Author's Note: I haven't been writing too much lately. But here's a fairly long chapter not too many reviews. I hope you all like it regardless! This chapter kind of slows down, then picks up some more speed. It also has a lot off dialogue...Well, enjoy!
Smash snapped open his eyes, turning over on his stomach pressing his face into his pillow, grabbing the edge of his mattress. The pillow muffled his sequels of pain, muffled his wimping.
"Owww. Hmmph. Ow. Mmmmm." He didn't want to awake Rain or the other boys, he took a deep breath, turned over onto his back taking quick and short breaths. Lightly placing a hand on his knee has him wincing in pain, even the slightest touch hurt. Baring his teeth he sat up hitting his head bottom of the top bunk.
"Jeez!" just above a whisper.
"Smash?" a sleepy voice came from the bed above his. "Did youse hit youse head?"
"Yeah, but I'm alright. I forgot where I was for a moment. I forgot about youse bed above me."
Light laughter.
Smash stood up, ignoring the pain in his knee, and faced Rain in his bed.
"Why youse laughing!" he said in an angry whisper.
"Sorry, Smash. " Laughter. "But what a ways to wake up. It's fresh to have a new alarm clock other than Haus clapping his hands and shaking every boy in here who ignored his wake up clap call." Laughter.
Smash stands there for a second, then chuckles, "Well sorry for awaking youse, Rain."
"No, youse fine. Haus is coming in soon anyways maybe about thirty minutes or so's."
"My knee woke me up, a sudden sharp pain just hit me. The pain is ebbing aways though."
"Well, that's good. Youse be learning to sell papes with Suitcase today. She isn't exactly the one to go easy one anyone." Rain explained "Take seat on youse bed. Haus should be heres any minute now. Just don't hit youse head again." Laughter.
Smash sits back down on his bed, careful not to hit his head. Some of the other boys have stirred, but no one breaks the silence.
"I'm kinda nervous, Rain."
"Hows so's?" Rain asks inquisitively.
"I hope Suitcase don't go too hard on me. I hope I can sell papes good enough."
" Youse worries too much. Youse do just fine. Case will be proud of youse. "
"Thanks, Rain."
The door of the Boys' Sleep is pushed open, clapping cascades through the room,
"Wakes up, boys! Wakes up!" More clapping cascades the room.
"Presses are running, the papes are hot, wake up!"
Haus walks over to a boy who turns over in his bed, and shakes him,
"Come on Box. Get up outs of youse bed." Haus says in a tender but authoritive voice.
"Just lets me sleeps in me box."
Scattered laughter fills the room.
"Sees, he awakes everyone, claps, and says the papes are hot and all. Box never gets up; he always says he wants to stay in his bed or his box as he calls it. Hence his name."
"Start heading down to buy youse papes, boys, I'll go get the girls up."
"Take a bath, Smash? It'll help youse sell more papes since youse don't stink around people. Come on I'll show youse the wash bucket and the pump."
Rain walked over to the two wash tubs that were sitting in a smaller connected room, he gave Smash some soap sitting on the counter and started to pump some water into the tub.
"Takes off youse clothe and get into the tub."
Smash stood there looking at Rain, Rain looked back at him waiting for Smash to undress, after a few seconds Rain had the, come on do as I say now, look in his eyes.
"Come on Smash. Don't be so subconscious about it all it's okay, it's all boys in heres. I'll turn arounds if youse want and let youse get into the tub."
"Okay, turn around and I'll let youse know when I'm in."
Rain turned around as Smash undressed himself, as he took off his shirt his arms outstretched over his head, his ribs showed through his skin and slightly showed when he had his arms down. Smash threw his clothes to the side and got into the tub being forced to draw his legs to his chest.
"This water is cold!"
Rain turned around "Sorry Smash, some days we do heat it up on the stove. Just scrub youse self with the soap don't forget youse hair."
Smash scrubbed himself with the soap, scrubbing all the dirt he could see on his body, then washing his hair. Rain pumped the water to rinse him off, indicating Smash to put his head under the spout to rinse out his hair. Rain walked over and grabbed Smash a towel.
"Here dry youse self-off."
"Thanks, Rain. Are youse taking one too?"
"No, I don't have enough time. I'll take one later, but we's usually don't take lots of baths heres. Maybe once a week or more than that. The water for baths don't come very easily. The girls should be up and ready, I'm sure Suitcase is waiting for youse."
The boys file out of the room headed down to buy their papes, right at the top of the stairs to the side stands Suitcase, her long matted hair out and her cap in her hands. A smile broadens her face as Smash and Rain walk up to her.
"Youse ready?" She asks looking at Smash and smiles at Rain. Arrow is a couple boys behind the two, but Snack isn't seen just yet.
"I'm ready, Suitcase! I can't wait to sell with youse."
"So's youse going to go up to the counter and ask for the amount of papes youse think youse can sell. They're going to cost youse about one cent per paper so 100 is $1.00. Alroigt, let's go downstairs and go get our papes."
"Suitcase waits up for me!" Arrow comes walking briskly towards the two "Where's Snack at?"
"I think he already went downstairs. I haven't seen him and the stream of boys is almost all gone."
"Snack!" Arrow yells. "Snack! Have youse gone downstairs already?"
A couple of the straggling boys give a look at Arrow, his tall frame, with too big hanging shirt, and dirty blond hair.
"Seriously, Arrow." Suitcase says.
