Trouble in Brooklyn

It was Saturday and the day of the big poker game at Brooklyn. Trouble was selling with Boots. At lunch time Boots lead her to Tibby's. She was still new in the city but certain things started to become familiar to Trouble and she was quickly learning her way around, she was always a fast learner so this didn't surprise her at how fast she was getting to know the city. When Trouble and Boots reached Tibby's they sat at a table with Mush and blink. Cowboy, Race, David, and Les where all at the table next to their table, they all ordered their food, ate it, and paid.

"Hey Trouble we is headed ta Brooklyn are ya comin" Jack asked

"Yeah but later cause I have some papes left ta sell, Then Boots and me are gonna catch up with you guys. So we'll meet cha there."

"Ok, Hey Boots you'se betta watch her and Trouble, try to be good and not get into any trouble" Jack said giving the two Newsies stern looks

"What me get into Trouble, never" She said giving her most Mischievous smile to Jack

Jack just sighed and shook his head smiling as he and the rest of the Newsies left the diner and disappeared down the streets. Boots and Trouble went off to finish selling their papes. They finally got finished at about two in the afternoon and headed off to Brooklyn.

"So is this Spot Conlon really Dangerous"

"Are you kidding!! He is the most dangerous guy I know. Once he killed a guy with just a single punch, well that's what I hoid any ways"

Trouble was silent as she imagined this giant, Muscular Newsie delivering death to a cowering man with just one Punch. She gulped and her eyes got wide.

"Don't worry Spot Conlon neva hoits goils"

The two continued walking as Boots told tales of the great Spot Conlon to Trouble. They soon came to a bridge, the biggest bridge Trouble had ever seen. She gasped and whispered "Wow".

"Yeah ain't it beautiful, this heah is the Brooklyn Bridge, Watch this" Boots ran a couple of yards onto the bridge and Trouble followed at his heals. He stopped leaned over and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Come on you try"

"Why" Trouble asked

"Cause it's fun" So Trouble went over to the edge of the mighty bridge, leaned over and screamed.

"Wow that is fun"

"Told ya, come on we'se almost there"

The two Manhattan Newsies walked about an hour and a half more. It was about five o'clock in the evening. Brooklyn was a lot darker then Manhattan. It seemed like a tough and cold place to live. They walked a little bit further but not before long Trouble and Boots both heard what sounded like a scream. They both looked at each other and ran towards where they heard the sound come form. Trouble looked into the alley and saw to big men hit a light skinned African American girl over the head with a rock. Trouble pulled Boots down and whispered in his ear.

"Ok I've got a plan. I'ma distract these two fools and you take the girl to where Jack and the others would be."

Boots nodded his head and stayed were he was until the cost was clear for him to grab the girl and take her to Jack. She silently picked up an old wood plank and crept up on one of the two men and hit him hard in the back and then the other man hard on the head. The two men both turned around. Trouble started to run and the two men ran after her. Her plan was working when she passed Boots she yelled "Go" and was gone in a flash. He ran to the semi conscious girl put her arm around his neck and lead her out of the alley. At the alley's entrance he stopped and thought 'Jack is probably with Spot and it is too early for them to be back at the lodging house so they are at the docks'. Boots knew where he was so he dragged the girl towards the docks and within fifteen minutes he had reached them.

"JACK! SPOT" he screamed. The two boys looked down at Boots from a high pile of crates. Spot quickly jumped down from the crates and ran over to Boots and the girl.

"What happened" he said picking the girl up and carrying her over to the high pile of crates and setting her down against the bottom of the pile.

"Well there was these two men and they'se hit her and Trouble hit the two guys with a plank and they'se went running afta her and she told me to bring the girl to Jack and You'se and I figured you'se was here."

"Where's Trouble" Jack said looking at Boots worried

"I don't know Jack" Boots said in an equally as worried voice

Jack looked at Spot "We'se gotta find haw"

The two boys stood up quickly but before they could do anything they saw a figure running at an incredible speed towards them and then passed them. "Trouble!" Jack screamed after her. She kept running because there were two men right behind her chasing after her. Jack and Spot started running after the two men chasing Trouble. Trouble just kept on running for dear life. She ran all the way down the dock and right into the water. The first man managed to stop himself right at the very edge of the dock but the second man came flying into him sending both of them into the water. When Jack and Spot reached the edge of the dock they stopped and looked down. The two men had surfaced but there was no sign of Trouble except for bubbles that were surfacing from where she had fallen into the water.

