Author's Note: POV CHANGE! WOO HOO! I think I'm gonna end up changing points of view several times throughout the chapter; don't expect one like last time with one narrator the entire time. That was quite a rare occasion indeed...
Disclaimer: The Island is mine. MWAHAHA! Other than that, Newsies belongs to Disney and the characters belong to their respective owners.
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"Maybe the brains of Earth-lings naturally are slow and foggy. Maybe we are the morons of the universe. Maybe we are fixed so that we have to do things the hard way."
–Desertion, Clifford D Simak
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Kyriel"OOHH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MOOORNIIIIING! OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAAAAAAY! I'VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL FEEEEELING EVERYTHING'S GOIN' MY WAAAAAAY!"
I awoke with a jolt, rolling over and hitting into Spot, who smacked me and mumbled something unintelligible. Wonderful start to the day. I was just about ready to kill whoever had been singing.
I sat up, leaning back against my arms and rubbing my eyes. Ershey was standing happily at the water's edge, black hair blowing in the wind, singing her head off.
Oh. My. God.
"All right," said King blearily as she sat up, "I'm guessing she's a morning person."
"I vote we all run at her, tackle her to the ground, and threaten to hold her head underwater if she ever wakes us up again," said Bel.
I grinned. "Sounds good to me."
"ALL THE SOUNDS OF THE EARTH ARE LIKE MUUUSIIIIC! ALL THE SOUNDS OF THE— AAH! GUYS! GET OFF ME, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU—"
If the rest of the guys hadn't been awake before, they would be now. Most of them sat up groggily and squinted at us (except Sapphy, who, amazingly, managed to stay asleep).
"HUMAN PYRAMID, WOO HOO!" Race bellowed, flinging himself on top of us.
"HOLY SHIT, I THINK YOU JUST BROKE MY WRIST!" King yelled.
"AAH! REALLY?" Ershey yelled back.
"IT'S TURNING GREEN!" King yelled. "RACETRACK, GET THE HELL OFF ME!"
I would have yelled something back, but at the moment I was a bit busy with a mouth full of sand. Bel had somehow ended up with her head underwater. Oh, the irony ... I found myself wondering if it really was worth all this trouble to get Ershey to stop singing.
"All right, break it up!" Granny called, grabbing Racetrack around the waist and lifting him easily out of the mass of bodies.
"Well that was certainly refreshing..." Ershey said, wringing the water out of her hair. "I don't think I've ever come closer to having a heart-attack in my life."
I laughed, choked, and spat out some more sand. How pathetic.
"HEY!" Race yelled. (I've decided he's the kind of guy who talks in all capital letters.) "SAPPHY'S STILL ASLEEP! LET'S WAKE HER UP!"
"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were—" said Braids quickly, but not quickly enough.
"SAPPHY!" Race yelled, poking her shoulder. "SAPPHYSAPPHYSAPPHYSAPPH—" Wham! "OWW my NOSE!"
"Oh my god I'm sorry Race I thought you were the elephant from my dream—"
"You tried to punch an elephant in the nose???"
"I was tired, all right? Oh my god you're bleeding I'm sorry I'll never do it again I'm a little confused when I'm just waking up—"
"It's ok, I feel fibe, just gib be a binute...does edyone have a tissue or subthig?"
Flare felt around in her pockets and shook her head. "I'm wearing long sleeves, though," she said, the corner of her mouth tugging up.
"I dink I'll pass, danks," said Race and he pathetically attempting to wink at her while pinching his nose.
"I vote we figure out what we're going to eat," said Jack after a minute. "Any ideas?"
Ah. Food. I had completely forgotten.
Wow. I'd never said that before...
Emily looked back at the dense forest behind us, shading her eyes with her hand. "Maybe we should split up," she said quietly. "I mean, this is a huge island, if that's what you'd call it, and — well, we're a big group."
"Good thinking," said Jack appreciatively.
"I'b not wid Sapphy!" said Race immediately, still pinching his nose.
"Aw shaddup, I already said I was sorry!"
"I still think we should go fishing," said Braids glumly. "Are you guys sure none of you know how?"
Bumlets cleared his throat quietly. "I ... I kind of know..." he said.
Braids beamed at him. "Really???"
"Yeah..."
"I'd like to go fishing!" said Coin enthusiastically.
