Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies. They are the property of Disney. And so
are the girl New York newsies. They belong to their owners, except for
Fantasy. She belongs to me. As do all the Chicago newsies. :) So please
don't steal 'um.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fantasy, Sneaks, Racetrack, Skittery, and Specs followed Song, past buildings and people. She brought them to some water.
"That's Lake Michigan." Song said. "In case you didn't know. And in here is where we sleep." She pointed to a run-down building with three floors. "It used to be a warehouse, but they got a new building, and we got this. We sleep up on the third floor, and the second floor is where Snoot lives. The kitchen's there, too, and we have a kinda sitting room. We're usually in there at night. but during the day, we're on the first floor. That's where I'm taking you. And that's the only part of the building you're allowed in. I told you where everything was, so there's not reason to go snooping."
"Umm. who's Snoot?" Sneaks asked.
Song glared at her, but she seemed to glare at all of them. "He owns the building, and he takes care of us. Now come on, they're waiting."
Racetrack went first, and everyone followed. They walked in through a small door and into a cobwebby hallway. Song led them past closed doors and grimy windows until they reached the end of the hall, and a door.
"You wait here; I'll go tell them you're here. I'll be right back." Song said, and she opened the door and slipped through it, closing it before anyone could see anything.
"Well, dis is weird." Skittery said.
"Wondah why they're heah." Fantasy said, looking around. "It's not da nicest."
Specs shrugged. "No clue. How long do ya think it'll take? I wanna be back for dinnah."
"Do ya only think about foodt?" Racetrack asked.
"No." Specs said.
"Oh, right. Ya think about Lavendah, too." Racetrack said.
Specs blushed. "No I don't!"
"Wait, did I miss somethin' heah?" Sneaks asked.
"Yeah, Specs heah likes Lavendah." Racetrack said, laughing.
"Race. I don't. I can't BELEIVE you." Specs said.
"You like Lavendah?!?!" Fantasy asked, laughing.
Specs hit her, still blushing. "So what if I do?"
"Little Specs likes Lavendah!! I can't believe dat!" Skittery said. "But ya know what I really can't believe? Dat ya told RACE."
"Don't know why I did." Specs said, glaring at Racetrack. "Look, goils, don't tell her."
Sneaks smiled. "Don't worry, we won't."
Specs turned on Skittery. "And you- you bettah not tell ANYONE."
Suddenly, the door banged open.
"Are you ready?" Song asked.
"Yeah." Skittery said, and they all walked out of the hallway and into a large room full of boxes. As they walked farther in, they could see stairs going up to the second floor, and they could see a group of people standing near the bottom of the stairs, waiting for them. Song brought them to stand right in front of the Chicago newsboys and newsgirls. They were all standing, except for one boy, who was sitting down on a box in the middle of the rest.
"This is Racetrack, Skittery, Specs, Sneaks, and Fantasy. "Song pointed to them all and then went to stand next to a girl.
The boy in the middle stood up and looked at them silently. After a few minutes, he looked back at the Chicago newsies and smiled. "I'm Cricket." He turned to look at the five newsies. "And I'm the leader."
Race stepped forward, seeing as how Jack wasn't there. "Ise Racetrack."
"Specs."
"Skittery."
"Sneaks."
"Fantasy."
Cricket nodded. He was a little short to be a leader; maybe about 5'4, but he had muscles. He had light blond hair and brown eyes. You could also see a scar down the right side of his cheek. But what really stood out above all else was the brown bow tie around his neck. It didn't seem to match with his gray button-up shirt and the navy blue vest that went over it, or the black pants. He didn't seem to notice that we were all staring at his bow-tie; he took a watch out of his vest pocket and looked at the time, then put it back.
One of the boys stepped up to them. He had black hair and hazel eyes that looked angry. He was tall, and had pale skin, making him look like he has never been out in the sun. He was wearing a lot of layers of clothing, too: a blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the top four buttons unbuttoned, showing his forest green, long-sleeved undershirt with all the buttons unbuttoned. He was wearing a gray vest that looked like it had elephants on it, and he had black pants on, and a dark gray cabby hat cocked to the side on his head. He glanced over at Cricket, who had sat back down, and then put a forced smile on his face. "I'm Cow O'Leary. And I'm second in charge." He pointed to the boy standing on one side of Cricket. He was tall and had a lot of muscles. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes, and he smiled. He rolled up the sleeves of his red shirt and pushed his black cabby hat further up his head. "And that's Rubber. He's not too smart, but if you even THINK of making fun of him, I SWEAR I will KILL you."
