Learning Magic

Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I don't own newsies, Sparks, or Knots

It had been a couple days since the incident with Jack. I had listened to Racetrack and stayed away from Jack as best I could. He no longer woke me up at the crack of dawn. Instead, he opened the door to mine and Knots' room and let the noise of the boys getting ready get us up. I hated it. I hated everything about everyone now. The moment I had felt I was making a breakthrough with the boys, something like that happened, and I crawled back into my shell. I would not trust them again.

Knots was a different story. She never really had a chance to get to know me yet. It wasn't really fair to her at all, but I would talk to her, later. For the past few days, I had made her clean most of the lodging house. No one told her what a good job she did, they didn't know she cleaned it. But then again, they didn't tell me good job either, and they thought that I was doing it. It was like they didn't care anymore.

I spent my days sulking around. I was bored out of my mind, but I refused to leave, or to talk to anyone. Kloppman noticed this change in my behavior, in everyone's behavior. Everyone was tense, and whenever they saw me, they looked at me with sad eyes. Every time they did, I felt like crying.

I also felt like crying whenever I thought about Racetrack. We hadn't spoken since that night, and I so badly wanted to talk to him. He was allowed to leave the lodging house now, but he had to be careful. He was gone before I got up, and came back after I had fallen asleep. Sometimes I would wait up for him, but I always fell asleep before he came home.

One night though, I woke up right when he came in the door. I just looked at him, and he did the same to me. He muttered a 'goodnight' and walked up the steps. He hadn't smiled at me. He looked stern, and unhappy. Not mad or sad, just unhappy. Knots had tried to talk to me and get to know me better, but I just shoved her off. I paid no attention to anyone or anything. At times I felt myself go numb and it seemed that if my body went numb, so did my mind.

Then it happened, Jack Kelly broke down. Completely. His world came crashing to a halt. Entirely. His boys looked down at him now. Spot, who was supposed to come down on a Tuesday, did not. Jack was planning a game of poker that night with Spot, and the leader of Harlem and a couple of his boys. Racetrack said he wouldn't play, therefore Kid Blink and Snipeshooter backed out as well. Spot and the Harlem leader did not come either. It was obvious that no one respected Jack anymore. Hitting a girl was the lowest you could stoop down to. Sometimes I felt sorry for him. I found myself sometimes crying for him, feeling that somehow it was my fault.

And that brings us to Thursday of the first week of hell.

I was awoken by Knots. She nudged me awake, looking somewhat frantic. I rolled over on my back and stared up at her.

"Wha?" I asked. Her lip was quivering and her eyes were full of fear.

"Outside, they're, well, someone proposed a new leader or something. I don't know. I don't wanna go out there. I'll bring attention to myself." She said, her voice shaking. My eyes got wide and I sat up immediately.

"New leadah? Who? Why?" I asked her, putting my feet on the cold ground. It was nearing the end of fall, and it was chilly.

"I don't know. They are all out there, rallying against Jack!" Knots said, scared. I shook my head.

"Why would dey do dis? Did dey say?" I asked her.

"They claim Jack is humiliating Manhattan and giving it a bad name. They want a new leader that won't do that." She explained to me.

"Who would t'ink of such a t'ing?" I continued to ask, standing up. She shrugged. "T'anks." I said, opening our door and walked outside, and leaned over the banister, looking down. Jack was now standing amongst them. He looked extremely distraught and upset. But his voice was as bold and crisp and fresh as ever.

"Look, I'se is jus' heah ta apologize fer wha' happened. I know I'se is givin' ya guys a bad name, but I want cha ta know dat I still wanna be ya leadah. I'se is truly sorry fer doin' dat, I'se got a temper an' I know it. So do you! An' damnit, I don't wanna hand da responsibility ova ta nobody else. You'se couldn't get along wit out me. What happened durin' da strike? How did ya hold out wit out me? I know ya need me, an' you know ya need me! I don't care wha' ya choose ta do, but it would be in ya self-interest if ya kept me heah." He said, rather loudly. He had a way of gripping the newsies with everything he said. He was right I suppose. They knew it too. No one protested, and they all nodded when he was done speaking. It was silently decided that Jack would stay as leader.

He may have won that small battle, but as a whole, the war was not won.

Jack bounded up the steps and ran head long into me. I just stared up at him, not speaking. We didn't speak anymore. He stared at me for the longest time, before moving on past me. I watched him walk on into his bunk room before turning my head back down over the banister. Most the news boys were now leaving to go out for the afternoon edition. I noticed Racetrack walking out with them. I was disappointed. I had so badly wanted to talk things out with him.

