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: Sorry it took me so long to update! Unfortunately, this chapter is pretty short. But don't worry---another plot twist is coming up in chapter eleven!
"And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;"
* Early the next morning, as the Manhattan newsies walk to the Distribution Center. *
Spot took a deep breath and gripped his cane a little tighter. Now that he had a girlfriend, he wanted to make sure that all the rumors about him and Leprechaun were stopped. He scanned the crowd of newsies, trying to pick out his former best friend. Finally, Spot saw him---near the front of the crowd, talking with Mush and Boots.
"I'm telling you," Race exclaimed, "it's all part of Lep's plan. She probably even burned down the Brooklyn lodge so that Spot would have to sleep in the same lodging house as her."
"Race, isn't that a little far-fetched?" Boots asked skeptically. "I mean, Lep did some stupid stuff, but do you really think she'd burn down the Brooklyn lodging house?"
"Besides, I was over at the girls' lodge that evening, and Lep was there," Mush added. "She would never walk to Brooklyn alone at night."
"What were you doing at the girls' lodge, Mush?" Boots teased. "Flirting with Sketch again?"
Mush's face colored, and even Racetrack began to laugh at his friend's bashfulness. But Race's laughter stopped abruptly as Spot grabbed his shirt collar and spun him around. "Come on, Race," Spot growled, and proceeded to drag Racetrack into a nearby alley.
Race kicked out at Spot's legs. "What the heck are you doing, Spot?" he asked.
Spot managed to avoid Race's kicks and pin him against the wall. "Calm down," he said, "I just want to talk to you."
"Spot, the only way you ever learned to talk was with your fists," Race said. "The only time you use words is when you're flirting...with other people's girls!"
"Calm down!" Spot repeated, pushing Race hard enough to knock the wind out of him. "Calm down and shut up! As much as we'd both like to forget it, I was once your best friend. And I would NEVER steal a girl from a friend. I may have stolen quite a few from my enemies, but never from my friends."
"Oh, yeah?" Race asked. "So you don't think kissing someone else's girl is stealing?"
"First of all, Racey-boy, Lep wasn't your girl anymore," Spot pointed out. "She dumped you the night before. Second of all, SHE kissed me. I didn't have anything to do with it."
"But you didn't push her away, either, did you?" Racetrack countered.
"What does it matter?" Spot asked, trying to avoid the question. "Either way, she broke up with you. Maybe you should try to get it through your thick skull that SHE DOESN'T LIKE YOU. She doesn't WANT to go out with you anymore. She's not going to come crying back to you, and she's probably never going to forgive you for all the rumors you spread about her. She tried to apologize to you once, and you wouldn't accept it. I hope she does the same thing when you finally grow up and apologize for all the stupid stuff you did."
"She won't have to," Racetrack said, "because I'm not going to apologize. As far as I can see, I didn't do anything worse than what she did. At least I didn't run away from my problems. Besides, if you don't like her, why did you sleep in the bunk next to her last night?"
"I did not!" Spot shouted.
"Yes you did," Race replied. "Sparrow told me."
"I slept there," Spot began slowly, "because it was under Pepper's bunk. If you had been listening to the other newsies this morning instead of telling your stupid stories, you would know that Pepper's my girl. I asked her out last night."
"Oh, so now you're going to have two girls, are you Spot?" Race asked. "Go out with Pepper during the day, and then cheat on her with Lep at night?"
Spot's fist lashed out and connected with Race's eye. Before Race could retaliate, Spot had left the alley and was walking toward Brooklyn.
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! Unfortunately, this chapter is pretty short. But don't worry---another plot twist is coming up in chapter eleven!
"And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;"
* Early the next morning, as the Manhattan newsies walk to the Distribution Center. *
Spot took a deep breath and gripped his cane a little tighter. Now that he had a girlfriend, he wanted to make sure that all the rumors about him and Leprechaun were stopped. He scanned the crowd of newsies, trying to pick out his former best friend. Finally, Spot saw him---near the front of the crowd, talking with Mush and Boots.
"I'm telling you," Race exclaimed, "it's all part of Lep's plan. She probably even burned down the Brooklyn lodge so that Spot would have to sleep in the same lodging house as her."
"Race, isn't that a little far-fetched?" Boots asked skeptically. "I mean, Lep did some stupid stuff, but do you really think she'd burn down the Brooklyn lodging house?"
"Besides, I was over at the girls' lodge that evening, and Lep was there," Mush added. "She would never walk to Brooklyn alone at night."
"What were you doing at the girls' lodge, Mush?" Boots teased. "Flirting with Sketch again?"
Mush's face colored, and even Racetrack began to laugh at his friend's bashfulness. But Race's laughter stopped abruptly as Spot grabbed his shirt collar and spun him around. "Come on, Race," Spot growled, and proceeded to drag Racetrack into a nearby alley.
Race kicked out at Spot's legs. "What the heck are you doing, Spot?" he asked.
Spot managed to avoid Race's kicks and pin him against the wall. "Calm down," he said, "I just want to talk to you."
"Spot, the only way you ever learned to talk was with your fists," Race said. "The only time you use words is when you're flirting...with other people's girls!"
"Calm down!" Spot repeated, pushing Race hard enough to knock the wind out of him. "Calm down and shut up! As much as we'd both like to forget it, I was once your best friend. And I would NEVER steal a girl from a friend. I may have stolen quite a few from my enemies, but never from my friends."
"Oh, yeah?" Race asked. "So you don't think kissing someone else's girl is stealing?"
"First of all, Racey-boy, Lep wasn't your girl anymore," Spot pointed out. "She dumped you the night before. Second of all, SHE kissed me. I didn't have anything to do with it."
"But you didn't push her away, either, did you?" Racetrack countered.
"What does it matter?" Spot asked, trying to avoid the question. "Either way, she broke up with you. Maybe you should try to get it through your thick skull that SHE DOESN'T LIKE YOU. She doesn't WANT to go out with you anymore. She's not going to come crying back to you, and she's probably never going to forgive you for all the rumors you spread about her. She tried to apologize to you once, and you wouldn't accept it. I hope she does the same thing when you finally grow up and apologize for all the stupid stuff you did."
"She won't have to," Racetrack said, "because I'm not going to apologize. As far as I can see, I didn't do anything worse than what she did. At least I didn't run away from my problems. Besides, if you don't like her, why did you sleep in the bunk next to her last night?"
"I did not!" Spot shouted.
"Yes you did," Race replied. "Sparrow told me."
"I slept there," Spot began slowly, "because it was under Pepper's bunk. If you had been listening to the other newsies this morning instead of telling your stupid stories, you would know that Pepper's my girl. I asked her out last night."
"Oh, so now you're going to have two girls, are you Spot?" Race asked. "Go out with Pepper during the day, and then cheat on her with Lep at night?"
Spot's fist lashed out and connected with Race's eye. Before Race could retaliate, Spot had left the alley and was walking toward Brooklyn.