Learning Magic

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I still don't own Newsies, which stinks, but everyone can dream. I do own Magic. Also, I don't own, 'Empty Apartment' Yellowcard does. And I don't own Yellowcard!

I woke up the next morning, wrapped in Racetrack's arms. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. A few rays of sunshine were coming through the window, signifying that it was only early morning. I looked up at Racetrack and saw that he was awake. He smiled down at me, and held me tighter. Just then, the door opened up and Jack walked in.

"Heya doll, time to get up..." He said, his voice trailing off as he realized I wasn't in my bed and that I was in the corner, with Racetrack by me. His eyes got wide and his fists were clenched by his side. I fidgeted, afraid of him. Racetrack didn't move, just held me tighter. "Magic, OUT!" He yelled at me, walking over to us, yanking me up, of Racetrack's grip and threw me out of the room. I was too stunned to say anything. He slammed the door behind him and started screaming and yelling. I didn't understand why. It was just Racetrack. It was just me, Magic. What was his problem? I looked around at the other newsies who were congregating around the door, just like I was. I spotted Mush and made my way to him, shaking a little bit.

"W why is Jack so mad?" I asked him. He looked at me pitifully and shook his head.

"Well's, da odda day, I dunno, Jack jus' don't like it when any of us gets too close ta ya. Wha' happened in dere anyways?" He asked me. I swallowed hard.

"Race came in last night, an' I guess I fell asleep. Nuttin happened, but Jack came in jus' now, an' he, he got mad an' threw me out." I told him. "We'se didn't do nuttin, it was innocent. We jus' fell asleep, why does he care so much anyways?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I guess he's jealous." He said plainly. I gaped at him.

"Jealous? Wha', does he like me or something?" I asked, dumbfounded. Again, he just shrugged. There was silence coming from the room now. I realized something right then, I had softened too much. My shell had been broken, and now anyone had access to my feelings. I didn't know how to fix that. I was lost inside and out. I was brought back to reality when Jack started screaming again.

"Wha' da hell were ya t'inkin'? Stupid dumbass! I told ya ta make sure she was ok! I didn't say sleep wit her!" He bellowed. A couple newsies gasped. I was infuriated. That's not what happened, but I couldn't change their minds, I didn't know what to say anymore.

"I'se didn't sleep wit her!" Race yelled back. "She's a wreck an' nobody listens to her! I was comfortin' her an' we fell asleep! Ya don't own 'er Jack!" He argued. There was a deadening thud and then Jack yelled out again.

"Stay away from 'er ya stupid bastard!" Jack yelled at him, opening the door, stomping down the stairs and out the door, slamming it behind him. I looked into the room and saw Racetrack lying on the floor, holding his side. He looked like he was in serious pain. I walked into the room, accompanied by Kid Blink, Mush, and Crutchy. The rest of the newsies left, afraid Jack might come back and do the same to them.

Racetrack was biting his lip, taking in huge gasps of air. He was fighting the pain, and clutching his side desperately.

"What did he do ta ya?" Kid Blink asked, concerned for his friend. Race just groaned, rolling onto his back, biting harder on his lip. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he spoke.

"He..broke..my..rib." He managed through groans. I gasped, Kid Blink groaned, Mush just stared, and Crutchy offered to go get a doctor. "How..da..hell..are..we..gonna..afford..a..doctah?" Race grunted. Crutchy shrugged, he hadn't thought of that.

"We can do wha' a doctah would do." Mush tried.

"Wha's dat?" Blink asked.

"Wrap it up good an' tight." He said simply. I shot him a glance.

"I'se seen broken bones before, an' Mush is right. But, wha' can we use?" I asked.

"Get me up foist." Race ordered, smiling slightly. I grabbed his left arm, Blink got his right. Together we hoisted him onto my bed. He winced when we set him down, blushing. "Gawd I feel like a baby." Race told us, blushing even deeper.

"Don't feel dat way." Mush told him encouragingly. Race just looked away, looked to me.

"Sorry doll." He said quietly. I shook my head, fixing the sheets on my bed.

"Nuttin ta be sorry bout. Now, lean back." I told him. I had put pillows behind his back to make him more comfortable. He leaned back, wincing, clutching his side again.

"I t'ink we can pay fer a doctah." Crutchy insisted. He left the room, yelling out to everyone that he was going to take a collection for a doctor. Kid Blink went with him, offering to be the one to go get the doctor. Mush stayed with us for a little while longer, but left a little later.

Race closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I'se sorry fer being an ass ta ya da odda day." He told me. I nodded, knowing he couldn't see me. "Was I too forward last night?" He asked sincerely, opening his eyes to see me. I shook my head.