"Hey, Magic! Down heah!" I heard a voice call me. Again I looked over the banister and saw Mush calling me. I walked down to him.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Jus' thought ya was bored an' maybe ya wanted ta go outside fer a change." He offered, watching me. I nodded. We walked outside of the lodging house as he went to the distribution office to get his papes. I sat on a nearby bench and waited for him. He came back, holding at least a hundred papers.

"Wha's da headline?" I asked him, looking over his shoulder at the top paper.

"Tornado tears apart town!" He read from the paper, handing me one so I could read it.

"How do you improve this one? It's already good." I pointed out to him. He studied it a moment and then answered me.

"Well, ya don't hafta improve dis one, an' still sell tons, but, if ya wanna sell double, ya can say something like, uh, Thousands left Homeless after three tornadoes strike! Something like dat maybe." He told me. I nodded. I figured I would be good at this, since I lied extremely well.

"Why don't da customers catch on ta ya. I mean, can't dey see dat you'se lie all da time?" I asked him. He studied me a moment.

"Where do ya come up wit dose questions?" He asked, scratching his chin. I shrugged.

"Just curious. So, wheah do ya sell?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation alive. He looked around, and pointed down the street.

"It's called Bryant Park. Not too many Manhattan newsies go down there. It's a little ways down here, not too far though." He told me, taking off in that direction, selling some papers here and there. I followed him, watching him work.

"Sorry sir. I, I jus' was hungry an' I needed food." A young boy pleaded to a man standing outside of a store.

"Yeah, right. Stealing cause ya t'ink it's funny huh?" The storekeeper inquired harshly. The little boy whimpered and shook his head. "Ya gotta do betta den dat kid." The man said, kicking the boy in the shin, causing him to fall down. "No get outta heah!" The man yelled, retreating back to his store.

"Sir, I'm dis boy's bruddah, heah, I'll buy dat orange fer him." Mush stomped over to the man, and held out some money. The man looked from the whimpering boy, to Mush, then to the money.

"Jus' get outta heah." He growled, throwing the orange at Mush, who caught it and handed it to the boy. The boy didn't even issue a thank you. He took off and ran away, orange in hand. Mush walked back over to me, actually, he walked right past me.

"Mush, are you okay?" I called after him, running up to his side. He looked furious, but didn't say anything for awhile.

"Did ya see how he treated dat kid?" He raged, quickening his pace.

"It happens everyday Mush." I explained. He just continued to ramble and rage.

"I hate how people do dat. Don't dey see dat we'se ain't jus' street trash? We'se got feelin's too. If I would've had me way, dat guy wouldn't have known wha' hit him." He said bitterly. I matched his pace and we walked in silence until we reached the park.

"Mush? Is that you?" A girl with reddish orange hair and really long bangs asked, walking over to us. Mush's face lit up a bit when he saw her.

"Same old me." He replied, walking to meet her, wrapping her in a hug.

"It's so good to see you." She said to him happily, pulling out of the hug. She had pale skin, and I noticed quickly that she had two scars on her right cheek. They were barely noticeable because her freckles covered them up.

"It's good to see you too." He replied, his mood had definitely changed.

"And whose this? A new lady friend?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow at him, flipping her hair flirtatiously. He turned around and looked at me, then back to her.

"Yeah, as a mattah of fact, dis is Magic Howell, Magic, dis is Sparks Campbell." He introduced us.

"Pleased to meet you Magic." She said over enthusiastically. I just nodded at her. "Where do you live Magic?" She asked, treating me like a little toddler. I stared at her dumbfounded, but made myself answer.

"I live ova at da Lodging House." I told her smugly, pleased at her disappointed look.

"Is that how you met Mush then?" She asked, putting on a fake smile. I smiled at her. It was obvious she liked Mush, and she wanted him, bad. She found me as a threat. Even though I knew I wasn't, I would let her think I was.

"You mean dat's how Mush met me." I corrected her, smiling smugly at her. She scowled, but held back a remark when Mush looked her way.

"Well, ya goils get ta know each oddah. I'se got papes ta sell." He said happily, walking away, into the park, shouting headlines. I just looked at her, and she looked at me, glaring.

"You got something going on with Mush?" She asked, a little bitterly. I shook my head.

"No, he's a friend." I told her, calming her nerves. She eased up a bit and smiled for real this time.

"Oh, a friend. That's good. So, Magic, you're new to Manhattan?" She asked.

