Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Newsies or the Mayor who was
the real Mayor during the strike although I did create his character but
all the other characters are completely from my imagination..
I woke to the sound I usually woke up to every morning: the sound of the newsboy who stands on the corner of my street. He was shouting on about my best friend's father, Robert A. Van Wyck, the mayor. I chose to ignore the continuous news about scandal, I knew it wasn't true, Gabriella would have told me.
It was going to be a long boring day and I knew it. The sound of rustling next to my bed startled me and I rolled over to see my new pet squirrel. I grinned to myself. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all. It was my fifteenth birthday, but the only people who were scheduled to stop by all morning were all older and would sit discussing financial things with my grandmother and ignore me after they said their dutiful happy birthday.
My two best friends Beatrice or Trixie, and Gabriella were coming later. Yesterday they had given me their presents, which were of a very interesting sort, one being the squirrel. I stretched lazily and listened to the newsboys headlines grow more and more fanciful: something about the trolley strike that had been going on for a few weeks now. I didn't really know much about it, I wasn't allowed to read the news. I just gazed up at the ceiling dreamily trying to phase out the day; it didn't work. My maid walked briskly into my room and slammed the window shut. I sighed as I sat up to look at her.
"Why do you insist on leaving that open?" she asked me, shaking her head. "You don't need to hear those things, they are mostly lies anyway."
"He's my morning wake up call." I said grinning. "Without him there, I'd never wake up."
She just shook her head as she pulled a dress out of my wardrobe. It was my favorite dress but it didn't please me to wear it today. I slid out of bed and stood up; she hurried around helping me get dressed. Just as she was finished doing my hair I heard the doorbell ring. I began to fidget nervously. "If you quit fidgeting you'll get down there sooner." The maid suggested.
I grinned mischievously at her in the mirror and began to rock in my chair. She just sighed and jabbed me lightly with a hair pin. "And you're fifteen now too. I almost think I expected you to grow up a little." She added good naturedly.
After awhile I finally went downstairs to find that the person sitting in the parlor talking to my grandmother was a complete stranger. She seemed to remember me from something though and she kept asking me how my sister was. I shrugged
"She is in the negation of being and is currently not of the same essence of us." I smiled brightly at her.
"Oh." She said frowning at me slightly. "That's just wonderful." I smiled again, more tight lipped this time. Why did my grandmother always invite over such half-witted people. I didn't have a sister, and all I'd said was that she didn't exist, but she didn't even manage to catch that. My grandmother gave me a look that clearly told me to be nice. I sighed; what a long day this would be.
Finally after a lot of sitting, early in the afternoon, my grandmother left the room so I attempted to make the day interesting, but of course none of the guests had enjoyed my display of my squirrel. I just brought it downstairs to show it to them, and then I accidentally dropped the cage, and the door just happened to be unlocked so it swung open. The squirrel, scared by all those people, all of them strangers went whizzing madly around the room. A few people trying to stop it even got bitten. Trixie arrived in the midst and watched the chaos gleefully. She winked at me and then pretended to faint to add to the pandemonium. Later the guests were too polite to mention the ruckus to my grandmother and they courteously covered their bite marks.
When Gabbie finally came over later the three of us were excused to go to my room.
"It was hilarious." Trixie informed her the second we got there. "They were running around everywhere."
I nodded gleefully. "And then Trixie," I paused as I continued laughing, "And then Trixie, she pretended to faint."
"I think we should act it out for you." Trix said enthusiastically. "Here, Collie you can be all the guests and I'll be the squirrel." Trixie directed. "Oh, and Gabbie you're going to have to pretend to be Colleen. So you're walking along and you drop the cage." She continued. I shrieked loudly, swooning slightly as Trixie began to dash around the room hissing and spitting. "Oh we'll need to contain that vermin." I imitated on of my father's old friends. I began to chase Trixie around the room. Gabbie, following her part of me well was on the floor laughing her heart out. I finally caught Trixie's arm and she bit me as the squirrel had done when its tail had been pulled. I could no longer contain myself and Trixie and I collapsed on the floor with Gabriella giggling. We eventually settled down and then sat quietly.
"Mayor Bribed by Prostitute." The Newsboy shouted. Gabbie blushed as I ran over to the window to shut it.
"You know its all lies." Trixie said soothingly, as she put her arm around Gabbie. "Everyone else knows its all lies too." Every trace of the lighthearted mood of earlier had completely vanished from her visage.
"I hate being the mayor's daughter." Gabbie told us for not the first time. "I hate it so much." I sat down again next to them and we sat in silence. "I'm sorry Colleen." She finally said. "I don't mean to spoil your day."
"Oh there's no danger of that happening." I said wryly. "My day was spoiled the moment the first guest arrived this morning." We lapsed into silence once again after my proclamation, but as it had been before it was a comfortable silence. It was the silence that we shared together that got us through each day. The silent knowledge that we would never try to change each other even as the rest of the world tore at us in every direction. The silent knowledge that we were not alone. And around us the world went on; I could still hear the guests talking faintly, the squirrel was eating noisily in a corner, and below us in the streets I could hear the newsboy yelling out the headline.
