I walked into the lodging house and slowly headed up the stairs and
into the bunkroom. I looked around and couldn't find Jack. It seemed that
he hadn't made it back yet, so I made my way to my bunk and lied down. I
remember trying to stay awake long enough to talk to Jack but he must have
gotten back real late because I stayed up longer than most newsies and he
hadn't come back yet. I decided to sleep and talk to him in the morning.
When I woke up, I was sore all over. I climbed out of my bed, washed up a bit and waited downstairs for Jack to come down. When he finally made it down, it only took one look at my eye for him take a deep breath and promise to teach me some self defense moves after we sold papers. The work part of my day seemed to take forever to end, but when it did I was filled with a new energy. I met up with Jack at Tibby's and we found an abandoned alley. That was where the teaching began. That was where I was learning to get my dignity back, and that was where I learned Jack's reason not teaching me earlier. Jack has set up an old bag full of garbage, mostly left over newspapers we found in people's garbages. It was turned into a punching bag for me.
"Alright, here we go, again. I want you to keep your feet planted on the ground this time. When I say go, throw off of your weight into this punch and knock the socks off of that bag. Go." As Jack said those words, I threw the best punch of my life, which turned out to be crap. I over swung and ended up falling down. I jumped back up and looked at Jack for more directions.
"Ok, don't let that discourage you, this time focus on hitting the center of the bag." Jack must have been as frustrated as I was feeling but he didn't let it show for a minute. Although I hate to admit it, it took another ten minutes before I threw a decent punch that hit the center of the bag. When I did, it felt like a huge accomplishment. However, my victory was short lived. Before I even knew what happened, I was lying on my back, my butt sore from running into the ground.
"Ow. Jeez Jack, a little harsh don't you think?" I muttered as I stood up. He shook his head and took a fighting stance.
"Attack me." It was a simple direction, but it sounded so weird coming from someone who had helped me so much. Nevertheless, I charged at him. It didn't work, and he easily pushed my aside into the wall.
"Ok, that's enough for the day. Just remember to keep yourself centered and you should be able to throw a decent punch." I nodded and we started to walk out of the alley towards the lodging house.
"So Jack, I'm just curious. Why wouldn't you teach me to fight before?" It took a few minutes for him to respond.
"Because I didn't want you to think you would be able to take on the Delancy brothers. What I'm teaching you is just a few simple moves that could help you get out of a sticky situation with one person. I hear stories every day about girls who think they could take on the Delancy's or some other group of guys because some punk taught them a little bit of self defense. Do you know what happens to those girls? They're pulverized. They get ripped apart. The Delancy's may be stupid sometimes, but they are strong tough guys and no matter what I teach you, you can't take 'em on by yourself. I didn't want you to learn a bit of stuff, mouth off to them and then get beat down. So if you want these lessons to continue, you gotta promise me that you won't go after them or any other guy. You keep yourself out of dangerous situations or these lessons stop today, alright?" I looked at him.
"Ok, I promise." The rest of the walk was silent. Secretly I had to admire Jack. He was quite the leader. He always seemed to have a reason for something, and he always seemed to think things out. He treated everyone fairly. He was quite the guy. My only hope at that point was that I didn't disappoint him.
When I woke up, I was sore all over. I climbed out of my bed, washed up a bit and waited downstairs for Jack to come down. When he finally made it down, it only took one look at my eye for him take a deep breath and promise to teach me some self defense moves after we sold papers. The work part of my day seemed to take forever to end, but when it did I was filled with a new energy. I met up with Jack at Tibby's and we found an abandoned alley. That was where the teaching began. That was where I was learning to get my dignity back, and that was where I learned Jack's reason not teaching me earlier. Jack has set up an old bag full of garbage, mostly left over newspapers we found in people's garbages. It was turned into a punching bag for me.
"Alright, here we go, again. I want you to keep your feet planted on the ground this time. When I say go, throw off of your weight into this punch and knock the socks off of that bag. Go." As Jack said those words, I threw the best punch of my life, which turned out to be crap. I over swung and ended up falling down. I jumped back up and looked at Jack for more directions.
"Ok, don't let that discourage you, this time focus on hitting the center of the bag." Jack must have been as frustrated as I was feeling but he didn't let it show for a minute. Although I hate to admit it, it took another ten minutes before I threw a decent punch that hit the center of the bag. When I did, it felt like a huge accomplishment. However, my victory was short lived. Before I even knew what happened, I was lying on my back, my butt sore from running into the ground.
"Ow. Jeez Jack, a little harsh don't you think?" I muttered as I stood up. He shook his head and took a fighting stance.
"Attack me." It was a simple direction, but it sounded so weird coming from someone who had helped me so much. Nevertheless, I charged at him. It didn't work, and he easily pushed my aside into the wall.
"Ok, that's enough for the day. Just remember to keep yourself centered and you should be able to throw a decent punch." I nodded and we started to walk out of the alley towards the lodging house.
"So Jack, I'm just curious. Why wouldn't you teach me to fight before?" It took a few minutes for him to respond.
"Because I didn't want you to think you would be able to take on the Delancy brothers. What I'm teaching you is just a few simple moves that could help you get out of a sticky situation with one person. I hear stories every day about girls who think they could take on the Delancy's or some other group of guys because some punk taught them a little bit of self defense. Do you know what happens to those girls? They're pulverized. They get ripped apart. The Delancy's may be stupid sometimes, but they are strong tough guys and no matter what I teach you, you can't take 'em on by yourself. I didn't want you to learn a bit of stuff, mouth off to them and then get beat down. So if you want these lessons to continue, you gotta promise me that you won't go after them or any other guy. You keep yourself out of dangerous situations or these lessons stop today, alright?" I looked at him.
"Ok, I promise." The rest of the walk was silent. Secretly I had to admire Jack. He was quite the leader. He always seemed to have a reason for something, and he always seemed to think things out. He treated everyone fairly. He was quite the guy. My only hope at that point was that I didn't disappoint him.