"A Jack can she swim" Spot asked in a concerned yet calm voice

"Jesus" Jack muttered taking of his cowboy hat and throwing it on the dock before diving in after Trouble. Manhattan Newsies and Brooklyn Newsies all ran to the end of the dock and waited for Jack to come up. About thirty seconds later Jack surfaced with Trouble in his arms. All the Newsies erupted in cheering. Jack pushed a very tired and out of breath Trouble up a rope ladder. Spot bent down and grabbed Troubles wrists and half pulled half lifted her up onto the dock. She just lay on the dock breathing very heavily and coughing for a couple of seconds. Jack climbed up onto the dock and kneeled down beside the panting Trouble. "You'se ok" Jack asked a little out of breath.

"LETS (breathes in deeply) NOT (breathes in deeply) Do (breathes in deeply) THAT (breathes in deeply) AGAIN"

Jack smiled at Trouble. Trouble could hear many different male voices cheering. She recognized Mush, Race, and Blinks but most of the other voices she had never heard before. Jack stood up and lifted Trouble up from under her armpits and onto her feet. She was to dizzy and weak to stand on her own so she fell but Jack quickly caught her and put her arm around his neck. Another boy a little shorter then Jack but about the same build put Troubles arm around his neck and they walked her over to were the other girl was sitting and sat her down next to her. Trouble looked over at the girl sitting next to her and recognized her as the girl from the alley.

"Hey are you ok" Trouble asked

"Yeah thanks to you" said the girl. She had a weird accent that sounded southern but it was a different kind of southern accent. The girl had a mass of curly golden brown hair pulled back into a pony tail and it was thick and wild and she had honey golden colored eyes. She was a light skinned black girl; her skin was almost like caramel or honey because it had a golden sheen to it. This girl was the only other girl in all of New York that Trouble had seen wearing boy's clothes and if that wasn't a dead give away that this girl was a Newsie then the newsboy cap tucked into her belt sure was.

"I'm Trouble" she said spitting into her hand and holding it out to her

"Crazy" the girl said spiting into her own hand and shaking Trouble's

"Spot what do you want us to do with these two bums" Two boys were holding the two men that had hurt Crazy and chased Trouble. The boy that had helped Jack walk Trouble over to where she was sitting turned around and glared at the two men. His eyes were blue ice. His stare alone sent shivers down Trouble's spine. 'So this is the Great Spot Conlon' Trouble thought to herself. He wasn't at all what she was expecting. She was expecting this terrible, giant, bulk of a man but instead he was just an average looking kid, except for his eyes which were as cold and hard as ice.

"So you'se bums likes to pick on goils huh, well guess what you'se just picked the wrong ones. If you eva come near me goils again I'ma kill ya" The two men shook their heads at Spot and said;

"We'se sure sorry Spot. . .your highness. . .ah sir. We won't eva hoirt them again. We'se promise"

"Release em" Spot told the two Brooklyn Newsies holding the men. They did what their leader commanded and the two men just stood and starred at the Mighty Spot Conlon. "Beat it" he screamed at them and the two men ran off. Spot watched the two men run away out of ear shot and then Spot turned around to the two Newsies who were holding the two men "Go teach em ta neva mess wit Spot Conlon again" The two boys then took off after the two men. Spot then turned around to face the two sitting girls. He slowly walked up to them and then squatted down in front of Crazy and started to clean the wound on her forehead with a handkerchief from him pocket.

"Crazy I'se told you'se to neva be alone on da streets a Brooklyn. When is ya gonna start listenin to me"

"I'm sorry Spot I didn't finish sellin my papes and all of the boys were real excited bout tanight that I told them ta go on with out me"

"from now on you'se don't go out on the streets by you'se self ya understand. You is lucky dis time. It coulda been a lot woise ya heah. I don't want any thing bad happenin to ya's." Spot smiled at the girl and lightly taped her jaw with his fist as a sign of affection. Then he turned around and positioned himself in a half squat half kneeling position as he faced Trouble.

