Spike narrowed his eyes and shook his head in frustration as he looked at the small thirteen-year-old. His dark brown eyes stared back at the small figure below him. A gray newsie hat covered his light brown hair and his blue eyes waited for an answer from Spike. For a thirteen-year-old, he was rather small, but people mistook his size for his actual strength. He was a growing boy and was learning the difficulties of being a newsie.
"Move, Spot," growled Spike as he glared at him.
Spot looked up at him without fear and opened his mouth to protest, but held back as he quietly stammered. "You… were going to…" Spot sighed and let out a breath of air. It was no use. He should've known that you shouldn't talk to Spike when he's mad. He's most likely to beat the crap out of you just to get his anger out. "Never mind," concluded Spot as he slowly walked away. Spike was going to have to help him with his fighting later.
Spike hastily ignored Spot and briskly walked towards his brothers' room. On his way, he couldn't help but notice passing younger newsies staring.
His face was scattered with tiny scars here and there, causing people to give him the occasional glance. Besides his black hair, dark brown eyes, and slightly scarred face, his nose didn't help much either. Instead of being your usual nose that was placed in the center of your face, Spike's nose crookedly hung at an angle, giving him a scary and eerie look. Spike shrugged off the stares of the younger newsies. In time, they will eventually come to respect him for the person he was. Even though his attitude and violent nature got in the way of doing business, he was the leader of the Brooklyn newsies. They looked up to him when they needed help and he looked out for them in ways they didn't know.
Spike placed his hand on the iron handle of the doorknob and opened the door, not caring whether he was interrupting anything. He had just ruined the most important discussion he could have that affected both the Brooklyn and Manhattan newsies.
"Spike!" cried Hammer, a boy a few inches shorter than him. His dark brown eyes looked up at Spike, who was standing watchfully.
His stocky and sturdy build made him tower over his two brothers. He surveyed the room, finding his two brothers intensely playing poker on the wooden floor. There were two bunk beds placed across each other, filling up most of the space in the room. There was a small window placed at the end of the wall, giving off the light from the stars and moon outside. Spike remembered when he was offered this room as his own, but being the pesky brothers they were, he couldn't have it all to himself.
"That was quick!" said Mackie, a boy with light brown hair, uncertainly. "How'd it go? Did Ethan agree?" He dropped the pack of cards he was holding in his hand on his bed and stood up to face Spike.
"The stupid boy was scared!" bellowed Spike as he looked at his brothers. "We FINALLY come up with a good plan to make money for the newsies, and the GREAT leader of Manhattan turns us down!" he said as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"Don't worry," said Hammer slyly and softly chuckled. His dark brown eyes glinted as he looked at Mackie and Spike. He curled his hand into a fist as he slammed it down the small table placed near the window. "We'll make him."
***
The sound of shouts and hollers of nearby vendors filled Anthony's ears as he surveyed the road. It was a hot and hectic afternoon, in which he had decided to sell papers with Strider. Anthony wiped the back of his head across his forehead as he looked at the diverse groups of people he saw passing by. Elderly gentlemen were seated on benches here and there, hiding from the heat and blaze of the sun. Young men and women walked hurriedly across the street, brushing against other people without notice, to some business meeting they need to keep. Middle-aged women and men such as vendors and merchants filled the streets, standing near their objects and items that needed acquiring. Throughout the hustle and bustle, Anthony could still see a few children running around here and there. He shook his head as he thought of himself skipping school to take a daily stroll around the city.
"Are you alright?" asked Strider as she nudged Anthony on the shoulder and chuckled. "It looks like you're daydreaming." Her blond hair was swept up in a ponytail, held by a torn piece of cloth, and covered with a brown newsie cap. Her white shirt, which used to be pleasingly clean, was now smudged by dirt and grime which had accumulated after all the years she had to work as a newsie. Her brown and tattered skirt ended just above her ankles, which were covered by worn-out black boots.
Anthony nodded as he turned his attention to Strider. "Yeah… I'm fine. Just taking it all in." He was also looking differently clothed from the way he was used to before. Black suspenders rested on his shoulders, as it held up the dark brown pants he was wearing and covered the gigantic white blouse he was wearing. Since his fall in the river, his bag and other clothes were wet, causing him to borrow Jack's humongous blouse and pants.
"Oh… I see," replied Strider. "So you're not from around here?"
