Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies."
Hey guys. Sorry about yesterday-- I was planning on updating, but I was so busy with school and a bunch of other crap that I had to get done. Ugh, I cannot wait until summer vacation. 6 more days of class and some finals... then I'm done and I can write every waking minute if I want to.
So this chapter is a bit longer. I hope you guys like it. Still in Skittery's point of view, by the way.
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Over the next few days there hadn't been a trace of the unknown girl I had seen on the roof. And yet, I kept thinking about her. She was pretty strange... Wonder why she wouldn't even talk to me. That goil was jumpier than me, and I got da nickname "Skittery" for a reason...
"A'right, boys! C'mon, let's go, let's go. Wake up. Papes to peddle, headline's to hawk!" Kloppman's voice rang out in the bunk room bright and early.
I groaned and rolled over, trying to shut out his voice. "Time for sellin', The presses are rollin'! When ya gotta get up, ya gotta get up!" Kloppman yelled. "What does that even mean?" I muttered to Pie eater, who was getting out of the bunk next to me.
"Who knows." He shrugged. "I stick wid Jack's theory... He thinks Kloppman's a little mad in da head..." he whispered. I let out a laugh and dragged myself out of bed.
After waiting on the circulation line for a while, I bought 60 papes and left to find a selling spot. I wandered the streets, heading towards the street vendors. The crowds were usually pretty big there. People stopping to buy a quick breakfast before work usually liked to grab the morning edition of the paper, too.
I was doing alright with selling, until something else caught everyone's attention. "Thief!" A man yelled, running down the street and pointing. "Thief! That girl stole from me!" Suddenly, someone crashed into me. Hard. They were knocked to the ground.
""Scuse me, miss. I'se real sorry... I said, putting my hand out to help her up. When her eyes met mine I immediately recognized her. It was the girl from the roof.
She looked over her shoulder and saw that the man was gaining on her. She quickly stood up without my help and pushed past me into an alleyway, ducking behind some crates.
The man stopped in front of me and looked in all directions. He put his hands on his knees and leaned over, panting heavily. "Dammit..." he mumbled.
"She went dat way..." I said, pointing him in the wrong direction. He looked up at me, noticing me for the first time. "Oh, thanks, kid..." he said, jogging off in the direction I gave him.
When he was out of sight, I turned around and went into the alleyway. Searching behind all the crates, I was surprised to find she wasn't there. She had disappeared again.
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"Anyone up for cards?" Race asked. We were all sprawled out all over the bunk room. It was way too hot to sleep, but we were too exhausted to get up and do something. Even though the sun had gone down hours ago, the lodging house still hadn't cooled off.
Blink lifted his head up just enough to look at Racetrack. Then he sighed and let his head drop down again. "What!?" Race asked. "Nuttin', Race. I just think we all got tired of cards around da sixth time ya beat us." Blink said.
"A'right, a'right. No need to be jealous." Race said, grinning. "I'se goin' up on da roof. Maybe it's cooler up dere." He said, standing up. "I'll join ya." I replied. "Anyone else comin'?" I asked. They all shook their heads, staring up at the ceiling. "I wouldn't get up if someone paid me." Specs replied. "Ya lazy bums..." I muttered, following after Race.
As soon as we sat down on the roof, Racetrack snapped his fingers. "Ah, crap. I knew I was forgettin' somethin', I'll be right back, lemme just go back down and grab me cigar." He said, climbing down the ladder again.
A few minutes after he was gone, I heard someone's footsteps on the roof. I looked over, expecting it to be Racetrack. It wasn't, though. The girl had just jumped over onto the lodging house roof from one of the adjoining buildings.
At first I just looked at her, afraid if I said anything I would scare her away. I stood up, but I kept my distance from her. She didn't take a step back, but she shuffled around, looking uncomfortable.
"Thanks... for what ya did today." She said softly, moving a piece of hair out of her face. Woah, she's actually got a personality... I shrugged. "Don't mention it. Me names Skittery, by da way. Ya got one?" I asked, this time stepping closer to her. She kept her gaze everywhere but on me and didn't answer.
I heard Race's shoes on the rungs of the ladder and I looked in that direction. Then I turned back to her. Without saying anything, she looked at me quickly and ran off.
I sighed and let myself fall into a sitting position again. "Sorry dat took so long. I went to look on me dresser and it wasn't dere... I swear, if dat little twerp takes me cigar one more time I'll-"
"She came back." I said, interrupting him. "What?" He asked, confused. "The girl. From the roof the other day. She came back while you was gone." I said. He laughed. "A'right, Skittery." He replied in a sarcastic voice. "I'm serious! She did!" I argued.
"Den why isn't she heah now?" he asked, as if he was talking to a little kid. "She left soon as ya came up. I dunno what's up wit her, but she just don't like talkin' to people." I said.
