Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.
Hey guys. First off, thanks to the people who have been reviewing. You people are the greatest.
Okay, so yesterday's chapter was sorta short and ended in a weird place. Sorry about that. I was planning on posting more of it, but my computer crapped out and that was the most I could get. So this one's a lot longer. Enjoy :)
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"Ya think we should move her to da bunk room?" Specs asked. "Well, she can't be too comfortable on da floor like dat,,," Mush replied, shrugging. "It don't matta if she's comfortable, stupid. She's passed out!" Race retorted, followed by giving Mush a smack to the back of the head.
"Ow! What was dat for!?" Mush asked innocently, rubbing the back of his head and frowning. "Well," Itey said, ignoring them. "Kloppman said we can't move her for a day 'cause her wound might open, but it's been a day, so maybe we should."
"Wadda ya think, Skitt?" Cowboy asked, turning to me. I shrugged. "Guess we should. We'se got some extra bunks she can sleep in. But we'se gotta be real careful wit her. It ain't gonna be easy carryin' her up da stairs." I said.
"A'right, guys. Some of ya get on her left and some of ya get on her right." Cowboy ordered. About five of us carefully carried her up the stairs and dropped her lightly on one of the extra bunks at the far end of the room.
"Thanks guys." I said as they began to walk away. "Wait! She's movin'!" Snoddy pointed out. All of them, including me, turned to look at Shadow. She groaned and shifted her head. "Ugh, my arm..." She mumbled, putting her hand over the bandage. Everyone began to crowd around her bunk, talking quickly all at once.
She opened one of her eyes and screamed. She sat up and started to scramble around, backing away towards the headboard. "What... What the hell, where am I?! Get away from me!!" she yelled, looking at the newsies with a terrified expression.
They were almost as surprised as she was, staring at her wide-eyed. She pushed through them and ran for the door. "No, Shadow... wait!" I said, grabbing her and holding her back. "Let me go!" She yelled, trying to squirm out of my grasp. "Ya can't leave, you're real hurt!" I replied, struggling to keep hold of her.
"Let go of me!" She repeated, trying to kick me so she could run away. "Shadow, stop! You'se gonna hoit ya arm even more!" I said. She looked down at her upper arm. Fresh blood was starting to seep through the bandage. She stared at it for a second.
"Shadow... you'se okay?" I asked, letting go of her. She stood frozen for a few seconds before her eyes shut and her knees buckled under her. Before she could fall, I moved towards her and she collapsed awkwardly in my arms.
The other newsies were completely silent. I picked her up and brought her back over to her bunk. I placed her down again. Running my hand through my hair, I sighed. "Hope she doesn't freak like dat every time she wakes up, or dis arm's never gonna heal." I said.
I looked up. The guys were staring at me, giving me really confused looks. All of them except for Race. "Ya... Ya called her Shadow..." Specs said. "Yeah, so?" I replied.
"So I thought ya told Kloppman ya didn't know who she was..." Cowboy said. "Yeah, well... I... Dat's not her real name." I explained. "It's a nickname I gave her. I'se talked to her a few times before, but she never told me anythin' bout who she was. She could be da mayor's daughter for all I know." I responded.
"Ya think so!?" Kid Blink asked, excited. "A'course he don't think so!" Bumlets said, smacking the brim of Blink's hat down so it covered his face. "He was bein' sarcastic!"
"It was just a question!" Blink replied, fixing his hat and following the rest of the newsies out of the bunk room.
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Shadow's Point of View
Even though my eyes were closed, I could feel the sun on my face. The clearer my mind became, the more I could feel my upper arm starting to ache. I vaguely remembered what happened. Still, it was so vague it felt like it happened months before.
I was wondering where I was, but I was too afraid to open my eyes. If I remembered correctly, the last time I opened my eyes about 5 or 6 teenage boys were standing over me staring at me like I had three heads.
I listened closely. Hearing nothing but my own breathing, I assumed I was the only one in the room. Then I heard a page turn, and someone coughed lightly. The noise came from across the room, so I opened my eyes slightly.
My vision was really blurry, like I hadn't used it in a few days. I could barely make out the figure of a person sitting on the bottom of a bunk bed. I realized I was in a long room, with identical bunk beds placed in rows against the wall. It reminded me of the orphanage, and I began to panic.
Still, I kept quiet so the person would think I was still asleep. I blinked my eyes hard, trying to get them to adjust. The light shining in from the window into my eyes didn't help much, either. When everything finally cleared, I was relieved to find I recognized the person.
It was the boy I had talked to on the roof before. Skittery, his name was. He was sitting on the bunk across from me, reading a newspaper. Every few minutes he would turn the page and continue reading.
He was the one who tried to hold me back the last time I had woken up. After I saw everyone standing over me, I got scared. I tried to run for it, ignoring the constant pain in my arm. He held me back, refusing to let me go anywhere. When he pointed out my wound, I saw it and got real dizzy. I was out again before I hit the floor.
Skittery confused me. First he did me a huge favor by pointing that street vendor in the wrong direction. Then he asked me to come back and talk to him on the roof. After that he held me back from leaving when I was hurt.
There was no doubt in my mind he was the one who found me on the street after I got attacked. That would explain why I was here with him now. Why was he trying so hard to help me? No one in this city ever even gave me a second glance. Except, of course, the stand owners I would frequently steal things from.
I shifted my weight onto the wrong shoulder, and a sharp pain shot through my entire arm. I winced and clutched my bandaged arm. "Ow!" I whispered, before I could stop myself.
