Chapter 7

The next morning, as she was getting ready, Heather thought about what she and the girls had talked about the night before. Should she tell David the truth about her? She felt like it was the right thing to do, but a friendship was starting and if he found out what had happened to her, he would just look at her like a crummy street rat. No. It was better that he didn't know.

She considered dressing prettier today, but she decided against it when, as soon as they woke up, Daisy and Delilah were giving her shit about her liking David.

"Like you two don't have guys you want to impress," she fired back after a comment from Delilah about how David would love what she was doing to her hair.

"I already have a guy," Daisy replied. "And he likes me for me."

"And I'm crush free," Delilah followed. Heather and Daisy gave her a look. "What?"
"That is the biggest lie I have ever heard," Heather told her plainly.

"You're crazy into-" Daisy started, but Delilah stopped her.

"Don't even say his name."

"Spot!"

Delilah pretended to throw up at the sound of his name, "How can you two still think I have feelings for that loser?"

"Because you say things like how he's a loser."

"And whenever we're around him and he has a girl, you try to get even closer to him than you do normally," Heather added.

"You guys are sick in the head," Delilah mumbled as she put her newsies cap on. "Come on, we gotta meet the boys at the DC."

"You guys go ahead. I'm picking David and Les up."

"Ooooh," both girls said.

"Some more time alone with your man," Delilah teased.

Heather gave her a look that said she was so done with this. "First of all, we won't be alone because Les will be there. Second, he's not my man and he will probably never be my man. And third, don't you guys get tired of giving me crap?"
"Nope."

"Never," Daisy added. "And why will he never be your man?"
"Because he's David and he's perfect. And I'm me and...un-perfect," she told them.

"Heather, you are wonderful and have a face like sunshine! If he can't see that then he's stupid."

"He's not stupid though, he's really smart and he deserves a girl more closer to his league."

"Girl, if anything you're out of his league," Delilah said.

"Yeah, right," she responded sarcastically. "I have to go. I'm past the time I said I'd be there." She walked past her friends and out the door.

On their way to the DC, Daisy and Delilah were talking about their concerns about their friend.

"Hey, just a thought, did you see Heather eat at all yesterday?" Daisy asked.

Delilah thought for a moment then answered, "Now that I think about it, no. But you were with her more of the day."

"Cause I saw her give her breakfast to the younger newsies, and I think she and David sold right through lunch. But then she went to David's and had to have had dinner there."

"You don't think she's..."

"No way."

"I mean, she listened to her aunt for so long, and her aunt said some pretty nasty things."

"Heather's a lot of things but she's not crazy in the head. She knows her aunt is just a bitch. And if she was starving herself, the signs would be there and we would know."

"I guess you're right."

As they continued their walk, Delilah's mind strayed from Heather to Spot. She knew her friends were right. She did have a thing for Spot. A pretty big thing, and she used the fighting to cover it up. She also had to keep the front she started using on the first night they met. She couldn't have gone from being mad at him to being all sweet on him. He would never take her seriously. Not that she stood a chance with him anyway. He was the King of Brooklyn for crying out loud, way out of her league. She belonged more with a guy like Race.

She shuddered at that thought.

"What was that?" Daisy questioned her action.

"Oh, nothing. Just a chill," she covered.

When the two neared the DC gates, they saw Jack outside, leaning against a wall. He looked up and smiled when he saw them.

"'Ey, I was waitin' for ya," he said, kissing his girlfriend.

"Ah hem?" Delilah cleared her throat.

"And of course I meant all of ya Spunk."

"Sure you did Cowboy."

"Speakin' of all of ya, where's Lace?"
"Where do you think?" Daisy had him guess, putting an arm around his waist.

"Oh look, you don't even have to put that brain to work," Delilah said, gesturing behind over her shoulder. They looked and saw Les running ahead of Heather and David who were laughing at whatever they were talking about.

"Hey guys," Heather greeted them when they reached the group, and after catching her breath.

"What's so funny?" Daisy asked.

Heather and David just looked to each other and started up laughing again.

"So-so, Les...Les was in such a rush to get ready this morning-" David started, trying to talk in between laughs.

"That he grabbed...he grabbed one of David's shirts and pants," Heather continued, also laughing still. "And when he came out...he-he was just like, 'I think I shrunk!'." David and Heather just doubled over laughing. But when they looked up and saw none of the others were, they calmed down and Heather just said, "You had to be there."

Suddenly, there was an uproar coming from inside the gates. They all ran inside to see what was going on.

"'Ey, 'ey, 'ey, what's happenin'?" Jack asked.

"Dey jacked up da price!" Blink told him. "Ya hear dat Jack? Ten cents a hundred! Ya know, it's bad enough dat we gotta eat what we don't sell! Now dey jack up da price! Can ya believe dat?"

"Why is everyone so upset?" David asked Heather. "I don't have that much money but I can spare a dime."

"Most of us aren't that lucky," she explained. "Most of us don't even have 5 cents, let alone 10."

"This'll bust me. I'm barely makin' a livin' right now," Skittery complained.