"Cow!" Cricket warned.
Cow stopped yelling, but he glared at the five newsies, fists clenched.
"What's wrong wit you? Why'd ya think we'd make fun of him!" Specs asked.
"Because."
But Cricket cut him off again. "Cow, come on. Someone else, introduce yourself."
This time a girl stepped forward as Cow moved back to his place beside Cricket.
The girl had curly red hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a light pink button-up shirt with the top three buttons unbuttoned. Her black cabby hat and black pants matched, and she was wearing a ring on her right hand.
"I'm Claddagh." She said with an Irish accent. "And I don't know how ye had the courage to come here." She glanced back at Cricket. "But I'm not to say anything more." She walked back to where she had been standing before.
One by one, the other newsboys and girls came up and introduced themselves. They all seemed to hate the five newsies, and none of them knew why. There was one more person with an Irish accent, Brogue. And the only two people who seemed to feel in the least bit sorry for them were two girls; Prayer and Hope. When they were all finished, Cricket stood back up.
"Thanks for coming, you know the way out."
Fantasy and Sneaks looked at each other in surprise. Why had they all seemed to hate them?
"Why do I get da feelin' ya all hate us?" Race asked.
"Because, you ruined everything for us!" Cow shouted, moving towards them. But Cricket held him back.
"Not now." Cricket said calmly.
"We have to tell them why sometime!" Song shouted.
Cricket glared at her, and surprisingly, she shut up. "Now go, for your own good."
Race shook his head at them, and we all walked out of the building, very confused.
"I don't get it! Why do dey hate us?!" Skittery asked.
"I dunno." Fantasy said, looking back at the old warehouse. "I mean, we helped 'em, didn't we?"
"Come'on, let's just go back ta da hotel." Race said.
"Wait a second, how are we supposed ta get back?" Specs asked.
They all realized what he meant- they had no idea how to get home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And that's the end of another chapter. I hope you all liked it. It took me a LONGGGGG time. :)
But you finally get to know some of my characters. And the story will get A LOT better (hopefully), now that we know the Chicago newsies. I think the next chapter will be from their point of view- you know, the Chicago newsies? What do you think about that?
Hehehe, I love cliff-hangers!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fantasy, Sneaks, Racetrack, Skittery, and Specs followed Song, past buildings and people. She brought them to some water.
"That's Lake Michigan." Song said. "In case you didn't know. And in here is where we sleep." She pointed to a run-down building with three floors. "It used to be a warehouse, but they got a new building, and we got this. We sleep up on the third floor, and the second floor is where Snoot lives. The kitchen's there, too, and we have a kinda sitting room. We're usually in there at night. but during the day, we're on the first floor. That's where I'm taking you. And that's the only part of the building you're allowed in. I told you where everything was, so there's not reason to go snooping."
"Umm. who's Snoot?" Sneaks asked.
Song glared at her, but she seemed to glare at all of them. "He owns the building, and he takes care of us. Now come on, they're waiting."
Racetrack went first, and everyone followed. They walked in through a small door and into a cobwebby hallway. Song led them past closed doors and grimy windows until they reached the end of the hall, and a door.
"You wait here; I'll go tell them you're here. I'll be right back." Song said, and she opened the door and slipped through it, closing it before anyone could see anything.
"Well, dis is weird." Skittery said.
"Wondah why they're heah." Fantasy said, looking around. "It's not da nicest."
Specs shrugged. "No clue. How long do ya think it'll take? I wanna be back for dinnah."
"Do ya only think about foodt?" Racetrack asked.
"No." Specs said.
"Oh, right. Ya think about Lavendah, too." Racetrack said.
Specs blushed. "No I don't!"
"Wait, did I miss somethin' heah?" Sneaks asked.
"Yeah, Specs heah likes Lavendah." Racetrack said, laughing.
"Race. I don't. I can't BELEIVE you." Specs said.
"You like Lavendah?!?!" Fantasy asked, laughing.
Specs hit her, still blushing. "So what if I do?"
"Little Specs likes Lavendah!! I can't believe dat!" Skittery said. "But ya know what I really can't believe? Dat ya told RACE."
"Don't know why I did." Specs said, glaring at Racetrack. "Look, goils, don't tell her."
Sneaks smiled. "Don't worry, we won't."
Specs turned on Skittery. "And you- you bettah not tell ANYONE."