I woke to the sound I usually woke up to every morning: the sound of the newsboy who stands on the corner of my street. He was shouting on about my best friend's father, Robert A. Van Wyck, the mayor. I chose to ignore the continuous news about scandal, I knew it wasn't true, Gabriella would have told me.
It was going to be a long boring day and I knew it. The sound of rustling next to my bed startled me and I rolled over to see my new pet squirrel. I grinned to myself. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all. It was my fifteenth birthday, but the only people who were scheduled to stop by all morning were all older and would sit discussing financial things with my grandmother and ignore me after they said their dutiful happy birthday.
My two best friends Beatrice or Trixie, and Gabriella were coming later. Yesterday they had given me their presents, which were of a very interesting sort, one being the squirrel. I stretched lazily and listened to the newsboys headlines grow more and more fanciful: something about the trolley strike that had been going on for a few weeks now. I didn't really know much about it, I wasn't allowed to read the news. I just gazed up at the ceiling dreamily trying to phase out the day; it didn't work. My maid walked briskly into my room and slammed the window shut. I sighed as I sat up to look at her.
"Why do you insist on leaving that open?" she asked me, shaking her head. "You don't need to hear those things, they are mostly lies anyway."
"He's my morning wake up call." I said grinning. "Without him there, I'd never wake up."
She just shook her head as she pulled a dress out of my wardrobe. It was my favorite dress but it didn't please me to wear it today. I slid out of bed and stood up; she hurried around helping me get dressed. Just as she was finished doing my hair I heard the doorbell ring. I began to fidget nervously. "If you quit fidgeting you'll get down there sooner." The maid suggested.
I grinned mischievously at her in the mirror and began to rock in my chair. She just sighed and jabbed me lightly with a hair pin. "And you're fifteen now too. I almost think I expected you to grow up a little." She added good naturedly.
After awhile I finally went downstairs to find that the person sitting in the parlor talking to my grandmother was a complete stranger. She seemed to remember me from something though and she kept asking me how my sister was. I shrugged
"She is in the negation of being and is currently not of the same essence of us." I smiled brightly at her.
"Oh." She said frowning at me slightly. "That's just wonderful." I smiled again, more tight lipped this time. Why did my grandmother always invite over such half-witted people. I didn't have a sister, and all I'd said was that she didn't exist, but she didn't even manage to catch that. My grandmother gave me a look that clearly told me to be nice. I sighed; what a long day this would be.
Finally after a lot of sitting, early in the afternoon, my grandmother left the room so I attempted to make the day interesting, but of course none of the guests had enjoyed my display of my squirrel. I just brought it downstairs to show it to them, and then I accidentally dropped the cage, and the door just happened to be unlocked so it swung open. The squirrel, scared by all those people, all of them strangers went whizzing madly around the room. A few people trying to stop it even got bitten. Trixie arrived in the midst and watched the chaos gleefully. She winked at me and then pretended to faint to add to the pandemonium. Later the guests were too polite to mention the ruckus to my grandmother and they courteously covered their bite marks.
When Gabbie finally came over later the three of us were excused to go to my room.
"It was hilarious." Trixie informed her the second we got there. "They were running around everywhere."
I nodded gleefully. "And then Trixie," I paused as I continued laughing, "And then Trixie, she pretended to faint."
"I think we should act it out for you." Trix said enthusiastically. "Here, Collie you can be all the guests and I'll be the squirrel." Trixie directed. "Oh, and Gabbie you're going to have to pretend to be Colleen. So you're walking along and you drop the cage." She continued. I shrieked loudly, swooning slightly as Trixie began to dash around the room hissing and spitting. "Oh we'll need to contain that vermin." I imitated on of my father's old friends. I began to chase Trixie around the room. Gabbie, following her part of me well was on the floor laughing her heart out. I finally caught Trixie's arm and she bit me as the squirrel had done when its tail had been pulled. I could no longer contain myself and Trixie and I collapsed on the floor with Gabriella giggling. We eventually settled down and then sat quietly.
"Mayor Bribed by Prostitute." The Newsboy shouted. Gabbie blushed as I ran over to the window to shut it.
"You know its all lies." Trixie said soothingly, as she put her arm around Gabbie. "Everyone else knows its all lies too." Every trace of the lighthearted mood of earlier had completely vanished from her visage.
"I hate being the mayor's daughter." Gabbie told us for not the first time. "I hate it so much." I sat down again next to them and we sat in silence. "I'm sorry Colleen." She finally said. "I don't mean to spoil your day."
"Oh there's no danger of that happening." I said wryly. "My day was spoiled the moment the first guest arrived this morning." We lapsed into silence once again after my proclamation, but as it had been before it was a comfortable silence. It was the silence that we shared together that got us through each day. The silent knowledge that we would never try to change each other even as the rest of the world tore at us in every direction. The silent knowledge that we were not alone. And around us the world went on; I could still hear the guests talking faintly, the squirrel was eating noisily in a corner, and below us in the streets I could hear the newsboy yelling out the headline.