"I'll be back sleepin' on da streets," Boots put in.

"Dis makes no sense. I mean, all da money Pulitzer's makin, why would he gouge us?" Mush wanted to know.

"Cause he's a tightwad, dat's why," Race told them.

Daisy turned to Jack, "Jack, what are we gonna do? You're boys can't sleep on the street. The weather's turning cold soon. They won't survive."

"Don't worry babe, I got dis covered." He then shouted out to the boys, "Pipe down, it's just a gag." He made his way to Weasel. "So why da jack up Weasel?"

"Why not?" He licked his finger to feel for a breeze. "It's a nice day." As Jack walked away, Weasel yelled after him, "Why don't you ask Mr. Pulitzer?"

"Dey can't do dis ta me Jack," Blink said.

"Dey can do whatevah dey want, it's dere stinkin' papah," Race mumbled. Heather left her spot next to David and went and hugged Race from behind. He just downly patted her hands and pulled away, then put his arm around her shoulders.

"It ain't fair. We got no rights at all," Boots stated.

"That's not true. We're humans too. We got just as many rights as the upper class," Delilah tried to convince them, but they all just argued against that.

"C'mon, it's a rigged deck, and dey got all da marbles," Race told them.

"Jack, we got no choice. So why don't we get our lousy papes while dey still got some, huh?" Mush wanted to give in. He made his way to the steps, but Jack stopped him.

"No! Nobody's goin' anywhere. Dey can't get away wid dis," he said.

Suddenly, Les broke through the crowd, saying, "Give him some room! Give him some room! Let him think!" Listening to the little boy, the crowd of newsies backed up and Jack sat down on the steps, thinking. Daisy sat next to him and squeezed his knee.

It had only been a matter of moments before Race asked, "Jack, ya done thinkin' yet?" Heather just shoved him playfully and scoffed.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Weasel shouted through the window. "World employees only on this side of the gate!" All the newsies yelled at him and he went away.

"Well listen, one thing's for sure, if we don't sell papes, den nobody sells papes. Nobody comes through dose gates 'til dey put da price back where it was," Jack explained.

"You mean like a strike?" David asked, jokingly.

"Yeah, like a strike," Jack agreed.

"Are ya outta your mind?" Race questioned.

Heather broke away from Race and joined Jack and daisy on the steps.

"Come on, it's a good idea!" she backed Jack up.

"I'm in!" Delilah agreed, joining the group as well.

"Guys, I was joking," David told them, coming to them. "We can't go on strike, we don't have a union."

"But if we go on strike, den we are a union, right?" Jack questioned.

"No. We're just a bunch of angry kids with no money."

"What id we got every newsie in New York?" Heather suggested.

"Well, then you might stand a chance, but even then-"

"Well den we organize!" Jack planned. "Crutchy, you take up a collection. We get all the newsies of New York together." He started to head out of the DC with the girls behind him.

"Jack, this isn't a joke!" David called, chasing after them. "You saw what happened to those trolley workers."

"Yeah, well dat's anudda good idea. Any newsie don't join wid us, den we bust dere heads like da trolley workers."

"Stop and think about this Jack. You can't just rush everyone into this."
"Maybe Dave's right Jack. Maybe we should have a plan," Heather said.

"We do have a plan: get all the newsies of New York, and fight until Pulitzer puts the price back down," Daisy told him.

"But we need something more concrete. Or at least give them an option," David followed.

"Alright, lemme think 'bout it." Jack took a minute and then turned back to the newsies. "Listen, Dave's right. Pulitzer and Hearst and all dem othah rich fellas, I mean, de own dis city. So do dey really think a bunch of street kids like us can make any difference? Da choice 'as gotta be yours. Are we just gonna take what dey give us, or are we gonna strike?"

There was quiet chatter among the newsies until Les shouted out, "Strike!" David tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late. The excitement was spreading.

"Keep talkin' Jack. Tell us what ta do," Boots said.

Jack walked up to David and said, "You tell us what ta do Davey." David looked from Jack to the newsies and back to Jack. He was still hesitating.

"Come on David. This is your chance to show everyone you're more than just a book nerd," Heather told him, putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked to her and she smiled.

He took a breath, then said, "Pulitzer and Hearst have to respect our rights."

"Good job," she whispered, squeezing his shoulder.

""Ey listen!" Jack shouted out to the newsies. "Pulitzer and Hearst have to respect the rights of the newises of New York!" Everyone cheered, so Jack went back to David. "Well dat worked pretty good, so what else?"

David thought for a second, then told him, "Tell them they can't treat us like we don't exist."

Without another word, Jack climbed onto the Horace Greenly statue and continued his speech, "Pulitzer and Hearst, they think we're nothin'. Are we nothing'?"

"No!" everyone yelled back.

"If we stick together like the trolley workers then they cant break us up," David went on.

"Jack! Bring me up! I have something to say!" Daisy said, and he helped her onto the statue. "Pulitzer and Hearst, they think they got us! Do they got us?"
"No!" Everyone was getting more and more excited.

"We're a union now, the newsies union. We have to start acting like a union," David kept going.

