Chapter 3: Meet the Family
Evening came around much too quickly for Alyssa. Kloppman had been kind enough to tell her the approximate time the boys would be coming home. This allowed her to do something she had wanted to do for a long time; take a bath. Not having her own wash tub yet, she used the boys' washroom. Weeks of grime came off and her waist length brown hair became clean and manageable.
Around seven o'clock, the first Newsies came home. Alyssa was dressing and was extremely nervous. What if they don't like me was her first thought. She knew they congregated in the second floor sitting room, so no one came up the stairs.
By quarter to eight, everyone was home and Racetrack was already starting a poker game. "Anybody up fer a bit a gamblin'?"
Sarah shook her head, exasperated at Race. She glanced at Medda, who had been invited by Kloppman.
Spot Conlon had shown up too, and was sitting down to Race's poker game. "C'mon Racey. Let's see if yous can beat me."
"I'm going to check on Alyssa." Sarah said this loudly so she could be heard over the noise of excited Newsies in a confined space.
"Who's Alyssa?" Les asked. Sarah smiled at her little brother and was about to explain when a voice said,
"I am."
Silence filled the room. Racetrack even dropped his cigar.
"You shouldn't be out of bed. It's bad for the wounds." Sarah began.
"She's been out of bed all day. She woke up just after you boys left." Kloppman looked around the room, and Mush hid his face.
Alyssa's green eyes circled the room, looking at each and everyone of them. At length, she spoke. "Just ta get dis outta da way. I wanna thank yous fer savin' me. I owes you my life."
There was a lot of nervous shifting amongst the Newsies. Kloppman came forward and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Just a reminder boys, she's living wid us now. Treat her like a sister." He turned to face Alyssa. "You might as well meet everyone. At the table; stupid, wise ass wid the cigar is Racetrack."
"Hey, dat ain't nice!" Race was grinning, so they knew he was joking. As always.
"The blonde one next to him is Spot Conlon, King of Brooklyn."
"Dat's me!" Spot raised his cane, proudly showing it off.
Alyssa gave a short laugh. "You call dat a weapon?" She moved her hands behind her back; looking quite innocent. Spot glared at her, but said nothing. Then in one fluid motion, she drew something from behind her back and flung it hard at the table.
With a loud 'thud,' Alyssa's twelve inch knife landed in front of Spot. "Dat's a weapon," she said.
The King of Brooklyn's eyes were wide; shocked that someone would dare throw a knife at him.
"Wow!" Les said as he moved away from Sarah. He looked at his wooden sword which seemed so insignificant in the presence of that knife. "Can I touch it?" he asked eagerly.
Sarah looked appalled, and Alyssa eyed Les. She did some quick thinking before speaking. "First, yer name and age."
"Les. Les Jacobs. I'm eleven." He looked hopefully up at Alyssa. She grabbed the black leather wrapped hilt and wrenched the knife from the table.
"Careful; it's really sharp and heavy." Alyssa then went on to teach him how to hold it and even began teaching him some maneuvers. She taught him the way that her brothers had taught her; hands on.
"What are you trying to pull?" a new voice asked.
Alyssa slowly rose. "And you are?"
"David Jacobs. That's my little brother you're teaching. I don't like it." David's voice was solemn and serious as he addressed Alyssa.
Quietly, she asked, "Why don' yous like it? Is it 'cuz he may hafta use it one day or 'cuz a goil's teachin' 'im?" Then, in perfect unaccented English she said, "If you have a problem, tell me so I can fix it."
Before anymore could be said, Medda, who had been sitting quietly in a corner spoke, "Obviously, this girl has been raised differently than you, David. Would I be right in assuming that where you come from Alyssa, skill with a weapon is common?"
Alyssa's green eyes were clouded for a moment then she nodded. Gently, she took the knife out of Les' hand and sheathed it.
Kloppman went back to introducing everyone. "Still at the table is Jack Kelley, Mush, Boots, Kid Blink or Blink fer short, Snitch, Jake, Itey, and. who's behind ya Blink?"
"Swifty." Blink spun around and caught Swifty by the hair.
"The one wid glasses is obviously Specs," Kloppman said. "There's Crutchy next to him. Then we've got Snipeshooter, Dutchy, Snoddy, Skittery, Bumlets, and Pie Eater." He glanced around, "Over there is Sarah Jacobs, Jack's girl, Medda, and you've already met Brian Denton." That's everybody I think."
"I feel like I's just walked in ta a family party or somethin'." Alyssa moved closer to the staircase, ready to retreat upstairs if necessary.
