wOOt! My first shout-outs! Allrighty!! Let's see if I c'n do this!!
Brownie/Melody: First of all, to youse, because youse my buddie! teehee. I'm cool. NO. I'M NOT. hehe thanx for all your encouragement meine freundin!! hehe and heah's your favorite jack quote (per'aps) T'ankies for all da reviews! *hands you a bag of animal crackers and whispers* they're the good kind BrokenShells: Augh! long time, yes, I know, but I don't usually do shout outs (does it show?? *looks all around*) but thanks for being a fan from the beginning!! *mwah* sosweet22: Mmmm thankies! I'se so happy. hope you've liked the new chaptahs. ;) dey is just foah youse (ok, you caught me, I'm lyin'. I like to write. *grins*) MiseryLovesCompany: hehe. I know. Spot is so.. Spot-like. But dat's why I luv him. *sighs* Now let's see if I c'n get Jack to be. Jack-like. and the rest of everyone to be like themselves VballChik: wOOt! youse came! I luv you! read moah! maharaja.. (wow. that was supposed to be mwahaha. somewhere along the lines it deteriorated.) VENT!!! Melanie: *gives you a cookie* look, good chill'un.. youse came befoah Molly. *grumbles* shows how into my writing she is.. *pats your head* you'll get it eventually, kid. hell, I'm still woikin' on it. :) pmochizuki: hehe t'anks.. glad people like my story! *ish relieved* but I can't tell yas who she falls for. that'd ruin it. well, kinda. the ending's still a big ol' surprise (even my head honcho Brownie doesn't know. hehe) Alias19: wOOt! go people. I just randomly picked a name. it fell outta me 'ead. whoa. I went British.
By the way, does anyone know how to get the bold an italics and stuff to work in here? I'm posting out of MS Works, so. I'm confuzzled!!!
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CHAPTER SIX
The papers did get sold. And faster than she had thought. Annalise supposed she should have been paying attention to the two boys (The second one she had learned through following them got called 'Mush', though she supposed that had to have been some kind of nickname. Who calls their kid 'Mush'?), as she would be doing this tomorrow if all went well, she found herself too nervous. 'Blink' sold his paper, got his penny for it, and looks towards her and 'Mush'. "C'mon."
'Mush' jumped forward to follow, and she came soon after that, questioning, "Where're we going?"
'Mush' gave her a sidelong glance as he hurried along to keep up with his friend. They stepped off a street corner, splashed through the mud to the next sidewalk, and jumped up again before he answered. "To Tibby's. It's a dinah type thing. All us meet up dere when we's done sellin'."
They turned into an alley and came out into the sunlight on the other side when she spotted the place they were headed for across the street. And she could see lots of boys through the windows in front. Laughing, talking, eating. and some even looked to be playing a game of cards. She had paused a moment to take it in, bust now realized that the two newsies had begun to move off without her. 'Blink' turned around and called, "C'mon, hurry up! Youse gonna get run ovah standin' in th'street gawkin'!"
Annalise picked up her dirty and sodden skirts and hurried after them, falling in step just as they went through the door.
The restaurant was in an uproar. If it looked busy from the outside, inside there was nothing less than a deafening roar of chattering and laughter from the congregations at the tables. The card game, she found out, was poker, dealt by a shorter boy who looked to be of Italian descent. He was smoking a cigar and laughing at the others at the table who were losing to him. A group of younger boys in the corner were having a 'duel', shouting loudly and groaning as someone would 'die'. It suddenly grew quiet, though, as one boy yelled over the crowd, "'ey! Whatt're you doin' bringin' a goil in heah!?" All eyes turned to Annalise, staring and suddenly silent, as she shifted uncomfortably. This must be that Jack they were talking about. Face under the brown hair was scowling, and she could catch a glimpse of long pajamas under his day shirt that were either pink or an extremely faded red.
Mush yelled back, though there wasn't really any need since it was quiet enough to hear a fly buzzing through the air, "She's gotta see Jack! Wheah is he?"
The sound of the door opening and closing behind her and a voice from a boy she couldn't see answered, "Who'se gotta see me?" Relief flooded her face. So the mean kid in pink wasn't Jack after all. She turned around to face the real leader of the Manhattan newsies, as 'Blink' pushed her forward slightly in a playful manner and answered, "Her."
