CASTING CALL NOTICE:
It was a really hard decision deciding who to cast. I purposely chose characters I felt I would be most capable of representing as individual people in this story. I hope all of you keep reading regardless.
Much love,
Legs
Shout ins:
Lil Rain Angel: Race acts dumb but hopefully, he'll catch on soon. Thanks. :)
Sureshot: I'm so glad you liked it! I was afraid I was rushing that chapter. :) Thank you.
I'm really, really sorry but I can't put Karone in the story. Since Kristen has already been in this story, I felt like I had to be fair and give some new people story room. :( I hope you don't hate me. I may be starting a new story soon and I'll be having a casting call. I think Karone may be an excellent character for it.
Race: Ha, told ya, Glum n' Dumb! Ya second best! She likes me bettah. (grins happily)
Skits: (pouts)
Shorty Carter: Yes, it was a short chapter? But do I get brownies? (pitiful face)
Diane will be making her entrance this chapter or next. :D Hope you like her.
snipah higgins: Allesandra has a part.
Marriage? Heheh. You'll see...
Race has the coolest eyes.
I'll go review your latest stuff now. :D
Chicago: Thank you, as always, darling! This will be challenging. Hope I write it right. (ick, puns...) Let me know what you think. :)
Dreamer: Racetrack just gets cuter and cuter.
Heather is in! Hope you like what I did with her. If you don't, feel free to send hate mail. :(
Spot: Why would anybody send me hate mail? Aftah all, everybody loves me.
Jack: (snorts) Yeah, right.
Spot: Do I smell sahcasm on yoah breath, Jackie-boy?
Jack: Me? No, nevah.
Spot: I'se don't believe you.
Jack: Good cos yoah head is gettin' ta be da size a da Brooklyn Bridge!
Spot: Yoah lookin' foah a soakin', Kelly!
Angelic One: I'm so glad you liked this chapter! I wasn't sure about it when I posted.
Britt's character is in, as well. Let me know what you think.
o0B-i-r-d-y0o: Wonder if they'll get married? Heheh. That would be interesting. Lol. Thanks.
I'm sorry I wasn't able to fit Mia in. (weeps) I printed out all the character profiles and pored over them for a long time trying to piece them together into the plot. There was absolutely nothing wrong with your character, I just had a limit. If I wrote too many characters, I couldn't give enough attention to each one's personal story. :(
Thank you so much for your great reviews! I hope you keep reading even though I am a lousy, rotten fanfic writer who doesn't deserve to live! (bows head in shame)
Lady Elwen: YAY! So glad you liked this part.
Legs: (grabs mop and starts cleaning up the puddle that is Elwen)
No, no improv. Don't worry. (pats Lady's shoulder) Improvisation is way hard.
And I am very happy to announce your character has been cast! :D Do you mind if Sarah's best friend is Diane Carter? Your characters match perfectly. If you hate this idea, let me know fast. :) Thanks...mwah. Love you!
feisty: I know. The marriage thing has upset a lot of you. We'll see what happens.
Jessica's so in and I have a really, really fun part for her. I hope you like it. She'll be introduced in either this chapter or the next.
Phoenix: I'm so glad Ruin's flattered. Spot, calm down. You're not dead. Yet. Heheh.
I'm sorry but since I already cast Ruin, I can't cast Charlotte! (cries hysterically) I want to give as many people as I can a chance to be in the story! :( I hope you don't mind. I will be having a casting call for another story before too terribly long, I think. Love you, punkin!
Raven: Spot didn't give up his title. He declared an heir to his Brooklyn "throne."
Spot sees Raven as someone who is much better than him. In fact, someone too good for Brooklyn. She doesn't really think about it this way... but somewhere in her is a desire to rise above the filthy New York streets and be something more refined than a newsgirl. Just a half-wish whispered in the deep recesses of her heart.
Spot: (complaining) Deah she goes again! All dramatic and crazy!
Raven: (sighing) I t'ink it's very roman'ic. (kisses Spot)
Spot: (puts his arm around Raven, grumpily) Yeah, yeah.
NicNac: Yeah, I can't believe she slapped him, either! Tanya, how could you?
Racetrack: (steals kit-kat)
Legs: HEY! That's MINE!
Racetrack: Not anymoah. (unwraps candy bar and takes a big bite)
Legs: Gimme!
Racetrack: (grins evilly, licks all the way around the edge of the kitkat, then innocently offers it to Legs)
Legs: Ew! You freak! I'm gonna tell NicNac on you!
