Chapter Seven
Disclaimer: The newsies belong to Disney, the original characters belong to their creators, and the plot belongs to me. "All That Jazz" is from Chicago, by John Kander and Fred Ebb; Oklahoma! is by the collective genius that is Rodgers and Hammerstein; and "A Little Fall of Rain" and "Do You Hear the People Sing?" are from Les Miserables which is by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, with English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer.
After practice was over, the newsies and members of Adrenaline regrouped in the studio lobby where they had gathered earlier that morning. The intermediate and advanced groups both seemed very tired but also fairly cheerful. In the beginner's group, however, the teachers' expressions ranged from vaguely amused to downright exasperated, and the students mostly looked exhausted, sore, and hungry.
"Daniel, when do we get to eat?" Spot whined. "I'm starving, and she," Spot paused to glare at Fighter, "wouldn't let me go to the vending machines or nothing."
"Anything," Janet commented.
"What?" Spot wondered, turning to stare at her.
"Anything," Janet repeated softly. "You should have said, 'She wouldn't let me go to the vending machines or anything.'"
Spot rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Can we eat now?"
"Yep," Daniel said. "All of you newsies are going to eat lunch here at the studio, and then this afternoon you'll have singing lessons. And school."
Dutchy groaned.
"I thought you liked singing, Dutchy," Daniel commented.
"I do like singing," Dutchy said. "I don't like school."
"Too bad; it's required by law. But I do have a special treat for all of you tonight. For the Adrenaline members, too." The teenagers in the room stopped conversing to listen to Daniel. "At the suggestion of Skittery, we've reserved a movie theatre for the night. You're all invited to watch two movies together, followed by a snack of apple pie a la mode in the dormitory cafeteria."
Pie Eater cringed automatically. "Yay!" Snipeshooter exclaimed. "Hey, Pie, do you like your apple pie with ice cream? Maybe you should give Pie Eater two slices of pie, Daniel, since he likes to eat pie so much—"
"Shut up!" Pie Eater shouted suddenly, and everyone in the room turned to stare. Swifty slowly started applauding, and soon the other newsies and a few of the dancers joined in. Both Pie Eater and Snipeshooter blushed.
"What movies do we get to see?" Cat asked, effectively changing the subject.
"It's a surprise," Daniel grinned. "And maybe we should change the snack to chocolate layer cake," he added under his breath.
"Oh, and dancers, remember that we have rehearsal this afternoon for the Showcase," Nikki added as the members of Adrenaline began to pack their stuff into their bags and head for the studio doors. Unlike the newsies, they had arrived at the studio separately, carpooling or taking public transportation.
"What's the Showcase?" Bumlets wondered.
"It's like a mini-recital just for Adrenaline," Alaska explained. "It takes place around Halloween. We perform all of this year's new dance competition routines, plus some of us do solos or small group dances."
"You're all invited to come, of course," Nikki said. "So, everybody got that? Be at the dance studio by 3:00 this afternoon or you'll be doing push-ups. Lots of push-ups. And possibly some jumping jacks, too. Maybe a few sit-ups." Nikki left the studio, followed by her students.
"See you at the movie tonight, Davey," Shakes said with a wink as she bounced out the door.
"Davey?" Spot teased.
"Shut up."
* * *
For the newsies, lunch was followed by singing lessons, which were followed by school, which was followed by an early supper, which was followed by an hour at the dorms to rest and get ready for the movies. Then the newsies piled back onto a bus and were driven to a nearby movie theatre. As they climbed off of the bus, the members of Adrenaline were just arriving, in cars or on foot.
"Davey, Davey, Da-vey!" Shakes sang out excitedly, climbing out of the backseat of Sparks's car.
"It sounds like she's calling a dog," Sparks murmured to Sapphy and Ali, who both began laughing hysterically.
David blushed and walked over to Shakes, looking rather embarrassed. "You called?" he asked quietly.
"Uh-huh," Shakes said, hopping up and down on one foot and grinning. "You're sitting with me. And Sapphy and Racetrack."
Hearing his name, Racetrack joined the group. "What am I doing?"
"You're sitting with Sapphy. 'Cause she likes you."
"I never said that!" Sapphy exclaimed, playfully slapping Shakes, her face turning an attractive shade of scarlet.
"You did, too," Shakes corrected, oblivious to Sapphy's embarrassment. "In the car on the way here, right after I said that I liked Davey and Sparks said she liked—"
Sparks put her hand firmly over the hyperactive fifteen-year-old's mouth. "I said that I liked movies, right Shakes?"
Shakes shook her head 'no'. "Uh-uh, oo ed oo iked ih eek," she mumbled from behind Sparks's hand.
"No, I didn't Shakes-y darling," Sparks said, gritting her teeth. "I said that I like movies. Remember now?"
Shakes nodded, and Sparks released her. "Come on, Davey," Shakes said, grabbing the boy's hand. "Let's go in the theatre and find a seat far away from Sparks. She's grumpy today." His face still bright pink, David obediently followed Shakes into the theatre.
"Uh, well, I guess we're supposed to sit with them, right?" Racetrack asked Sapphy, trying to make conversation.
"Oh, yeah," Sapphy said, recovering quickly from her embarrassment at Shakes's earlier comment. "Let's go." They went into the theatre together also, leaving eighteen newsies, fourteen dancers, one Daniel, and one Nikki in the parking lot.