"Nah, I needed to have a good cry like that." I told him. It was the truth. It was good to have someone comfort me. He smiled, patting a spot next to him on the bed, wincing as he did. I smiled, going up to sit next to him. He doubled over when a new wave of pain hit. I put a hand on his back and started to rub it. He groaned in pain again, laying his head on my lap, clutching his side. He looked up at me, trying to smile.

"Gawd I hate dat asshole." He told me, referring to Jack. He winced again, closing his eyes. I started to stroke his hair, trying to soothe him. I started to hum quietly, continuing to run my hands through his hair. "Sing ta me please." He said suddenly. I looked down at him, stunned. I stopped humming and my hand stopped running through his hair. He opened his eyes and smirked up at me. "Please?" He asked. I nodded slowly, racking my mind to find something to sing to him. Sighing, I resumed humming, trying to come up with the tune I was looking for.

"It's okay to be angry and never let go. It only gets harder the more that you know. When you get lonely if no one's around. You know that I'll catch you when you're falling down.

We came together but you left alone. And I know how it feels to walk out on your own.

Maybe someday I will see you again. And you'll look me in my eyes and call me your friend." I sang softly to him. He closed his eyes again, smiling slightly. I heard lots of footsteps outside and heard Kid Blink announce that they had a doctor and he was with them now.

"Ah shit, heah we goes." Race said, trying to sit up. I helped him up and propped him up against the pillows. Kid Blink marched through the door, looking rather pleased with himself. Mush followed him in, along with the man who I assumed was the doctor.

"I'm going to have to ask the young lady to leave." The man said to me. I was taken aback and a little upset, but did as he asked and left, closing the door softly behind me.

"Wha' happened ta him?" Bumlets asked me. I explained to all of them that he had broken his ribs.

I found my way out of the crowd of newsies and wandered out of the lodging house. It was the first time I was alone out on the streets since I had been living at the lodging house. A few younger boys were playing a game of marbles near the lodging house. I smiled, remembering my younger brother and how he used to do that with his friends. Remembering this, I almost started to cry again.

Ollie. How wonderful he had been. He had been one of my favorites of all my 9 siblings. Him, Lexi, Jason, and Alisa were my favorite. Ollie was seven when I had run away from home a few weeks ago. He was the only one who had seen me go. I had tried my best to be quiet that night. But I didn't know that little Ollie was still awake, collecting his marbles that he had been playing with that day. He saw me, and asked me where I was going. I had lied and told him an emergency errand that my parents wanted me to run for them. He had believed me. He'd always been a gullible child. I felt sorry for doing that to him, but I had to. I walked to a bench on the side of the street and took a seat. My mind was already taking a trip down memory lane. I couldn't stop it, so I let my thoughts roam and remembered everything about my brothers and sisters.

Kristin was the youngest. She was only one year old. She was the unwanted result of a drunken night between my mother and father. She was also the unwanted child of the family. It was up to me, my oldest sister Alisa, and my twin brother Jason to take care of all the younger kids. It was a hassle already, and now we had a baby added into the equation. The other kids didn't like her either. I think it was because they were getting older and were expected to do their own chores and make money for the family. I felt a little sorry for the girl, but not so much since I was always stuck with her.

Alexander was the second youngest, two years old. We thought he was the last of our problems, but then Kristin came. He was a fast learner. He learned to walk fairly early in life and talked fairly well as well. He kept to himself, and was a loner, like me. He never wanted anyone around, and I'm sure he hated sharing a room with Ollie. I didn't care to much for Alexander, but I could stand him.

Next was Hali, nine years old. Most annoying thing in the world. She was too hyper all the time, and always wanted attention. She disagreed with everything you would say and fought with everyone. I couldn't stand her, but I found myself with a soft spot for her, which made me angry with myself because I wanted so dearly to hate her and block her out of my memory forever.

Lexi was 13. I loved her very much. She was like my double, even though she was five years younger then me. We were soul mates, and she tried her best to help me out with all the kids. She was still in school, and had a part time job to bring money for the family. When she was actually home, she did her best to help with the kids, but she was never home. I loved her for staying in school. I had dropped out before high school because my mother made me, so I could help with the children. I didn't have a job. I was the care taker of all the kids.

Candance, on the other hand, had a full time job, and she also was not in school. Our mom had made her drop out so she could work and help with the family's income. She was extremely smart, and really should have stayed in school. Instead, she worked as a reader at City Hall, editing newspapers. She didn't write the stories, just read them and corrected mistakes. She made twenty dollars a week. She had a high paying job. It helped, but alone it wasn't enough. Candance was a quiet fifteen year old, who kept to herself, much like Alexander. She was a smart mouth and got angry very easily. She was always working, and her eyes were wearing out because of all the reading that she did. She would need glasses soon.

