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:
Kate Lawrence: Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Morning Dew: I read part of the original script for Newsies once, and Spot seemed really concerned about all of the Brooklyn newsies, so I was trying to have him act like that in the last chapter. Plus, he's cute when he's acting all sweet and caring and everything. Thanks for the review!
"If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,"
For some reason, Spot couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it was because he was in an unfamiliar bunk in a different lodging house in a borough where he wasn't the leader. Or maybe it was because Pepper was in the bunk above him. 'I should really ask her to be my girl,' Spot thought to himself. 'Maybe if I do that, Race will figure out that I'm not dating Leprechaun. Besides that, she's gorgeous.' Spot pictured himself kissing Pepper and smiled. He rolled over, closed his eyes, and decided that he would ask Pepper out the next day.
Very early the next morning, the six Brooklyn newsies awoke and showered, finishing just as the girls were beginning to get up. Jungle, Trickster, and Refugee stayed in Manhattan to sell, but Spot, Demon, and Newsprint walked back to Brooklyn. They bought their papers there, and then checked in with Bricks, who was living in his uncle's apartment.
"We were going to search for a new lodging house today," Spot said. "If we find one, would you be interested in running it again?"
"Sure," Bricks agreed, "I could never leave you guys."
"Any suggestions on where to start looking?" Newsprint wondered.
"Try near Cropsey Avenue," Bricks said, "I've seen a few empty buildings there. If we got one of those, you'd still be near the docks and you could keep your old selling spots."
"Thanks, Bricks," Spot said, "we'll start there. Come on boys!"
Five hours later, the Sun was high in the sky, the newsies were hungry, and they still hadn't found a new lodging house.
"Spot, let's stop and get something to eat," Demon said. "Maybe we'll find something on the way to Ruby and Ketchy's."
"Naw, we'll go a little farther," Spot decided. "Maybe there'll be something near Stillwell Avenue."
"If we get to Stillwell, we'll be on Coney Island territory!" Newsprint protested.
"I didn't say ON Stillwell, I said NEAR Stillwell," Spot shouted. "Would you stop thinking of your stomach for once?" Newsprint and Demon exchanged a glance. Normally, one of them would have said something to Spot about his temper, but at the moment neither felt like getting a black eye.
Fifteen minutes later, Demon pointed to a two-story wooden structure a few feet away. "Hey, how about that building?" he asked, pointing to a two-story wooden structure a few feet away. "It looks empty."
"Let's go check it out," Spot said. The three newsies walked inside and began exploring. After a few minutes, they reunited near the front door.
"The stairs are pretty good," Demon said, "and there's plenty of space on the second floor for a bunkroom."
"And I found a stove in one of the back rooms!" Newsprint exclaimed. "Bricks could use that for a kitchen."
"And we could have hot coffee in the mornings," Demon added.
"Great," Spot said, "let's go tell Bricks that we found a new lodge."
"Let's not," a voice commented, and Spot turned to see King, the Brooklyn equivalent of the Delancey brothers, leering at him through the door. Slowly, he opened it and walked out.
"I don't think you were in on this conversation, King," he said coolly.
"This warehouse belongs to my gang," King said firmly.
"Then why wasn't anyone there?" Spot asked. "Why aren't there any beds? Or tables? Or weapons?"
"Maybe we ain't got all the way moved in yet," King suggested.
"I'll make you a deal, King," Spot decided. "You always carry a deck of cards with you, right?"
"Right," King replied. If he had been surprised by the question, he didn't show it.
"Then I'll play you for it," Spot said. "Poker. If I win we get the warehouse; if you win, we'll leave and search for a lodging house somewhere else."
"All right," King agreed. He was the best poker player in Brooklyn, maybe even the best player in New York City. He was nicknamed King not because he was gang leader but because he had a habit of getting four kings in his hand by the end of almost every poker game.
"You deal," Spot said. King dealt the cards, and Spot stared at his hand. Two kings, two aces, and a five of clubs. Not too shabby. Spot laid down the five, and King handed him another card. It was an ace. "What do you have?" he asked, trying not to smile and ruin his perfect poker face.
One at a time, King laid his cards on the floor of the warehouse. King of hearts, king of diamonds, ten of hearts, ten of spades, and ten of clubs. "Full house," he said proudly, "beat that."
Spot's smile grew wider as he set his cards on the floor. "I also have a full house," he conceded, "but I have three aces and you have three tens. I win."
"You cheated!" King shouted. He pulled his fist back to punch Spot in the face, but Spot caught his hand before it could connect.
