~*~
POV: Striker
Day: December 25, 1900
Time: 9:12 PM
~*~
I wasn't too harsh, was I? Of course not… I know they're my friends. They are. I just needed to get all of that off of my chest, even though showing them, or telling, what they didn't want to hear. But it is Christmas and just one silly argument isn't going to ruin everything.
Right?
"Emu! What'd you have to do that for? I was perfectly content--," shouted Stretch, barging in through the girls' bunkroom.
What? Did Emu trick Stretch this time?
"Did you see how he was looking at me? I mean, it's okay if it's out on the streets – it's only a glance, but noooo… I live with him!" said Emu, landing with a plop on her bunk bed as she buried her face in her pillow and groaned.
Ohhh. I see.
"Swifty, right?" I asked. Besdies, Who else would be following Emu? That, and it was a well-known fact.
"Who else would it be about?" said Stretch, sarcastically. "Santa Claus?"
"Well, that's an interesting image… but anyways, what'd he do now? Smile?"
"Stare! That's what he did!" exclaimed Emu, sitting up from her bed. "And… and… slide over to where I was sitting!"
"You make it sound like he's a snake, Emu! He's not that bad, y'know! Just gotta get to know him better…"
Seeing the two of them together probably won't be that bad if you think about it…
"That's easy for you to say! You hang out with the guy!"
"All the more reason to get to know him! He passes MY standards!"
Erm… not that I look at him that way!
"Then why don't YOU--."
"How about this?" interrupted Stretch. "I have an idea!"
"What? Glue them together?"
"Striker!"
"I'm just joking!"
That'd be pretty funny though… but I don't want to put Emu in all that misery in one day… or more.
"I've had enough of the arguing and fighting here at the Lodging House and listening to all of it all day. It's Christmas! How about we go caroling? It's fun! And I know y'all can sing. Besides, we can still earn money while we're at it…"
"The girl's got a point…" said Emu, brightening up for once all day.
I guess there's nothing wrong about caroling, right? It'll help me get out of thinking too much about what happened last night.
"Sure, sounds like fun! But with only three girls?"
"Alright…" said Stretch, standing up, dragging the both of us out the door and into the hallway towards the boys' bunkroom. "Then, we'll ask the boys to come with us."
Ah, she's a smart one, my Stretchy.
"Stretch! Hey! I'll get you for this!" shouted Emu as she was dragged along by Stretch.
Lucky for Stretch, she had a good grip on her. Well, let's say she needed my help too to keep her from running away.
"Are you sure you want to…"
"RACE! MUSH! SWIFTY! ANYBODY IN THERE?!" shouted Stretch, pounding on the door with all her might.
The door opened a crack, and Spec's face was suddenly staring at us.
"No need to shout! Anything we can do for you girls?"
"Christmas caroling." Now its time for ME to talk. "The bunch of you – whoever wants to come – want to go caroling with us?"
"Better than staying in here all night…" said Stretch.
"Well, actually…" mumbled Emu.
"Er…" said Specs uncertainly. "Give us a minute will you?" And with that, Specs was gone and we have ourselves a night of caroling.
"Geez, I didn't think guys had to dress up to go caroling…"
"You learn something new everyday…" said Stretch, as we bounded down the steps, Emu in tow.
"I don't know why you had to bring me into this!"
"Too late, Emu! You're already brought!"
I always loved saying that.
"Brought what?" said Sapphy from the foot of the stairs.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" exclaimed Stretch. "You're all… happy… and smiling…"
"Nothing wrong with being happy and smiling," answered Sapphy with a shrug, a smile still plastered on her face.
Do I smell something fishy here?
"Things are turning up for you too?"
Who was that? Hold on. Itey AND Brownie together sitting on the couch without hiding from Jack? What happened now?
"What do you mean?" asked Sapphy.
"Jack let me see Itey again!" exclaimed Brownie, smiling.