Dutchy and Moocher were continuing their earlier conversation, enthusiastically discussing chocolate shops and Dance Dance Revolution. Lute had begun telling Bumlets, Snitch, Itey, and some of the other newsies stories of Alaska's sleep-singing adventures, with Alaska standing by to correct Lute's exaggerations. ("I did not sing all of 'All That Jazz' in my sleep! Just the first verse…") Specs and Jake added to this story-telling extravaganza by giving a brilliant imitation of Bumlets performing "Hey Ya!" in his sleep the previous night. Seeing this, Daniel quickly herded the group into the movie theatre. ("We don't want you boys getting arrested for indecent exposure…")
The others soon followed, but as Ireland was walking into the theatre, she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her back to the parking lot.
"Mush?" she questioned. They stood, facing each other, just outside the double doors of the theatre.
"I…uh…I just wanted to thank you for giving me that granola bar today," Mush began nervously. "And I wanted to tell you that you're a really good dancer. And I, uh, I wanted to ask you to sit with me tonight. Alone. Well, I mean, together, but, uh, separate from the others. So that we could talk, or…whatever."
Mush's voice trailed off, and Ireland stared at him in surprise. She hadn't realized… "Sure. I'd like that." They walked into the theatre together and found a seat near the back, apart from the others.
"Now that everyone's here," Daniel said, glancing pointedly at the back of the theatre. "I'll tell you what movies we'll be seeing. We'll start off with Oklahoma!, a rousing tale of hope, heartache, and happiness in the heartland, choreographed by the wonderful Agnes de Mille. You newsies may recognize its opening song from this morning.
"It will be followed by a special screening of Les Miserables's Tenth Anniversary Concert. It features all the beloved songs and characters of Les Mis, along with a special, never-seen-on-television, Broadway footage. Feel free to sing along!"
"He sounds like an infomercial!" Zodiac commented to Alex, who giggled.
The opening scene of Oklahoma! soon filled the movie screen, and the female members of Adrenaline began singing along with "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'".
"They're sure loud," Jack muttered, to no one in particular.
"You get used to it," Twist replied, the happiness of the fifteen singing girls surrounding him making him feel more accepting than usual toward this arrogant, conceited non-dancer.
"They don't know all the songs in this movie, do they?" Jack asked hopefully.
"Of course they do," Twist replied, grinning. "Most of them know the lyrics for Les Miserables, too. Raven and Trish do a stunning rendition of 'A Little Fall of Rain'." Jack stared at Twist in horror for a few seconds before returning his eyes to the screen and resolutely covering his ears.
* * *
Sure enough, the girls sang straight through Oklahoma!, with some of the more musically inclined newsies joining in occasionally. The sing-along continued on through the Les Mis concert, and Trish and Raven's duet in the second act was as beautiful as ever, if not exactly sung in the same key as Marius and Eponine.
After both movies had finished, everyone drove to the dormitory where they enjoyed a snack of chocolate layer cake ("But where's the pie, Pie?"). Daniel was just getting ready to send the newsies to bed and the dancers home when Sapphy climbed onto a cafeteria table.
"Come on, everyone, let's have one more song! Please, Daniel?" Sapphy pouted adorably.
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Sapphy."
Sapphy grinned happily. "Do you hear the people sing?" she crooned. "Singing the songs of angry men? Everybody!"
"It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!
"When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums,
"There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!"
AN: I must confess that I have never actually seen Les Miserables, but I have watched the Tenth Anniversary Concert three times in the last two days, as there are thirty inches of snow on the ground, the wind chill is below zero, and we had less than two full days of school this week. I have, however, seen both Oklahoma! and Chicago many times. Not sure what I'll do for next chapter…I'm sure I'll think of something. Reviews appreciated!
Shout-outs!
Cat – Thanks for the review!
Sparks – Thanks for the review! Here's your update!
Scout73 – Actually, I got my newsie cap from an American Girl catalogue, but I'm sure some other store would carry them…maybe look on Amazon? Thanks for reviewing!
Frogger – Aw, you were concerned? About me? (Or the story?) Actually, I've never played DDR before…seems that 90% of the people who have become addicted. Thanks for the review!
Ireland – I agree: "Memory" is a much better song than "Hey Ya!". And, yes, owning a line of chocolate shops and/or being an extra in Newsies (and meeting Gene Kelly!) would both be awesome. Thanks for reviewing!
ershey – I e-mailed you about dedicating a luminaria for my grandpa, but in case you didn't get that message, I would definitely appreciate having him remembered in that way. I have seen the luminarias at Relay for Life, and they're so beautiful. Thanks for the review!
Clips – At my school, the number of projects seems to vary with what grade you're in. I seem to be in a project-heavy grade this year (yuck). Thanks for reviewing!
Sapphy – I've never actually played DDR before…but it's amazing how many of my readers are addicted to it… Thanks for the hug, Sapphy---I needed that. Lots of love to you!
Matchin' Laces – Your dog can pitch match while howling? Awesome…wish mine could do that! Thanks for the review!
Randy - * yeah,goaheadandbreakafewofSpot'sbones---mightdeflatehisegoabit *
Janet – Thanks for all the nice stuff you said about my grandpa. It helped a lot. I'm glad I got your character right. This chapter had so many people in it that I didn't get to spend much time on any one individual character, but I will probably split them into groups again so that I can give each original character more attention. Thanks for sending in a review!