"Don't worry. After a couple of days they'll come around. They always do. You just have to give them the benefit of the doubt." Kloppman walked away to talk with Medda and Denton.
"Any yous up fer some poker?" Racetrack looked hopefully around. He saw Alyssa trying to blend in to the wall. "You play poker?"
"A bit." She watched as Race pulled a puppy face to make her feel sorry. She shook her head at him and walked over.
They played for a while, Alyssa doing neither bad nor well. Her big moment of triumph came when she beat Race, Spot and Jack all at once.
"And she said dat she only played a bit," grumbled Race.
"We's been beat by a GOIL!" Spot was furious. Never had a girl bested him at anything.
Wide smile across her face, Alyssa gathered her winnings.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kloppman, bless the old man, was right. After a few days, everyone had warmed to her. With no qualms, they got her in the middle of any prank they could. They even talked freely about Christmas plans. It was like she had been there for ever. Race had come down with a cold and everyone was patronizing him.
"Aww, look at widdle Racey," Specs said looking at Racetrack, who looked miserable.
"Where's Sarah ta coddle 'im?" Bumlets asked.
"Coddling our little brother." David had walked in, obviously pissed about something. "The little whelp has a cold too."
Alyssa wandered in, still dressed in her nightgown. "C'mon yer gonna be late. Try to avoid followin' in Race's footsteps. Race, yous bundled?"
"Yes, mudder," he grumbled. Despite his annoyance, he appreciated that she was looking out for him.
Everyone went out into the freezing cold. Once and a while a "Fuck, it's so damn cold," or a "Holy shit" would be heard form the Newsies. Only Mush seemed to be enjoying the weather.
Alyssa watched from the window lost in her thoughts when Kloppman came in. "Care to come shopping wid me?"
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded her head saying, "Lemme get ready."
She walked into her room almost tripping over the spinning wheel. Instead of cursing at it, she was inspired. Over the shift, she pulled on a blouse and navy blue skirt. She also pulled on some wool stockings and then went in search of a pair of shoes.
Alyssa searched among the boys' bunks, looking for a pair that they may have out grown. If she knew anything about the Newsie lifestyle, it was that they kept every piece of clothing they had ever worn, just in case. Tucked in a corner she saw a pair of boots that were way too small for Skittery. As she pulled on his boots, she lamented the fact that she did not have a coat.
"Dat Jacobs girl gave me everythin' but a lousy coat. Don' she know it's Winter?"
Kloppman quickly rectified the situation by producing a coat that had once belonged to one of his daughters. "It's not much, but at least you won't end up like Racetrack. Poor boy gets sick so easily."
Walking through the New York streets with Kloppman was something that Alyssa would never forget. It was three days before Christmas and everyone was out trying to buy presents with what little money they had. Carolers were on every street corner, and Alyssa was reminded of Mush. Kloppman walked into a sweetshop to buy the annual Christmas chocolate for his boys. Alyssa stood in a corner looking at the candy and trying to figure out how much money she had. She had gained a bit in the poker game she had played against Race, Spot and Jack, and then she had the money that she had managed to take from Boston. She took a step backward and knocked something over.
She spun around and saw that she had knocked over a girl of about her age. She then noticed that the girl carried two crutches.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Here, lemme help you up." She reached down and firmly grasped the girl by the arms.
The girl looked up at Alyssa, her face smiling. "Don' worry 'bout it. Happens all da time. I'm Mercy Williams. Who are you? Ain't never seen yous around." Mercy's blue eyes danced and her auburn curls danced below her shoulders.
Alyssa was glad that Marcy was not about to bite her head off. "Alyssa Cambell. I'm livin' wid Kloppman."
Mercy gave Alyssa an incredulous look. "Yous livin' wid da Newsies?"
"Yes, Mercy. Alyssa is living wid us." Kloppman had come over, finished buying the chocolate. "This is the one they found being beaten within an inch of her life."
Mercy's eyes went wide.
Too wide for Alyssa. Why was everyone so shocked when they heard about what had happened? Didn't this type of thing happen here all the time?
Apparently not.
"Why don't yous come wid us?" Alyssa was disgusted with herself. She had never been good at making friends; here she was practically begging Mercy.
Mercy on the other hand, did not seem to notice. To her, this was the best thing that could happen. It was like an early Christmas present. Being a cripple, she did not get out much. Thus, she never really had friends.
Now, right before her, someone was asking.
Dreams really do come true.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Out in the city, the Newsies were having what was probably the worst selling day of their lives.
Left and right, they were making headlines up faster than anything. Mush was screaming at the top of his lungs while Blink was trying to catch a few customers.