"Geez… something's weird going on…" Maybe 'cause it's Christmas… who would've thought all of this was going to happen on Christmas? Halloween maybe…
"Okay, let's go caroling!" came a shout from the top of the stairs, along with the clatter of footsteps. Specs, Mush, Race, and finally, Swifty came down the stairs and greeted us all with an air of excitement. Was it just me or did Sapphy just blush?
"Caroling?" said Sapphy, her eyes widening in amazement. "You're going caroling? Can I come--."
"If you help me hide from…" mumbled Emu, linking her arms with Sapphy's.
"Sure!" interrupted Stretch, nudging Emu in the ribs.
"Alright, let's go!"
"Hey, I heard we were going to make money!" shouted Race as we walked out the Lodging House. "Maybe Sapphy can get two cents!"
No surprise there. He probably made a bet with her. Race has got to stop his addiction with making all these bets or one day he'll end up either bankrupt or just plain lucky and rich.
Surprisingly, the walk outside wasn't too bad. It wasn't that cold either as I expected, compared to the other days of winter that we had. But that didn't mean that we were still shivering to our bones. I guess that's why we kept huddled so close to each other. Sappy kept on blushing whenever Race would bump into her and Emu just kept on hiding behind Sapphy, which didn't seem all to good with Swifty, who just stood right behind me and minded his own business. Poor guy.
"Fa la la la la la! 'Tis the season to be jolly!"
"Santa Claus is comin' to--."
"Wrong song, Race!" shouted Stretch.
"I ain't got no right to sing carols?"
"Yeah, the one's that we're singing!" said Sapphy.
"Oh yeah? I bet you ANOTHER two cents that…"
"We're singing here! Stop it, Race, or I'll have Sapphy--."
"Mush!" said Sapphy quickly, putting her hand over his mouth as quickly as she can.
"Aw, I know you want to kiss me!" said Race jokingly.
"Are we still singing?" mumbled Swifty.
"I have no idea…"
I really didn't. But Specs just kept on singing with no worries. Actually, it seemed like he was rushing…
"Fa la la la la la!!!"
"PUT A SOCK IN IT!" shouted a passing stranger.
"Hey!" shouted Race after the stranger. "We were just getting to the good part! Don't you have any Christmas spriit? You know, ha ha he he ho ho!"
Hahahah! That was TOO funny!
"You tryin' to act like Santa Claus, huh, Race?" said a voice not to far away. "How about adding a few more pounds?"
ERSHEY!
"Ershey! What are you doing here? Wait… who's that?"
"MICHAEL!" shouted Mush, Race, and Swifty at the same time as they ran over to the pair.
"Um… Merry Christmas to you too?" mumbled the guy that Ershey had in tow.
"Who's Michael?"
I'm in the dark here…
"You're with… the Queens newsie!" said Race in shock, pointing his finger at Ershey suspiciously.
Okay, he's from Queens…
"Am I the only one who's confused here?" said Specs.
"I'm right behind you on that," nodded Stretch.
"Me too," mumbled Emu.
"Me three!"
What? I always liked doing that!
"Hey! Wait! It ain't my fault!" retorted Ershey. "Y'all left me with him!"
"Yeah! Why'd you have to leave me with her?!" said Michael, running his hand up and down his arm. "She poked me so many--."
"I was looking for Sapphy…"
"Heh… sorry about that…" mumbled Sapphy.
"…And I couldn't just leave him there with Itey and Brownie."
"You make it sound like I'm a--."
"We should've finished you off when we had the chance!" shouted Mush.
"Yeah!" said Race as both of them took a step towards Michael with clenched fists.
"Wait!" shouted Ershey, jumping in front of them, her hands in the air. "It's fine, really. I just got to be somewhere right now and I'll just drag him along with me…"
"Where are you going?" I asked. "Don't you want to stay with us and go caroling?"
"It won't take long, I promise. Oh, and by the way, David and Les stopped by the Lodging House. Don't know if they're still there though. But I did see Kloppman coming back when we were just leaving," shouted Ershey as she run off into the opposite direction we were heading. "Gotta go, bye!!
"I swear, if Ershey doesn't come back, I'm going to hunt you down!" shouted Race after the two of them.