Then, Delilah got up. "Even though we don't have hats or badges, we are still a union because we say so! And The World will know!"
"What's to stop somebody else from sellin' our papes?" Boots brought up.

"Den we'll talk wid 'em," Jack compromised.

"Some of 'em don't 'ear so good," Race brought up.

"Den we'll soak 'em!"
"No, we can't beat up kids in the street. It'll give us a bad name," David retorted.

"David's got a point Jack. If we get in trouble, it'll be just what the bulls and Pulitzer need to shut us down," Heather agreed.

Jack thought for a minute and then went on, "What's it gonna take ta stop da wagons? Are we ready?"
"Yeah!" everyone yelled, but David and Heather.

"No!" David fought back. Heather just stood there, biting her lip, unsure of who to listen to.

"What's it gonna take to stop the scabbers? Can we do it?" Daisy went on.

"Yeah!" the newsies cheered.

"Heather? Are you in?" Every eye was on her. She looked around, ending on David who was begging her with his eyes to think this through. But she knew what she had to do.

"We'll do what we gotta do until the will of Bill and Joe is broken!" she put in. And everyone around her started cheering. Her friends on the statue helped her up. "And The World and The Journal will know that we have news for them. News that we're no longer hawking headlines. We're making the headlines today."

"And we'll kick dere rear!" Crutchy yelled out.

"We're 'ere World! And it time ya knew dat!" Jack continued. He and the girls jumped down and led the newsies into the square. David wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't sure they were all ready to take on this fight. But he didn't know how to say it. He wished he could get through to at least Heather, but she was long gone. Jack kept talking, "When da circulation bell starts ringin', will we 'ear it?"

"No!"
"What is the Delanceys are swingin at us? Will we hear it?" Daisy added.

"No!"
"When you've got a hundred voices singing, who can hear a lousy whistle blow?" Delilah followed. "And The World will know that this isn't dome game we're playing. And that we have a ton of rotten fruit and perfect aim."

"Their word that they cared about us doesn't mean beans!" Heather went on. "Now they're really gonna fin dout what it means to stop the presses."

"And the day 'as come! And da time is now! And our fear is gone! And the strike is on!" Jack added. "Pulitzer may own da World, but he don't own us! Pulitzer may crack da whip, but he won't whip us!"
"The World will know and learn and wonder how we made the tables turn," Daisy put in. "The World will see that we had to make a choice, and that the things we do today will be tomorrow's news."

"The old will fall and the young will stand tall! The time is now!" Delilah continued.

"The World will feel the fire and finally know!" Heather finished. Their "speech" was met with thunderous applause and cheers from all, but David, who still looked unsure. Heather saw this and went to him. "David, this is the right thing to do. You have to trust us that this is for the best." She took his hand. "Trust me." She locked eyes with him and finally he gave a slight smile, showing that he was in. Heather gave a huge smile and pulled him through the crowd to the steps of The World building where Jack, Daisy and Delilah were.

David took a spot next to Jack who was saying, "We gotta get woid out ta all the newsies of New York. I need some of those...whadda ya call 'em?" He turned to David.

"Ambassadors?" David guessed.

None of the girls ever figured out how he could guess what Jack needed from that.

"Yeah, right. Okay, you guys gotta be am-bastahds, and go tell de ouddas dat we're on strike."

"Say Jack, I'll take Harlem," Blink offered.

"Yeah, I got Midtown," Race volunteered.

"I got da Battery, Jack," Mush went off.

"Hey, I'll take da Bronx," Crutchy said.

"Alright. And Bumlets and Skittery and Specs, you take Queens," Jack organized, "Pie Eater, Snoddy, East Side. Snipeshooter, you go wid 'em. So what 'bout Brooklyn? Who wants Brooklyn?" Everyone just tried their hardest to avoid eye contact with Jack. The girls couldn't help but laugh at them being scared. "Come on, Spot Conlon's territory. What's da mattah? Ya scared of Brooklyn?"
"'Ey, we ain't scared of Brooklyn!" Boots stood up. "Spot Conlon makes us a little noivus."

"You're all kidding right?" Daisy spoke up. "You're scared of that little shrimp?"
"Please, even I could take him," Heather agreed.

"Can we stop talking about him before I puke?" Delilah wanted. She wanted to go to Brooklyn, but she kept that under wraps so that no one would find out she actually liked him.

"Well, I think I know one person who wants to go to Brooklyn," Daisy teased, looking at Delilah.

Delilah faked laughed and said, "And I know someone who wants to kill you!"

"C'mon Spunk, you and me'll go," Jack offered. "And of coise we need our two best goils." He took Daisy's hand.

"Fine, we'll come," she agreed.

"Great! And Dave'll keep us company."

"Sure," David said. "Just as soon as you bring our demands to Pulitzer."
"Me? Ta Pulitzer?"

"You're the leader Jack."

Jack hesitated for a moment and then grabbed Les. "Maybe the kid'll soften 'im up." The newsies cheered as Jack and Les walked into the giant building, officially starting the strike.

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