"All right!" Jack bellowed over the noise. "I'm splittin' you guys up! Braids, Bumlets, Coin, Spot, Scout, Itey, Kyriel, Skittery, Snitch, Swifty, Nova, and me, we're gonna go fishing. Uh let's see ... Emily, Spitfire, Race, Nani, Granny, Blink, David, Sapphy—"
"DOOOO!" Race yelled.
"What?" Jack stopped and looked at him.
"He means 'NOOOO!'" Sapphy explained. "You put me and him in the same group."
"Oh. Ok ... Anyway, you guys and Mush, Alaska, King, and Bandit, you guys go into the forest looking for, like ... fruit and all that good stuff, I guess. And the rest of you — Boots, Irish, Bel, Ershey, Cat, Chris, Soaker, Flare, Pie Eater, Dutchy, Specs, and Crutchy — I guess you should go into the forest too except over to the right so we cover more ground." Jack ran a hand through his hair, looking us all over. "Yeah, that seems about right."
"Well aren't you all-powerful?" Soaker joked, grinning at him. He looked as though he was going to stick his tongue out at her but thought better of it.
"All right, we'll meet back here around ... Dammit, I don't have a watch ... Well when it feels like noon, head back here. M'kay?"
"Roger that," said Bel in a robot voice.
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Braids
We're going fishing. Aw man, I am good.
All right, I admit I do have a bit of a fish-fetish. They're my favorite animals. Besides, I kinda wanted to see Spot hopping around all wet and shirtless. You just don't see that kind of thing nowadays...
"How do you know how to fish?" Kyriel asked Bumlets curiously once the other two groups had departed.
"I dunno..." he mumbled, nudging the sand with the toe of his sneaker. That was all the information he seemed willing to give, so we decided to let it go. Friggin' introverts. What is the world coming to??
"Guys?" said Scout suddenly. "I — well, I don't know how to swim."
"Neither do I," said Swifty. Wow, I had almost forgotten the dude was there...
"It's ok, you don't need to be able to," said Bumlets. "Here, we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way 'cause we don't have any fishing rods or anything..."
I sat myself down on the sand and pulled off my sneakers. "What exactly do you mean by 'the old-fashioned way'?"
He headed over to the forest and grabbed a stick. "Oh, that old-fashioned way," I said. He turned and grinned at me.
Wow. Actually got a smile outta the guy.
"Are these gonna be sharp enough?" asked Nova, gingerly poking the end of hers.
"Maybe get a rock or something to sharpen it with," Scout suggested. "Ooh this is so exciting! I feel so Pocahontas!"
"All right men, let's get to work," said Jack, grabbing a stick too and pulling off his long-sleeved t-shirt. Ha. Let the shirt-removing process begin — now!
"See the look of intense concentration on Kyriel's face as she approaches the wild tree-branch," Kyriel said dramatically, tip-toeing into the forest. "She circles, examining her prey at all angles, then lets out a wild war cry — and pounces! AHA! SHE RETURNS VICTORIOUS!"
I liked her.
The twelve of us ran into the ocean, singing that song at the top of our lungs at the beginning of Pocahontas when all the Native Americans are walking around collecting corn and stuff. Best song in the world, I swear. The cold, salty water hit me head-on, almost knocking my off my feet. I had never been in the ocean before. All the oceans near home were flat, heavy masses of oil and garbage and death. No one was allowed to go in them anymore.
But this one — Dude, this was friggin' amazing. The water was clear and cold and alive and I was EXCITED!!
"All right, this is how you do it," said Bumlets after the rest of us had gotten over our initial enthusiasm about being in an actual ocean (which, might I add, included Spot grabbing me around the waist and throwing me directly into a wave...) "You take the sharper end of your stick — no, don't put it near your nose, Snitch — and you stand very very still. Still, Swifty! No, stop wiggling your eyebrows at me, I want you to stand completely still and watch the water."
We all did as he instructed. It was unnerving, really, how the whooping and splashing we had been creating was suddenly replaced by utter silence apart from the waves crashing softly against the shore.
And then suddenly I saw what I knew Bumlets had been making us wait for. A small school of medium-sized fish darted past our bare ankles, glimmering in the wavering light.
"I see 'em!" Coin exclaimed. The fish darted away. "Nevermind, I don't see 'em..."
"All right, ya gotta be quiet too..." said Bumlets pointedly.
We fell back to standing still in the water, watching the waves. Well — sort of watching the waves. I had gotten over the first excitement of seeing a real live fish, and now I was kinda looking at Spot.