Racetrack: Oh, no! (mock horror) I'm terribly frighten'd. (chuckles and finishes off kitkat)
Moonlight: Yeah, fights are bad but then they end up closer together after so it's ok. Yes, they still love each other. Awww...
Thank you so much for your faithful reviews and sweet character! I'm sorry I can't fit her in this time. :( Please forgive me! I could only fit so many. I just didn't have room. I still love you. Don't hate me, don't hate me. (cringes)
Racetrack: She should hate you. Aftah all, you'se didn't use huh charactuh!
Legs: But...I...tried...
Racetrack: 'Scuses, 'scuses. Moonlight, I'm wid you, baby. You tell huh ta shut up and quit writin'! Doity rotten scabbah!
Artemis-chan: I'm not sure what Bumlets wanted to do with his life. We'll have to see what comes of it.
Spot is being unusually deep. Race, too! Must be something in the water.
I really wish I could put Jill in the story but I can't! :( I want to be able to really focus on each character and if I cast every person that wanted to be in it, I couldn't give them good story lines. I'm so, so sorry! I hope you keep reading. :( Love you much!
Racetrack: A'right, Ahtemis, but you'se makin' a big mistake.
Blink: Yay! So...da foist t'ing you do is take da cahds out of da box.
Racetrack: (sarcastically)No, REALLY?
Blink: (brightly) Yeah, I know! It surprised me, too!
Racetrack: (waves dejectedly) When you'se get fed up wid dis bozo, you can find me at da track.
Kristan: Oh, please don't bow to me!
I'm sorry your character didn't make it in this time. I really had very limited space this time around. :( I hope you keep reading.
Hey, that's a good idea! Spot could commit suicide! Brilliant! No, seriously. I don't know what's up with him exactly. We'll have to keep going to find out, I suppose.
I promise to read your stories as soon as I can! :) Spot's cute. Thank you so much.
RacetracksGambler: Yeah, isn't it weird thinking how old they would be if they were alive today? I don't think Tanya will let that stop her. Heheh. Thanks. Mwah.
skinflint: I'm so excited that you like this! Yeah, I was worried about writing Racetrack. Thank you for your encouraging review! :)
ChubbyCheeks: Broadway is awesome. Yes, we all wonder if Race is going to stay. Can't say where the Max voice comes in or even if it does. I'm not quite positive, yet. Thanks! :)
eternal-sugar-high: No butcher knife, thank goodness! I really, really wish I could put everyone in this story but I can't. :( I love you all so much! Thank you forever for your review! Hope you like the new chapter.
Bella: BELLA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Oh, that's right. But I missed you HORRIBLY!
Jack: Tan and blonde? (looks impressed)
Racetrack: Who? Wheah? (reads review, mutters) It ain't faiah.
Jack: Legsy, tell huh I'se still love huh wid much affection.
Legs: Okay.
Racetrack: (mimicking Jack in high voice) wid much affection, nanannaaaaa...
ShortyAtntionSpaz: Thickening plots...yum.
Isn't Kennyon great? (hugs Kennyon)
Thanks, darling! Here's more...
Ivy: You're back! Sheesh, you all keep leaving me! (pouts for half a second) Race is adorable when he doesn't know what's going on. He's adorable when he does, too! :D
I'm sorry Ivy isn't in the story this time. :( I feel horrible. I would really like to write a story with triplets in it. That would be fun.
Love you always.
imaginelet: Yes, the business trip was awfully convenient, wasn't it? (wink)
Thanks for your wonderful reviews as always and forever! (hugs let) (and by the way, I missed you! Glad you're back) :)
Sapphy: Hey, babe! So glad you found this story! :) (hugs Sapphy)
Racetrack: (snorts) Yeah, Legs speaks Italian and I'm havin' an affaih wid Pulitzah.
Mush: (wide eyed) You ah?
Racetrack: It's an expression, bonehead.
Legs: Actually, I use this great online translator- @worldlingo.co.uk
Racetrack: In udda woids, she cheats.
Legs: Oh, and you don't?
Racetrack: Shut up, Legsy owah I'll soak ya.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Newsies. Sad, I know.
****
The honking of a car horn jolted Tanya upright, her eyes wide. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was. Oh, yes...she was home.
Pulling her short frame off the edge of the bed, she peered into the mirror on her dresser, her curls limp on either side of her face. The beginnings of a zit peeked out from the corner of her mouth.
A sick, heavy feeling made her legs wobble. Tanya groaned. At least, she hadn't stayed in 1900 long enough to experience THIS time of the month.
A crash and a yell from down the hall made her wince.
****
The sun was just coming up. The Conlons had forgotten sleep and sat slumped on the lodging house roof top, the sun breaking in fiery rays just under the great bridge.