"I wouldn't consider myself new. But, I don't know my way around very well." I told her. She chuckled, but they put on a straight face.

"You don't leave those boys then?" She asked, running a hand through her hair, brushing her bangs out of her face. I shook my head. She smirked. "I'm sure someone like you has attracted at least one of them." She started to hint. I raised an eyebrow at her, as we went to sit down at a small picnic table. I thought about what I was going to tell her. Yeah, I would admit that some of them were, and they didn't keep it to themselves, but, I wasn't sure if I could trust her. She seemed nice. Minus the fact that she was already angry at me for being Mush's friend, but, she knew I was only his friend.

"Yeah, I guess ya could say I 'attract' them." I did my best not to brag.

"Like who?" She asked, looking really interested in it. I smiled widely.

"Well, da ones who show it, well, let's jus say, do ya know Racetrack Higgins?" I asked her, not really answering her question. She nodded. "Well, let's say me an' him were gettin' it on." I hinted, winking at her. She almost squealed.

"What did he do?" She asked. I was too wrapped up in the conversation I did not realize I could be giving out information that could lead to my downfall.

"Well, we only kissed." I told her, her face fell a little, but not much.

"Really? Is he a good kisser?" She asked me. I nodded happily. I racked my brain for other impressing things I could tell her. I remembered Spot Conlon kissing me, but I knew that I didn't want him to. I was tempted to tell her that I had been kissed by the leader of Brooklyn, but I held back on that.

"Yeah, he was. But, he ain't talking ta me anymore. It's been almost a week now." I told her sadly. Her eyes danced gleefully, but she frowned.

"Really? I heard he has a broken rib. Does he really?" She asked me.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Why don't you go to Sheepshead Bay and see him. Everyone knows that that is where he spends his afternoon. It's his selling spot. Surprise him, it could fix everything between you two." She told me, once again brushing her bangs out of her face. I looked at her.

"I don't know how ta get dere." I told her. She smiled.

" I could tell you." She offered. I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, plus, I could give you a shortcut. It'll get you there in now time." She promised.

"Alright. T'anks." I told her.

And so, she told me.

a/n

Sorry for the delay. School started, it sucks. Yep. Anyways, I am doing my best. And I am starting the next chapter right away, so expect an update in about a week or so. I am not allowed on the computer during the week (mom's dumb rule) But don't give up on me! I write in my notebook daily for it! Never Fear! And, since, I guess I'm kinda doing like a cameo thingy, which is, I use someones character and they come up for a little bit in the story. This chapters was Sparks. Shooter was another. Knots, she isn't a cameo, she is a regular character, and Sparks may be the villian..maybe. Who knows. Anyways, Shooter might appear again, I don't know yet. If you are interested in having a cameo, just gimme

Name:

Newsie Name:

Looks:

Personality:

Are you okay with perhaps not being a teen (e.g. who would be an adult, or a toddler instead?):

E-mail: (so if I decide to use you, I can verify some things)

Not much I know, but whatever. I don't need much info. I WILL NOT USE EVERYONE, I MIGHT NOT USE ANYONE! THIS IS JUST SO ALL MY REVIEWERS GET THE CHANCE IF THEY WANT IT! EVERYONE THAT HAS BEEN IN IT SO FAR AS ASKED ME INDIVIDUALLY, AND I KNOW THAT I DON'T TALK TO ALL OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY, SO IT WASN'T FAIR. NOW IT IS, SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, DROP ME A REVIEW! AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHO I WILL USE, I DON'T KNOW IF I AM USING ANYONE!!

I like this chapter. Kinda showing how Jack is losing it all, and introduced the evil slut girl! Muhaw! (Sorry Sparks) Anyways, review please!

Shoutouts!

Uninvisible - I like to think of Jack as abusive too. Sometimes. Anyways, I always love getting your reviews! They make me very happy! Hehe! Thanks so much! Glad you like the story! Don't abuse yourself! ;) Hope you like this one!

Sparks Kelly - Well m'dear, a cameo you have gotten (Yoda talking anyone?) Anyways, I might continue to use Sparks as the evil slutty type girl, if that's okay. I'm not sure how many more times she will show up, but she will at least one more time.

Shooter - See, I might bring Shooter back! Muhaw! Ain't that awesome! Haha, your invisible friend? Interesting...Glad you liked that last chapter! Hope you liked this one!

Erin Go Bragh - Yet another chapter! Go me!

Tale Chaser- Yay! Glad you like it! You'll see the answers to your questions soon enough, I promise! Hope you enjoyed this one!

Reveiw :)