The next day, the newsies got up and dressed bright and early to go to Tibby's where Denton had requested to meet them.
When they all got to the restaurant, almost all the boys ordered something huge since Denton had offered to pay for everything for them.
"Hey fellas!" Denton exclaimed as he waltzed into the restaurant. "Hey, hey! Big time!"
He slapped an edition of the New York Sun onto the table right in front of where Jack was sitting. All of them crowded around him to see what Denton had done for them. There was the picture he had taken right smack dab on the front page.
"Where's me picture? Where's me picture?" Spot demanded.
Brenna rolled her eyes. Self-obsessed, conceited Spot as always.
"All them words there!" Boots exclaimed. "They all about us?"
Mush laughed and pointed to Jack. "Look at you, Jack. Ya look like a general or somethin'!"
"Will you get your fingers off me face?" Jack said, brushing his hand away.
"Where does it say my name?" Spot asked. "Where's my name?"
"Will ya quit thinking about yourself?"
"If ya really wanna know, Spot," Brenna said. "Your picture is right there and ya look clueless as ever and like you're dancin' with Blink."
Brenna was pretty sure she saw the faintest trace of a blush on his cheeks as he realized that she was right.
"You got us on the front page," David said proudly to Denton.
"You got yourselves on the front page. I just got to make sure you stay there," he answered.
"So what?" Skittery complained. "Ya get your picture in da papes, so what's dat get ya, huh?"
"Way to be a spoil-sport," Brenna said to him.
"You been in a bad mood all day!" Jack added.
"I'm not in a bad mood!" Skittery retorted.
"You been glum and dumb!" Race scolded as he shoved his face away. "What'sa matta with you? Ya get your picture in da papes, you're famous. You're famous, ya get anythin' ya want. Dat's what so great about New York!"
Then Mush began to sing:
"A pair of new shoes with matchin' laces!"
"A permanent box at Sheepshed Races!" Racetrack added.
"A porcelain tub with boiling water!" Spot sang.
"A Saturday night with da mayor's daughter!" Blink joked.
Racetrack jumped onto a table and started singing and dancing:
Look at me I'm da King of New York!
Suddenly I'm respectable
Staring right atcha
Lousy with stature
Brenna smiled, but knew she couldn't join in because it would just be a lie. She couldn't be King of New York. Despite the façade she put on for everyone, she was a girl and girls weren't kings. And if she said Queen, it would give her away to Denton and everyone else in the restaurant. It was just one of those times she wished she could just be herself.
Jack seemed to notice that she was feeling a little out of place because he threw his arm around her and sang:
Nubbin' with all da muckety-mucks
I'm blowin' my dough and goin' deluxe!
Racetrack went next to her as well and continued singing:
And there I'll be
Ain't I pretty?
Then he and Jack sang together:
It's my city
I'm da king of New York!
Brenna laughed at their attempts to help her feel included. She could always count on them to perk her up at the end of the day.
The song continued as they transitioned to calling Denton the King of New York since he was the one who got them there in the first place.
Several of the newsies got onto the tables and began to dance. Then they began to sing how they were King of New York once more. Jack came over to her and, quietly in her ear but loud enough for just her to hear, instead of singing "I'm the King" he sang "You're the Queen." She smiled at him and playfully shoved his head over.
Holy cow! It's a miracle
Pulitzer's cryin'
Weasel? He's dyin'!
Flashpots are shooting bright as da sun
I'm one hifalutin' son of a gun!
Don't ask me how
Fortune found me
Fate just crowned me
Now I'm King of New York!
Look and see
Once a piker
Now a striker
I'm da King of New York!
Victory! Front page story
Guts and glory
I'm da King of New York!
They finished their song and all the newsies cheered at their good fortune overall in the strike thus far. Brenna couldn't help but smile as she thought back to Jack helping her feel more included in the song. In fact, recently, he had been helping out that way a lot. She didn't know what had brought on these sudden acts of kindness, but she wasn't going to complain.
"So, let's have some ideas," Jack said.
"Well, we gotta show people where we stand," David explained.
"Yeah, so we gotta stay in da papes."
"My paper's the only one printing any strike news so far," Denton told them.
