Central Park seemed like a good location to sell that afternoon, and Bumlets hadn't set foot in it since he had been chased by Gabi several days ago. He had finished selling first and chose to sit down on a park bench to watch Gabi try her luck. With his help she was improving and he smiled at the quirky headlines she would come up with.
He lay back against the bench and rested his cap over his eyes, close to falling asleep to the sounds of his girl calling out headlines. There was a slight breeze in the air and it did nothing to help keep the tired newsie awake.
Gabi had finished selling her small amount of papers, since Bumlets insisted she not buy as many this time, and crept towards the bench. A wide smirk on her face, Gabi knew exactly how to wake him up. He has such a tempting hat to steal, and since he had stolen my necklace, it seems only fair to get him back, she reasoned.
Slowly Gabi reached out for his hat and as her hands neared it, she snatched it off his head quickly and darted through the trees. By this time Bumlets had awakened, and scanned the park, looking for the bandit who dare take his beloved hat. Then he saw Gabi, running as fast as she could, clutching his very hat in her hands. Chuckling, Bumlets took off after her. "Hey! Stop! That's my hat!" he shouted.
"Come get it then!" Gabi called over her shoulder. She turned to see him gaining on her and as soon as she turned back, ran right into a tree. Tumbling over, Gabi let go of Bumlets' cap as she hit the ground with a thud. "Ow," she mumbled, embarrassed.
Quickly Bumlets was at her side. "Gabi! Are ya alright?" he asked, concerned. Gently he brushed the hair from her face and examined her. She must have struck her chin, for there was a small cut that had just started dripping blood.
"I'm fine," she sighed, her pride hurt more than anything else. "Help me up, would ya?" she asked.
Obliging, Bumlets helped her up and held onto her hand. "I think we better get ya back to the lodgin' house and clean this up." Bumlets dusted off his hat and set it atop his head. "No more stealin' hats for you," he instructed.
"For a day," Gabi smirked.
Chuckling, Bumlets shook his head. "Always blazin' inta things, you are," he stated.
"Who me?" she asked innocently.
"Yes you. In fact, I'm gonna give ya a nickname, whether you like it or not," Bumlets grinned.
"And what might that be?"
"Blaze," he stated simply.
"Blaze…" Gabi repeated. "It's certainly a stretch from Gabrielle."
"And it fits you perfectly," Bumlets smirked. "Blaze," he teased.
Gabi swiped his hat off his gloating head and smiled. "All right, Blaze it is."
By the time the two were back at the lodging house, evening was well on its way. Bumlets cleaned up the wound on Gabi's chin and smiled. "Dere, not so bad after all."
"It's going to be a scar, I just know it," Gabi pouted.
"Den it'll be a nice reminder not to steal me hat no more," Bumlets replied.
Unable to hide a smile, Gabi poked his nose before darting out of the room. By the time Bumlets caught up to her, she was on the roof, watching as the stars began to come out. He took a seat besides her, his arms finding their way around her waist.
"You really like this life, Bumlets? I mean, is it better than working in a factory or something?" she asked.
Sighing, Bumlets pulled her closer. "I think it is, but the big reason is cause of the family I got here. They may not be blood-related, but we're all pretty close. Ya know, most of us Newsies, well, we're all got this tough exterior, like we're really all mean and hard. But inside, most of us are gentle, and kind, and loving. Most of us came from loving homes, or at least homes dat were loving at some point, before the drinkin', or the gamblin', or the prositutin', or the fires, or whatevah else drove us here. At some point, most of us knew the value of true love, or we found it here at the lodgin' house. Kloppman takes care of us like we were his own children. He shows us dat love."
Bumlets squeezed her hand and brought her closer, resting his chin gently atop her head. "When I was a boy, one night, I saw a thousand shootin' stars. I thought, where did they all go? I'm an orphan. Me father died before I was born, and me mother passed away when I was six years old. I used ta look for stars alone. I thought if I searched long enough, I would find them. I've been searchin' ever since."
Gabi looked up into his eyes. "And so, the little boy became a great thief. He couldn't find the stars so he stole my necklace."
Bumlets paused momentarily, kissing Gabi's forehead before continuing. "In this woild, you always fight for survival and ta just make it to dat next meal. You stand a much better chance bein' surrounded by people like the Newsies. Slowly they become yer family. All that tough stuff is just ta scare people and ta make me life easier, just as it is for Spot, or for Mayhem, or Luna."
