Disclaimer: All characters belong to Newsies and Disney…except for
Delia Haddox and Walter because they're mine.
Delia sat on a bench in Central Park, feeding some stale bread to the birds that had gathered at her feet. The warm sun fell across her shoulders and shone off of her long brown hair. Normally she had to wear it neatly pinned up as her mother often reminded her, but today she wore it loose, with only a few pins holding it off of her face. That was one good thing about her parents being out of town for the next two weeks or so; she had more freedom. Of course, she still had her to be home at an appropriate hour each day; she had a butler, tutor, and a handful of maids keeping a close eye on her while her parents were away. The maids kept busy with the house however, and Delia's tutor wasn't a problem right now, because she was on a break for the summer. Walter, the butler, was more like a grandfather to Delia. Because of this, he was often her confidant and "partner in crime."
Delia brushed the last of the crumbs off of her hands and stood up from the bench. The birds continued to peck at the ground as Delia walked out of the park and towards the various vendors that lined the street. As she approached an apple cart, she saw a young boy try to grab an apple from it without paying. The cart vendor was too quick for the boy and grabbed a hold of his arm.
"What do you think yer doin' kid? Ya think you can jist take an apple from my cart without payin? I'm tired a you street rats stealing from me day after day!" The boy looked scared, realizing all too late that he had been caught. As he tried to think of a tactic to talk his way out of the mess, he saw a police officer quickly approaching with Snyder. The boy's head dropped as he realized that soon he'd be spending time in the refuge. Delia saw all of this unfold before her eyes, and stepped in to help before she realized what she was doing.
"Pardon me sir, is there a problem?" She addressed the street vendor politely and tried to keep her nervous voice from shaking. The street vendor glared at her.
"Yeah, there is. This kid belong to ya? He was tryin ta steal from my cart." The young boy was squirming while still in the street vendor's strong grasp.
"I apologize greatly sir…you see, this is a…nephew of one of the…maids in my home. I told his aunt that I would take him around the city so that she could get her work for the day finished. He ran away from me and has apparently been causing quite a bit of trouble." Delia glared at the young boy. "Now, are you going to apologize to the man?" She asked the boy, trying to convince him with her eyes to play along. The young boy realized what she was doing and agreed quickly.
"I'm very sorry sir. It won't happen again. I promise." The street vendor slowly released the boy's arm and turned to Delia, who proceeded to pay for the apple the boy had taken.
"That you kindly for being so understanding sir. We'll be on our way now." Delia grabbed a hold of the boy's dirty hand and walked away from the vendor with the boy in tow. Once they had rounded a corner, out of sight and earshot, she let go of his hand. "You're welcome." Delia announced quite pointedly. The boy looked down at his scuffed shoes.
"I guess you want yer apple back?" He asked, holding it up to Delia. Her eyes grew sad and she shook her head, refusing the apple.
"I want you to have it. Why were you stealing it? Don't you have any money?" She was so surprised, she wasn't used to seeing someone so young begging on the streets. This boy couldn't have been older than ten.
"I need ta keep my money ta buy more papes. I don't got no money for food today. Thanks for helping me out back there…I was gonna have ta go to the refuge if you didn't help like ya did." Delia was confused, and the boy saw as much. "The refuge is a jail fer kids. I been there once or twice…but normally not fer too long."
"What's your name?" Delia sat on the steps of a nearby building, and the young boy sat next to her, eating his apple.
"Ten Pin." He answered around a mouthful of apple. Delia looked at his ink stained hands and knew that he was a newsie, which made sense since he had talked about selling papes…. newspapers. She pulled her small bag of change out of the pocket of her skirt. She emptied out the dozen pennies or so, as well as a few larger coins. "Here, take this. You need it more than I do." Ten Pin's eyes grew wide at the sight of the money.
"I can't take that lady. I really want to…. but I can't take yer money. I don't even have a pape ta sell you." He had finished his apple by now, and threw the core to a hungry looking dog that was nearby. The dog chewed away happily at the new treat.
"Please take it. Share it with some of the other newsies if you like, I don't mind. I don't want you to have to spend time in jail just because you can't afford to eat." Delia took out a clean handkerchief and tied the coins into a bundle. "Put this in your pocket. Use it when you need it. Buy yourself a piece of candy even! It makes me sad to think that there are boys as young as you that go without food." Ten Pin looked at the small piece of cloth that contained so many coins. He slowly reached out and accepted Delia's gift. He stuffed the bundle into his pocket, planning to put it into a box when he got back to the lodging house like the older newsies did with their savings.
"Thank you very much miss. I really need ta go back to the Lodging House though." He stood up, tipping his hat like he had seen Jack do before. "Goodbye." With that, he walked down the street, toward the place he called home. Delia watched him walk away for a bit before deciding to follow him. She felt something by her feet and noticed the mangy dog looking up at her with sad eyes. It was so tiny and malnourished, and her heart went out to it. She saw a length of rope nearby and fashioned a leash for the dog, leading it in the direction Ten Pin had headed. He hadn't gotten very far at all, and she quickly caught up to his pace.
Delia left a generous amount of space between herself and Ten Pin as she followed him down the streets. When he turned into a building with a sign hanging out in front, Delia continued past it. She rode in a carriage home, and Walter paid the fare when she arrived, giving a skeptical glance to the dog. Delia only smiled.