"Can we go now?" mumbled Stretch, linking her arms with Race and dragging him along with the group.
This was never my idea of caroling… but what did you expect? There was something bound to happen.
"DECK THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HOLLY!" sang Specs once again.
"Quit your yapping and help me out here!" shouted another voice coming towards us.
Goodness, what now? Hold on… is that Spot? All dressed up in a suit and tie? But what the…
"Spot!" shouted Swifty. "Why are you carrying Duck?"
"Geez, what happened?" asked Stretch.
"Yeah! What'd you do with her?" asked Mush, winking at Spot.
"I didn't do anything, now if someone can just hold her for a minute…" said Spot, groaning as he held her in his arms. Luckily, Mush walked forward and took Duck from his hands.
"Okay, now, Leader of Brooklyn…" said Sapphy, standing next to Spot and arching her eyebrow. "Would you care to tell us what happened to our friend here?"
"Yeah, inquiring minds want to know… and as one of your best friends, Sapphy and I should get to know," I said, siding next to Sapphy. I really wanted to know what happened. For one thing, he was all dressed up, which hardly ever happens. The other thing, he's carrying Duck in the middle of the night. Looking tired from carrying her no doubt.
Spot gave Sapphy and I a glare as he tried to catch his breath and unfastened the top buttons of his collar.
Oooh…
"How about we get to the Lodging House first so Duck can…" started Spot.
"I'll help!" said Specs almost too quickly.
Goodness, what's up with him?
"Yeah, me too. I'm really curious to hear this…" I said.
"I'll come… I wasn't really in the caroling mood anyway," said Swifty, walking over to Mush and carrying Duck in his hands.
The good thing about where we were was that we were so close to the Lodging House. It didn't take long for us to get there and Duck into bed. Specs ran off into the boys' bunkroom and out towards the roof a number of times dong who knows what, while Swifty just stayed in the boys' bunkroom. Spot and I decided to just stay inside the girls' bunkroom. It was empty, anyway. And making sure that Duck was alright was a good excuse to spend time with him.
"So would you care to tell me what happened to Duck over there?" I asked, sitting on my bunk bed, not to far away from Duck just so we can still keep an eye on her.
"Actually, no, I wouldn't care," answered Spot, giving me a hard look as he took of his jacket and sat across me.
Hmmm… this is going to take a while.
"You know me well enough that I'm going to find out."
Yeah! I always do!
"Yeah, and you know me well enough that I'm not going to tell you."
"Really?" I said, quickly snatching the key that hung from his neck and jumped to the next bunk bed. I never really saw him without it, and nobody really knew what it was for. But the only thing was that it meant a lot to him. "So tell me, or you get no key."
"Are you bribin' me?"
"Sure am. That, and telling the others what happened Halloween night!"
Ah, that was timeless. Spot prancin' around one of Medda's dresses. It was a good thing he was drunk or he would've killed those who saw him.
"Striker!"
"Ah, so now you're willing to tell me?"
Spot sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Oh, the cuteness. I really didn't understand how he could have a girl each and every week if he wanted. They were practically following him around. But the weird thing was, that Sapphy and I became such close friends with him, without ever looking at him that way
Or at least I thought so.
"She fainted."
"Fainted? Duck doesn't faint."
"Well, she obviously does now," retorted Spot.
"Faint? But… from what? Did she drink too much or…?"
"She fainted from seeing my handsome face," said Spot, puffing up his chest and giving me a cheesy smile.
You know, he can get scary sometimes. Both ways.
"That's hilarious, Spot, but what really happened?"
Although I wouldn't be surprised if other girls did.
"It started out with a card game…"
It always starts out with a card game.
"Poker."
Ah. Makes more sense.
"The stakes were high, the alcohol was just too much, and I was so sure that I was so close to winning."
"Hold on, who were you playing against?"
"Skittery. There were other Brooklyn and Manhattan newsies who played, but they all chickened out. I was actually pretty surprised to see Skittery hold his position."
Wow, who knew?