"So you're still that little boy looking for shooting stars."
"I am a man, and now I've found the brightest star of all."
Closing her eyes, Gabi hugged him tightly, a smile across her face.
"Shh, do ya wanna wake the others up?" Laces asked, frowning. "We can't discuss this here. C'mon, let's go downstairs."
Quietly Laces, Hush, and BC made their way downstairs to the lobby. It was still quite early that morning, and not even Kloppman was up yet. Once the three had settled on the couch, BC spoke up.
"So what is this diabolical plan dat ya got in dat head of yers?" she asked.
Grinning widely, Laces leaned towards the girls to reveal her plan quietly. "I, bein' the great troublemakah dat I am, know who took Spot's slingshot…" she trailed off and let that sink in first. When the other two glared at her to continue, she obliged. "And, I know how we can have a little fun with the person who's responsible."
"Who took it?" Hush asked impatiently.
"Yeah, and how did you find out?" BC furthered.
"Well, as everyone else was watchin' Luna in her little rampage, I was watchin' the door. 'Member when dat goil, Gabi, came in?" she asked.
Hush and BC thought for a moment, and shook their heads. "I only remember what happened when she tried ta leave," Hush remarked.
"Exactly," Laces grinned. "What ya and the rest of the goils missed, was her puttin' the slingshot back by Luna's bunk."
BC shook her head. "Gabi? Of all people, Gabi took it?" she asked, baffled. "Dat goil doesn't know the consequences of her actions."
"Which is why we gotta teach her a lesson, and have some fun while doin' it," Laces snickered. "Here's the plan. We're gonna take the slingshot…"
"Us? Are you nuts?" Hush asked.
"Luna would kill us, for sure," BC offered.
"No, she won't, cause by the time she realizes it's gone, we pin the blame on Gabi. Den we can go back ta bein' the only ones around here to prank," Laces beamed. "So what do ya think?"
Shrugging their shoulders, Hush and BC complied. "Alright," they replied in unison.
"So when do we do this stealin' the slingshot thing?" BC asked.
"Before Luna gets up. We just gotta find Gabi. We'll stick it with her, den run like hell. It's gotta work."
"Hey, what about Spot?" Hush questioned. "He's sleepin' overnight here too. He's bound to find out."
"Even better that he does," Laces responded. "Den Gabi will be outta this lodgin' house even faster."
Before the three returned upstairs, they confirmed the plan with a spitshake, and climbed quietly into the bunkroom. Had Laces not kept a good eye on the whereabouts of Bumlets and Gabi, she wouldn't have known that the two lay up on the roof.
Whispering to Hush, Laces informed her that she would take the slingshot, then pass it on to BC, who could climb to the roof and place it near Gabi's resting spot. Hush would be in charge of making sure Spot knew about the missing slingshot immediately after Luna discovered it was gone.
Laces was able to snatch Spot's slingshot without much effort from the nightstand, since Luna had figured after the scene she made yesterday, no one would dare take it again. From Laces' years of being a troublemaker, she was rather good at taking things without making a sound, and proved her talent once again as she made a clean break from Luna's bunk. She passed it on to BC, who climbed up the fire escape and set it carefully next to Gabi. She descended the escape quickly and all three girls went back to bed, wide smiles on their faces. It was only a matter of time before the fun began.
"Oh! Not again!" Luna cried. "This is getting ridiculous! I ain't no warehouse where people can just borrow things when they need 'em!"
"Luna, what is it?" BC asked, feigning deep concern.
"Spot's slingshot is gone, again! Who took it? I wanna know right this very moment!" Luna threw her sheets off and waved her hands wildly above her head, frantically trying to figure out what was happening with his slingshot.
Laces nodded at Hush, and she slipped out of the room while Luna continued to stampede about. Even in the boys' room she could hear Luna screaming and couldn't help but smirk. When she reached Spot's bunk, Hush turned to a look of distress to play along with the plan.
"Spot, Spot wake up," she whispered.
"It ain't time to sell yet," he mumbled. "Go away." They sure do sell early in Manhattan.
"Spot, it's yer slingshot… it's missin'," Hush continued.
That woke the sleepy Conlon up immediately. "What? When? How did this happen?" he asked.
"Luna just found it missin'. She's askin' all the girls who took it, but nobody knows who," she answered.
Spot jumped out of bed and darted towards the girls' room, forgetting the fact that he was half-dressed. Deep down he knew that slingshot meant a lot to him, regardless of its history. Hush followed quickly behind him as the sounds of Luna's yells grew louder once they reached the girls' room.