Racetrack had met up with Spot Conlon outside of Tibby's. Between sniffles, Race puffed on his cigar. He contemplated blowing what little money ha had on a beer or two, but thought better of it.
"How's she doin'?" Spot asked suddenly.
Race practically choked on his cigar. That was one of the last things Race wanted to hear out of Spot's mouth. He considered Alyssa his territory; all the Manhattan Newsies did. After all, she was living with them, wasn't she?
Giving Spot a look he said, "She's doin' good. Still a bit wary a us, but she's only been awake tree days. Give 'er some time."
Spot nodded and Race could tell he was thinking. "Where's Jackey boy?"
"Davey came down wid a cold and Jack took 'im home." Race took a long drag on his cigar. "Right now he's prob'ly eatin' a warm meal Mrs. Jacobs made fer 'im."
The two snickered at the picture this created in their minds. Jack sitting down to family life. Disgusting. Well, not really; it's what every Newsie wanted, a family of their own. Hell, Race even wanted one.
A few minutes passed when who should come bounding up but Mush, gleefully singing carols. An annoyed Blink followed, muttering something about glue.
"Deck da halls wid boughs a holly." Mush bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Aw, shut it!" growled Race. He hated ruining Mush's good mood but he was not going to be tolerant of cheer right now.
"Try sellin' wid 'im all day." Obviously, Blink's patience was thin.
Why the two sold together was beyond Race. Sometimes, they couldn't stand each other. But, they were best friends, so Race ignored it.
As the day came to a close, most of the Newsies met up at Tibby's. The general consensus was "shitty sellin' day." And so, the defeated Newsies walked home.
Racetrack Higgins wanted to die.
As soon as he got back to the Lodgings, he went up to the third floor to crawl into his bunk. He passed Alyssa's room and heard her laughing with Mercy.
She had such a beautiful laugh.
He kicked himself and kept walking. Beside his bunk he saw a steaming hot bowl of soup and a mug of tea. Beside that he saw a note scrawled in a gentle hand. Race read it aloud.
"Hope you feel better. Enjoy. Alyssa."
Warmth surged though Racetrack. Gone was the need to die. He settled into his bunk and took up his soup. He ignored the looks he looks he got as he sat with his soup and tea. It was all he needed.
Evening came around much too quickly for Alyssa. Kloppman had been kind enough to tell her the approximate time the boys would be coming home. This allowed her to do something she had wanted to do for a long time; take a bath. Not having her own wash tub yet, she used the boys' washroom. Weeks of grime came off and her waist length brown hair became clean and manageable.
Around seven o'clock, the first Newsies came home. Alyssa was dressing and was extremely nervous. What if they don't like me was her first thought. She knew they congregated in the second floor sitting room, so no one came up the stairs.
By quarter to eight, everyone was home and Racetrack was already starting a poker game. "Anybody up fer a bit a gamblin'?"
Sarah shook her head, exasperated at Race. She glanced at Medda, who had been invited by Kloppman.
Spot Conlon had shown up too, and was sitting down to Race's poker game. "C'mon Racey. Let's see if yous can beat me."
"I'm going to check on Alyssa." Sarah said this loudly so she could be heard over the noise of excited Newsies in a confined space.
"Who's Alyssa?" Les asked. Sarah smiled at her little brother and was about to explain when a voice said,
"I am."
Silence filled the room. Racetrack even dropped his cigar.
"You shouldn't be out of bed. It's bad for the wounds." Sarah began.
"She's been out of bed all day. She woke up just after you boys left." Kloppman looked around the room, and Mush hid his face.
Alyssa's green eyes circled the room, looking at each and everyone of them. At length, she spoke. "Just ta get dis outta da way. I wanna thank yous fer savin' me. I owes you my life."
There was a lot of nervous shifting amongst the Newsies. Kloppman came forward and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Just a reminder boys, she's living wid us now. Treat her like a sister." He turned to face Alyssa. "You might as well meet everyone. At the table; stupid, wise ass wid the cigar is Racetrack."
"Hey, dat ain't nice!" Race was grinning, so they knew he was joking. As always.
"The blonde one next to him is Spot Conlon, King of Brooklyn."
"Dat's me!" Spot raised his cane, proudly showing it off.
Alyssa gave a short laugh. "You call dat a weapon?" She moved her hands behind her back; looking quite innocent. Spot glared at her, but said nothing. Then in one fluid motion, she drew something from behind her back and flung it hard at the table.
With a loud 'thud,' Alyssa's twelve inch knife landed in front of Spot. "Dat's a weapon," she said.