I hoped Skittery didn't hear me. I really didn't want him to start asking questions. He seemed to do that a lot, and I just didn't like talking to people. He glanced at me over the top of his newspaper, and saw that I was awake.
"Shadow!" he said, smiling. He put his newspaper down and walked over to my bunk. Sitting on the one next to mine, he asked, "How ya feelin'? Better?" He waited a few seconds, but I bit my tongue and didn't respond.
"A'right... not the reply I was hopin' for, but it's better than 'Get da hell away from me', which is da answer we got last time ya woke up." He said. "Where am I?" I asked, ignoring his last statement.
"Ya at da newsboys lodgin' house... you'se been asleep for 'bout two days now, but ya arm seems to be healin' okay..." he said, motioning to my wound.
I looked down at it. It was wrapped in a white fabric. Although there was some blood on it, it didn't seem to have bled in a while. "I ain't too fond of orphanages..." I muttered, keeping my head down.
"Oh, dis ain't an orphanage. Ya can come an' go as ya please. Speakin' of which, we should go talk to Kloppman. He said he needed to speak wit ya soon as ya woke up." Skittery said, standing up. I didn't know who he was talking about, but I didn't ask.
"Foist, ya might wanna get out of dose clothes, though." He added. I looked down. My shirt was dirty and ripped. My sleeve still had some blood on it from my arm.
Skittery walked over to a night stand in the middle of two beds. Opening the bottom drawer, he took out a shirt. "Heah, you'se can wear dis until you clean that one. It might be a little loose, but it's better than nuttin'. I'd give ya some pants too, but mine would be way too long for ya'."
When I didn't respond, he sighed and walked over to me. He handed me the shirt and I took it with caution. "Over dere are some sinks and showers ya can wash up in and change. I'll stay out heah so you can have your privacy, so jus' come out when you'se ready."
He held out his hand to help me, but I ignored it and painfully stood up on my own. "Ya just don't accept any help from nobody, do ya?" He asked, shaking his head and sighing. Skittery went back to his bunk and picked up his newspaper again.
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Fifteen minutes later, I had taken a quick shower and changed. I brushed my wet hair with my fingers and shook it out so it would dry faster. Skittery's shirt was loose on me, but I didn't really mind. I rolled up the sleeves and buttoned up the shirt enough to cover the sleeveless undershirt I was wearing beneath it.
When I came out of the washroom, Skittery was still waiting for me. He looked up from the newspaper once again, and a half smile appeared across his face. "Ya look better..." he said. I wasn't sure if he meant I looked like I was feeling better, or I physically looked better but I pushed the thought out of my mind.
I followed him down the stairs and came to a large room filled with boys. I immediately tensed up. Most of them were sitting around, either on the few couches or the floor. All of them were either talking or playing cards, except for a pair of them who were arm wrestling. As I walked down the stairs behind Skittery, they looked up at me but didn't say anything. Instead they exchanged looks and went back to what they were doing.
Skittery led me over to a large wooden desk. Sitting behind it was an old man. He was wearing a dark colored bowler hat and had glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Oh, she's awake... eh, Skittery?" He said, looking up from a book he had been writing in. Skittery nodded. "Shadow, dis is Kloppman. I'se gonna leave ya to talk wit him for a while." Skittery said. Kloppman gave him a nod and he went off to join the other newsboys.
"So, your arm's lookin' better. How does it feel?" He asked. I shrugged. "You'se in any pain?" I shrugged again. Kloppman sighed. "Don't talk much, do ya? A'right, den. Guess I'll do all da talkin'."
"You'se in da Manhattan newsboys lodgin' house, incase Skittery didn't already tell ya. I run da place. Usually it costs a few cents a week to stay heah, but for da next few days ya don't gotta worry 'bout it. It's free for ya since you'se injured and we'se got a few extra bunks." Kloppman said.
Next few days? I thought. "Um, thanks an' all, but... that won't really be necessary. I'se leavin' today..." I said. "Oh?" Kloppman asked. "And you'se got a place to stay, do ya?"
I shook my head. "Well, no... But I can take care of meself." I replied. "Not wit ya arm like dat, ya can't. Out on the streets injured like dat? You'se just beggin' to get jumped again. You ain't goin' anywhere till ya let dat heal for a few more days. At least two." Kloppman ordered.
He opened a large brown book and slid it towards me. "Heah, sign ya name and write the date next to it. I like to keep track of who's stayin' heah." He said.
Not too happy about it, I signed my name as "Shadow". Since I had been asleep for a few days, I wasn't completely sure of the date. However, I didn't want to ask Kloppman. He sort of scared me. Instead I took a guess and shut the book, handing it back to him.
Skittery saw that I was done talking to Kloppman and came back over to me. "So much for 'come and go as ya please'." I mumbled, low enough for only Skittery to hear. "What are ya talkin' about?" he asked. "Kloppman ain't lettin' me leave until me arm heals." I replied.
"I agree wit him. You'se in no condition to be alone in da streets right now." Skittery said. Before I could respond, a short newsie with a cigar in his mouth called across the room. "Hey, Skittery. We'se goin' to Tibby's. You comin'?" he asked.
"Uh... Hold on, Race..." Skittery turned to me. "How 'bout it, Shadow? You hungry?" He asked, as if I had been invited, too. Truthfully, I didn't want to go. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. Especially a huge group of loud newsboys. But the gnawing pain in my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten in a few days. Reluctantly, I agreed and we all left the lodging house.
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Okay, so Shadow's awake. But how is she gonna get along with the other newsies :O
If I can, I'll post another chapter tonight. Thanks for reading and please review