Anthony contemplated for a moment and settled with his decision. After all, he was new to this world. "I'm from…" His voice weakened as he thought of what to say. "…Italy," he decided. He was from Italian descent, nonetheless.
"Wow… never met anyone who was Italian," said Strider as she nodded and walked towards a group of boys huddled in a corner. It seemed that they were all watching some sort of card game played by two boys sitting right across each other. One of the boys had light brown hair, which was covered by a black cowboy hat. He was looking intensely at the deck of cards placed on his hand as he brought his hand up to his chin in a motion of thought.
"You boys shouldn't be doing that out here… the bulls might catch you," said Strider as they neared the group. She smiled teasingly and looked at them.
"Strider!" exclaimed the boy sitting across the other boy with the cowboy hat. His sandy blond hair and fair complexion gave Anthony the reason to think that he was Strider's brother. But that wasn't what first caught his attention. Conveniently placed on his left eye was a brown-colored eye patch. Anthony grimaced at the thought of what had happened.
"Hey, Blink!" answered Strider. She walked over to him and rested her hands on his shoulders as she looked down on the set of cards he was holding and shook her head. She looked at Anthony, and motioned him to come over. Reluctantly, he walked over to where she was standing and looked back at her uncertainly. She pointed to the set of cards that Blink was holding and whispered, "Got any ideas? He's been running out of money lately…"
"Um…" Anthony glanced down at Blink's hand and thought of a card trick that his uncle had recently taught him. He won occasionally, but Anthony loved the idea of the numerous amounts of games you could come up with a deck of cards. Sometimes his luck ran out, but he loved to play the games, giving him the chance to learn the tricks and games his uncle taught him, even though he lost frequently… or most of the time. He looked back up at Strider and whispered in her ear what he thought would be the best plan to do. Strider looked at him thoughtfully and bent down to whisper to Blink.
Throughout that whole time, the boy with the cowboy hat turned his attention towards Strider, Blink, and Anthony. He narrowed his eyes as he figured that they were planning on taking his money away from him.
"You know, this really doesn't work when Blink has you two whispering in his ear. That ain't fair." His rough New York accent rang through his voice as he talked.
"How about we finish this later?" he said as he threw his cards down on the ground, giving Blink a chance to look at his cards and shout, "Hey! I could've won!"
"Who's your friend, Strider?" asked the boy with the cowboy hat as he stood up and walked towards them. The group of other boys followed him as he walked, curious to know what was going on.
"Wait, is that the guy you and Skittery found yesterday night?" said a boy with curly brown hair who was standing right next to Blink, who was now muttering about how he could've earned more money. Strider nodded as she looked to the group of boys.
"I'm Jack… but most people around here call me Cowboy," said the boy with the cowboy hat as he spit in his hand and held it towards Anthony. Anthony's eyes widened as he looked back at Jack, but in an effort to fit in he did the same and shook his hand. "These are Blink, Mush, Crutchy, Itey, Boots, and Pie-Eater," he said as he pointed them out. "I'll introduce you to the others later."
"You got a name?" asked Mush as he looked at Anthony.
Anthony opened his mouth to answer, but Strider cut him off immediately. "He can't remember… but he's from Italy!" smiled Strider and looked at the group, amused at the fact that she had a new friend from Italy.
"Hmmm…" said Blink thoughtfully as he looked around the group. "Since he can't remember his name, why don't we call him Italy for now?"
The others nodded in agreement as Jack walked over Anthony's side and patted him on the back. "Welcome to New York, Italy."
"Hold on… you and Skittery were together yesterday night?" asked Itey, breaking the conversation.
Strider nodded and answered, "I couldn't sleep so… I followed him…"
Jack smirked. "You followed him? At night? Wasn't little Strider scared?" he said teasingly as he playfully punched her on the shoulder.
" 'Course not!" retorted Strider. "If I hadn't followed him we wouldn't have found Italy. And don't forget that I grew up living on the streets, Cowboy!" said Strider as she pointed at him. "Besides, girls got balls. Just higher up, that's all."
~*~
Shout-outs
Sage: hey girl! thanks for the much needed help! ^^ it would've taken me LONGER to get this up if you hadn't helped me! *huggles sage*
Strider: hahah, thanks! glad to see that you're keeping up with it! :P
Loner: *jumps up and down* i wanna see!!! lol! tell me RIGHT when you have them up!
Sapphy: lmao, not liking Spike, eh? *wink*