Learning Magic
Chapter Three
Disclaimer: I don't own newsies, Disney does. I do own Andra, Relay, Kait, Milkshake, and Marbles.
I awoke by myself. I could tell that it was mid afternoon by how much sun was coming through my window. I hated that window. I took the only sheet that was on my bed and threw it across the window, blocking the sunlight, and my view. I turned my gaze to the door, which my bed still blocked. I slowly pulled it away and cautiously peeked my head out the door. No one was there. I wondered how I had miraculously remained asleep throughout all of their commotion. The bed may have blocked them from coming in, but it most certainly wasn't going to block out the sound.
I walked down the stairs and searched for food. Nothing, well I found crumbs and mud, a couple of spiders and towels scattered on the floor, but no editable food. I dragged my feet up the stairs, rubbing my shoulder. I had pulled a muscle in it yesterday while cleaning for them. I wasn't intending on going into my bedroom, but I heard something hit my window, and my curiosity pulled me in. At first I thought it was the rock thrower that had thrown the rock at Spot. I was wrong. I slowly pulled the sheet off and peered out. Racetrack was throwing small pebbles at my window. I quickly opened the window before he could throw another one. He stopped his arm mid-throw.
"Awake yet?" He called up to me, a stack of papers under his right arm.
"Yes. But you've given me a headache." I joked. I'm not sure if he knew it was a joke or not, but I didn't care.
"Sorry sweet cheeks. Ya hungry?" He asked me. I blushed when I heard him call me sweet cheeks. I was too far away for him to see.
"Yes." I answered. I was blown away by his effort to help me and make me feel at home. I could scarcely make out a smile on his face before he ran out of my view. Within minutes, he was by my side, holding out a delicious looking piece of bread and a crystal clear glass of water. I looked at him bug eyed.
"Thanks a lot." I said, hesitantly taking the food and drink from him. I slowly ate it, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He was looking around the room.
"Ya know, you're lucky ya gots your own room." He said randomly. I looked over at him.
"I kinda hafta ya know." I pointed out.
"Yeah. But ya don't gotta worry about Snipeshooter stealin' your fuckin' cigars every god damn mornin'." He beamed at me. I smiled back.
"Shouldn't ya be sellin' papes?" I asked him. His grin faded a little.
"Yeah. I jus' had ta make sure ya wasn't hungry." He tipped his hat towards me and then walked out the door. I smiled after him, picking up the sheet and replacing it over the window. Ok, so maybe I had gone soft yesterday. I hated myself for it. I wanted to cut myself off from the rest of the world, but I didn't know how. I didn't know how Mush and Race would react if my attitude suddenly changed. Inside I felt like screaming. I hated this life. There was no one to talk to at all. Even if there was, who? I couldn't spill my guts out to Race or Mush, or anyone. I didn't know them well enough. Feeling the anger and hatred in my chest, I quickly picked up a pillow and screamed into it. Screamed until I could not anymore. Still not satisfied, I threw the glass of water at the wall, shattering the glass and soaking a small of part of the wall with water. I was almost tempted to pick up the shards of glass and cut myself, but I ran out of the room before I did so. I hated how my mood changed so suddenly. I liked being nice and acting like a normal person, but I hadn't been like that lately. I was a bitch to most people now. Maybe, just maybe if I would have had just one person that I could have talked to, could have trusted, it wouldn't be this way. I wouldn't have held in my feelings for all of these years.
I ran down the stairs, crying, getting as far away from the glass as possible, without leaving the lodging house. I found a small corner in the back of the front room, and curled up in it. It wasn't very dirty, and even if it was, I don't think I would have cared. Tears streamed down my face. I fell asleep once or twice, dreading the hour when they would return. I was almost begging for tears to come when they stopped. I had cried too much, they refused. I slowly dragged my feet upstairs and looked in a mirror. My hair was disheveled, my face dirty, revealing the streaks my tears had left. My eyes were red and puffy, you could tell I had been crying. I tried to comb out the knots in my hair with my fingers, only making it worse. I heard the door open numerous times, the voices of boys echoing through the building. I walked back to my room, pretending that I had not left the entire day.
To my surprise, and relief, no one came to see me. I smiled to myself at this fact. My temptation to take the glass had subsided by now. Now, I was bored. Bored and desperately wanted someone to talk to. Not a boy, but a girl. Maybe someone who would understand what I was going through.