Jason was my twin brother. My parents favored him over me, but I didn't care. I hated both of my parents anyways. He had been allowed to stay in school for an extra year. He started his first year of high school, but after that, he had to drop out. He had a part time job as a newsboy, selling papers. He didn't like his job at all. He was kind of an outcast and didn't have many friends. He made a lot of tips though, and was one of the best there was in our small town of Pennsylvania. He was only allowed to sell the morning edition according to our mother. After he was done selling, he came home and assisted me. He was shy and quiet like me, and was my double, in the male version. We looked alike in many ways, but in many other ways we were different. He was my closet male friend, and one of the only siblings that I trusted.

Alisa, nineteen, was the other sibling that I trusted. She had been the last straw, and was one of the major reasons I ran away. She had been my best friend. She had a job at a factory as a bobbin collector. She was there for eight hours a day, but when she came home, she helped with all the children too. It was just us three, Jason, me, and Alisa that tended to the kids. The older ones like Lexi, helped out, or just did their own thing. Alisa broke the trust I had with her, and told my parents that I was a hooker. I don't know why they believed her, I was always home. A couple times I left the house and the stress, but I was not a hooker. My father threatened to shoot me if I did a 'job' one more time. I don't know what possessed Alisa to tell them such a thing, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.

Then comes Griffin. The oldest of the Howell children. The one I despise the most. He never helped with the younger kids. He was always out with his buddies, or with his girlfriends, three of them, may I add, he got pregnant. It was the last girl, the last baby sent him over the edge. He was a good kid when he was younger. He was helpful around the house, but that was when it was less hectic. That's when there wasn't as many kids, and when my parents cared. He didn't have a job either. He grew up to be a cold hearted young man. He killed himself after the third child he helped create. At least, I think he did. This all happened around the time Alisa started the rumor that I was a hooker, and I wasn't paying attention to the sibling I hated the most. I didn't stay for the funeral, if there even was one.

And then there was me. A lost little girl, named Andra, who didn't know what she wanted from life. A cocky, smart alec, who was overprotective of her feelings, and longed to be loved by just one person. Yes, that was me. The nanny for the family. The one who didn't get to have a life at all after her 8th grade year of school. I know many people who would want to stop working their jobs, but I never got the experience of working in a factory or anything. I had wanted that, but now, I just wanted freedom. Freedom from Jack Kelly and the newsies. I knew I could leave whenever I wanted, but I didn't want to go. I had no other place to go. What I wanted right now, was to live at the lodging house, and not have anything to do with the newsboys. I knew that was impossible, but maybe I could get a job somewhere and make money of my own. I could simply lodge at the lodging house, until the boys picked up onto my antics, and threw me out.

I lifted my head up and saw Spot Conlon walking down the street with Jack. I narrowed my eyes at both of them. I was furious with Jack, and well, I hated Spot. I stood up to meet them. Spot glared at me, but said nothing. Jack however, looked a little pale.

"Comin home finally?" I asked Jack, ignoring that Spot was even there. He nodded slightly, studying me closely.

"Did he hoit ya? At all?" He asked me, grabbing me by the shoulders staring at me. This made me madder then mad.

"Of course he didn't hoit me! He did da complete opposite! He was dere fer me!" I yelled at him, pulling myself out of his grasp. He stared at me, wide-eyed. I was so angry, I almost brought up the incident about Spot and the party. I wanted so badly to yell about Spot kissing me, but held back. "Why do you care so frickin much?" I spat in his face, pushing him out of my way, walking past him into the streets.

A/n

whoo! I am on a writing bonaza! I think I am going to write the next chapter now! Yay! I feel so bad not updating for so long, but I updated the other day, and now I am again! Thanks to my reviewers! I luffle you all. Feedback would be nice. I loved writing about her sisters and brothers, much much fun believe me!

Shoutouts!

Knots - Heh heh, thanks for finally reviewing you freak! I guess she's just mad, I dunno! It's because of her family, which you read about! Hope you liked it!

Sparks Kelly - Thanks for reviewing. I'm soo glad you like this chapter! Yes, they are cute together. Jack, well, shh, but yeah, Jack likes Magic. Which sucks for him cuz she don't like him back. As a friend yes, but she's always pissed at him, ever noticed! Hope you liked this chapter!!

Erin Go Bragh - Yay! You reviewed! Thanks! Glad you've stuck with the chapter! It makes me happy!

Tiggie - Good, you reviewed! Hehe, Race is funny! I love him, can you tell? And I will write our story soon! I promise! Don't send Davey the bunny after me, please NOO!

Shooter - Why thank you for reviewing. We ROCK! IUWD! Yes! I love talking to you! Hope you like this chapter, I told you if gets interesting! Yeah, you can call me Colleen! Hehe!