"So why would dis goil, who seems to be hidin' in da shadows all da time, only talk ta you?" Race asked. "How should I know?" I shrugged. "I helped her out today on da street. Guess she stole somethin', because some guy was after her. I pointed him in da wrong direction and she just came to thank me."
Race lit up his cigar and took a puff on it. "I guess I could believe dat. Dere's some strange people in dis city." He said, blowing out puffs of smoke into the air.
I laughed. "Says a 16 year old who spends all his time 'nd money gamblin'." He shot me a dirty look. "Yeah, yeah... make fun of me all you'se want, but I'll be da one laughin' when I get rich off a lucky horse." He replied, standing up.
"Where ya goin'?" I asked. "Bed. It ain't any cooler up here, anyway." He said. "Ya comin' down?" He asked. I shook my head. "I think I'm gonna stay up heah a little longer..." I replied. I had a feeling that girl was still around here somewhere.
I'm not sure how long I waited, but soon enough my head started to droop forward. I closed my eyes, feeling like I just couldn't hold them open any longer. Before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep.
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Something small hit the top of my head, making me sit up. "AHH!" I yelled, nearly jumping out of my skin when I saw her. I wasn't expecting her to be there. She was sitting about ten feet away from me, leaning her back up against the roof ledge.
"Ya really gotta stop doin' that. It's creepin' me out." I said. Her face stayed neutral and her eyes seemed to search mine. After a few seconds, a tiny smile formed on her lips.
My eyes wandered down to a pile of small pebbles she had next to her. Looking around the area I had been sleeping, I saw the pebbles scattered around. "Were you... throwin' rocks at me?" I asked. She shrugged.
I laughed and shook my head. "Why?" I asked. She was silent for at least a minute. "Took ya long enough to wake up..." she said.
We were both quiet for a while. I took a closer look at her since I had never gotten the chance before. She looked nervous all the time, but aside from that she was really pretty. Her light brown hair was slightly wavy and fell in her eyes, which were large and a soft brownish color.
"Why'd ya do that for me today?" she asked suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts. Her question caught me off guard. "I... I dunno, just tryin' to help ya I guess." I replied. She looked at me like she was completely baffled. "Why?"
I shrugged. "Ya looked like ya needed someone to look afta' ya, is all..." I said. "No one looks after anyone in this city." She mumbled, her voice turning bitter. Woah... this goil really doesn't trust people easily, does she? I thought. "Not true, actually. There's da newsies... we always look out for each udda." I said.
An idea snapped into my mind. "Hey! Ya should become a newsie!" I said. "Ya can stay in da lodgin' house wit da rest of us. Ya don't get paid much, but it'll be enough to get ya dinner every night..." I said.
The fear returned to her eyes and she stood up immediately. "Hey... what's wrong?" I asked, standing up also. "I ain't goin' back to some orphanage... no way." She replied, starting to walk away quickly.
"It ain't an orphanage." I said. I reached out to grab her arm so she would stop walking away. As soon as I touched her, you would have thought my skin burned hers. She pulled away so fast and gave me a terrified look. Then she ran off in the other direction.
"Hey...!" I sighed and started to run after her. "Hey! Hey goil!" I yelled. "Uh, goil... would ya hold on for one second!?" I called after her. She still didn't stop. Calling her "goil" didn't seem to be working. Suddenly, I thought back to what Race said. "Hey... um, Shadow!" I said.
She slowed to a stop and turned around, allowing me to catch up to her slightly. Still, she made sure a distance of a few feet was kept between us. By this time we were a few roofs away from the lodging house. "What did ya just call me?" she asked, her face full of confusion,
"Well, ya ain't told me ya real name, and I don't think you'se plannin' to... so I might as well make up my own." I said, trying to catch my breath.
Her gaze went down to the floor. "I gotta go..." She said, looking around for the nearest fire escape and climbing down. "Hey, Shadow?" I called. Surprisingly, she looked up when I said that.
"Can I talk wit ya again? On da roof, tomorrow night..." I said. I don't know what possessed me to say it, but it just came out of my mouth. "Why?" she asked, puzzled. "I... I dunno. I just... wanna, I guess?" I said. She started to look nervous again as her eyes darted everywhere but my face. "I ain't promisin' nuttin'..." She replied, climbing down the ladder.
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So Shadow's got her very own nickname now :D. Thanks for reading, and please send me a review if you get the chance.
peculiarjuliar, ktkakes, and Pippa Kelly: I'm pretty sure the three of you have been reviewing since about the first and/or second story I posted on here. Honestly, you guys are the greatest. Thanks for all the reviews you've sent and for sticking with these stories so long. I'm just suprised you haven't gotten sick of me or my writing style yet haha.
Joker is Poker with a J: Thanks for the review :D I love reading the ones you send to me. They're so... hm, what's the word? Energetic haha. Thanks again!!
Trignifty: Aw, thanks. Your review made me really happy haha. When I'm done posting this story, I'd love to hear what you think of this one in comparison to the others. :)