"Too good foah Brooklyn," Ruin repeated.
Spot nodded, "Yeah."
"She was bohn heah!"
"No, she wasn't."
"Huh?"
"Raven wasn't bohn in Brooklyn."
****
"Racetrack Higgins, what are you doing?"
"I jus' wanted ta see what was in da box and so I tried ta open it but..." he looked down at the black box on the living room floor then back at Tanya. "It wouldn't open," he informed her, meekly.
She sighed, "Race, it's a television. You're not supposed to open it."
"What do ya do wid a box you'se can't open?"
She grunted as she lifted it back into the entertainment center, "You...turn it...on." She pushed the power button and it flicked on.
Britney Spears and her Pepsi commercial flitted across the screen.
Tanya turned to see a frozen Racetrack, plastered to the wall, his eyes brimming with incredulity. "What's DAT?" he squeaked as the scantily-clad blond winked at the camera.
"A tv. It's...it's a moving picture," she tried to explain.
The newsie stalked up to the screen and eyed it from every angle he could manage. "How does it woik?"
"Um..." Tanya had always hated science. "I don't know," she confessed, honestly.
"Why not?" he turned to look at her, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.
"It works. What else do I need to know?"
"What if it breaks?"
"I take it to the tv repair shop."
"You mean...deah ah MOAH of dese t'ings?" Racetrack looked shocked.
****
"How do you'se know wheah she was bohn?" Ruin looked skeptical.
A memory, thirteen years old...full of images and sound... flashed through Spot's mind. He tried desperately to banish it but back it came...
~FLASHBACK~
"Conlon..." he motioned towards a weatherbeaten crate.
A nod, "Huntah."
"What do you want." It was a command, not really a question.
Spot nodded to himself. The begrudged respect he had for the Bronx was growing. Why waste time? Get to the point. He would have to remember that when he was leader of Brooklyn.
"Da sellin' cohna you boys is holdin' in ouah territory."
"Yeah?"
Spot nodded, "Y-..." a soft cry in the room next door interrupted. "What's dat?" he asked.
Hunter met the newsie's narrowing eyes, then looked shiftily away, "Nuttin. Now about dis cohna..."
The wail grew in volume.
"Dat ain't nuttin!" Spot shouted, standing up.
Hunter stood up, pulling himself a good three inches over the other newsie, "You sayin' I'm lyin'?"
Spot's blue eyes, so young and so un-innocent, bore deep into Hunter's green ones, sizing him up. He shook his head, "Why bothah? You'se know what you ah widout any help from me."
Hunter started forward with an angry fist but the distinct, piercing cry from the next room distracted them both.
"What IS dat?" Spot asked again, starting towards the door.
"None a yoah consoin, Spot."
"Well, I'm makin' it my consoin...why? Whatcha got in deah?" The newsboy craned his neck curiously.
Hunter was bent over something. A bundle of rags...a bundle of moving rags that was sobbing so loudly Spot felt a funny, unfamiliar ache pound in his heart. Then all of a sudden, the sobbing died out.
Spot ran forward and pushed past Hunter to stare at the bundle. "A BABY?" he yelped. "You'se keepin' a baby in heah?"
The tiny face had shadowy dimples and a pair of dusky hazel eyes...eyes now glazed over and almost unresponsive.
"What did ya do?"
"Nuttin."
"What's wrong wid huh?"
"'S only way ta make huh be quiet."
Spot grasped the ragged collar of the older boy's shirt and yanked him down to his level, "What did ya do?"
Hunter revealed an empty syringe in his left hand...
As Spot's seven-year-old feet pounded hard against the cobblestones, he hugged the bundle tighter to his shirt. It was getting awfully heavy.
~END OF FLASHBACK~
"Raven's always lived wid us. I remembah!" Ruin insisted.
****
"Wheah ah we goin'?"
"We have to pick up my sister at ten o'clock."
"Da clock on yoah..." Racetrack paused, trying to remember the correct word, "Mi-cro-wave...said it was only nine."
"I know. But we have to go shopping first."
"Shoppin'?"
****
"I remembah, Spot."
Her brother shrugged. He didn't care to discuss it. It wasn't even relevant. "Dat ain't da point."
"You'se said she was..."
"I'se said she's too good foah Brooklyn."
"But she was bohn heah!"
Spot sighed, "It don't mattah wheah you was bohn, Ruin. Eithah you belong deah owah ya don't." The faraway look got sadder, "Raven wants somet'in' she ain't gonna find heah."
****
"What's wrong wid my clothes?" Race complained.
