Mouth fumed as he walked down the street. He was mad that she had meddled
in things that were none of his business. His feet led him down Duane
Street to the main roads of Manhattan. Before long he realized where he
was going. Brooklyn. He hadn't been there since he was a kid. He passes
by a empty store front and looked at his reflection. He had green eyes and
copper skin- a combination one didn't see very often. He continued walking
and put his hands in his pockets for warmth. It was around midnight and
only the scum of New York was on the streets now. He saw homeless kids
sleeping, homeless men walking around looking through trash cans. He
didn't like what he saw, but he reminded himself that he and his brother
had been just like that up until a few years ago. He drove his hands
deeper in his pockets and had a fleeting thought of the warm bunkroom, or
at least his jacket. He knew Skunk would be worried but he'd apologize
tomorrow and sell with him for a few days to make up for it. He had pulled
this kinda thing before so he knew that Ryan and Orion wouldn't be too
worried. Before he knew it he was on the Brooklyn bridge. He stopped and
stared down at the water. No boats had come through for hours so the water
was calm. He sighed and continued on. He came to his destination. It was
an old warehouse. No one ever used it anymore. He climbed through the
secret entrance he had devised into the darkness of the warehouse. He knew
where the light was (he had put it there himself). He picked up the small
kerosene lamp and the matches. Soon the room was filled with the small
amount of light. He sat down and put his head in his hands. He had worked
off his anger by the time he had gotten to the bridge. Now he just felt
stupid. How could I have forgotten? I knew he needed the money- he's
been talking about if for weeks. You're such a jerk! he berated himself
in his mind. I'll have to apologize tomorrow. Maybe me, Orion, and Mouth
can sell together tomorrow. he fell asleep and didn't notice the light
go out.
The next morning dawned bright and clear, with promise of summer temperatures. Mouth awoke groggy and sore from sleeping sitting on the floor. He undid his ponytail and ran his hands through his hair. It was still dusk out, so he could get home in time to sell the morning edition if her hurried. He jogged the whole way back- an athleticism he got from living on the streets and running from the bulls when he was younger. He saw his fellow newsies pour from the building, laughing and shouting. Skunk came out and was the first to see him. He ran over to him and threw himself at his brother. He returned the hug and set him down.
"Sorry I left and didn't tell you. I was just upset and needed to walk it off. Can we sell together tomorrow?" His brother smiled widely.
"Sure. Don't worry 'bout it." He responded and ran off to join his friends. He noticed Sunshine walk out.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked
"Sure. Talk to you later, Wild" he aid goodbye to her friend and follower the boy away from the throng of excited teenagers. They walked in silence for a minute then both began at the same time.
"I'm sorry…." They said. They both grinned at each other when Sunshine let out a racking cough.
"You okay? You don't sound too good." He asked, concerned. What he didn't know was that Linda refused to tell him that she had slept on the streets, too tired to walk back to the lodging house. She had left about an hour after he had. Sunshine had looked in all the alleys she could find, looking for Mouth. She had eventually given up and fallen asleep, hopelessly lost. The next morning one of the older newsies had found her and brought her home. She refused to stay in bed that day and decided to go selling anyway, against Ryan, and Jack's, wishes. She nodded just as another bought of coughs overtook her. They walked for a little ways and Mouth excused himself to go talk to Ryan. He found him just a head and caught up to him easily. He matched his pace while he decided how to ask. He finally just decided to be blunt.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked, looking at Ryan.
"She was out all night looking for you" the barely sheathed anger evident in his voice.
"She what?" he asked again, not believing his ears, "Why?"
"Unlike the rest of us she didn't realize that you do this a lot and refused to listen to any of us when we tried to tell her. She was convinced you would get hurt or something being out this late, and she got it into her head that it was her fault." Mouth just walked in silence. He didn't believe that someone would do something like that for him. He had never had anybody but Skunk worry about him, it was a scary feeling that he wasn't sure if he liked or not.
The next morning dawned bright and clear, with promise of summer temperatures. Mouth awoke groggy and sore from sleeping sitting on the floor. He undid his ponytail and ran his hands through his hair. It was still dusk out, so he could get home in time to sell the morning edition if her hurried. He jogged the whole way back- an athleticism he got from living on the streets and running from the bulls when he was younger. He saw his fellow newsies pour from the building, laughing and shouting. Skunk came out and was the first to see him. He ran over to him and threw himself at his brother. He returned the hug and set him down.
"Sorry I left and didn't tell you. I was just upset and needed to walk it off. Can we sell together tomorrow?" His brother smiled widely.
"Sure. Don't worry 'bout it." He responded and ran off to join his friends. He noticed Sunshine walk out.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked
"Sure. Talk to you later, Wild" he aid goodbye to her friend and follower the boy away from the throng of excited teenagers. They walked in silence for a minute then both began at the same time.
"I'm sorry…." They said. They both grinned at each other when Sunshine let out a racking cough.
"You okay? You don't sound too good." He asked, concerned. What he didn't know was that Linda refused to tell him that she had slept on the streets, too tired to walk back to the lodging house. She had left about an hour after he had. Sunshine had looked in all the alleys she could find, looking for Mouth. She had eventually given up and fallen asleep, hopelessly lost. The next morning one of the older newsies had found her and brought her home. She refused to stay in bed that day and decided to go selling anyway, against Ryan, and Jack's, wishes. She nodded just as another bought of coughs overtook her. They walked for a little ways and Mouth excused himself to go talk to Ryan. He found him just a head and caught up to him easily. He matched his pace while he decided how to ask. He finally just decided to be blunt.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked, looking at Ryan.
"She was out all night looking for you" the barely sheathed anger evident in his voice.
"She what?" he asked again, not believing his ears, "Why?"
"Unlike the rest of us she didn't realize that you do this a lot and refused to listen to any of us when we tried to tell her. She was convinced you would get hurt or something being out this late, and she got it into her head that it was her fault." Mouth just walked in silence. He didn't believe that someone would do something like that for him. He had never had anybody but Skunk worry about him, it was a scary feeling that he wasn't sure if he liked or not.
