I own Piston, Kathleen, Adrian, Slice, and the bacon! LOL! YEAH!! I finally own something! WOOT WOOT!!! Aaaaanyways...read on and enjoy! Hope you guys can forgive the very sporadic updates, I haven't much time to just sit at the computer and type, but now that band camp is over, I can!! YEAH!!
"Do you wake up in the iron dark and hear the spring lambs screaming, Clarice?"- Dr. Hannibal Lector, "The Silence of the Lambs" (don't know if I got that quote TOTALLY right, but it's close enough)Ch. 4-Switchblade's Story"All right, you ding-a-lings! I've fixed it with Adrian, youse have all got an extra hour of sleep comin' to ya this morning, you can thank me later."
Rook looked up at me with sleep-filled eyes, and just stared at me.
"And WHY did you feel it was necessary to wake us up to tell us this?" he asked sleepily.
"'Cause it's fun to watch youse twitch in the morning, Rook" I said, grinning. I got no response except for Rook's soft snoring-he'd fallen asleep again.
"Weirdo" I chuckled to myself, then crawled back into my own bed.
Only to be shaken roughly awake by Spot Conlon 15 minutes later.
"WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL, SPOTTY?! CAN'T IT WAIT?" I yelled, not waking any of my newsies, I noticed.
Damn, they're all sound sleepers.
"No, it can't wait, Blade" he said, glaring at me. "I gotta go to Manhattan, and youse gotta come with me."
I glared right back. "Over my dead freakin' body" I said angrily. "Youse know I don't go down to Manhattan unless I'm for sure Jack the Bastard ain't gonna be there. You of ALL people should know that, Spot" I finished, looking at him reproachfully.
"The 'your dead body' part can be arranged" he said, cracking his knuckles at me. He wouldn't hurt me, but the sound of bones cracking always ticks me off, so I hauled my butt out of bed and got dressed.
Forty-five minutes later, Spot and I were standing on opposite sides of Jack's bed, poking him, and then ducking down before he could see whom it was. Finally, he got so fed up with us, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "OK, WHOEVER THE HELL THAT IS, YOU'RE MORE ANNOYING THEN SPOT AND SWITCHBLADE COMBINED!! AND THAT AIN'T A GOOD THING!!"
"Glad to know you think so highly of us, Jackie-boi" I said dryly, drawing myself up to my full height. "Spot wants to talk to you, I don't know WHAT the hell I'm doing here. Spot, he's awake, there ya are." And I wandered over to Race's bunk to wake him up in some fun way.
When I got there, I saw that he was sleeping upside-down, with his stocking feet sticking out and resting on the pillow. The brim of his hat was protruding from the bottom of the blanket, and the blanket was rising and falling with his breathing.
He always was a bit of an odd guy. Maybe that's why Izzy likes him so much.
Go figure.
I finally thought of a way to wake him up that would entertain me in the process: I peeled back the blanket, exposing his face, then knelt down beside him very quietly, drew in a breath, then started to sing: "AND NOBODY, IN ALL OF OZ! NO WIZARD THAT THERE IS OR WAS, IS EVER GONNA BRING ME DOWN!!"
"AHHH!!" he screamed, falling out of bed.
Hmm. Izzy does the same thing when we sing her awake in the morning. Maybe they're more right for each other then we know. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match...Hee hee.
"Are youse gettin up Race, or do I hafta kick ya awake?" I asked, smiling down at him.
"Did I mention how much I hate you in the mornings, Switchblade?" he asked, sticking his tongue out at me.
"Only about half a billion times" I said, laughing and giving him a hand up.
"Actually, I hate mornings in general" he said, scowling at the sun and shielding his eyes.
"Who doesn't?" I said, following him over to the sinks.
He pulled a comb out of a jar, looked at it, sniffed it, pulled a face, then said, "Damn, Skittery, what didja use in your hair the past coupla days? It stinks to high heaven!"
"I thought you were an atheist, Race" I said, laughing.