"No, King, I didn't cheat," he said calmly. "You just lost. Now get out of here." He gave King a light push toward the door. King growled, but stopped when he saw that he was outnumbered three to one. Silently, he turned and walked out the door.
When he reached the street, King glanced back at the warehouse. "You'd better watch your back, Conlon," he snarled, then stomped away.
"We'll go get some lunch now," Spot said. "Then I think Newsprint should stay here, just in case King and his gang get any bright ideas. Demon, you can go tell the newsies in the other boroughs that we found a new lodging house and we'll be moving in soon. I'll go back to Manhattan and finish selling." The other two newsies nodded, and they left the warehouse and headed for Ruby and Ketchy's.
* The Manhattan Newsgirls Lodging House that evening. *
"Pay up, boys," Pepper said. She had just won a poker game against Refugee, Demon, and Trickster. Grudgingly, the three boys handed her their money.
"My turn to deal," Trickster announced, grabbing the deck.
"Leave me out of this one," Pepper said, standing up from the crowded card table. "I think I'll go up to the roof for awhile."
"That's not fair, Pepper," Trickster whined. "You can't leave right after you take all our money! You have to let us try and win it back!"
"Don't worry, Tricks, I'll be back," Pepper assured. "I just want to have some quiet for awhile. You Brooklyn people make an awful lot of noise." Amid laughs from the other girls and good-natured threats from the Brooklynites, Pepper climbed out the window and up the fire escape to the roof.
A few minutes later, when Spot was sure that everyone else in the lodging house was paying attention to the poker game, he went up to the roof also.
"Heya, Spot," Pepper said. "Why aren't you playing poker? I heard you were pretty good at it this morning."
"I am pretty good," Spot said proudly. "But I wanted to talk to you."
"What about?"
"About whether you'd be my girl."
"I thought Leprechaun was your girl," Pepper teased.
"Shut up," Spot said, "you sound like Racetrack. But seriously, will you be my girl?"
"Sure," Pepper agreed, giving Spot an appraising glance. "You seem pretty nice."
"That's not all," Spot said confidently. "I'm also a good kisser."
"Oh really?" Pepper asked. "Prove it."
"I'd be glad to," Spot smirked. Then he wrapped his arms around Pepper's waist and pulled her into a kiss.
Shout-outs:
Kate Lawrence: Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Morning Dew: I read part of the original script for Newsies once, and Spot seemed really concerned about all of the Brooklyn newsies, so I was trying to have him act like that in the last chapter. Plus, he's cute when he's acting all sweet and caring and everything. Thanks for the review!
"If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,"
For some reason, Spot couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it was because he was in an unfamiliar bunk in a different lodging house in a borough where he wasn't the leader. Or maybe it was because Pepper was in the bunk above him. 'I should really ask her to be my girl,' Spot thought to himself. 'Maybe if I do that, Race will figure out that I'm not dating Leprechaun. Besides that, she's gorgeous.' Spot pictured himself kissing Pepper and smiled. He rolled over, closed his eyes, and decided that he would ask Pepper out the next day.
Very early the next morning, the six Brooklyn newsies awoke and showered, finishing just as the girls were beginning to get up. Jungle, Trickster, and Refugee stayed in Manhattan to sell, but Spot, Demon, and Newsprint walked back to Brooklyn. They bought their papers there, and then checked in with Bricks, who was living in his uncle's apartment.
"We were going to search for a new lodging house today," Spot said. "If we find one, would you be interested in running it again?"
"Sure," Bricks agreed, "I could never leave you guys."
"Any suggestions on where to start looking?" Newsprint wondered.
"Try near Cropsey Avenue," Bricks said, "I've seen a few empty buildings there. If we got one of those, you'd still be near the docks and you could keep your old selling spots."
"Thanks, Bricks," Spot said, "we'll start there. Come on boys!"
Five hours later, the Sun was high in the sky, the newsies were hungry, and they still hadn't found a new lodging house.
"Spot, let's stop and get something to eat," Demon said. "Maybe we'll find something on the way to Ruby and Ketchy's."
"Naw, we'll go a little farther," Spot decided. "Maybe there'll be something near Stillwell Avenue."
"If we get to Stillwell, we'll be on Coney Island territory!" Newsprint protested.
"I didn't say ON Stillwell, I said NEAR Stillwell," Spot shouted. "Would you stop thinking of your stomach for once?" Newsprint and Demon exchanged a glance. Normally, one of them would have said something to Spot about his temper, but at the moment neither felt like getting a black eye.