The King of Brooklyn's eyes were wide; shocked that someone would dare throw a knife at him.
"Wow!" Les said as he moved away from Sarah. He looked at his wooden sword which seemed so insignificant in the presence of that knife. "Can I touch it?" he asked eagerly.
Sarah looked appalled, and Alyssa eyed Les. She did some quick thinking before speaking. "First, yer name and age."
"Les. Les Jacobs. I'm eleven." He looked hopefully up at Alyssa. She grabbed the black leather wrapped hilt and wrenched the knife from the table.
"Careful; it's really sharp and heavy." Alyssa then went on to teach him how to hold it and even began teaching him some maneuvers. She taught him the way that her brothers had taught her; hands on.
"What are you trying to pull?" a new voice asked.
Alyssa slowly rose. "And you are?"
"David Jacobs. That's my little brother you're teaching. I don't like it." David's voice was solemn and serious as he addressed Alyssa.
Quietly, she asked, "Why don' yous like it? Is it 'cuz he may hafta use it one day or 'cuz a goil's teachin' 'im?" Then, in perfect unaccented English she said, "If you have a problem, tell me so I can fix it."
Before anymore could be said, Medda, who had been sitting quietly in a corner spoke, "Obviously, this girl has been raised differently than you, David. Would I be right in assuming that where you come from Alyssa, skill with a weapon is common?"
Alyssa's green eyes were clouded for a moment then she nodded. Gently, she took the knife out of Les' hand and sheathed it.
Kloppman went back to introducing everyone. "Still at the table is Jack Kelley, Mush, Boots, Kid Blink or Blink fer short, Snitch, Jake, Itey, and. who's behind ya Blink?"
"Swifty." Blink spun around and caught Swifty by the hair.
"The one wid glasses is obviously Specs," Kloppman said. "There's Crutchy next to him. Then we've got Snipeshooter, Dutchy, Snoddy, Skittery, Bumlets, and Pie Eater." He glanced around, "Over there is Sarah Jacobs, Jack's girl, Medda, and you've already met Brian Denton." That's everybody I think."
"I feel like I's just walked in ta a family party or somethin'." Alyssa moved closer to the staircase, ready to retreat upstairs if necessary.
"Don't worry. After a couple of days they'll come around. They always do. You just have to give them the benefit of the doubt." Kloppman walked away to talk with Medda and Denton.
"Any yous up fer some poker?" Racetrack looked hopefully around. He saw Alyssa trying to blend in to the wall. "You play poker?"
"A bit." She watched as Race pulled a puppy face to make her feel sorry. She shook her head at him and walked over.
They played for a while, Alyssa doing neither bad nor well. Her big moment of triumph came when she beat Race, Spot and Jack all at once.
"And she said dat she only played a bit," grumbled Race.
"We's been beat by a GOIL!" Spot was furious. Never had a girl bested him at anything.
Wide smile across her face, Alyssa gathered her winnings.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kloppman, bless the old man, was right. After a few days, everyone had warmed to her. With no qualms, they got her in the middle of any prank they could. They even talked freely about Christmas plans. It was like she had been there for ever. Race had come down with a cold and everyone was patronizing him.
"Aww, look at widdle Racey," Specs said looking at Racetrack, who looked miserable.
"Where's Sarah ta coddle 'im?" Bumlets asked.
"Coddling our little brother." David had walked in, obviously pissed about something. "The little whelp has a cold too."
Alyssa wandered in, still dressed in her nightgown. "C'mon yer gonna be late. Try to avoid followin' in Race's footsteps. Race, yous bundled?"
"Yes, mudder," he grumbled. Despite his annoyance, he appreciated that she was looking out for him.
Everyone went out into the freezing cold. Once and a while a "Fuck, it's so damn cold," or a "Holy shit" would be heard form the Newsies. Only Mush seemed to be enjoying the weather.
Alyssa watched from the window lost in her thoughts when Kloppman came in. "Care to come shopping wid me?"
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded her head saying, "Lemme get ready."
She walked into her room almost tripping over the spinning wheel. Instead of cursing at it, she was inspired. Over the shift, she pulled on a blouse and navy blue skirt. She also pulled on some wool stockings and then went in search of a pair of shoes.
Alyssa searched among the boys' bunks, looking for a pair that they may have out grown. If she knew anything about the Newsie lifestyle, it was that they kept every piece of clothing they had ever worn, just in case. Tucked in a corner she saw a pair of boots that were way too small for Skittery. As she pulled on his boots, she lamented the fact that she did not have a coat.
