First Steps: Part One
"We don't stand much chance in this threadbare time."
Joseph wasted no time in getting to the next piece in his story.
"You've all bought a paper from a newsboy," he said with a small smile. "I know you have. It's so convenient, the little ruffians are on every street corner. And for you frequent buyers, yeah, you've probably gotten ripped off a few times." A few murmurs and good-natured chuckles bounced through the crowd. Joseph nodded slightly. "Don't hate them for it. I learned fast enough that certain tricks and scams were necessary if you wanted to keep a bed in the Lodging House…"
-
Swifty woke before Peter and sat on the edge of his bunk, swinging his feet and waiting expectantly for his friend to get up. Despite his still smarting feelings, Swifty couldn't help but get a little caught up in the busy morning routines. His eyes followed some of the other early risers through their actions curiously, watching as they wove around the bunks and each other with a strange grace, creating paths through the narrow and cramped room with ease. Most of them noticed his presence but ignored him, and Swifty wasn't sure what to think of this. Were they wary of the new kid, or did they just not care?
A creak on the stairs alerted more of the sleepy-eyed boys to an approaching outsider, and Swifty turned on his bunk for a better look. Shortly a worn bowler hat appeared, followed by an equally worn face and brittle body. Mr. Kloppman.
"Get up!" the old man said as soon as he was fully on the second floor. His voice was surprisingly strong for such a frail looking figure. "Gotta sell them papes!" He made his way among the bunks and continued bellowing. "Up an' attem! Let's go! Sell the papers!"
"Ah, sell yourself, old man!" an angry voice yelled from the opposite end of the room. "Shove 'them papes' down your throat…" Kloppman ignored the retort but several other boys snickered and a few reluctantly dropped from their bunks to stumble blearily into the washroom. Swifty grinned. Not all the boys were that bad.
"That's Gooser," Peter said from his side with a matching grin. Swifty blinked, startled, and turned again. "He says almost the same things every morning, but it's still funny," he continued.
"Didn't know you were up."
Peter shrugged. "Come on, we have to get ready."
Swifty jumped up beside Peter and trailed him into the washroom, where a sliver of space before the mirror was vacant. Peter pulled him in.
"Is that was I think it is?" Soldier turned out to be on Peter's left. He had reached down and cupped Peter's chin in his palm, tipping his head upward. "You see that, Mazey?" Maze looked over from Soldier's other side.
"See what?"
"That."
Maze grinned. "Aw, yeah, I do! You got a little peach fuzz going there, Pete."
Peter beamed as Swifty leaned in closer to get a look himself. He didn't see anything, and looked to Soldier with a puzzled frown. Maze caught his eye and winked, and Swifty gave up.
"Lucky," he said to Peter. Peter's smile grew.
"You can use my razor," Maze said, and tossed the said blade to Peter, who caught it with difficulty. Soldier slid some shaving cream his way and Swifty contented himself to splashing a few handfuls of cold water on his face. He looked at his dripping reflection, feeling refreshed, and ran a cautionary hand over his hair, shorn close to the skull. The more he stared at it, the more he hated it and all it represented. A larger form slid into view behind him and gently removed his hand from his head. Swifty watched through the mirror as the boy bent down to ear level.
"Grow it out," he said softly, then continued on his course. The boy's narrow eyes and tawny skin remained imprinted in Swifty's mind, but neither burned like the most startling detail of all - his hair, shaggy and past his ears. Swifty felt a weird twist in his stomach and turned, frantically searching for the older boy - to no avail.
"Who ya lookin' for?" Peter asked, his eyes never wavering from his foam covered jaw.
"Dunno," Swifty said. He washed his hands again, still looking over his shoulder. "Dunno who he is."
"That's Lin," Soldier said.
"What?"
"The guy who just talked to you? Yeah, that's Lin. He's a little… eccentric."
"Eccentric?" Now Swifty was thoroughly confused.
"Electric," Peter said wisely. Soldier laughed.
"No, it means… well… he's just a little strange, that's all. A bit of a loner."
"What's wrong with that?" Swifty experienced some trouble drying his hands on a damp towel.
"Nothing," Soldier cleaned off his own razor and put it away. "He's just not that friendly, is all."
There was a splash followed by a startled yelp, and the whole crew standing at the mirror turned to see Gooser stick his head into the washbasin for a second time.
"Good morning, sunshine!" someone crowed from across the room. Gooser made a rude gesture that was met by more laughter. He raised his soaked head and was about to shake it dry when Jazz passed by and dunked him again. The washroom roared.
-
"I didn't have the best experiences in my first night at the Lodging House, certainly for a few hours I didn't think the pay was worth it. But the morning brought me a whole new perspective, and I realized that the bad guys of the group were the minority, not the other way around."
Joseph's smile turned bittersweet. "Opinions. They can change as fast as money changes hands."