Hey, you would have been too! The man was wet and shirtless, for cryin' out loud!
Slowly, reluctantly, another small school swam into view. "All right, this is how it works," said Bumlets softly, leaning forward slightly in concentration. "Don't just jab at the water, they're fast and they'll swim away. You just wait for one to come to you—"
He bent down and sharply plunged his stick into the water, bringing it back up with one of the silvery fish speared on the other end. "Et voilia."
I burst into applause. "Oh that was wonderful," I gushed.
"Thanks..." said Bumlets, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. I guess he's the kind of guy who doesn't like compliments. Weirdo...
The rest of us set to work. Needless to say, we weren't half as successful as Bumlets was. Spot narrowly missed stabbing my foot instead of a fish (except I think that may have been on purpose), Snitch nearly took out Swifty's eye, and Scout somehow lost her stick...
Bumlets just wasn't cut out for leadership. He kept running between us, telling is to stop wiggling around, to watch the fish with both eyes instead of the spear, to stop getting each other in headlocks. He seemed to be having the most trouble with Swifty, who apparently had no hand-eye coordination whatsoever. Or maybe he just wanted a shirtless Bumlets to put his arms around him, hold his spear for him, and show him how to do it.
Yeah, that definitely made more sense.
All in all, we managed to get about six medium-sized fish (none of which, by the way, were mine...) and dump them on the sand by the time the other two groups arrived back. "So — fishing was a really dumb idea, wasn't it?" I said to Spot, grinning.
He scowled at me. "Yes," he said.
I don't think I'm going to give him any fish for dinner.
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Cat
"Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred miiiinuuuuutes! Five hundred, twenty-five thousand moments so deeeeaaaar!"
"Ershey, I thought you had learned your lesson about singing," said Bel in mock vehemence.
"No," said Ershey. "In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee ... in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife ... in five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes, how do you measure a year in the liiiiiiiife?"
Yep, we were an interesting group. We probably weren't gonna find anything particularly useful, but it's all good.
"All right, guys, let's pause the musical for a minute and try to find some food," said Specs, tilting his head to the side and grinning. "That sound good to you, Ersh?"
"Aw shaddup..."
"Let's play I Spy!" exclaimed Flare.
"Ooh yay!" said Bel excitedly.
Specs moaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "Come on, guys, let's play I Spy while we look for food!"
"I Spy on the move! How exotic!"
"Are you always this energetic?"
"Yes."
We proceeded into the forest, Flare desperately trying to guess what the "something yellow" Bel had chosen was. (It turned out to be the floral pattern on Specs' boxer shorts; he smacked her arm and refused to talk to her for the rest of the trip.)
I, however, wasn't having half as much fun as they all were. Crutchy and I were near the back, him because of his bad leg, and me for reasons I couldn't explain. I kept hearing this behind me, but I'd look over my shoulder and nothing would be there. It didn't sound like the usual squirrel or chipmunks, either; this thing, whatever it was, sounded huge.
"Hey," I said quietly, nudging Crutchy in the ribs. "You hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That — rustling noise behind us." I felt so stupid saying out loud.
He stopped and listened for a minute and allowed the rest of the group to drift slightly ahead. For about ten seconds we stood in silence. Nothing happened. Crutchy looked at me, a half-grin playing across his lips. "Ya sure you heard somethin'?" he asked.
"Yes!"
"All right, all right, I'll tell you if I hear anything." He winked at me. "C'mon, let's catch up with them. I'm slow enough as it is..."
"BANANAS! OOH YAY!!" came Ershey's voice from out of nowhere. Crutchy and I looked at each other, grinning, and hurried back to the group.
They were all kind of hopping around a tall, lean banana tree, apparently doing some sort of victory dance (that looked suspiciously like the Lebanese dabke, but maybe I'm just losing my mind...) "We have food, we have food!" said Soaker excitedly.
"No we don't," said Irish.
"Wha?"
"I'm like the tallest person here and I definitely can't reach that high."
"NOOO!" Itey cried, flinging himself on the ground. Bel laughed (really hard) and then did the same thing (and laughed some more).
"Guys!" Specs yelled. "Stop spazzing out! We're gonna get those bananas! Here — Boots, you're the shortest, climb up onto Irish's shoulders. No, I'm not kidding. Stop looking at me like that, just climb onto her friggin' shoulders!"