"Dat Jacobs girl gave me everythin' but a lousy coat. Don' she know it's Winter?"
Kloppman quickly rectified the situation by producing a coat that had once belonged to one of his daughters. "It's not much, but at least you won't end up like Racetrack. Poor boy gets sick so easily."
Walking through the New York streets with Kloppman was something that Alyssa would never forget. It was three days before Christmas and everyone was out trying to buy presents with what little money they had. Carolers were on every street corner, and Alyssa was reminded of Mush. Kloppman walked into a sweetshop to buy the annual Christmas chocolate for his boys. Alyssa stood in a corner looking at the candy and trying to figure out how much money she had. She had gained a bit in the poker game she had played against Race, Spot and Jack, and then she had the money that she had managed to take from Boston. She took a step backward and knocked something over.
She spun around and saw that she had knocked over a girl of about her age. She then noticed that the girl carried two crutches.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Here, lemme help you up." She reached down and firmly grasped the girl by the arms.
The girl looked up at Alyssa, her face smiling. "Don' worry 'bout it. Happens all da time. I'm Mercy Williams. Who are you? Ain't never seen yous around." Mercy's blue eyes danced and her auburn curls danced below her shoulders.
Alyssa was glad that Marcy was not about to bite her head off. "Alyssa Cambell. I'm livin' wid Kloppman."
Mercy gave Alyssa an incredulous look. "Yous livin' wid da Newsies?"
"Yes, Mercy. Alyssa is living wid us." Kloppman had come over, finished buying the chocolate. "This is the one they found being beaten within an inch of her life."
Mercy's eyes went wide.
Too wide for Alyssa. Why was everyone so shocked when they heard about what had happened? Didn't this type of thing happen here all the time?
Apparently not.
"Why don't yous come wid us?" Alyssa was disgusted with herself. She had never been good at making friends; here she was practically begging Mercy.
Mercy on the other hand, did not seem to notice. To her, this was the best thing that could happen. It was like an early Christmas present. Being a cripple, she did not get out much. Thus, she never really had friends.
Now, right before her, someone was asking.
Dreams really do come true.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Out in the city, the Newsies were having what was probably the worst selling day of their lives.
Left and right, they were making headlines up faster than anything. Mush was screaming at the top of his lungs while Blink was trying to catch a few customers.
Racetrack had met up with Spot Conlon outside of Tibby's. Between sniffles, Race puffed on his cigar. He contemplated blowing what little money ha had on a beer or two, but thought better of it.
"How's she doin'?" Spot asked suddenly.
Race practically choked on his cigar. That was one of the last things Race wanted to hear out of Spot's mouth. He considered Alyssa his territory; all the Manhattan Newsies did. After all, she was living with them, wasn't she?
Giving Spot a look he said, "She's doin' good. Still a bit wary a us, but she's only been awake tree days. Give 'er some time."
Spot nodded and Race could tell he was thinking. "Where's Jackey boy?"
"Davey came down wid a cold and Jack took 'im home." Race took a long drag on his cigar. "Right now he's prob'ly eatin' a warm meal Mrs. Jacobs made fer 'im."
The two snickered at the picture this created in their minds. Jack sitting down to family life. Disgusting. Well, not really; it's what every Newsie wanted, a family of their own. Hell, Race even wanted one.
A few minutes passed when who should come bounding up but Mush, gleefully singing carols. An annoyed Blink followed, muttering something about glue.
"Deck da halls wid boughs a holly." Mush bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Aw, shut it!" growled Race. He hated ruining Mush's good mood but he was not going to be tolerant of cheer right now.
"Try sellin' wid 'im all day." Obviously, Blink's patience was thin.
Why the two sold together was beyond Race. Sometimes, they couldn't stand each other. But, they were best friends, so Race ignored it.
As the day came to a close, most of the Newsies met up at Tibby's. The general consensus was "shitty sellin' day." And so, the defeated Newsies walked home.
Racetrack Higgins wanted to die.
As soon as he got back to the Lodgings, he went up to the third floor to crawl into his bunk. He passed Alyssa's room and heard her laughing with Mercy.
She had such a beautiful laugh.
He kicked himself and kept walking. Beside his bunk he saw a steaming hot bowl of soup and a mug of tea. Beside that he saw a note scrawled in a gentle hand. Race read it aloud.
"Hope you feel better. Enjoy. Alyssa."
Warmth surged though Racetrack. Gone was the need to die. He settled into his bunk and took up his soup. He ignored the looks he looks he got as he sat with his soup and tea. It was all he needed.