-
"That's the Distribution Office, right through those gates," Peter said. He and Swifty walked near the back of the Lodging House pack along Newspaper Row, Peter looking bored while Swifty frequently stumbled over himself in an effort to see everything at once. He had never been this deep into Manhattan before. Peter's next question brought him back to the task at hand - namely walking.
"You have money, right?"
Swifty dug his hands into his pockets and scooped up a few coins.
"Yep," he said triumphantly.
"Ok." Peter took one of the coins from his small pile and dropped it back into Swifty's pocket.
"Save this one for tonight. You gottta pay for the Lodging House, and that way even if you don't do well today you can still have a bed." He replaced another coin. "An' save this one for lunch." Peter counted Swifty's remaining fortune with a furrowed brow. "Ok. You can buy… uhm… twenty papes. Two papes for a penny, and then you have leftovers."
Swifty nodded, absorbing this information. He pocketed the few odd pennies residing with his prize dime and got in line with the other boys as they all entered the gate to the Distribution Office.
"I buy two papers for a penny," Swifty repeated.
"Papes," Peter said with a grin.
"Ok, papes. Who do I sell 'em to?"
Peter shrugged. "Anyone. Everyone. You sell one pape for a penny."
"One pape for a penny."
"Yup." Peter faced forward and whistled softly to himself, studying the reactions of those who had already bought their papers. "It's an ok headline," he told Swifty, who paused before launching a few more questions.
"What's that mean?"
Peter looked exasperated, but Swifty couldn't remember having had it explained to him before, so he pressed on. "I mean - I know what a headline is. But how does it matter?"
"Look, if you get a good headline, you sell more papes. If it's bad, you don't sell as many."
Swifty remained lost. "And?"
"That's it."
Someone snickered from behind them.
"First time, kid?" the low voice was directed to Swifty, and he turned uncertainly. The boy in back of him had a low, gravelly voice, and a thick frame to match it. His boyish face and clean-cut brown hair only complicated the picture. Swifty nodded, fascinated by this new acquaintance. Peter looked equally mystified.
"Breggy?" He squeaked. 'Breggy' grinned.
"Hey, Petey." He turned his attention back to Swifty. "Don't sweat it," he said. "What Petey is trying to tell you is this: people like read the news, but they don't like it that much. The headline is the most important part in the newspaper, and it's going to be the thing they read first. If the headline's boring, they'll think that the rest of the paper is boring so they won't bother buying it from you." He took a breath. "Got it so far?"
"I think so."
"If the headline is exciting, they're going to want to read all about it. That's where we, the newsboys come in. If the headline isn't exciting enough, we make it so."
"We lie?"
"Nah. We just spice up the truth, make things a little more fun and earn us some pocket money in the process. You know?"
Swifty shrugged. "I guess."
-
"As it turns out, guessing was the last thing I did on my first day of selling. With Peter there to guide me with his incredible patience and knowledge about the newsie's craft, I learned quick. Ok, so, really I just learned quick while Peter tried to teach me all he knew in half formed sentences and strange phrases. But that wasn't the important part. By lunchtime I had twenty cents in my pocket. I could survive."
-
**Author's Note: Yay! I love writing this, but man I have not had that much time to write recently. I'm getting back into it, though, and this weekend I'm going down to Washington DC to visit my sis in college, and I plan to get a bunch of this story written down there. Wish me luck! Thanks to all reviewers, I appreciate it so much!
Gip: Thanks! Woo! Woo works in so many forms. So much fun.
Tabitha Sly: Shadies I love that penname. And I love the word 'brill.' Glad you're enjoying it!
Gothitica: Ah, but of course Swifty had to be dead too. And Above These Righteous Gods? I really really want to update it! I just need to get myself to sit still long enough to go over all the notes again and get working!
Tabs: I'm just gonna sit here and watch you dance for awhile…
Sappy: Haha, I love how you go from confusion to "grrr Jazz!" Jazz is alright. He's not as evil as he seems.
Falco: I feel so bad now, I still haven't caught up on 'Innocence.' Ark! Will do that, promise! You didn't suck, you just improved a LOT.
Glimmah: Glad you liked the nickname, I try my best. -watches as Jazz hightails it after Glim- Whoops.
Cards: You know that if I knew anymore Oliver Twist quotes I'd answer you back with one. But here's some more, anyway!
Sita-chan: Yay for Tabs, my unofficial, part-time plugger! Er. Well, in this one instance. Yeeah. Glad you like it.
Misprint: I usually shiver and edge away when you laugh like that. Pie as a 'Joseph,' eh? I can't see it.
rumor: I second that yay! Of course he rambles, because I ramble, and Pie can't be eloquent, it just doesn't work. He's gotta ramble, he's just gotta! And an enemy in Swifty is never desirable - I enjoy making my version of Swifty quite vengeful. Fwah hah. Thanks for the story, no more confusion on my part!
Keep 'em coming, guys!