"There you are!" Charlotte said the next day as she walked up to the front stoop of the Jacobs's tenement building. David was sitting on the front stoop, his head in his hands his fingers curling through his hair. "I looked for you all afternoon yesterday, all afternoon today…" Charlotte shook her head. "Two days with the newsies, and suddenly you become impossible to find." She chuckled, but then saw the worried expression on David's face. "What's wrong?"
"I may not be employed for much longer," said David.
Charlotte furrowed her brow. "What do you mean? You can't get fired from being a newsie."
"No…" said David, "but they do sometimes go on strike."
"Strike?" asked Charlotte, her eyebrows shooting up.
"Yeah," said David, exhaling. "Turns out Pulitzer raised the prices of papers from two for a penny to 60 cents for 100."
"That's only a tenth of a cent," said Charlotte. "It can't be that much of a difference can it?"
"For these guys it is!" said David. "They don't have families to help them; they're on their own. They gotta eat, pay rent at the lodging house, save money for papes the next day, and somehow save a little at the end of the day."
"Oh," Charlotte said quietly, feeling stupid. She sat next to David on the stoop.
"And we went to Brooklyn to talk to the leader of those newsies to try and convince him to join the strike, because if it's just us on the Lower East Side, we're not gonna get anything done. Then we stormed the circulation office for the afternoon edition, and sabotaged them. We ripped and threw papers, tipped over a wagon." Charlotte looked at him in shock. "The cops came and Crutchy got arrested, now Jack wants me to meet him after dark so we can break him out."
"Wow," said Charlotte after a long silence. "Talk about a day."
David nodded and stared ahead of him into the street. The sun had sunk below the Manhattan skyline. "I still haven't gone upstairs to see Mama and Papa."
"How do you think they're going to take it?"
"I don't know," said David. "I know for sure that Mama won't like it. I quit school to work, and it turns out…I won't even work."
"Well, your pop got laid off because he didn't have a union. I'm sure he can appreciate what you're trying to do."
"I think he'd appreciate it more if I brought in money for the family. Now we're all relying on Mama's and Sarah's piecework. We can't survive on that." David rubbed his hands over his face, exhaling.
"Hey," said Charlotte, putting her arm around his neck. "It's going to be okay."
"No, it's not."
"David, if you need help, all you need to do is ask," said Charlotte. "Aunt Mae and Uncle Ben love you and your family, they'd be happy to help in any way they can…"
David shook his head. "No, I can't accept that."
Charlotte was silent for a moment. "Then let me help you with the strike."
"I thought it was only a tenth of a cent."
Charlotte shrugged. "I can tell this means a lot to you." David looked at her and gave her a small smile. "And from the sounds of it, Pulitzer's a bully. And if you're about to take a stand, then I've got your back."
"And what do you know about leading a strike?"
Charlotte hesitated before smirking. "I know about as much as you and those newsies do." David couldn't help but chuckle and Charlotte giggled, nudging him.
"Why?"
Charlotte looked at him thoughtfully. "Because you need someone to keep you from second guessing yourself." David looked over at her. "You're smart. You've got good instincts. With you helping them, the newsies can win this strike."
"Thanks, Charlotte."
David grinned at her. Charlotte matched his grin. Ever since he met her, her grin always gave him comfort. No matter what was going on, just seeing her smile made him feel like everything was going to be okay. If David had the self-confidence of any other person, he would have leaned in and kissed her at that moment.
"Tomorrow's Saturday," said Charlotte. "I'll meet you at The World building, bright and early."
David grinned. "Thanks, Charlotte."
Charlotte nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow." She stood up and walked down the stoop they had been sitting on.
"Let me walk you home," said David.
"No, I'm okay," she said. She glanced up at the Jacobs' third story window. "You've got people to talk to."
David nodded.
"Goodnight, David," Charlotte waved, turning around and walking down the street.
"Goodnight." David watched her walk down the street until she turned the corner.