"A GOIL!!!" There were several yells of 'Hey, shut up Skittery!' and 'Glum and dumb!' as the newsie who had spoken before was shoved back down into his chair.
Annalise stared at him as the older boy looked at 'Blink', a slight smirk playing over his features. A red bandana was tied around his neck, and there was a cowboy hat resting against his beck, held on by a cord. He had medium-length brown hair with a hint of a golden coloring present as well, which fit his face perfectly. His eyes were brown as well, and kind, laughing as he glanced over at her and she blushed, suddenly afraid to open her mouth. All that would come out was unintelligible mumbles. Luckily he saved her by questioning 'Blink', a note of scolding in his voice, "An' does "her" gotta name?"
The blonde haired boy and the one called 'Mush' looked at each other, sheepish grins on their faces, realizing they hadn't ever bothered to ask. "Uhhh. well.y'see Cowboy."
"It's Annalise."
The cowboy looked over at her, smiling in a way that was somehow arrogant and trust-capturing at the same time. "Annalise, eh? Well Annalise..." He took her arm without asking and led her to a mostly deserted table in the corner as the other boys looked on with interest. "...step inside my office an' tell me what I'se can do." They sat down at the small table across from each other, a small boy deserting Jack's chair so he could sit down. "So tell me, what brings you heah, Anna?"
She hesitates for a second, deciding she ought to start at the beginning. "Well, I came off the ship over across the bridge."
He smiled slightly. "In Brooklyn."
"Yeah, in Brookyln, I guess, since that's what everyone's been calling it. So I was wandering around looking at everything, and then it got dark..."
He finished this statement easily. "...an' you got mugged."
She gazed at him with an odd mixture of adoration, thankfulness, and disbelief. "Well, yeah! How did you know?"
He leans back in his chair, putting the back of it against the window and shrugs slightly. "Dat's what happens in Brooklyn." The waiter now approached them, seeing Jack had come in, asking if he would like anything. 'Cowboy' looks over at her. "Youse want somethin' to drink?"
She hated to have him using his hard-earned money on her, but it had been a long time since she had something clean and in a glass to drink. She shifts slightly in the chair. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble."
"Nah, no trouble. Whatt'll you have?"
"Just water'll be fine." she says, knowing that if it wasn't free, it wouldn't cost him much.
"An' a Coke for me." The waiter nods and strides back to the kitchen, stepping over and around groups of boys on the floor. Jack watches him go, then his eyes move back to Annalise. "So what happened after that?"
"I didn't do much the first couple of days. Just the usual I guess. Looking for a job. I slept in an alley."
Although sleeping on the streets wasn't a new concept to him, Jack flashed her a concerned look. He didn't think it was right for a girl to be put out like that. "For how long?"
She momentarily burst out of her shyness, crying, "For three whole nights! It was awful! And no place would hire me, and I didn't have any food..." she whined, too upset over the whole ordeal to even care she was whining.
Jack cut her off. "So you came to me?"
"Yeah! Well, no... I ran into this other boy first. He was laughing at me for sleeping in an alley. So I asked him where he got his money for a place to stay and he said he was a newsie, but I couldn't be one with him, so he sent me here and said that you'd."
"Whoa! Slow down, goil. youse gonna fry me ears!" He laughed, then questioned, "He said I could make you a newsie?"
"Can you?" Annalise countered hopefully.
He pauses for a moment, chewing on his lip slightly as he thought, face screwed up. For a moment she thought he was going to turn her down as well. "Uhhh... well, y'see... we ain't nevah had a goil befoah..." He looked at the rapidly fading hope in her eyes and went on quickly, "...but do ya know what t'do?"
"Sell the papers?" she questioned hopefully.
He grins at that. "You need some trainin'... but shoah."
"You'll let me?!" she asked excitedly, nearly jumping out of her chair before she realized she was acting stupid and he'd probably take back what he said. So she calmed herself down.
He's still grinning, and actually laughs a little at her excitement and surprise. "'coise... ain't gonna make you stahve..."
"Oh God, thank you so much. you don't know how much this means to me..."
He holds up a hand to stop her. "No problem. An' one moah thing... 'dis uddah boy... he was short, blonde, gotta black cane wid' him?"
She nods. Jack sighed and shook his head from side to side, the longish brown hair falling into his face.