"Luna, what happened?" Spot asked.
The girls still in their beds couldn't help but whistle at the shirtless newsie, but that was quickly silenced with a glare from Luna.
"It's gone, Spot. I'm real sorry. I woke up, and, it's... it's gone," Luna replied, baffled. "Someone must think this is real funny."
Laces knew this was her cue. Clearing her throat, she spoke up. "Say, Luna. Are all the girls here that were here last time it was taken?" she asked.
At first Luna was upset to be interrupted, but sighing, she looked around the room. "I think so…Why?"
"Cause maybe the culprit ain't in the room, now. I mean, if I stole a slingshot, I wouldn't wanna be caught in this room with ya so mad," Laces explained.
That sparked an idea in Luna's head. The only girl who had been so quick to leave the room yesterday was Gabi, and as soon as she had left, the slingshot had been recovered. "Where's that girl, Gabi?"
BC had a hard time keeping a straight face, and was glad Laces was able to keep going without smirking. "Um, well, I think she spent the night up on the roof with Bumlets."
Luna looked over towards Spot and they both headed towards the fire escape. Perhaps this new girl was the one who had been causing all the trouble in the first place.
Mayhem rolled over in bed. That girl deserves whatever she has comin'. It's her own fault if she stole it again. Still, her conscience nagged at her. After all, Gabi had been the one to save her hide from Fox two nights ago. Damnit, May, of all the times to do the right thing, it has to be now. Shaking her head at herself, Mayhem threw off her covers and walked towards the fire escape. If Gabi did have the slingshot, Mayhem had a plan.
Gabi lay peacefully in Bumlets' arms, unaware of the impending danger that was ahead of her. Neither Gabi nor Bumlets noticed when Luna and Spot were towering over them, or when Luna snatched up the slingshot that lay at Gabi's side.
"Ahem, someone owes us an explanation," Luna fumed.
Bumlets awoke to the booming voice of Luna and blinked his eyes. He kept his arms protectively around Gabi and sat up with her. "Luna? What is it?"
Holding out the slingshot, Luna couldn't believe that Bumlets didn't know what was going on. "Yer girl here has a problem with keepin' her hands off me stuff."
Gabi's eyes widened. How did she find out about it now when she had taken the slingshot two nights ago? She looked at Bumlets and matched his confused expression.
"I didn't mean to cause any trouble," Gabi explained.
"So ya did take me slingshot last night?" Spot asked, his arms crossed.
Gabi hesitated. She had taken it two days ago, not last night. "No, I didn't take it last night," she replied.
"Den why did ya just say ya didn't mean to cause any trouble? Make up yer mind!" Luna argued.
Bumlets held Gabi tighter as Luna's anger flared. He thought back to last night. She had never left his side, had she? He did remember that yesterday ago she had acted strangely, but he wasn't sure what this all meant. "Luna, just calm down. Let 'er explain," he said quietly.
Gabi took a deep breath. She had already dug herself into a hole, might as well jump in it as well. "I kind of borrowed Spot's slingshot two nights ago. I wasn't thinking, and I didn't mean any harm by it. I'm sorry to cause so much trouble. But I didn't take it last night, honest."
"Den how in the world did it get up here next ta you?" Luna asked. She was already angered that Gabi had lied to her once, but this was not going to become a nightly event. Gabi needed to learn that there were things about the newsies you never tampered with, including Spot Conlon and herself.
On the fire escape Laces, Hush, and BC were doing their best to hide snickers. They could hear Luna's voice booming over the rooftop and with Spot there as well, the three girls knew Gabi would receive a harsh punishment.
"I don't know how it got up here, honest. It wasn't here when we went to sleep, right Bumlets?" Gabi responded, looking towards him for help. Luna and Spot's glares were becoming harder and harder to manage.
"No, it wasn't, she's right. And we was up here the whole night," Bumlets agreed.
Mayhem trudged up the fire escape and nearly growled at the three snickering in her way. "I bet you three had sumptin' to do with this," she glared.
"Nah, May. We ain't stupid enough to steal his slingshot," BC replied confidently.
"Yeah, just like the time I caught ya sayin' stuff bout Leads," she muttered and pushed past the three. "Sure ya ain't stupid." If they were hanging out so close to the scene above, Mayhem figured they had to be involved.