Irish bent down and allowed Boots to hop lightly on to her, and then she stood up directly under one of the clusters of banana. "HOW'S THE WEATHER UP THERE?" Ershey yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.
"Can you reach?" asked Itey anxiously. (I think he was kinda hungry.)
"No ... Yes." Boots stretched up and pulled a banana from the tree. "AHA! I am the all-mighty picker of the bananas! BOW AND FEAR ME!!"
"Just bring down the bananas!" we all yelled.
He grinned. "All right, all right ... sheesh, you guys need to take a chill pill..." He reached up again, this time trying to grab one higher up on the clump. Unfortunately, it was stuck. He tugged, scowled, yanked harder, and suddenly the whole bunch of bananas fell and landed with a splat on top of the rest of us standing below.
Boots cringed and slowly looked down at us. "Well," said Ershey again, wiping banana paste out of her eyes, "that was refreshing."
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Spitfire
Racetrack's nose pretty much stopped bleeding about three minutes into our trek into the woods.
I just learned what "trek" means. Now I get it — Star Trek? Like a journey through the stars! Oh my god, I'm so excited...
Ahem. Racetrack's nose pretty much stopped bleeding about three minutes into our trek through the woods. We were all pretty happy about this, considering he kept grumbling incoherently about Sapphy and asking if we were all sure we didn't have tissues.
"So what exactly are we looking for?" asked Mush curiously.
"Any edible outgrowth from the plants," said David.
Show-off...
Mush just looked more confused at this. "I think he means fruit," said Bandit, grinning at him.
"Oh," said Mush.
"We are on a quest for bananaaaaaaaas!" sang Nani.
"Not necessarily bananas," said Alaska.
"Aw shut up, I'm having a musical moment," said Nani.
"Well let's GO on our quest instead of singing about it, how's that?" said Race, grinning. "Come, good sirs and gentle ladies, onward we go into the depths of—" He stopped and thought a minute. "I call this land — Racetrack Forest!"
If any of us had bananas, we would have thrown them at him.
We did, however, follow his lead and head into "Racetrack Forest" with our eyes peeled for bananas.
Heh heh ... sorry, I couldn't resist. But our eyes peeled? Looking for bananas? Because you peel a banana??? All right, I'm done...
"I'm Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say bananas have to ripen in a special way!" sang Sapphy. "When they're flecked with brown and have a golden hue, that's the time bananas are ripe for you!"
"I know that song!" I exclaimed. "You can put them in a salad, you can put them in a pie-ie-ie-ie! Any way you want to eat them, it's impossible to beat them! Now bananas like the climate of the tropical equator, so you never put bananaaaaaaaaaas in the refrigerator!"
Sapphy and I then went into a sort of complex dance, hopping around and singing our glorious Chiquita Banana song. Naturally, we got quite a few funny looks from our banana-seeking friends...
"I think I see something!" said King suddenly, hopping up and down (because she was, mind you, quite short).
"Hey!" said Sapphy grumpily. "Those aren't bananas!"
And indeed they weren't. We all looked up at the tree before us, scratching our heads and wondering what the hell the thing was.
"I think — they're mangos," said David after a minute.
"What the hell is a mango?" Racetrack demanded.
"They're good — here, Granny, you should be tall enough — reach up and grab one of them, would you?" asked David politely.
Granny stood on tiptoe and pulled a fruit from the nearest branch. It was reddish and large, about the size of both my clenched fists together. David took it from her and sat himself down on the forest floor, grabbing a sharp stone and wiping the dirt off onto his pants. Holding it like a pencil, he cut a straight line around the circumference of the mango and pulled it open.
We all got to try some. Sapphy put her hand on her forehead and pretended to swoon after her first bite.
It was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. They just didn't have exotic fruits like these back home; I mean you could get bananas and apples at the grocery stores, but never anything like this...
We took about ten (David had told us not to take them all because they'd go bad) and then Alaska volunteered to rip of a small strip of her shirt and tie it to a tree branch every few yards so that we could find the tree later on. Now that's innovation for you.
"I wonder if the other guys managed to get anything," I said. Frankly, I was starving.
"I'll bet they did," said Sapphy. "And when we get back, I'm making fish-and-mango pancakes."
Well then.
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Shoutouts!!!
rogue: Crapping in a hole in the ground ... Hmm. Never considered where they would "relieve themselves", if you will. Thank you for the inspiration (lol) and the review!