"It's at Harlem dis year!" I heard a younger boy shout out. I wondered what he was talking about, but had no intention on finding out. Despite my intentions, I would find out anyway. A younger boy, he looked about 10 or so, barged in and started talking really fast.
"Harlem is holdin' a big ol party, an' I bet Jack would let cha come! Wanna wanna wanna?" He asked excitedly. I stared at him dumbfounded.
"I guess I could." He leaped up for joy, running out of the room. I later regretted my answer that night.
Jack came in, asking about the party.
"Les says dat ya wanna come ta da party?" He asked me.
"I didn't say dat exactly. He asked if I wanted ta, an' I said dat I would."
"Ya are really interested in bein' surrounded by tons of people, most of dem are your age." He grinned. "An' you'll be expected ta take a date." He winked at me. My temper shot sky high at this last remark.
"What?! Take a date? I don't think so! Maybe I won't even go den!" I shouted at him.
"Oh, you'll go. Ya hafta. Spot's probably already told dem bout da feisty little goil dat we are keeping heah down in Manhattan." He smiled at me. I glared. Spot. He always had something to do with the event that would make my life miserable. "Plus," Jack continued, "It'll be your punishment fer not cleanin' today." For a moment I saw some sympathy in his eyes, but when he blinked, it disappeared. He turned and left. I felt like his pet. The little girl they were keeping in Manhattan? No. I was not being kept here, I lived here. I was determined to go that party. I would show them the real me. The me that wasn't shy, locking her anger up inside all day. No, I would be more of the carefree type of girl, the one that was a flirt, that joked with the boys. Yes, that is exactly what I would do, and I would not take a date, that was for sure.
–Two weeks later–
I picked out the nicest dress that I had. It wasn't very fashionable, but this one was different. This one hadn't been worn when I cleaned away mercilessly. It wasn't tattered and torn. It almost looked brand new, almost. I put it on, and put my hair up in a bun. I washed my face carefully, making sure I got every streak of dirt that I could. I wanted to look my best, to defy the boys.
Mush had asked me to go with him earlier in the week. I politely told him no. There I was, being polite again. I hadn't stopped my coldest behavior to the boys even though I attended on acting like the nicest chick this side of New York had ever seen. If Spot was telling everyone that I was a nasty girl that they had down in Manhattan , I was going to prove him wrong.
"Hey dollface, c'mon now, we'll be late!" I heard Jack call up to my room. I tucked the last piece of hair behind my ear and rushed down the stairs. I heard some gasps in the crowd of boys. They hadn't seen me like this. I suppressed a smile, and walked up to where Jack was. He smiled somewhat, and then lead us out the door. The walk there was anything but quiet. The boys were throughly excited about this. They jumped on each other, yelled loudly, and anything else possible to get attention. I talked with Jack a couple of times, but other than that I walked alone.
After much walking, we finally arrived. I had no clue where this "party" was going to be held, there was no big building that would be available to the newsies exclusively. My doubts were soon answered when Jack was greeted by a tall black boy, who pointed to the left. There I saw a vacant warehouse. Many newsboys were there already. I watched as Jack greeted one of them. Racetrack whispered in my ear that he was talking with the leader of the Harlem newsies. They each spit into their hands, then shook hands. The Harlem leader took Jack inside. I supposed we were to follow him, even though he didn't acknowledge us. Kid Blink led the rest of the way, which wasn't very long.
The old warehouse was musty, and most definitely not clean, but it served its purpose. There were tables littered around the rooms, and raunchy girls served the drinks. I wondered if I was the only girl that was actually there to party, not to pick up guys. I looked over my shoulder and saw Race there.
"Now what?" I asked him.
"I usually find a table, an' play poker or sometink wit da boys. He started, realizing I wasn't interested in card games. "Uh, well, you could, um, go over wit dem goils and talk." He smiled weakly.
"I tend to hide in corners." I joked seriously.