Arrow smiles at Suitcase then starts for the stairs. "Well he didn't answer so I guess youse right, Case. He is probably down the stairs."
Suitcase mouth hangs open, she shakes her head and rolls her eyes, and she sighs.
"This Arrow character. Always thinks he's funny and that…well, I don't knows what he thinks. It's Arrow." Suitcase says to Smash as they walk down the stairs. She says this loud enough for Arrow to hear. He looks back at her and give a big sarcastic smile.
"I likes youse Arrow. Youse a funny boy, I likes youse." Suitcase tells him. "Well time to starts the day."
"Oh there's Snack he walked down the stairs without us." Arrow said "Come stand in line with us Snack?"
"Sure." Snack said walking over to the group. Snack has black hair and is just under average height for his age, his brown eyes looking at each one in the group.
"Here's the counter where we buy our papes and sell them for the day. If youse look up there to youse right, youse see the catwalk and a giant chalkboard, which is where they write the front page headline on. Sometimes the headline isn't so….interesting. So's we look through the paper in its entirety or just make up a headline to stretch the truth. Just skim through the pape and maybe from a couple words youse can make up a better one." Suitcase explained this to Smash as best as she could as they waited in line. "This headline is pretty good though, body found in park, I guess I'll have to teach youse with a tougher headline another day."
As they get up to the circulation counter the boy in front of the group buys his papers and has a couple in one hand the rest under his arm. He lifts the papers in his hand to his nose and takes a sniff of them. Smash's face scrunches up as he looks at the boy. Rain realizes where Smash's attention is and explains to him who this kid is. "Oh that's Sniff. He always does that sniffs his papes right when he gets them. No one even knows why he just likes to sniff his papes. Guess he like the smell of fresh off the press papers."
"I'll takes 100 papes, Maurice."
"$1.00 girlie."
Suitcase hands $1.00 over to Maurice, she receives them from the helper, she moves to the side and counts her papers, as she is satisfied with the correct amount. She fully turns her attention to Smash, who orders 75 papers.
"Must be the new kid I've heard Haus talk about."
Smash hands Maurice his .75 and receives his papes, he counts them just as he saw Suitcase do so.
"Yeah, the kid named Smash." Arrow chimes smacking Smash on his back. "Youse sure youse don't want more papers than that?"
"I'm good for now. Is this a fair amount for my first day, Suitcase?"
"I think youse could sell more, but youse already paid up, so I say youse are good. We'll wait for the rest of the boys to get their papers."
Rain was the last to join the group, they all walked out to the street and said their good byes, going their separate ways to sell their papers.
"There's an early matinee show today. So I hope I can get the people to buy them off of me quickly; after all waiting in line should supply time for reading what's going on in the world." Arrow says, he smiles at everyone, and doesn't wait for an answer as he walks to his spot in front of the theatre. Snack and Rain take off to their spots as well without another word said.
"I sell near the corner of this Barber Shop, they like to read as they get their hair cut and shaved." Suitcase explains excitedly. Smash follows Suitcase to her spot and she smiles at him. "Watch and learn. BODY FOUND IN PARK. A DEAD BODY! THREE CENTS GET IT ROIGHT HERE." A handful of people walk up to Suitcase and give them their money in exchange for a paper.
"Wow!" Smash says his eyes wide and sparkling. "Youse good at this!"
"Stupid girl selling papers why should I buy one from some girl?" A random passerby says loud enough for them to hear.
Smash looks over at Suitcase, examining her face for any emotional change, he sees none.
"That doesn't bother youse?"
"No, I get it more often than youse think. I've heard the other girls do too. I don't know why there's a problem of being a girl. Go ahead and give it a shot."
"Dead body in park." Smash just barely raises his voice.
"Louder!" She encourages him "Really sell youse hurt knee show them youse a gimp."
"THREE CENTS! POLICE FIND BODY IN PARK! BUY A PAPER AND READ ALL ABOUT!"
People come over to Smash purchasing papers from him.
"There youse go now youse have the hang of it."
"Don't youse think it's a little steep to have each paper one cent each and selling them at three cents each? Not too much of a profit is made." Smash asks as they walk back to the Lodge House.
Suitcase shrugs, "I never really thought too much about it. I figured making the two extra dollars is pretty good. It pays our dues and helps pay for the next day's dues. We still have some money left over….well about $1.00 once everything is finalized and settled with rent and food. We just have to save up."
The two see Snack approaching them as Arrow walks towards Snack, closing his bag properly. He had just joined up with Rain a few seconds ago.
"Hey!" Snack says as he sees Suitcase and Smash "How was youse first day?
"It went well. Suitcase is a good teacher" He smiles and nods at her.
"Well easy headline today" Arrow says
"Yeah, not too bad of a news day." Rain said
"Well, let's head in." Suitcase says.
"What do we's do in our spare time?" Smash questions to no one in particular.
"Sometimes there's an evening edition, but that is only sometimes, we go out to eat sometimes too. But other times, we likes to put our stuff away and maybe go for a walk or play some games in the Gather Room." Rain says.
"Well, I'm tired. I didn't know how much work this actually was….there is a lot of walking around in a small area." Smash admits.
"Youse get used to it. Shall we play some card games?" Suitcase sees the general agreement amongst the group. "Alroight until supper time let's just relax. Smash, here, had a big day."
A few newsies are already in The Gather Room, a card game is set up including everyone, smiles and laughter fill The Gather Room. The Gather Room starts to fill up as this indicates the end of the day and supper right around the corner.