Tanya rolled her eyes and tried to pretend she didn't see the many stares they were receiving.
"Trust me, Racetrack. You need different clothes."
She yanked him through the opening subway doors, ignoring the angry "hey's!" and "watch it's!" She pushed him down into the last remaining seat in the car.
The newsboy started to protest, "Wheah ah you gonna...?"
Tanya perched herself in his lap.
Racetrack felt his face grow hot. Sure, this kind of thing might be in good taste in a dance hall or parlor house or some such place but in public? In broad daylight?
A funny noise made him turn his head. He recoiled instantly in horror. A man with a bright blue mohawk and half a dozen silver piercings dotting his face was making out heavily with a short blond who looked ready to fall backwards into Racetrack's already occupied lap.
Race gave Tanya a scared look. She giggled.
****
Raven heard murmuring as she climbed up the drain pipe to the roof. As her head appeared at the top, a startled Spot and Ruin jolted suddenly from their conversation.
"I'se gonna get goin," Ruin mumbled and made a leap for the fire escape.
Standing up, Spot let his arms fall around Raven. "Miss me?" he smirked.
"Yeah, whatevah, Conlon." A deep auburn ringlet fell in her face and she shook her head, reaching up a slender finger to push it back.
****
"Tanya, I'se don't look right." The newsie tugged at the front of his cap, pulling it into a point like he always did.
She had to admit...Racetrack did look different wearing Gap jeans.
She opened her mouth to speak but a tiny salesgirl seemed to appear out of nowhere and cut her off, "Oh. My. Gosh. You look so HOT!"
Racetrack frowned, "It's not hot in heah."
The girl giggled, "And your hat is adorable! Where did you get it?"
"Uh..."
"I'm Jill!" she giggled.
Racetrack seemed to forget the foreign surroundings, his street charm switching on like a light. "I'm Race. Pleased ta meetcha."
Tanya felt the jealous knot in the pit of her stomach grow as the girl beamed at him.
"Race?" the salesgirl giggled.
He nodded, politely.
"Well, Race, those jeans look great on you," she murmured in what Tanya could only assume was supposed to be a seductive voice.
Racetrack seemed to understand the meaning behind her flirtatious words but looked more amused than interested. He stared past her to Tanya. His crooked grin and dancing eyes seemed to laugh silently.
****
" Hundreds of Cohpses Discovahed in Pulitzah's Bedroom!" Raven shouted.
Spot glanced down at the headline he held: Dead Rats Found in World Building. "Dat was a quite a stretch, Rave."
She shrugged her shoulders, throwing him a half-smile as she batted her eyes at a potential customer.
Spot planted a swift kiss on her neck before shoving a paper over his head, "Money Found Growin' On Trees!"
Three passerbys immediately stopped to purchase a newspaper.
Raven was giving him a strange look, "Whea'd ya find dat one?"
"I made it up," he said..
She shook her head. "Yoah gonna get soaked one a dese days and don't count on me ta go savin' yoah lousy bum from da bulls!"
"You'd miss dis lousy bum if it wasn't heah."
Raven grinned, "Yeah, you'd look funny wid out it."
A group of girls, dressed in head to toe lace, passed them, heads high. Raven stopped smiling. She stepped forward, quietly, "Buy a pape, miss?"
The young woman she addressed looked at her pretty white gloves and then the dirty newspaper. She smiled condescendingly and held out a dime, "I haven't any use for a 'pape,' but please accept this token of good will." As she stepped away, she murmured, "Buy yourself some decent clothes." Her companions tittered into their parasols.
Raven felt a sick, ripping in the deepest, most secret part of her soul. She pressed the cool dime to her cheek, wishing the heat inflaming her face would die down. The newsgirl tapped two fingers to the edge of her cap. She gritted her teeth, her voice scarce above a whisper, "Much obliged."
The rich women passed on and Raven watched their delicate boots simpering daintily on the rough street with envy. She sucked in a sharp breath and scuffed her toe against the cobblestones. She was torn between pocketing the much needed cash and the pride that welled within her to throw it into the gutter with an unladylike word to accompany it.
****
Tanya rang the doorbell. "Racetrack, do you have to wear that hat? It doesn't go with your shirt."
The newsie looked down at his cotton-knit yellow shirt. "I'm wearin' it," he said stubbornly, sticking a finger in Tanya's face, "And dat means it goes togetha, goily. What ah we doin' heah?"
"Getting my sister."
The door opened. "Tanya, sweetie, come in. Who's this?"
"This is my friend...Anthony."
Race gave her a strange look but smiled as he tugged respectfully on his cap, "Ma'am."