"Dat'll bring ya more attention." He warned, starting off to a nearby table. As I watched him go, I had a horrible feeling that someone was watching me. I turned to one group of girls. Nope. They were laughing and having a good time, not once glancing my way. I left that room and walked into a smaller, less noisy one. It wasn't as crowed, but there was a good number of people in there. Smaller card games were being played, and I couldn't find any of the waiter girls. There were more rooms to be explored, but as I headed for the door, I met the icy blue stare of Brooklyn in the flesh. He smirked at me, than began to circle me like a vulture. I was deeply annoyed, but said nothing.
"Finished?" I asked him after a couple of moments. He stared at me for awhile before he spoke.
"Yeah." Glad ya could make it Magic." He smiled, sensing my irritation. I bit my tongue, refusing to let the words out. I reminded myself that I was here to smite Spot and the others. Yelling my feelings that I had towards him was no way to do it. Instead of saying anything, I pushed past him. Desperate to get away, an invisible force seemed to push me right over to the girls. They were talking fast, but stopped abruptly as I walked up. They stared at me, but said nothing.
"Hi." I tried. As if I had just pushed their 'on' buttons, they grinned.
"Some party huh?" A taller girl with red hair asked.
"Some party." I mimicked sarcastically.
"What's your name?" A blonde about my height asked.
"Andra." I paused. "But da guys call me Magic." I winced. I had just told them the nickname that I dreaded. What was my problem?
"I'm Marbles, that's Relay, that's Milkshake, and that's Kait." The blonde told me, pointing to the red head, and two brunettes.
"We were just admiring all the guys here." The red-haired Relay told me. She turned to Milkshake, who nodded her head no. She didn't seem to care.
"Milkshake fancies Spot." She whispered in my ear, matter-of-factly. I almost recoiled as if she had him me in the face. Milkshake blushed a rosy color, noticing my disgust. I quickly apologized.
"Sorry, me an' him got off on da wrong foot." I looked down at my feet.
"You've talked to him? What about?"
"What did he say?"
"Is he nice?" I was bombarded with questions. I didn't know what to say at first.
"I live wit Jack at da Manhattan Lodging House. He came one day, an' well things were just rough." I decided to be courteous and leave out the part that he got whacked in the head with a rock. I'm sure they would make sure he was alright. He was more than alright.
"You live with the boys?" Milkshake asked me, squealing with joy. I nodded, not realizing that this was these girls ultimate goal.
"How did you manage it?" Relay pressed me, bubbling over with joy.
"I was wanderin' da streets, when Jack came up ta me an' axed if I wanted ta stay wit 'im. It ain't paradise ladies. I gots ta woik ta earn me keep. No thanks ta mister everything." I nodded towards Spot, who had since sat down at the table Racetrack had gone to.
a/n
agh, and I thought it wouldn't take long to update this time..well I was wrong! Lol! Sorry, I had finals and stuff. But now school is out so it's all good! I saw Harry Potter 3 yesterday, the first day it came out! Muhaww! yeah the chapter seems kinda 'unfinished' but hey, you wanted an update! ;)
OH! Gabe Damon is going to be in a new movie! Planet Ibsen in 2005. There is not much info about it on the internet, but I was soooo excited when I found out! Just wanted to let you guys know!
Hope you all liked this chapter. The party isn't over, she hasn't carried out her plan yet lol!
Shoutouts:
Coin: Glad you liked it! I love your reviews! haha sorry, I tried to update faster! Hope you liked this chapter!
Dimonah Tralon: I'm so happy you like the story! Hope you liked this chapter!
Wisecracker88: I love your reviews! Yeah, I tried to bring back the hate in this chapter, but I dunno if I succeeded! I don't know what happened last chapter, she just kinda went soft with Mush. But like I said, I tried this chapter. Yeah, still haven't decided what I am going to do with Mush and Racetrack ;) oh, yes and your story, lemme go read that! Hope this chapter clarified the whole anger situation!
Naughtee Lady: yeah, it is kinda confusing on who she likes, but its only the 3rd chapter! I'm not entirely sure at the moment either! I'm soo happy you like it! Hope you liked this chapter!
Erica: hey there! Glad you like it! Hope you like this one! Thanks for reviewing!
Uninvisible: Silly cucumber! Haha that made me laugh soo much! Yes he is very adorable! I can't wait for Planet Ibsen! But there isn't lots of info on it :( I think it is being made by an independent film maker though..which those sometimes go straight to VHS or DVD! I'll try to keep you posted. Hope you liked this one!