I'll Cover You

Chapter 2

"The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money."

-Mark Twain

"Fifty papes, Weasel," Kid Blink said to the man behind the counter.

The man grumbled, "Fifty papes for Patchy-Boy," he said to a Delancey, who agitatedly pulled out Kid Blink's papers.

"It's Kid Blink," he corrected, sounding more than just a little annoyed.

"Sure, sure, whatever you'd like," Weasel said, rubbing his hands over his chin.

God, he looked greasy.

"What's this here, Patchy-boy?" Delancey Number One said, completely disregarding Kid Blink's statement about his name. "New blood, eh?"

Was he talking about me?

"First day as a newsie," Kid Blink replied for me.

"Wassyername?" Weasel said, slurring the words together. Again, a feeling of greasiness.

"Jon-," I started to announce, but Kid Blink finished my sentence yet again.

"We call him 'Skinny,' cause that's what he is." Kid said, carefully counting the stack of papers.

"You look like a girl." Delancey sniffed..

Jesse growled, but it was Kid Blink who saved me; he grabbed me by the collar and pulled me away from the counter.

"He isn't one," Kid Blink snarled, grabbing the papers and starting to walk away, still holding me by the collar. "And if you ever say that again, I'll come in and soak ya."

Kid handed fifteen papes to a boy next to him. "Whaddaya say, Blink?" He said, plopping down on the wagom covered in hay. "Bummin' it tonight?" He handed Kid some coins.

"Lemme look at the merchandise first," Kid said, counting again. "This is Mush," he said off-handedly, not looking at either of us. "You met Skinny yet?"

"Stop calling me that!" I growled, getting more and more annoyed with the name they branded me.

"My name is Jonathan, not Skinny,"

But Mush was paying no more attention to me than Kid Blink was.

Instead, he spat into his palm and offered it to me.

I stared at it. The hell was I supposed to do with it?

I looked over at Kid Blink, who was still counting. Maybe he wanted a handkerchief…?

"You do the same thing," Mush explained slowly, like I was a complete idiot.

So… I spat into my hand and offered it to him to do whatever the hell he wanted to do with it. He grabbed my outstretched hand and pumped it up and down.

Oh. A handshake.

He released my hand. Uch! It was still slimy. When Mush wasn't looking, I wiped my hand on my trousers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kid laughing at me.

"Here, Skinny," He said, handing me twenty papes. "A gift on your first day of being a newsie."

"I don't need charity; Jess and I can get along fine-,"

"Shut up, hold on," Mush said, gesturing for us to stop. "Jack's taking on somebody,"

"So what do ya say, Les? You wanna sell papes with me?" Jack Kelly was talking to a boy, who was petting Jesse but looking at Jack like all of his wildest dreams had come true.

"Yeah!" He was practically jumping up and down.

"Wait!" All heads turned to face an uncommonly nerdy looking boy. "It's gotta be at least fifty-fifty."

Jack considered this. "Sixty-forty, or I forget the whole thing."

"That's fair," Kid mumbled, along with just about half of the newsies.

"Golden opportunity." Mush nodded.

I paid no need and stared at the words on the page. They looked so foreign. How could they be the same as the words I spoke every day?

Suddenly everyone was laughing.

"Come on, Skin," Mush hollered, already at the gate. I rushed forward to Kid, racing for something familiar.

Jesse lollopped behind me, clearly enjoying being there, and feeling none of my misery.

"Hey you!" Weasel shouted at me. "World employees don't include dogs!"

"Oh, fuck off." I tossed back at him.

"The name of the game is volume, Dave. You only do twenty papes. Why?" Jack was talking to Nerdy-Boy, who was apparently named David.

"Bad headline," was his retort.

Hey, at least you can read, buddy.

"That's the first thing you gotta learn. Headlines don't sell papes. Newsies sell papes."

Kid Blink nodded energetically.

"Without the newsies, nobody knows nothing," Jack added.

"Tell 'em, Jack," Kid encouraged him. "Nobody knows- whoa!"

Fifty caps were pulled off as a pretty brunette passed by.

"God, look at that angel," Kid whispered to me. "Mayor's daughter, isn't she?"

Oh God. Lena Van Wyck. The stuff of male fantasies… or so I was told.

"Yeah," I said. "That's her."

"I'm in heaven." Mush said.

What was the matter with these guys? See some drippy debutante and they fall all over themselves?

I glared at her, and somehow our eyes connected in the crowd… it wasn't hard to spot me. I was, after all, the only one who still had their cap on.

She swallowed and looked away quickly, like my gaze had burned her. She practically ran away.

There was a moment of silence where many a newsboy around me emitted a sort of wistful sigh.

Then—"Baby born with three heads!"

I t was back to business. Quickly, I listened for any headline that I might sell, but I could only hear the 'baby' one.

"We're going to Central Park," Kid yelled over the din to Mush.

"Bottle Alley. Bye!" He split.

When we arrived, many newsies had already staked their claim on spots.

"Can't sell to close to them," He muttered. "Better do it by the Angel of the Waters,"

Kid was a wonderful seller- he juggled his papes, he did dances- he increased the amount of heads the baby was born with, and the people positively ate it up.

He sold out quickly, where as I hadn't sold a damn one. "Baby… born with... a head…" I said, desperately trying to remember what Kid was doing.

He laughed at me again, and yet again I felt a sensation of something like hatred for the patched boy.

"No, lemme show you, Jon," He said, relieving me of my papes. He lifted them out of my reach.

"Gimme back my papes, you bastard!" I stood on my tippy toes to try to reach.

Then I tried the jump-and-reach technique. Even Jesse was jumping for the newspapers.

To tell the truth, it was drawing quite a crowd.

"Give me back my papes, you bully!"

"Oh, give the poor boy back his papes," cooed an old lady with too much pomade on.

"Shameful," said a mother. "A big boy like that picking on a poor little thing!"

Satisfied with my response to his bullying, Kid threw down the papes onto the ground, and walked around the corner, being sure to leave a huge, messy footprint on one.

I collapsed on the ground, sitting and sniffling. Jesse curled up beside me, crying.

"Oh, poor thing!" A young wife said. "Are you alright? Here." She gave me a nickel. "Take this."

My mouth dropped, and slowly, incredulously, I handed her five papes.

I was sold out within minutes.

Kid Blink came running back around the corner, laughing. "Works like a charm!"

"You… knew they'd do that?"

"Sure! Everyone newsie pulls that stunt."

I stared at him. What should I have done? Thank him? Jesse and I didn't need his charity. We would have sold those papes…

…eventually.

Still… better to be polite. Even if I didn't mean it.

"Thank you."

There was a sort of pregnant silence.

Finally, Kid Blink laughed it off again. "Well, that's what friends are for, innit? Come back to the boarding house with me…"

I stepped back from him. "Friends?"

"Yeah, friends."

"Who said we were friends?" I said, insulted.

"Well, that's what we are, isn't it?" Kid said, beginning to look crestfallen.

"The only person I need is Jesse. I don't need you or any other person!" I yelled. Jesse whined, pawing my trousers. I bent down and cradled his head in my arms. "We were doing just fine without you."

There was another extremely uncomfortable pause.

"Excuse me." Kid said, hurt definitely in his voice. "Next time I see a guy who doesn't know what to do, I'll make sure Weasel screws him over. You owe me ten cents."

I handed over half of my earnings.

"Have fun carrying the banner." He said, coldly and evenly. "Don't sleep in a trash can."

He turned and left me all alone.