Suddenly, the door banged open.
"Are you ready?" Song asked.
"Yeah." Skittery said, and they all walked out of the hallway and into a large room full of boxes. As they walked farther in, they could see stairs going up to the second floor, and they could see a group of people standing near the bottom of the stairs, waiting for them. Song brought them to stand right in front of the Chicago newsboys and newsgirls. They were all standing, except for one boy, who was sitting down on a box in the middle of the rest.
"This is Racetrack, Skittery, Specs, Sneaks, and Fantasy. "Song pointed to them all and then went to stand next to a girl.
The boy in the middle stood up and looked at them silently. After a few minutes, he looked back at the Chicago newsies and smiled. "I'm Cricket." He turned to look at the five newsies. "And I'm the leader."
Race stepped forward, seeing as how Jack wasn't there. "Ise Racetrack."
"Specs."
"Skittery."
"Sneaks."
"Fantasy."
Cricket nodded. He was a little short to be a leader; maybe about 5'4, but he had muscles. He had light blond hair and brown eyes. You could also see a scar down the right side of his cheek. But what really stood out above all else was the brown bow tie around his neck. It didn't seem to match with his gray button-up shirt and the navy blue vest that went over it, or the black pants. He didn't seem to notice that we were all staring at his bow-tie; he took a watch out of his vest pocket and looked at the time, then put it back.
One of the boys stepped up to them. He had black hair and hazel eyes that looked angry. He was tall, and had pale skin, making him look like he has never been out in the sun. He was wearing a lot of layers of clothing, too: a blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the top four buttons unbuttoned, showing his forest green, long-sleeved undershirt with all the buttons unbuttoned. He was wearing a gray vest that looked like it had elephants on it, and he had black pants on, and a dark gray cabby hat cocked to the side on his head. He glanced over at Cricket, who had sat back down, and then put a forced smile on his face. "I'm Cow O'Leary. And I'm second in charge." He pointed to the boy standing on one side of Cricket. He was tall and had a lot of muscles. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes, and he smiled. He rolled up the sleeves of his red shirt and pushed his black cabby hat further up his head. "And that's Rubber. He's not too smart, but if you even THINK of making fun of him, I SWEAR I will KILL you."
"Cow!" Cricket warned.
Cow stopped yelling, but he glared at the five newsies, fists clenched.
"What's wrong wit you? Why'd ya think we'd make fun of him!" Specs asked.
"Because."
But Cricket cut him off again. "Cow, come on. Someone else, introduce yourself."
This time a girl stepped forward as Cow moved back to his place beside Cricket.
The girl had curly red hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a light pink button-up shirt with the top three buttons unbuttoned. Her black cabby hat and black pants matched, and she was wearing a ring on her right hand.
"I'm Claddagh." She said with an Irish accent. "And I don't know how ye had the courage to come here." She glanced back at Cricket. "But I'm not to say anything more." She walked back to where she had been standing before.
One by one, the other newsboys and girls came up and introduced themselves. They all seemed to hate the five newsies, and none of them knew why. There was one more person with an Irish accent, Brogue. And the only two people who seemed to feel in the least bit sorry for them were two girls; Prayer and Hope. When they were all finished, Cricket stood back up.
"Thanks for coming, you know the way out."
Fantasy and Sneaks looked at each other in surprise. Why had they all seemed to hate them?
"Why do I get da feelin' ya all hate us?" Race asked.
"Because, you ruined everything for us!" Cow shouted, moving towards them. But Cricket held him back.
"Not now." Cricket said calmly.
"We have to tell them why sometime!" Song shouted.
Cricket glared at her, and surprisingly, she shut up. "Now go, for your own good."
Race shook his head at them, and we all walked out of the building, very confused.
"I don't get it! Why do dey hate us?!" Skittery asked.
"I dunno." Fantasy said, looking back at the old warehouse. "I mean, we helped 'em, didn't we?"
"Come'on, let's just go back ta da hotel." Race said.
"Wait a second, how are we supposed ta get back?" Specs asked.
They all realized what he meant- they had no idea how to get home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And that's the end of another chapter. I hope you all liked it. It took me a LONGGGGG time. :)
But you finally get to know some of my characters. And the story will get A LOT better (hopefully), now that we know the Chicago newsies. I think the next chapter will be from their point of view- you know, the Chicago newsies? What do you think about that?
Hehehe, I love cliff-hangers!!!!!