"So formal! A friend, huh?" Mrs. Hannedy raised her eyebrows.
Tanya's cheeks went pink as she asked, "Where's Jenny?"
"Oh, upstairs." The woman called, "Michelle, Tanya's here to get Jennifer!"
"Awwwwww!" Groans and cries of protest floated down the stairs.
Tanya smiled, "Thanks so much for taking care of her."
"Oh, any time. She could have stayed longer if you needed her to. I know you're busy." Mrs. Hannedy hesitated then added, "I tried to call last night around eight to see if you needed anything but..." she coughed, "there was no answer."
The girl at once felt annoyed and embarrassed. Margaret Hannedy was a kind woman but she could be irritatingly caring.
"I wasn't home," she said truthfully.
"I figured as much. So, Anthony, where do you go to school?"
Racetrack looked helplessly at Tanya, "I...don't."
"You...don't?"
"Nah, I..."
Tanya interrupted, "Tony's already finished school."
"Yeah. Yeah, dat's right," Racetrack echoed, once again confident.
"Really? You look so young!"
"I'm nineteen," he said, teeth gritted. Tanya guessed it didn't matter what century you were from. No teenager wanted to be told they looked younger than they were.
"Oh, I see," Mrs. Hannedy responded vaguely, calling up the stairs again, "Michelle and Jenny!"
"We're coming, Mom!"
Two eight-year olds came bounding down the stairs, tripping and giggling.
Jenny Farthing was small for her age with bone straight hair the same color as Tanya's. Her pale brown eyes flicked from Mrs. Hannedy to her sister to the young stranger with the funny hat.
"Who are you?" she blurted.
The newsie grinned, "Racetrack. Who ah you?"
"Tanya's sister," she said importantly.
"Well, in dat case..." Race spit in his hand and held it out.
"Ewww!"
****
"Shonda! Lemme in!"
"Yeah, LaShonda, it's our room, too!"
LaShonda Smith sighed and rolling off her bed, yanked the door open, "It's not anymore! I've taken over! Now go away!"
"We'll tell Mom," they announced in unison.
"RGGGGGHHHH!!!!" she retreated into the bedroom, slumping onto the bean bag in the corner.
"LaShonda!" her mother called.
"Yeah, WHAT?"
"Excuse me?"
Sigh, "Yes, Mom?"
"Tanya's here."
LaShonda perked up, "Coming!"
She bounded into the living room but stopped suddenly at the sight of not just Tanya and Jenny but a cute Italian guy with a weird hat on, as well.
"Uh, hi."
"Hi, um Shonda, this is Racetrack. Race, this is my best friend, LaShonda Marie."
LaShonda found herself blushing under his gaze. "It's nice to meet you," she stammered.
"Da pleashah's all mine," he winked and scratched his forehead, his mouth open slightly.
Tanya's friend shot her a 'is he for real' look.
Tanya smiled weakly.
Racetrack felt a tug on his shirt. He looked at Jenny, "Yeah?"
"Do you want to play Uno with us?"
"What's dat?"
"It's a game. See?" LaShonda's sister held up a deck of cards.
Race's face lit up.
****
"So you get seven cahds?"
"Yes."
"And den what?"
"We flip one card up and play on it."
"How?"
"Like if you have a yellow card you can put that down or if you have a three of any color you can put that down."
"What about dis one?" Racetrack held out a wild card for Jenny's inspection.
"Don't show me!" she scolded.
"But..."
****
LaShonda yanked Tanya into the kitchen, "Who is THAT?"
"Um..."
"Do you like him?"
"Well..."
"Does he like you?"
"Ye..."
"How old is he?"
"Uh..."
"What's with his hat?"
"He..."
"He's really cute."
Tanya grinned, "Isn't he?"
****
"UNO!" LaShonda's sister shrieked happily.
Race smiled grimly.
"Having fun, Race?" Tanya asked, poking her head out of the kitchen.
"If ya don't mind," Racetrack coughed, "I'se gotta concentrate."
"On Uno?" LaShonda gave Tanya another look.
****
"He's from WHERE?"
"I know you don't believe me but..."
"Oh, but of COURSE I do! Why WOULDN'T I?" LaShonda's voice was inked with sarcasm, "Hey, and Tanya, did I ever tell you about how I'm REALLY from another PLANET?"
Tanya sighed.
****
"Well, I t'ink we'se done playin' Uno, now," Racetrack announced, after losing his tenth hand.
"What will we play instead?"
"You goils know how ta play pokah?"
"Pokah? What's that?"
****
a/n: whoa that was long. I'm really sorry it took me this long to update! :( Love you all. :)