"Dat Spot Conlon's gotta lotta noive."
Brownie/Melody: First of all, to youse, because youse my buddie! teehee. I'm cool. NO. I'M NOT. hehe thanx for all your encouragement meine freundin!! hehe and heah's your favorite jack quote (per'aps) T'ankies for all da reviews! *hands you a bag of animal crackers and whispers* they're the good kind BrokenShells: Augh! long time, yes, I know, but I don't usually do shout outs (does it show?? *looks all around*) but thanks for being a fan from the beginning!! *mwah* sosweet22: Mmmm thankies! I'se so happy. hope you've liked the new chaptahs. ;) dey is just foah youse (ok, you caught me, I'm lyin'. I like to write. *grins*) MiseryLovesCompany: hehe. I know. Spot is so.. Spot-like. But dat's why I luv him. *sighs* Now let's see if I c'n get Jack to be. Jack-like. and the rest of everyone to be like themselves VballChik: wOOt! youse came! I luv you! read moah! maharaja.. (wow. that was supposed to be mwahaha. somewhere along the lines it deteriorated.) VENT!!! Melanie: *gives you a cookie* look, good chill'un.. youse came befoah Molly. *grumbles* shows how into my writing she is.. *pats your head* you'll get it eventually, kid. hell, I'm still woikin' on it. :) pmochizuki: hehe t'anks.. glad people like my story! *ish relieved* but I can't tell yas who she falls for. that'd ruin it. well, kinda. the ending's still a big ol' surprise (even my head honcho Brownie doesn't know. hehe) Alias19: wOOt! go people. I just randomly picked a name. it fell outta me 'ead. whoa. I went British.
By the way, does anyone know how to get the bold an italics and stuff to work in here? I'm posting out of MS Works, so. I'm confuzzled!!!
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~! ~!~!~
CHAPTER SIX
The papers did get sold. And faster than she had thought. Annalise supposed she should have been paying attention to the two boys (The second one she had learned through following them got called 'Mush', though she supposed that had to have been some kind of nickname. Who calls their kid 'Mush'?), as she would be doing this tomorrow if all went well, she found herself too nervous. 'Blink' sold his paper, got his penny for it, and looks towards her and 'Mush'. "C'mon."
'Mush' jumped forward to follow, and she came soon after that, questioning, "Where're we going?"
'Mush' gave her a sidelong glance as he hurried along to keep up with his friend. They stepped off a street corner, splashed through the mud to the next sidewalk, and jumped up again before he answered. "To Tibby's. It's a dinah type thing. All us meet up dere when we's done sellin'."
They turned into an alley and came out into the sunlight on the other side when she spotted the place they were headed for across the street. And she could see lots of boys through the windows in front. Laughing, talking, eating. and some even looked to be playing a game of cards. She had paused a moment to take it in, bust now realized that the two newsies had begun to move off without her. 'Blink' turned around and called, "C'mon, hurry up! Youse gonna get run ovah standin' in th'street gawkin'!"
Annalise picked up her dirty and sodden skirts and hurried after them, falling in step just as they went through the door.
The restaurant was in an uproar. If it looked busy from the outside, inside there was nothing less than a deafening roar of chattering and laughter from the congregations at the tables. The card game, she found out, was poker, dealt by a shorter boy who looked to be of Italian descent. He was smoking a cigar and laughing at the others at the table who were losing to him. A group of younger boys in the corner were having a 'duel', shouting loudly and groaning as someone would 'die'. It suddenly grew quiet, though, as one boy yelled over the crowd, "'ey! Whatt're you doin' bringin' a goil in heah!?" All eyes turned to Annalise, staring and suddenly silent, as she shifted uncomfortably. This must be that Jack they were talking about. Face under the brown hair was scowling, and she could catch a glimpse of long pajamas under his day shirt that were either pink or an extremely faded red.
Mush yelled back, though there wasn't really any need since it was quiet enough to hear a fly buzzing through the air, "She's gotta see Jack! Wheah is he?"
The sound of the door opening and closing behind her and a voice from a boy she couldn't see answered, "Who'se gotta see me?" Relief flooded her face. So the mean kid in pink wasn't Jack after all. She turned around to face the real leader of the Manhattan newsies, as 'Blink' pushed her forward slightly in a playful manner and answered, "Her."
