A/N: I do not own any of these characters or the original plot to Newsies.
January 1st, 1900
Manhattan, New York City, New York
In the bunkroom in the lodging house, lies a very exhausted Jack Kelly who was rioting with his fellow newsies last night, but probably not in the way you would expect. He rolled over in his firm mattress to be met with the smiling face of Crutchie, his best-friend-forever.
"Jack, it's 1900! It's the revolution!" Crutchie tossed his crutch on the bed behind him, and then collapsed on it, sprawling out his limbs. Unfortunately for him, this happened to be the bed of Spot Conlon. Spot didn't usually stay in the lodging house, because he had his own home back in Brooklyn, but due to the new year, he decided to come over to see his Manhattan "friends." Normally, there's never anyone in the bed that Crutchie might have just passed away on, so it wasn't really his fault that he accidentally just mauled the King of Brooklyn.
"Eughrm…" groaned Spot, trying to decipher what had just occurred. He was especially bitter in the mornings, and the fact he was mildly hungover right now was not helping.
"Aw man, Spot! I am so sorry," Crutchie's cheeks took on a flustered color as he grabbed his crutch and stabilized himself back on the ground. Spot's crusted eyes blinked once, and he pulled the linens over his head. The rickety floor of the worn down lodging house creaked as Jack got himself out of his bed. He and Crutchie shared a bunk bed, with Crutchie on the bottom and Jack on the top, for accessibility purposes. As Jack's feet hit the floor, he patted his buddy on the back and went to get his shirt from a hook on the side of the bed.
"So, any plans for today, huh?" Crutchie asked hopefully. He always needed something to do. No one knew if it was to distract him from the trauma of the refuge, or his limp leg, but they always found something to keep him occupied.
"Well, no one's goin' ta be out today because of the holiday, right? So there's no bother tryin' to sell any papes…" Crutchie's smile grew brighter. He loved selling papers with his friends everyday, but it got tiring trying to navigate the busy streets of New York with a crutch. "Hmm… What about brunch at Jacobi's?"
Crutchie walked out into the middle of the bunk room, so he wasn't causing any traffic between beds. "Oh, yes please! But the money…"
"Don't worry 'bout it Crutch," Jack said calmly, and patted Crutchie on the back once more. Specs, who was the second oldest in the lodging house after Jack, was now up, probably from the commotion involving Spot and Crutchie. Specs shared a bunk with Romeo, who was the youngest, but had been in the lodging house longer than some of the older guys. Specs, Crutchie, and Davey, who didn't live in the lodging house, were probably the only three newsies who didn't have any alcohol the night before, which was New Years Eve. Most of the newsies weren't even legally old enough to drink, but they somehow obtained something they didn't quite know the name of and gulped it down.
"Alright guys, I don't care how much you partied last night! Get up, because we're going to Jacobi's at 12 p.m., and we're all going to look presentable and be ready by 11:30, okay?" shouted Jack, so the entire room could hear. A symphony of displeased moans and groans could be heard regarding Jack's announcement.
"But Jack, it's a holidayyy," Race drawled. His shaggy dirty blonde hair peered out from the top of his bunk that he shared with Albert. Albert never slept with the covers on, but he always needed them there for some reason. He refused to lend it to another newsie, or even donate it to someone living on the streets. Most who have been blessed with the pleasure to see Albert assumed he was just hot at night, or maybe he was emotionally attached to the blanket, but only a certain few were aware of the real reason…
With his eyes closed, Albert's leg shot up into a high kick, slamming into the bottom of Race's bed.
"I HATE YOU!"
After about two hours of various bickering and full on physical fights, the newsies were out the door and finally at the entrance to Jacobi's.
"Head count!" Jack shouted, which he learned he must do every time the group goes to a public place together. "Stand still… Okay, Crutchie, Specs, Romeo, Race, Albert, Elmer, Jojo, and Spot. That's everyone right?"
"That's right, cap'n," Elmer affirmed, in the middle of a catfight with Jojo.
"Alright then, we're goin' in!" Jack marched in confidently, wishing he would see Davey and Katherine who he invited through a quick telegram. It was no surprise to him that they were already seated at a table with enough seats for 10 people.
"Of course yous is already here!" blurted Race.
"Tryhards!" remarked Jojo. Katherine and Davey's excited expressions transformed to offended. They were both intelligent scholars, but they still took everything ten times more seriously than they should be.
"Aight' boys that's enough," Jack spouted as he walked around the table past Katherine, and then resting a hand on Davey's shoulder, and then took a seat next to him. Davey's face turned as red as Snyder's face when he was arrested, which is impressive to accomplish. One thing Jack would never admit to anyone, even Crutchie, is that he genuinely really liked Davey. To Jack, every single thing about David Jacobs was attractive: His beautiful green eyes, his short locks of chocolate hair, his tall and lanky stature… Everytime he looked, he got lost in the lush meadow that lived inside of Davey's soul. But, right now was not the time for this.
Every newsie knew well enough not to speak first when in the presence of Ms. Katherine Plumber, forcing her to make the first move.
"So, how was last night?"
"Good"
"Fine"
"Mhm.."
"Cool."
Crutchie got put in a barrel and was rolled down the stairs.
Much more than a moment later, a server finally came to take the party's orders. Each person got their usual plate: Jack got powdered pancakes and a coffee, Crutchie got an egg and cheese croissant and lemonade, Specs ordered pancakes and bacon with coffee, Romeo got pancakes and bacon with root beer, Race and Albert got a giant plate of bacon to share and one milkshake, Elmer and Jojo followed suit with the other duo and got four giant pancakes and each a water, Spot got pancakes and water, Katherine got a chocolate croissant and coffee, and lastly, Davey got French toast with eggs and tea. After the gigantic order was taken, the server, overwhelmed, could be seen through the kitchen window nearly in tears after witnessing the largest and most chaotic group of people.
"So, any new years resolutions?" asked Katherine, trying to strike up more conversation to break the ongoing silence.
"I want to quit my job…" muttered Davey.
"What was that?" said Jack with a smirk. Davey rolled his eyes and continued sipping at his tea.
Romeo stood up, holding his root beer above the table, "My new year's resolution is ta sell more papes!"
"YEAH!" Every other person around the table shouted. And with that, the newsies, and Katherine has a successful beginning to this new chapter of their lives!
A/N: Speaking of new chapter, I'll be trying to update this soon with the next holiday in line: Valentine's Day!