TechniColor DreamGirl: I love Bandit too! Can we clone him or something so that we each get one? lol, thank you so much for your characters (I adore them!!!) and the review! I love ya!
uninvisible: Oww I just crushed my thumb and now I can't type ... Whatever. Thank you SO MUCH for your review, I love you! I really wish I could offer you another spot in the casting call, but I think I've bitten off more than I can chew with 36 characters and counting. :-D If there are any other openings I'll let you know!
ShortAtntionSpaz: Ah, my long-lost reviewer! I admit, I've missed you terribly and the bizarre footnotes on your reviews. I'll definitely let you know if I need any lab-coaters or something, lol. Thanks for the review, I love ya!
Ccat: Aw man I feel incredibly special. Thanks so much for the review, I love ya!
Madison Square: Have I told you I love your name? No? Well I love your name. :-D Thanks so much for the review, I love ya!
Coin: Yes, lots of people. And, ironically, I'm more of a Bumlets-type person; very introverted, rather anti-social at times ... not quite to the extreme point like he is, but ... yeah. Anyway, thanks for the review!
Repeats: I TRIED TO MAKE FLARE TALK IN LOWER-CASE A LITTLE MORE THIS CHAPTER. WAS THIS BETTER? lol, I dunno where I get all my crazy songs ... I have connections. Thanks for the review, I love ya!
Soaker: Go ditz-impersonators! WOO HOO! I myself suck at being ditzy, actually ... I just don't have it in me to be that enthusiastic ... lol, thanks for the review!'
singin'-newsies-goil: lol! You got a whole narration this chapter, are you happy now?? lol, jk, it was a PLEASURE! Now update your story, woman, before I get my spears out of the closet again!! Thanks for the review, I love ya!
ershey: Yes, I named Bumlets Marius because I went to see Les Mis in Westford and the guy who played Marius looked just like Bumlets ... only hotter. I think I blacked out when I first saw him, lol. Thanks SO MUCH for the review, I love ya!
KyrielF: You? Dramatic? Pfft, don't make me laugh ... HOORAY FOR TALKING LIKE YODA! WOO HOO! Thanks for the review, I love ya!
Sapphy: lol!!! All right, funniest review award definitely goes to you! WOO HOO! What's wrong with fishing? I love fishies, they're so slimy and ... Oh, I see your point. Well I love you for who you are, despite your strange fear of aquatic life forms. Thanks for reviewing!
tinydanceremily: You know, I think you're one of the characters with like less than one line per chapter. I'm so sorry!! I shall try to get you in more ... hey, I have a proposal to make. Would you be willing to go out with Davey at the end? I understand that a lot of people really can't stand him, but it would really work with the plotline and your characters work well together so ... is that all right? It's perfectly fine if you don't wanna, I just wanted to make sure. Thanks for reviewing!!
klover: Yeah, the voices in my head drown out thought for me too ... lol, thanks for the review, I love ya!!
nani: I think I had you singing this time, right? Thanks for the review (short as it was, lol...)
Scout73: Of COURSE you got in, Scouters, and of COURSE you were with Snitchy-poo!! How could you NOT be? It's SCOUT! Ok I need to hold back on the capital letters ... I love you, thanks for the review!
Cassies-Grandma: I'm sorry, it's real hard to get everyone as many lines as, say, Sapphy (who it's just impossible NOT to give a billion lines to, lol). I'll try to get you in more in the future, how's that? Thanks for reviewing, I love ya!
Dakki: SWUMLETS! AHAHA! AHOY! Ok I'm all right ... I loved you interpretation of "the elevator of doom". Brilliant, I daresay! We have to co-write a story sometime, shall we? Lol, thanks for reviewing! (I have to read Lord of the Flies, it seems I'm the only one here who hasn't read it yet ... I've been told it's required for ninth grade English, so I've got a little time. Is it any good or just disturbing and creepy?)
SpotLover421: I AM FACED WITH A DILEMMA! HELP ME! I really wanted Spot and Race to be gay but apparently they've already flirted waaay too much with the other girls for that to happen ... any thoughts? Just wondering. Thanks so much for the review, I love ya!!
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Author's Note: PHEW! Man that was long ... And all those shoutouts! Thanks to all reviewers, and I just want to say I'm sorry if you didn't get as many lines as you would have hoped. In theory everyone will get a little narration section so just be patient, your time will come. ;-) I love you all!!!
-Saturday