"A GOIL!!!" There were several yells of 'Hey, shut up Skittery!' and 'Glum and dumb!' as the newsie who had spoken before was shoved back down into his chair.
Annalise stared at him as the older boy looked at 'Blink', a slight smirk playing over his features. A red bandana was tied around his neck, and there was a cowboy hat resting against his beck, held on by a cord. He had medium-length brown hair with a hint of a golden coloring present as well, which fit his face perfectly. His eyes were brown as well, and kind, laughing as he glanced over at her and she blushed, suddenly afraid to open her mouth. All that would come out was unintelligible mumbles. Luckily he saved her by questioning 'Blink', a note of scolding in his voice, "An' does "her" gotta name?"
The blonde haired boy and the one called 'Mush' looked at each other, sheepish grins on their faces, realizing they hadn't ever bothered to ask. "Uhhh. well.y'see Cowboy."
"It's Annalise."
The cowboy looked over at her, smiling in a way that was somehow arrogant and trust-capturing at the same time. "Annalise, eh? Well Annalise..." He took her arm without asking and led her to a mostly deserted table in the corner as the other boys looked on with interest. "...step inside my office an' tell me what I'se can do." They sat down at the small table across from each other, a small boy deserting Jack's chair so he could sit down. "So tell me, what brings you heah, Anna?"
She hesitates for a second, deciding she ought to start at the beginning. "Well, I came off the ship over across the bridge."
He smiled slightly. "In Brooklyn."
"Yeah, in Brookyln, I guess, since that's what everyone's been calling it. So I was wandering around looking at everything, and then it got dark..."
He finished this statement easily. "...an' you got mugged."
She gazed at him with an odd mixture of adoration, thankfulness, and disbelief. "Well, yeah! How did you know?"
He leans back in his chair, putting the back of it against the window and shrugs slightly. "Dat's what happens in Brooklyn." The waiter now approached them, seeing Jack had come in, asking if he would like anything. 'Cowboy' looks over at her. "Youse want somethin' to drink?"
She hated to have him using his hard-earned money on her, but it had been a long time since she had something clean and in a glass to drink. She shifts slightly in the chair. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble."
"Nah, no trouble. Whatt'll you have?"
"Just water'll be fine." she says, knowing that if it wasn't free, it wouldn't cost him much.
"An' a Coke for me." The waiter nods and strides back to the kitchen, stepping over and around groups of boys on the floor. Jack watches him go, then his eyes move back to Annalise. "So what happened after that?"
"I didn't do much the first couple of days. Just the usual I guess. Looking for a job. I slept in an alley."
Although sleeping on the streets wasn't a new concept to him, Jack flashed her a concerned look. He didn't think it was right for a girl to be put out like that. "For how long?"
She momentarily burst out of her shyness, crying, "For three whole nights! It was awful! And no place would hire me, and I didn't have any food..." she whined, too upset over the whole ordeal to even care she was whining.
Jack cut her off. "So you came to me?"
"Yeah! Well, no... I ran into this other boy first. He was laughing at me for sleeping in an alley. So I asked him where he got his money for a place to stay and he said he was a newsie, but I couldn't be one with him, so he sent me here and said that you'd."
"Whoa! Slow down, goil. youse gonna fry me ears!" He laughed, then questioned, "He said I could make you a newsie?"
"Can you?" Annalise countered hopefully.
He pauses for a moment, chewing on his lip slightly as he thought, face screwed up. For a moment she thought he was going to turn her down as well. "Uhhh... well, y'see... we ain't nevah had a goil befoah..." He looked at the rapidly fading hope in her eyes and went on quickly, "...but do ya know what t'do?"
"Sell the papers?" she questioned hopefully.
He grins at that. "You need some trainin'... but shoah."
"You'll let me?!" she asked excitedly, nearly jumping out of her chair before she realized she was acting stupid and he'd probably take back what he said. So she calmed herself down.
He's still grinning, and actually laughs a little at her excitement and surprise. "'coise... ain't gonna make you stahve..."
"Oh God, thank you so much. you don't know how much this means to me..."
He holds up a hand to stop her. "No problem. An' one moah thing... 'dis uddah boy... he was short, blonde, gotta black cane wid' him?"
She nods. Jack sighed and shook his head from side to side, the longish brown hair falling into his face.
"Dat Spot Conlon's gotta lotta noive."