Spot was not convinced and neither was Luna. She started pacing the roof in frustration, throwing her hands up every once in awhile as Gabi pleaded her case to Spot.
Mayhem rolled her eyes at the scene in front of her. Gabi and Bumlets were getting grilled by the two leaders and May really didn't want to get involved, but Gabi had done something for her, and that gave her the right to have the debt paid back. "Luna, Spot. Enough already. Leave the poor kids alone." Besides Dublina and Brooky, May was about the only other person to dare interrupt Luna or Spot and not give it a second thought.
Luna glared at Mayhem, who still was not fully awake. "What the hell do ya want, Powell?"
"I believe I have some information you two might wanna consider," Mayhem explained and strutted over towards the group.
"This should be rich. Go on," Spot mumbled and lit a cigarette.
"Two nights ago I went after Fox." Mayhem inwardly smirked at the expression on Luna and Spot's faces. She knew she had their full attention. "He was down by the loadin' dock, makin' some sort of shipment. I was gonna take him out, ya know, finally get him back for Leads' death. But his damn goons grabbed me before I could do some real damage and they tied me up after beatin' me bad."
Gabi hugged Bumlets close. She wasn't sure what he would think of what she had done, and was worried that he would be mad and frustrated with her. She met his gaze and sighed a little in relief when he gave her an encouraging smile.
"Damn, May, and yer still alive?" Luna asked incredulously.
Mayhem nodded her head. "Yeah, thanks to yer little troublemaker over there," she answered and motioned to Gabi. "She just happened to be out practicin' with Spot's prized toy, er, I mean possession, and she saw me. I thought for sure she would leave me there, what with the way we bitched at each other the first day, but she untied me and we both ran for it."
Both Luna and Spot had softer expressions on their faces even if they were doing their best to hide them. Bumlets had kept his attention on Gabi while listening to Mayhem speak. He wasn't sure how to take the information, if he should be angry with Gabi for not telling him, or just glad she was still alive and well.
"I was beat real bad, so we kinda made a slow getaway. Well, Fox's goons hoid us runnin' and two of his men came barrelin' after us. Turns out Gabi had yer slingshot and she used it to ward 'em off. If she hadn't taken it, I doubt I would be standin' here so early in the mornin' when I'd much rather be in bed." She would repay her debt to Gabi, but that didn't mean she had to sound happy about doing it. "And I bet that slingshot got up there this mornin' cause of a bunch of well-known pranksters." Mayhem nodded to Gabi, who nodded back, a grateful expression on her face.
With that Mayhem turned around and headed back towards the escape. She climbed down slowly, a wide grin on her face. Laces, Hush, and BC were always stealing Race's pocket watch, which made him moody. She couldn't stand her boyfriend's moods. She passed by the three girls and smirked.
"Well, I guess this changes things," Luna sighed. "Gabi, I don't want to have to go through this anymore, ya got that?"
Gabi nodded her head quickly. "Yes, Luna. I swear. I won't take his slingshot ever again."
"And that goes for the rest of the newsies items, 'cept Bumlets' hat," she smiled slightly. "Just watch what ya do. Try thinkin' before actin' for once. And ya know, I'm sure Mayhem appreciates you savin' her ass more den she'll ever admit. She don't make her way up a fire escape after bein' beatin' bad for just anyone."
Spot rested his hand atop Luna's shoulder and smiled. "Shall we take care of the other three now?" he asked, more amused than anything else by the situation.
Nodding, Luna went to place his slingshot in her back pocket, but was surprised when he took it instead.
"Um, maybe I did miss it more den I thought," he offered as an explanation and handled it gently, remembering how if felt to hold the slingshot.
Smiling, Luna walked with him towards the brink of the roof and cleared her throat. Laces! Hush! BC! Bunkroom, now!"
Laces, Hush, and BC had received a very stern warning from Luna, since they refused to own up to planning the stolen slingshot episode. While Hush and BC were mainly upset at Laces for her plan in the first place and refused to join her in any future schemes for awhile, Laces still had one last idea to act upon.
Late that afternoon, Laces scoured the streets for another to do her task. She would ask one of the boys on the street to give a police officer some information so that nothing could be directly linked to her. Finding a shoe shiner, Laces informed the boy of Gabi's whereabouts, gave him some food she had stolen from a nearby cart for his deed, and pointed him in the direction of the nearest police officer.
Her plan being carried out, Laces ran back to the lodging house, grinning as if she had sold a record number of papers.