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.
Shout-Outs:
MEg: Yes, I agree. Lep is being very cruel to Race, and Race is definitely NOT a wimp! Unfortunately, Spot hasn't figured that out yet.
Morning Dew: In Chapter 1, I said that Pepper was the leader of the Manhattan newsgirls.
Spatz: Here's another chapter for you!
Sureshot Higgins: Race won't do anything drastic...at least, not in this chapter. I love your pen name!
Thanks to all my reviewers---please continue! (And I'm sorry this chapter is so short!)
"If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim."
After she left Spot, Pepper returned to Ruby and Ketchy's. From there, she, Kid Blink, and Leprechaun walked to Manhattan, and Demon went back to Brooklyn. When he got there, he found Spot on the docks, looking slightly happier than he had for the past few days.
"Pepper said she'd get Lep to confess," Spot said with a small smile.
"I hope she does," Demon replied. "Look, I'm sorry about all the trouble Lep's causing. She told me the truth, but when Blink got there she wouldn't admit it."
"It's all right," Spot said. "Maybe Pepper can straighten her out."
That night, Spot fell asleep in his private room at the Brooklyn Lodging House. Soon, he started to dream:
* What follows is a description of Spot's dream. *
Spot was sitting on the docks, holding Leprechaun in his arms. The sun was setting in the background, casting bronze light over the waves, and a light breeze danced over Leprechaun's soft, short hair.
"I don't want Race," she murmured. "I want you." To his surprise, Spot felt joy surge through him when she said that. His lips moved toward hers, and they shared a kiss.
"Spot, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Pepper shouted, appearing on the docks. "You know you don't want Lep, you want me. Let your little friend Racetrack take Lep. You're way too good for her."
Magically, Leprechaun evaporated. Pepper slid onto Spot's lap and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a passionate kiss. 'Even better than Leprechaun,' he thought to himself.
Then, suddenly, Pepper stopped and jumped lightly out of his lap. "You can't have me unless you get rid of Leprechaun," she said, and then ran toward Manhattan, laughing.
"No, stay!" Spot shouted, waking himself up. * Dream ends. * "What the..." he muttered to himself. "Why am I dreaming about Lep, who kissed me and got me into this whole mess in the first place, and then Pepper, who I barely know? The only time I ever talk to her is for newsie leaders meetings, with Jack and everyone. She doesn't care about me!"
Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Spot called, and Bricks Saunders, the owner of the Brooklyn Lodging House, ambled in.
"I heard you yelling and wondered what was going on," he said, his large, muscular body looking out of place in the small chair next to Spot's bed.
"Nothing. I was just dreaming," Spot replied.
"Oh. So nothing's bothering you, then?"
"Well...no. Nothing," Spot said firmly. He had been about to tell Bricks about his feelings for Leprechaun and Pepper, but had decided against it. What if any of the other newsies found out?
"All right then. If you wanna talk, I'll be downstairs," Bricks said. As he left, Spot laid down again. 'I'll worry about this in the morning,' he decided.
Shout-Outs:
MEg: Yes, I agree. Lep is being very cruel to Race, and Race is definitely NOT a wimp! Unfortunately, Spot hasn't figured that out yet.
Morning Dew: In Chapter 1, I said that Pepper was the leader of the Manhattan newsgirls.
Spatz: Here's another chapter for you!
Sureshot Higgins: Race won't do anything drastic...at least, not in this chapter. I love your pen name!
Thanks to all my reviewers---please continue! (And I'm sorry this chapter is so short!)
"If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim."
After she left Spot, Pepper returned to Ruby and Ketchy's. From there, she, Kid Blink, and Leprechaun walked to Manhattan, and Demon went back to Brooklyn. When he got there, he found Spot on the docks, looking slightly happier than he had for the past few days.
"Pepper said she'd get Lep to confess," Spot said with a small smile.
"I hope she does," Demon replied. "Look, I'm sorry about all the trouble Lep's causing. She told me the truth, but when Blink got there she wouldn't admit it."
"It's all right," Spot said. "Maybe Pepper can straighten her out."
That night, Spot fell asleep in his private room at the Brooklyn Lodging House. Soon, he started to dream:
* What follows is a description of Spot's dream. *
Spot was sitting on the docks, holding Leprechaun in his arms. The sun was setting in the background, casting bronze light over the waves, and a light breeze danced over Leprechaun's soft, short hair.
"I don't want Race," she murmured. "I want you." To his surprise, Spot felt joy surge through him when she said that. His lips moved toward hers, and they shared a kiss.
"Spot, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Pepper shouted, appearing on the docks. "You know you don't want Lep, you want me. Let your little friend Racetrack take Lep. You're way too good for her."
Magically, Leprechaun evaporated. Pepper slid onto Spot's lap and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a passionate kiss. 'Even better than Leprechaun,' he thought to himself.
Then, suddenly, Pepper stopped and jumped lightly out of his lap. "You can't have me unless you get rid of Leprechaun," she said, and then ran toward Manhattan, laughing.
"No, stay!" Spot shouted, waking himself up. * Dream ends. * "What the..." he muttered to himself. "Why am I dreaming about Lep, who kissed me and got me into this whole mess in the first place, and then Pepper, who I barely know? The only time I ever talk to her is for newsie leaders meetings, with Jack and everyone. She doesn't care about me!"
Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Spot called, and Bricks Saunders, the owner of the Brooklyn Lodging House, ambled in.
"I heard you yelling and wondered what was going on," he said, his large, muscular body looking out of place in the small chair next to Spot's bed.
"Nothing. I was just dreaming," Spot replied.
"Oh. So nothing's bothering you, then?"
"Well...no. Nothing," Spot said firmly. He had been about to tell Bricks about his feelings for Leprechaun and Pepper, but had decided against it. What if any of the other newsies found out?
"All right then. If you wanna talk, I'll be downstairs," Bricks said. As he left, Spot laid down again. 'I'll worry about this in the morning,' he decided.