I'm baaaaaack! Sorry I've been gone for so long but if you heard about all the tragedies that happened in Albuquerque, my mom was really close to that family and then my best friend had to switch to new meds and it threw her off and totally made her depression and anxiety worse. So I actually did write a lot of stories based around all that but they were honestly really bad so they are gone, and some how in the middle of all of that, I got my first high school crush and that brought just a whole new kind of dreams onto my life and I am actually putting that into my book, so...anyhow sorry about being gone and see you after the story
"Alright, boys. Time to get movin!"
"Ya, time ta git movin!"
Les smiled as the little boy squeaked behind him.
"Come on, Billy. Sun's up." Les gently pushed on the teenager's shoulder.
"No."
"Billy the last time you slept in, you didn't ge-" Les caught the scrawny boy as he got pushed off his bed.
"The sun's up, Billy!" Pup smiled down at Billy as the disgruntled Newsie pushed off of Les and shuffled into the bathroom.
"Frankie, remember, you can go on my morning rounds with me, but no pushing the boys off top bunks anymore, okay?"
Pup vigorously nodded his head, causing his messy, blonde hair to bounce around.
"Okay, go get ready."
Pup jumped down to the floor and ran into the bathroom. Les looked around to make sure the rest of the boys were up and moving and was unsurprised to see Sleepy blissfully tucked under his blanket.
"Sleepy, time to go, you're gonna be late." Les gently shook the boy.
"Mmhh!"
"I'm gonna be back in five minutes."
"Mrgh."
Les chuckled and walked into the bathroom and reached for his razor, only to find that it wasn't there. He quickly looked around and spotted Pup covered in shaving cream from head to toe.
"Les! Look, I'm just like you!"
"Pup, you only shave your face, and you don't have to shave yet. You'll probably cut yourself."
Pup shook his head and scraped the razor down his leg. "Ow! Les it stings really badly!"
Les walked into the toilet stall and grabbed a wad of toilet paper. "Okay, ready, Pup, this is going to make it get better."
"Ahhhhh! Yous said it was gonna git better."
Les gripped Pup's shoulder in an attempt to keep to kid from falling on the floor, but the shaving cream caused his hand you slip. "Okay, Pup, you need to take a shower, okay?"
He nodded his head and slowly stood up, but fell down again.
"Okay, kid, here we go." Les bent down and picked him up like a baby and carried him into the bathtub. "Now, you wash up and I'll be back soon." Les walked out of the bathroom and over to his drawer. He smiled as he changed out of his shaving cream covered clothes and thought about how much Pup reminded him of himself. Even the clothes. Les started laughing as he thought about the first time he met Pup...
"Wait, Romeo, where are ya gonna live now?"
"I got an apartment with soma da fellas dat I'm workin with."
"Well, see ya round then."
"Fow shoir, oh and Ise left ya somethin on the rooftop" Romeo pulled Les in for a hug as both of the boys' eyes started to water.
Les gently closed the door behind Romeo and then made his way up to the roof. He started to speculate about what the surprise was. He finally concluded that Romeo had probably written him a letter with some wise words of advice as he rounded the final turn of the fire escape. Instead he found a box, neatly wrapped in newspapers. He quickly ripped off the paper and opened the box. He peered inside and saw four letters and some tissue paper. He opened the first letter and started to read it...
Dear Les and future leaders,
My name is Romeo, and I lead the gang from 1903-1905. My advice to you is to show the boys that you love them. For a lot of them, you will be the only parent they will ever have.
Dear Romeo and future leaders,
My name is Specs, and I was the leader from 1900-1903. My advice to you is to look at the whole picture. When the boys get into fights or you have to make a large decision, make sure you have all the information.
Dear Specs and future leaders,
My name is Jack Kelly and I lead the boys from 1896-1900. My advice to you is to always fight for what you believe in, and stick with your brothers through everything.
Instructions for the newest leader
1 Don't forget to write a letter to the next leader.
2 The cap is yours to wear and keep safe. If hard times hit, use the cap's contents, but don't forget to restock it when everything settles down.
3 Calm down, you can do this.
Les took a deep breath and grabbed a familiar cap from inside the box. Tears dripped out of his eyes as he held Jack's/Spec's/Romeo's cap and fond memories of growing up came rushing back to him. He pulled it down on his head and realized that it was surprisingly hefty. Les pulled it off and noticed a slight bulge in the bill. He pushed apart the fabric and saw a few hundred dollars stuffed in the hat. He smiled in relief and shoved the hat back over his hair.
"Les!"
Les walked back down the fire escape to the little boy shouting for him. "What's up, Billy?"
"Eh...uh, it...buh..." Billy gave up and motioned for Les to follow him. They walked down through the house until they got to the last flight of stairs. "Down there."
Les slowly walked down the stairs, slowly getting more terrified of what was at the bottom. When he finally reached the last step, he was expecting a dragon, but instead he saw a little kid standing in the middle of the room...butt-naked.
"Hello?"
"Hi! I'm Frankie."
"Hi, Frankie...I'm Les."
"Candles said I'm gonna be a newsboy!"
"Oh, okay." Les said, relieved to have more information. "Well how about we get you some clothes then?"
"No, thanks."
"Um, okay why not?"
"I don't like the way they feel."
Les nodded and stood up. "I think I might have a solution. Follow me."
The boys walked up stairs and Frankie sat down on Les's bed as Les rummaged through his old stuff. Triumphantly, he pulled out one of his old shirts and handed it to the boy.
"Here, try this. I used to be just like you, so my brother used to make them really fluffy for me."
Frankie shoved his arms through the sleeves and poked his head out the top. "Ooh! Ise likes dis."
"Good, youse can have all of these. I gotta go check on soma da boys." Les handed him the bag of clothes and walked down the stairs.
"So...what was dat all about?"
"Candles found him and brought him back."
"Ya, Ise knows dat. Candles dumped him on me and then took off. What about his clothes?"
"He don't like da starchiness of da clothes, so I gave him my old ones."
"Oh, okay then. Well, I gotta go finish selling my papes." Billy swung his bag over his shoulder and ran out the door.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Pup screamed as his trousers rubbed against new cut.
"Okay, buddy. Ise thinks youse is jist gonna have to stay here today." Les commented, once again trying to calm down the crying boy.
Pup nodded his head and settled into his bed as Les ran out the door. Les ran through the circulation gate as the last boy got his papers.
"A hundred papes please."
"Please what?"
"Please...Mista Delancey's" Les groaned. It was moments like these that made him miss the Weasel. Les grabbed his papers and walked to his normal corner.
"Firefighters success rate in steep decline!"
"Hey, Les! The usual?"
"Sure. Thanks Junior."
The young teenager ducked under his father's arm and ran into the kitchen as Les went to sit with his boys at their usual lunch table.
"Hello, Les!"
"Hi, Mr. Jacobi."
"How's the selling been so far today?"
"Eh, the usual. The headline sucks, but I've only got about thirty left."
"Well that's-"
Woo! Woo! Wooh! The old restaurant owner was cut off by the loud sirens of a fire truck. Everyone turned towards the dark windows as the red trucks went zooming past.
"Wow! Haven't seen one of those down here in awhile."
"Well there really ain't that much past this."
"I suppose. Just the trains and some factories and the lodging house of course."
"The lodging house!"
I know, I know sorry for the super cheesy ending. Anyhow hope it wasn't too confusing and you enjoyed it. Shout out to Biankies for the character of Pup. Keep the characters coming please! Alright before I start ranting again, it is 1:46 AM MST so goodnight, goodmorning, and good everything in between.