"Hell no! I'm Catholic! Kinda comes with being Italian, ya know?"
"Whatever."
20 Minutes Later"God, Race, how many times do you have to comb your freakin' hair?!" I yelled. Denton had invited us to breakfast at Tibby's, and if you don't get there early, they're usually outta bacon.
"Just 'cause you constantly look like you just rolled outta bed, woman, doesn't mean the rest of us want that too!" I kicked him in the shin, and he started hopping around, cursing me in Italian, ending with, "Dammit, what the hell'd you do that for?!"
"'Cause you're a perverted Italian asshole, that's why" I said, smiling at him over my shoulder. "Now come on, we're gonna get there and they're gonna be all outta bacon, and then I will hate you. LET'S GO!"
Fifteen minutes later, we reached Tibby's, just in time to get the last couple of pieces of bacon.
"OK, Race, I don't hate you" I said, wrapping two of my five pieces of bacon in a napkin to take back to Kathleen.
"Why?"
"'Cause I've got BACON!!"
"O...K" he said, looking at me like I was slightly disturbed. Which I probably am.
"So, Jackie-boi" I said, in a stilted attempt at conversation, "How are plans for the strike going?"
He looked at me in surprise, because usually, when we talk, we end up fighting. And here I was, making an honest attempt at civil conversation, and he's got his eyes narrowed at me. And, OK, I know the whole 'let's-cut-his-eyebrow' thing three years ago wasn't the greatest way to end a relationship, but hey, pregnancy does weird things to you, ya know?
"It's going OK" he said, apparently deciding I was being serious in my inquiry (I love that word!). "We've got The Bronx, Midtown, and the East and West sides signed on to help us."
I was impressed. Midtown wasn't as tough as Brooklyn, but they've given us a run more our money more than once. They're also incredibly stubborn, and don't usually help unless it threatens them directly.
"Ya know, Blade, ya never gave us an answer when we came to ask you to help" said Specs, pausing between mouthfuls.
I looked over at him. "Ya know, you're right, Specs. I never did give you an answer."
"So...are you gonna help us?" Skittery asked tentatively.
"Well...yeah, sure. I mean, who's gonna save your sorry asses when you get in over your heads?" I joked.
"A-HEM!" said Spot from across the table.
"Besides Brooklyn, I mean."
"So...you're in?" Bumlets said hopefully.
"Yeah, I'm in" I assured him.
"YEAH!" all the newsies shouted, piling on top of me and my newsies, who had somehow turned up unexpectedly about 10 minutes ago.
"OUCH! Geroff me!" I yelled. "OUCH! BUMLETS! THAT WAS MY FACE!"
"SORRY!" Bumlets yelled back.
"All right, come on guys, knock it off!" Denton laughed, standing at a safe distance so as not to get nailed by a stray foot that hit him instead of, say, Snitch. Or Specs, like I'd just done.
"OK, guys, we gotta do some plannin' on this thing" Jack said, standing up.
"Which you'll have to do without me" I put in. "I've gotta go back and check on Kathleen. I left her with Rook, and, well...I'm a little worried."
"About Kathleen?" asked Dutchy.
"No. About Rook. That child, sweet though she is, could drive anyone insane if they're not used to her."
They laughed, I tipped my hat to them, and then headed back toward Queens with Izzy, Finch, and Eagle in tow.
When we got back there, the first thing I heard upon setting foot inside the door was a scream, followed by Kathleen's little baby giggle, Adrian's deep laughter, and a bit of whimpering from Rook.
"Great. Just great!" I said, throwing down my hat and rushing up the stairs. The scene that greeted my eyes was one of mass chaos. Rook was running around after Kathleen, trying to put a clean diaper on her, and Adrian was in the corner, doubled up and crying with laughter. A guy with dark hair that looked very familiar was supporting him...
"Slice!" I shouted, running at him and giving him a hug.
"Heya Blade, how ya been?" he asked, hugging me back, then holding me at arms' length to study me. He smiled. "You haven't changed a whole lot. Who's the rugrat?"