"And as foir you'se what were you thinking takin on them two by you'se self. What are you'se crazy!"

"No I'm Trouble that's Crazy" She said smiling and nodding towards the girl sitting next to her.

Spot lifted one of his eye brows and chuckled softly "I knows who you are. Your reputation proceeds ya."

"My reputation" She asked surprised and confused at the thought of having a reputation

"Yeah Race and Jack have told me all about ya. And Race is right you'se is a smart ass and for a goil who can't fight you'se sure do get into a lot a trouble. Ya name really does suit ya. You'se also really lucky you didn't get hoit or worse. You should really loin how ta fight if you'se gonna keep getting into trouble." He said smiling at her.

"Yeah well I know who you are too. Your Spot Conlon" She said with a smile on her face.

"Da one an only"

"Jack and Boots told me all about you."

"Well don't believe anythin Boots tells ya but you'se can listen to Jack"

"Ya Boots made ya sound like a Ogre or some thin" Trouble said laughing. She started to shiver and Spot took his jacket off and put it around her shoulders.

"C'mon lets get you'se inside before you get sick" Spot gave Trouble his hand and pulled her up and then gave Crazy his other hand and pulled her up. He held out each of his arms and each girl took an arm and smiled as he walked them away towards the Brooklyn Lodging house. Jack followed by Troubles side. He looked at her, smiled and rolled his eyes. Trouble just gave him her famous grin that was filled with Mischief and trouble. Spot lead all three of the other Newsies inside of the Lodging house.

"Crazy give Trouble a change a clothes ta borra"

Crazy lead Trouble to the only single bed in the entire room, it faced the opposite side of the other beds and was pushed up against the corner of the wall. Crazy went under her bed and pulled out an old white dress from the beat up old suitcase.

" Heah you can wear this. It's probably the only thing that I would have that fits ya. It was my sista's. I don't know why I bought it with me when I came hear from New Orleans but I did."

Trouble smiled "I'm not from around hear either, I am originally from Philadelphia but I ran away from the orphanage and made my way from town to town, city to city, until I ended up hear a little over a week ago. Why did you decided to come to New York?"

"Well ya see it was just me and my two sista's but they died. I was the middle one. That dress they'or belonged to my little sista. She was built small and curvy like you. And my olda sista was both tall and curvy and me I am just long and skinny." Crazy said smiling proudly.

"It must have been really hard three young girls living all on their own"

"Yeah especially since we is Creole"

"What's Creole"

"It's a mixed person, that is part black, white, French, and some even Spanish" Crazy smiled at Trouble and Trouble smiled back. Trouble notice a beautiful silver bracelet on Crazy's wrist it wasn't a chain but a hard semi circle that had a beautiful silver rose that sat right on top and in the middle of the bracelet.

"Your bracelet is beautiful"

"Thanks my olda sista got it for me right before she died. It's my most prized possession"

The two girls chatted and slowly got unchanged. They soon were wearing nothing more then their corsets and underwear which went down to their mid thighs. Both girls wore boy under wear. The corset's that the two girls on were very plain. Trouble's was alight beige that tied in the back. It was strapless but she always wore a tank top under her corset. Crazy's was white and basically the same as Troubles and she too wore a tank top under it. Trouble put on the white dress that Crazy had given her. It was plain but it was the first dress that Trouble had ever worn and she thought it was gorgeous. It was sleeveless but the shoulder straps were big and covered her whole shoulder. It was plain white all the way down and it had a light blue sash that Crazy tied around Trouble's waist. The dress was a little short and only went down to Trouble's mid calf. Crazy smiled at the amazed and excited girl in front of her. Trouble turned around and faced Crazy.

"Thank you so much!! This dress is so beautiful! I have never worn a dress before!"

"Well tell ya what you can keep it. It was my sista's church dress."

Trouble smiled at Crazy and gave her a big hug. Crazy chuckled and then put on a light blue dress that was basically the same cut as Trouble's dress except it had short sleeves and was a light blue with a white sash. Crazy spun around in a couple of fast circles and Trouble smiled and watched as Crazy spun around in a couple of quick twirls, her dress came up and twirled around her and you could see her under wear. Trouble laughed and did the same thing. When the two girls had finished they went down stairs to where the poker night was going to be held, sat down at a table and just talked about their lives.