"Continue…"
"We were ready to show each other our hands, but Skittery here, just had to stop in the middle and make a bet."
"Liar."
"What?!"
"I bet YOU made that bet!"
Ha, I know him too well.
"You know I know that you did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"I still have your key…"
"Striker…"
"Yes?"
"No."
This is going to take a while…
"Okay, fine, Skittery made a bet… so what'd he say?"
Right. Spot made that bet no matter what he said.
"He said that if he won, then I would have to go out with Duck on Christmas Eve."
"And if you did?"
"HE would wear one of Medda's dresses!"
"Oh my goodness… so seeing as that he won…"
"I went with Duck."
That explains a lot.
"But are you serious? She really fainted?"
"Sure did."
"Wow, what a night."
"I know."
"First, you and Duck. Then, the caroling bit. Then, Ershey and that guy… what's his name…"
"Guy?"
"I mean, what else is going to happen?"
"I never did really like Christmas that much," said Spot, shrugging.
"You and Sapphy both. It's always a hazard hanging around you two when it's Christmas."
"Aw, you know you love hanging around with us," smirked Spot.
"Yeah, right," I said, scoffing.
"Alright," said Spot, standing up. "I got to get going…"
Hold on. Hey! I just blew that one!
"Where are you going?"
"Brooklyn, where else?"
"It's Christmas! How about you stay here instead? Nobody's going to miss you there."
He looks like he's thinking… he's thinking… think yes!
"I really think…"
Yes!
"That I should be going. It's not like anybody's here right now," said Spot, walking out the door and trudging down the steps onto the lobby.
But… I'm here!
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" shouted Spot, as he reached for the doorknob and took a step out the door.
"But… Spot! You forgot your key!"
Damn right I do! The minute I said that, Spot stood frozen for a second. Hah, I can just imagine his eyes widening in shock right now. Come on, I mean… how can you forget this key?
"Striker! Give that to me now!" said Spot, turning around and walking towards me.
You think I'm going to give up that easily. No way. Right when he was about to reach for his key, which I was holding tightly in my hand, I dodged down the stairs and out the doorway. Goodness, I didn't expect the cold coming, but it was worth it to see the look on his face.
"Runnin' from the bulls everyday gives you an advantage sometimes," I said, smirking, his key still in my hand.
"The only reason you have to run from the bulls is 'cause you ain't slick enough to get away by yourself," joked Spot, walking out of the Lodging House and quickly walking towards me.
I shrugged. "We all get our days."
"Right, so today's the day that I get my key back."
"How about a bet, Spotty?"
That ought to work… and it sure did. I saw his eyes glaze over for a minute as he stared at me threateningly. He hated being called Spotty. He always thought it made him sound like a dog. Hah, like Spot didn't.
"Quit playin' games with me, Striker," said Spot, holding out his hand. "Just give me my key and it's home for both of us."
"What makes you think you're going home? Wouldn't you rather spend it here with the Manhattan newsies? You know you love us!"
Geez, he practically lives here. But he is the leader of Brooklyn. Nothing can change that.
"Ain't nobody going to miss you over there in Brooklyn!" I retorted. "They don't even know its Christmas!"
"We ain't that dense!"
I refuse to comment on that.
"Skittery made reservations and all that at Maria Teresa's right?"
"He should've. Well, he did if he went through all that trouble."
"And you left in the middle of it, right?"
"Well, we were hardly halfway through it if you think about it… we didn't even start the date!"
"So there's food there?"
"Striker, what's your point?"
"And you just said y'all ain't that dense!" I said, smiling. Really, how long is it going to take for him to catch on?
"HEY SPOT!" shouted a voice not to far away. I turned around to see Skittery in a clean suit (or the cleanest I've ever seen) running towards us.
"Why's he all dressed up?"
"He escorted Duck over to Maria Teresa's…"
"Oh…"
"Why aren't you over at Maria Teresa's?" asked Skittery in between breaths.
"There's a present waiting for you in the girls' bunkroom," I answered. Now, Skittery, don't look at me like that. "Duck fainted, so we, er, Spot brought her over to the Lodging House."
