that she didn't tell me or Demon yet."
"Why would she tell you?" Race wondered.
"I don't know, she talks to me sometimes when Demon's not around. I guess she's kind of like my little sister."
"Yeah, it's the same way with Switchblade and me, but she's more like my older sister," Race agreed. "She even volunteered to talk to Leprechaun for me, but I didn't think that was fair to her. She and Lep are pretty good friends-I don't want to ruin that." Spot nodded, and Racetrack continued. "The only problem is that now there's not much I can do about it. She doesn't want to talk to me, and I can't make her."
"Maybe Demon can," Spot suggested. "She'll have to tell him sometime, and I know he likes you."
"Maybe," Race said, still feeling disheartened.
"And Race," Spot began.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry you lost Leprechaun, but maybe she really is just ready to move on. There are lots of other girls out there."
"Yeah, I know."
Disclaimer: All of the original newsies belong to Disney, and the chapter quotes are from the poem "If-" which belongs to Rudyard Kipling and was copied out of Read-Aloud Poems for Young People. I own Leprechaun, Sweetheart, Sketch, Demon, Refugee, Pepper, Jungle, Trickster, Newsprint, Sparrow, Switchblade, James McLaws, and Benjamin "Bricks" Saunders. Ruby and Ketchy's is an actual diner near Morgantown, West Virginia.
A/N: Any grammatical mistakes in the dialogue are meant to imitate the newsies' way of speaking.
A/N 2: This is my first fan fic, so please R/R!
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;"
Racetrack Higgins climbed down the fire escape at the Manhattan Newsgirls Lodging House, stunned. He rapped on the second-story window until Switchblade finally opened it and let him in.
"Where's Blink?" Race asked. Switchblade pointed to a corner where Kid Blink and his girl Sweetheart were kissing. Racetrack frowned-this was one night when he really didn't need to see two people in love.
"What's the matter, Race?" Switchblade asked, seeing his expression. "And where's Leprechaun? Did you leave her on the roof?"
"No, she left me," Race muttered angrily.
"Then why is she still up on the roof and you're down here?"
"I don't mean left me physically, I mean left me as in broke up with me," Racetrack explained. "She just told me tonight."
"She broke up with you?" Switchblade exclaimed. "Why?"
"Not so loud!" Racetrack cautioned. "The whole lodging house doesn't need to know."
"All right," Switchblade said in a whisper. "Why?"
"She said she wasn't ready to commit to anything," Race began. "She said she needed her space and her independence and all that. But I didn't think I ever took any of that away from her...did I?"
"Don't ask me, Race," Switchblade reminded him. "Leprechaun's the one that just dumped you. Maybe you should go back up to the roof and try to get a better answer."
"I tried!" Race said. "But she just told me to leave her alone, she wasn't my girl anymore and she didn't have to answer to me."
"That's not like Leprechaun," Switchblade said. "Maybe something's bothering her. I could go talk to her for you, if you want."
"Nah," Racetrack declined, "I'll go talk to Spot about it tomorrow. Maybe he'll be more helpful."
Switchblade tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. "Spot! What does he know about staying with a girl? Usually he dumps 'em in two weeks or less."
"I know, but he's still my best friend," Race pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess my best friend's kind of the same way," Switchblade replied, glancing to another part of the bunkroom where Pepper, the Manhattan newsgirls' leader, was talking with Sparrow, Jack, Dutchy, and Sketch. "She's not big on holding onto her boyfriends, either."
Racetrack and Switchblade shared a rueful smile before Race looked toward the back corner once more. Kid Blink and Sweetheart were still making out. "I suppose I'll go pry Blink off of Heart now so that we can head home," he decided tiredly. "Thanks for talking with me, Switchblade."
The Next Day
After selling the afternoon edition of The World, Racetrack headed for Brooklyn. At the entrance to the docks, one of Spot's "birdies" stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going, Higgins?" Refugee asked.
"To see Spot," Race replied confidently, staring up at the stocky, dark-haired newsie.
"All right," Refugee said, moving out of the way. Racetrack and Spot had grown up together in Manhattan, and Spot made sure that none of his goons ever harmed his best friend.
Race walked past Refugee and the other surly Brooklyn newsies until he reached Spot's perch at the end of the docks.
"Heya, Higgins, how's it rolling?" Spot asked.
"Not so great, Spot," Racetrack replied.
"Why, what happened?" Spot wondered, jumping down from his roost and standing next to Racetrack.
"Well...is there somewhere else we can talk, Spot?" Race asked, remembering Switchblade's exclamations from the previous night. "I don't really want the whole world to hear."
"Sure," Spot said, giving Race a concerned look. "We can go to the lodging house; I don't think anyone's there right now."
"Great."
"Hey, boys, Race and me are going to the lodge now," Spot called to the other newsies on the dock. A few nodded or shouted back replies, and then Race and Spot turned and headed for the lodge.
The Brooklyn Lodging House was run by a husky former newsie by the name of Benjamin "Bricks" Saunders. He was out at the moment, so Racetrack and Spot had the lodging house to themselves. They ambled up the stairs and down the hall to Spot's private room, one of the perks of being the Brooklyn leader.
"So, what's going on, Race?" Spot asked.
Racetrack took a deep breath. "Leprechaun broke up with me last night."
"Hmm...Demon didn't say anything," Spot muttered. Demon was a Brooklyn newsie and Leprechaun's older brother.
"I don't think Lep told anyone yet," Race said. "The only people I've told are you and Switchblade."
"Did she say why?" Spot asked.
"Yeah, she said she wasn't ready for a commitment yet," Racetrack said. "But I didn't think I asked her to commit to anything! It seems like she had some other reason, or something."
"Like what?" Spot wondered.
"I don't know, maybe she likes someone else," Race suggested.
"I doubt it," Spot said. "Leprechaun's usually pretty honest. But it is strange that she didn't tell me or Demon yet."
"Why would she tell you?" Race wondered.
"I don't know, she talks to me sometimes when Demon's not around. I guess she's kind of like my little sister."
"Yeah, it's the same way with Switchblade and me, but she's more like my older sister," Race agreed. "She even volunteered to talk to Leprechaun for me, but I didn't think that was fair to her. She and Lep are pretty good friends-I don't want to ruin that." Spot nodded, and Racetrack continued. "The only problem is that now there's not much I can do about it. She doesn't want to talk to me, and I can't make her."
"Maybe Demon can," Spot suggested. "She'll have to tell him sometime, and I know he likes you."
"Maybe," Race said, still feeling disheartened.
"And Race," Spot began.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry you lost Leprechaun, but maybe she really is just ready to move on. There are lots of other girls out there."
"Yeah, I know."