Fifteen minutes later, Demon pointed to a two-story wooden structure a few feet away. "Hey, how about that building?" he asked, pointing to a two-story wooden structure a few feet away. "It looks empty."
"Let's go check it out," Spot said. The three newsies walked inside and began exploring. After a few minutes, they reunited near the front door.
"The stairs are pretty good," Demon said, "and there's plenty of space on the second floor for a bunkroom."
"And I found a stove in one of the back rooms!" Newsprint exclaimed. "Bricks could use that for a kitchen."
"And we could have hot coffee in the mornings," Demon added.
"Great," Spot said, "let's go tell Bricks that we found a new lodge."
"Let's not," a voice commented, and Spot turned to see King, the Brooklyn equivalent of the Delancey brothers, leering at him through the door. Slowly, he opened it and walked out.
"I don't think you were in on this conversation, King," he said coolly.
"This warehouse belongs to my gang," King said firmly.
"Then why wasn't anyone there?" Spot asked. "Why aren't there any beds? Or tables? Or weapons?"
"Maybe we ain't got all the way moved in yet," King suggested.
"I'll make you a deal, King," Spot decided. "You always carry a deck of cards with you, right?"
"Right," King replied. If he had been surprised by the question, he didn't show it.
"Then I'll play you for it," Spot said. "Poker. If I win we get the warehouse; if you win, we'll leave and search for a lodging house somewhere else."
"All right," King agreed. He was the best poker player in Brooklyn, maybe even the best player in New York City. He was nicknamed King not because he was gang leader but because he had a habit of getting four kings in his hand by the end of almost every poker game.
"You deal," Spot said. King dealt the cards, and Spot stared at his hand. Two kings, two aces, and a five of clubs. Not too shabby. Spot laid down the five, and King handed him another card. It was an ace. "What do you have?" he asked, trying not to smile and ruin his perfect poker face.
One at a time, King laid his cards on the floor of the warehouse. King of hearts, king of diamonds, ten of hearts, ten of spades, and ten of clubs. "Full house," he said proudly, "beat that."
Spot's smile grew wider as he set his cards on the floor. "I also have a full house," he conceded, "but I have three aces and you have three tens. I win."
"You cheated!" King shouted. He pulled his fist back to punch Spot in the face, but Spot caught his hand before it could connect.
"No, King, I didn't cheat," he said calmly. "You just lost. Now get out of here." He gave King a light push toward the door. King growled, but stopped when he saw that he was outnumbered three to one. Silently, he turned and walked out the door.
When he reached the street, King glanced back at the warehouse. "You'd better watch your back, Conlon," he snarled, then stomped away.
"We'll go get some lunch now," Spot said. "Then I think Newsprint should stay here, just in case King and his gang get any bright ideas. Demon, you can go tell the newsies in the other boroughs that we found a new lodging house and we'll be moving in soon. I'll go back to Manhattan and finish selling." The other two newsies nodded, and they left the warehouse and headed for Ruby and Ketchy's.
* The Manhattan Newsgirls Lodging House that evening. *
"Pay up, boys," Pepper said. She had just won a poker game against Refugee, Demon, and Trickster. Grudgingly, the three boys handed her their money.
"My turn to deal," Trickster announced, grabbing the deck.
"Leave me out of this one," Pepper said, standing up from the crowded card table. "I think I'll go up to the roof for awhile."
"That's not fair, Pepper," Trickster whined. "You can't leave right after you take all our money! You have to let us try and win it back!"
"Don't worry, Tricks, I'll be back," Pepper assured. "I just want to have some quiet for awhile. You Brooklyn people make an awful lot of noise." Amid laughs from the other girls and good-natured threats from the Brooklynites, Pepper climbed out the window and up the fire escape to the roof.
A few minutes later, when Spot was sure that everyone else in the lodging house was paying attention to the poker game, he went up to the roof also.
"Heya, Spot," Pepper said. "Why aren't you playing poker? I heard you were pretty good at it this morning."
"I am pretty good," Spot said proudly. "But I wanted to talk to you."
"What about?"
"About whether you'd be my girl."
"I thought Leprechaun was your girl," Pepper teased.
"Shut up," Spot said, "you sound like Racetrack. But seriously, will you be my girl?"
"Sure," Pepper agreed, giving Spot an appraising glance. "You seem pretty nice."
"That's not all," Spot said confidently. "I'm also a good kisser."
"Oh really?" Pepper asked. "Prove it."
"I'd be glad to," Spot smirked. Then he wrapped his arms around Pepper's waist and pulled her into a kiss.