"So, we should do somethin' dat's so big, da other papers'll feel stupid if they try to ignore us…Like a rally! A newsie rally with all da kids from all over New York. It'll be da biggest, loudest, noisiest blow-out this town's ever seen!"
"We'll send a message to the big boys!" David said.
One of the waiters brought a tray of glasses filled with soda for each of them. One by one, they all grabbed one of the glasses.
"There's a lot of us," Jack continued. "And we ain't goin' away. We'll fight until Doomsday if it means we get a fair shake!"
"Hey, guys," David said, holding up his glass. "To our man, Denton!"
"Our man Denton!" the newsies agreed in chorus. They lifted up their glasses and took a sip. Through the corner of her eye, Brenna saw Jack looking at her. He had been acting so different towards her ever since that night at the Jacobs' house. He seemed more…protective of her, if that was the right word. It was weird to say the least.
Later that night, all the newsies were in the Lodging House preparing for another day of striking and the rally to be held the next night. After they had decided to hold a rally, they had spent the next few hours or so at the restaurant planning for it. They had then asked Medda if they could use Irving Hall as their location, to which she happily agreed. If it went well, the strike could essentially end within the next few days, which Brenna was glad about because not making any money was really a thorn in her side.
Brenna was helping Snipeshooter make a sign when she saw a sadly very familiar face enter the Lodging House. Her eyes widened as they rested on none other than Warden Snyder. She remained silent and gently nudged Bumlets so he could see who decided to crash their place.
Snyder picked up Kloppman's book, but Kloppman quickly took it away from him.
"Excuse me. Can I help you?" he said kindly, though Brenna knew that Kloppman knew exactly who he was talking to.
"You have a boy who calls himself Jack Kelly?" Snyder asked smoothly. Too smooth. "I wish to see him."
"Jack Kelly? Jack…Never heard of him." Brenna had never loved the man more in her life. "Never heard of him. Any of you boys ever hear of a 'Jack Kelly'?"
Brenna played along and shook her head.
"Dat's an unusual name for these parts," Specs commented.
Jack walked into the room, but Brenna and Swifty quickly stopped him from progressing. Brenna put a finger to her lips as Swifty pointed out who was in the Lodging House with them.
"Oh, you mean Jack Kelly!" Racetrack exclaimed. "Yeah, he was here, but he put an egg in his shoe and beat it."
Brenna laughed along with the other newsies. Jack, being the idiot she knew he was, ducked behind Snyder and hid right behind his back.
"I have reason to believe he's an escaped prisoner, possibly dangerous."
"Oh, dangerous?" Kloppman stuttered, really milking it up for the old man. Jack put his hand to his chest in surprise, as if it was impossible for someone to believe he was dangerous in any way. Brenna put her hand to her mouth in order to stifle her giggles. "I better look in my files. This way please."
Brenna grabbed his arm and dragged him out the way he had come in. They jogged a small distance away from the Lodging House.
"What are you goin' to do now?" she asked him.
"I guess I'll have to find somewhere else to stay tonight," he answered.
"Like where? Where in da world will you go?"
"I'll find somewhere."
"Just…be careful."
"Yes, Ma."
"Ha ha. You're so funny, Cowboy," Brenna said sarcastically.
"Call it a gift," he said with a small bow. She watched him take off, wondering where he would go to crash. She was pretty worried about him, but she decided that it would be best to not think about it. After all, Jack was much tougher than she was and could handle himself. She slowly walked back to the Lodging House with her hands shoved in her pockets. She realized that without him, she wouldn't be able to get her bandages off by herself. Even though she loved the other boys, she really didn't want any of them seeing her so bare, even if they only saw her empty back. She decided she would just sleep in them that night, seeing as she didn't want to have another boy put them on again either. Jack had been doing it for so long now that it was normal. Having someone else do it just seemed…wrong.
When she got back, Snyder was thankfully gone, and most of the boys had retired upstairs to get some rest before the rally. First Crutchy's bed was empty then Jack's. Brenna disliked this starting trend, even though she knew Jack was only going to be gone for one night.
She stared at his empty, unmade bed, willing him to come back so she would know he was safe.
"I wouldn't worry about Cowboy, Tricks," Race said as he came up behind her. "He's a tough guy."
"I know dat, Race. Call it my maternal instincts."