"What?!" said Skittery in shock.
"I suggest you get over there before she wakes up."
"Er… yeah…" said Spot uncertainly.
Talk about speaking skills.
"Um… thanks!" shouted Skittery as he ran over to the Lodging House and waved goodbye at us.
"So what do you plan to do now, huh, Striker?" asked Spot, cocking his eyebrow at me.
"Sometimes you can be so slow, you know that Spot?" I said, pinching his cheeks. "Look, I'll give you your key back after you take me to dinner at Maria Teresa's."
Spot looked back and forth between me and the key in my hand. Aw, he looks so cute when he's thinking… his face all scrunched up and…
"You're going dressed up like that?"
Hey! I'm feeling comfortable in my oversized blouse and blue skirt!
"You want your key back?"
"Alright, then, but go change!"
"I will!" I shouted, running back towards the Lodging House, with Spot calmly walking behind me.
A dinner with Spotty boy at Maria Teresa's... ain't that bad if you ask me. Even though I did force him into it... but anyways, everything's all good for now!
Well, actually there is one more thing... I still got to fix things with Ershey, Sage, Sapphy, and Emu. With all the things that are going on, let's just hope that they still have time to listen to what I've got to say.
Right?
~*~
Shout-outs
Sagey: lol, your reaction is just too funny! The whole situation about the Jack, Sam, and Michael thing will be solved later on in the story - which will probably be in my perspective. but don't worry about jack! *huggles* he's fine! hahaha. and yesh, aren't race and sapphy cute? *cooes* hahah.
Sapphy: Heheheh - so glad you liked it! ^^ did you remember that when you filled out the form i sent out that you said "a kiss under the mistletoe" when i asked what be the absolute best thing you would want on christmas. it was so straight-out and cute that i decided to use it! except... with lettuce. well, its a step up! aww, don't worry! race'll be back there in a few... *counts* minutes! *points up at story* see?!
Emu: *bounces* you finally have an account! yay! hahah! now you can post up your other ffs up there! i got the stalker idea from this guy at school who used to do the same thing to me - absolutely scared the hell outta me. lol. but its different for swifty! he's... cuter! hahah! and yesh, i agree with you on the amount of characters on costelos. that one's going to take a whole lot of work... update your legacy ff! i can't wait to see more of that! *poke*
JustDuck: hahah, aww, don't worry! the whole thing's getting resolved... at least part of it was in this chapter! Michael?! Err... hahahah. yesh, *nod*, tough we are. ack, i can't wait 'till saturday! *bounces*
Deanie: lol! that whole came outta the closet deal just came outta random, actually, i was stuck in that part for a second, and i asked one of my friends to write something and that's what she came up with. lol. she came up with somethin' WEIRDER than that, so the closet thing had to stay. Hahah! and yeah, deanie, 'cause of you, i finally figured out somethin' to do for my character! and yesh, it has somethin' to do with michael. y'know, i asked one of my friends to create a character for me (i've been doing a lot of asking lately...) and that's what she came up with. pretty funny, huh?
Frenchygoil: yay! let's party for frenchy! hahah! well, i have a four-day weekend comin' up, so its kinda the same as yours, i guess. lol. my valentines' ball is this saturday night. can't wait! ^^ hahaha, yeah, everybody will be happy on christmas day - i don't want anybody to be sad! and since this is my xmas gift to all of you, i want it to be all happy! hahah. and yeah, you're actin' weird around him 'cause of the bag scene you saw in the alley. *nod* goodness, its already xmas and there's so much things to go through!
Snooza: hahah, but so sad for sagey. :( have you noticed that jack's been fighting a lot lately? *raises eyebrow* hmm... but don't worry, everythin's gonna work out eventually! what will you get? *hums* i ain't telling.... hahahah. i'll give you a hint though! just remember the fact that you left the LH and that you aren't there. there's lotsa events happening that night, and its not only at the LH - other lodgers left to go to other places too, so you'll see about that!