"My daughter, by my evil bastard of an ex-boyfriend who's having a strike, and I'm helping with it" I said, scooping up Kathleen and diapering her.
"Blade. That child. Is a monster." Rook came plodding over to stand next to me and rested his head on my shoulder.
I rolled my eyes. "So what's the news, Slice?" I asked, trying not to smile at the confused look on his face.
"The strike(or the idea) is big news all over the city" he said, giving his head a little shake. "Pulitzer's not scared, 'cause he thinks we're just a bunch of kids with no money, and to him, money equals power so..."
"...We have no power." I finished his thought.
"Bingo" he said, tapping his nose.
"I figured as much" I said softly. "Have you been to see Spot yet?"
"Went to talk to him before I came here" he said. "He had pretty much the same reaction you did, only his was punctuated with a lot of cuss words, a couple of which I didn't even know, and I've been around."
"I'm sure" I said, shaking my head and smiling humorlessly. "Well, OK, Slice, thanks for the scoop, I'll see ya around, OK?"
"OK. Take care o' yourself. The rugrat, too" he said, tickling her under the chin, causing her to giggle and kick her feet.
"Awww, she likes you" Eagle said, causing me to jump, 'cause I didn't know she was there.
"See you guys" he said, tipping his hat to us and walking out the door.
I put Kathleen in her crib, then all three of us flopped down onto our beds.
"Damn" Eagle said, looking over at me. "He's hot."
I threw a pillow at her, she threw it back, and, as I'm sure you can guess, the whole thing spiraled out of control, until Rook twisted his ankle and we had to stop.
But it was still fun.
END CHAPTERYou know you've got writer's block when...you name characters after sodas! Seriously, there is an empty can of Slice next to my computer at this very moment, and I couldn't think of a name for the informant, so I was like, "(sigh)What the hell. Let's call him Slice!" And so Slice was born.
SHOUTOUTS:
SATURDAY: Girl, you seriously need to update more. I WANT MORE OF THE ISLAND!! Anyways, I agree, Bumlets with a huge grin is hot! 'I'm having an erection...OK, so I'm not.' I seriously could NOT breath 'cause I was laughing so hard. You rock my socks! LOL, thanx for the review!
CHECKMATE: Yes, children of the Gods often do not answer submissively to their parents. They like to be rebels. But never fear, we shall find out what Rook said to Bumlets in a later chapter. Because I can't leave you guys hanging forever, just until my writer's block dissipates. Love ya, thanx for reviewing!
Hotspotslingshot: I must put in some lines for Finch, mustn't I? LOL! Never fear, the author is here! (trumpets blare) Anyhoo, hope you like this one, it was kind of...insane to write. Thanx for the review!
Blush Eagle Higgins-Conlon: Shall we make and Eagle and Spot fall in love? (grins evilly) I think we shall! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Sorry. Evil genius moment. But anyways, hope you likeed, um...yeah. Love ya, thanx for the review!
Yeah to all my reviewers!! You guys rock my socks off, where would I be without you?
SATURDAY: In dire straits.
ME: Big words from tiny mind
SATURDAY: (pouts in a corner with Race)
ROOK: Hey Izzy, I wanted to ask youse something. I was wondering if any of the Queens boys from 'Irish Banana' would like to come live with us. Believe you me, being the only male in a lodging house full of chicks is NOT what I call fun, I mean, they're great, but sometimes they drive me INSANE!!!
SATURDAY: I'll get back to ya on that one. Can't you see I'm busy?!
ROOK: Sorry.
FINCH: BACON!!!
EAGLE: You're weird. Please get away from me.
If my muses weren't so great, I'd sell them all on eBay. Aaaaaanyways...please leave a review and I'll love you forever! But no flames, por favor. Flames would be like finding out the pelvic thrust is just an optical illusion, which would MAJORLY SUCK!! Now that I've officially scared you all, please leave a review, then you may go about your merry way! Latah, love ya, bye!