"Guess what I just did?" Pinup said in a sing-song voice as she walked into the dressing room.
"Unless you socked those guys who were selling the papers and found me a rich guy to marry I don't care," Fedora said sadly, spread out on the small couch.
"What's eatin' you?" Luna asked, sitting down next to Fedora, but she just shrugged.
"So tell us!" Charade exclaimed, holding up two costumes for the girls to decide which she should wear.
"When in doubt, go with pink," Luna said.
"Well, I talked to some of the newsboys today, and they said they'd come see us on Friday night!"
"What? Newsboys?" Charade asked, her eyes getting wide.
"What, you mean like Spot Conlon?" Fedora asked, tossing her gloves to the ground.
"No, I mean like newsies from Manhattan. They're gonna keep us company on Friday night after the show."
"Friday night?" JoJo asked, stepping out of the large costume closet, looking nervous.
"Yeah. I figured we could use the company when Medda's gone."
Luna's eyes sparkled. "I bet they know how to fight."
Fedora smirked. "I bet they know how to f – "
"Anyway," JoJo said, cutting Fedora off. "Just make sure Medda okay's it first."
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Blink and Swifty ran into Tibby's that afternoon with unusual fervor. Some of the boys shrugged it off as them selling a lot of papes that day, but they all perked up their ears when Blink mentioned The Coquettes.
"Ya mean ya actually talked ta her?" Mush asked, his eyes widening.
"What'd she say?" Bumlets asked, almost getting too close to Blink's face.
"Is she really a knock-out in real life?" Snoddy asked.
Skittery's stomach twinged at the thought of them conversing with Pinup.
"Calm down, will ya?" Swifty said, shooing them away so he could eat.
"So are we goin' Friday night?" Blink asked them.
"I want to go! David, can I go?" Les asked, giving his older brother a puppy face.
David shook his head. "Are you kidding me?"
"You can stay at the lodgin' house with Skitts. He ain't goin'."
"Oh yeah?" Skittery challenged unexpectedly, walking up to Jack.
"An' who says I ain't goin?"
Jack looked him up and down and replied. "When's the last time ya went out ta look for goils wid' us, huh?"
"What are ya talkin' 'bout, huh? I don' need to look for no goils."
"'Dat's right, they jist flock right to 'im," Racetrack cracked.
"Don't start wid' me, Race. I'm goin', an' you hot shots will be the ones goin' home alone," Skittery retorted, leaving Racetrack to whistle.
"Skitts gettin' laid, who'da thunk it…"
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The girls helped Medda pack on Friday afternoon before the show, and anxiously awaited the after-party. It wasn't so much an after party as it was going to be the five girls and the twenty-some boys that were probably going to show up.
"Remember girls, make sure Toby knows who can stay after the show and who can't. It is very important that you are safe about these things," Medda reminded them, finally closing the metal latches on her suitcase.
"And have fun," she winked at them.
They waited until Medda was out of earshot until they started to scream with excitement.
"This is going to be so good for us," JoJo said dreamily. "We might even get a raise!"
"Or a salary!" Charade exclaimed, but everyone disregarded it. They all knew they got paid shit, but they loved Medda. She had practically raised them.
She used to tell them, "while pouting may sometimes be more suitable than a smile, a grin will bring in gentlemen from miles and miles." It was a corny saying she had made up, but somehow the girls had been able to keep it in mind.
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"I don't know how long I'm gonna last tonight," JoJo managed to say, collapsing in a chair in the dressing room.
"JoJo, you have to! This is the first time the Newsies are coming to see us, so we have to be the best we've ever been." Pinup unbuttoned her blouse that she had been wearing for rehearsal.
"Just think! If they like the show, they'll be telling newsies everywhere about us, and Medda won't have to worry about us so much."
Fedora paraded by putting gaudy gold earrings on and primping in the mirror.
"She's right. The better impression we make on these boys, the better pay we'll be getting."
"I know, I'm just… I'm exhausted. Ever since I twisted my ankle the other night all I want to do is quit. Work in a factory or something."
"Quit?" Charade squeaked and pulled up a chair next to JoJo and started stroking her back. "You can't quit, we're a five-girl show. We just got started, and we need you!"
"She's right," Pinup told her soothingly. "Sometimes I feel like that too. We all do. Working our butts off to keep them coming in, and no one understands how hard we work but us."
Luna nodded and looked JoJo in the eye. "But tonight will be different. Remember how we said we could never go out anymore? All we do is work work work, and we never have time just to be girls. Tonight we'll have our usuals come in and leave, and the boys will stay with us. We'll be alright, I promise,"
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In the washroom later that night, only Jack, Blink, Swifty, David and Skittery remained in the lodging house, and the boys were all calm… except for David.
"What am I gonna say ta her? What if she wants ta see me again? What if – "
"What if ya don't shut up an' I introduce my fist to your face?" Jack warned him.
Jack, Swifty and Blink all looked confident, adjusting their suspender straps and smoothing their hair while Skittery just stared blankly at his reflection.
"I'm gonna meet the most beautiful girl in the world tonight an' I got nothin' ta offer her."
"Whaddaya talkin' about, huh? Ya got a couple cigarettes on ya, right? Maybe she smokes." Skittery gave him a playful hit on the shoulder and they practically jumped down the stairs to go see the girls.
Backstage At Medda's
The girls had just finished their last dance of the night and Toby had just closed the place down when the girls went backstage to change into their party clothes.
"Finally some male company that isn't over 40," JoJo laughed.
Pinup chose her favorite black dress to wear over her corset for that evening. For some reason, she felt she might need her lucky clothes tonight.
"If there's a blond, I want him," Luna said, popping on her clip-on earrings.
"Me too," JoJo giggled.
"As long as mine's got real curly hair I don't care what color it is," Charade announced.
"I want mine to have dark skin," Fedora fantasized while buttoning up her dress.
When there was a silence, they all looked at Pinup expectantly.
"I'll know what I want when I see him," she said defiantly.
The girls hurried downstairs and found the boys sitting comfortably at one of the large tables, and they stood up abruptly when they saw the girls standing there. Pinup took in quick glances of each boy. Too sure of himself. Too quiet. Too short. Hate the bandana. And finally her eyes rested on the last of the group; probably the most unlikely to ever be picked up by a girl of her profession; he was awkwardly tall and a bit gangly, and adorably nervous. His eyes had been glued too the floor until he saw Pinup was taking notice of him. Pinup watched his arms tense up and liked how the veins in his arms appeared. He had sad, blue puppy dog eyes and a pouty mouth like he hadn't been kissed in years. Scratch that, never. Slowly she looked at them all again, then walked towards Skittery. Meanwhile, Fedora introduced herself to Swifty, Luna to Blink, Charade to David, and JoJo to Jack.