Disclaimer: So this group of lovely boys deemed, "The Newsies,"... Yeah, unfortunately, they're not mine.
WOO! I'm back! Alright. So a long time ago, I promised my good friend, (and beta reader) Tetris, A newsies fic. It's taken me quite a while to write, and she's been very patient... Aside from the constant pestering for the last two weeks or so, of course... So this is dedicated to her. Enjoy, Ris :)
I'm going to be posting this story in three or four parts. It's not very long, nor are the ideas extremely fresh, (you tend to run out of scenarios by the time you've written about a dozen other stories) but I tried my hardest, so honest feedback would be greatly appreciated :D. And here goes.
The edges of the sun peaked out from over the chimneys. I sat where the cold concrete of the rooftop was still covered in shadow. The damp morning air touched my skin, making me shiver.
For one reason or another, I had woken up when it was still dark. It hadn't been the heat or the heaviness of the summer night that forced me out of sleep like usual. No; this night I had woken up for no reason at all. Unable to fall back asleep, I watched the stars fade into daylight.
I pulled the hole-filled blanket closer around me. It was one of the only things that I owned. My only belongings were pushed off into a corner of the rooftop that I considered my home.
The building below was a meat market owned by a middle-aged butcher and his wife. He never had any reason to come up to the roof, so my living on top of his business was completely unknown to him. I'm sure he wouldn't have allowed it had he known, but as far as I was concerned, I did nothing to bother him. I didn't affect his commerce. No one knew I was up here. I wasn't causing any harm.
Slowly but surely, the city was starting to come to life. Just as the suns' rays reached far enough to cover the rooftop with warmth, I began to hear the noises of the busy morning below me. Neighbors walked out of their apartments and greeted each other on their way to work. Women hung their laundry out on clotheslines. The creaking of carriage wheels filled the air along with the distinct calls of newsboys.
I glanced down to see three boys wandering through the alleyway between the meat market and the flower shop. They were probably taking a shortcut to the boxing ring; it would be teeming with people on a day like today. The three talked and laughed loudly as if they were completely carefree. Even after they had turned the corner at the end of the alley, I kept my eyes on that spot for a while.
A gnawing in my stomach broke me out of the daze. I hadn't eaten since the morning of the day before, and all I had eaten was an apple I managed to buy with the spare cent I found lying on the sidewalk. Still, I wasn't hungry enough to snatch anything off of the stands owned by the street vendors today. I wasn't one for stealing, and even though I didn't have any rules to live by, I knew right from wrong. Food was the only thing I would dare to steal, and only when it was absolutely necessary.
In order to avert my mind from the hunger, I decided to go for a walk. After tucking my belongings safely under the ledge, I climbed down the fire-escape and onto the cobblestone streets.
I was rarely awake to see Manhattan in the early morning; having nowhere I had to be, I often slept as long as I wanted. But there was nothing I loved more than watching the city come to life. As I walked, I noticed that more and more people filled the sidewalks until they were teeming. Adults bustled from vender to vender, carrying baskets of food, while children played in the alleys and gutters.
Having lived in the city since I was about five, I knew my way around. I wasn't too familiar with the other Burroughs, but I knew just about every street, store, and shortcut in Manhattan.
I wandered the streets until about noon, my hands in my pockets and my mind oblivious as to where I was headed. I ended up in front of a chain of stores on one of the main roads. My legs beginning to ache, I sat myself down on the curb and rested my chin in my hand.
The passing crowd didn't offer me a second glance; they weren't phased by a teenage girl plopping herself down on a busy sidewalk. There was enough poverty in this city to fill an infinite number of jails, orphanages, lodging houses... Wherever they decided to put us. "They" being the wealthy people of New York City. Because, although less numerous than the poor, they existed here, too.
I turned my head and squinted into the bright sun when someone tapped me on the shoulder. Placing my hand above my eyes to shade them from the light, I tried to get a look at the silhouette staring down at me.
"Buy a paper, miss?"
He tilted his head in a way that blocked the sun from my view. I slowly brought my hand away from my forehead as I stared at him. The boy, most likely around my age, looked down at me with brown, chocolate colored eyes. His hair was just as dark, long enough to be seen from underneath the beige cabby hat. A soft smile pulled at the edges of his mouth.
Completely dumbstruck, I told myself to answer him, but I was at a loss for words. It had been over two weeks since someone had spoken directly to me, and that time it had only been because I was crossing the street when a carriage rolled by. The driver then proceeded to slow down only enough for me to barely scrape by, all the while yelling at me to, "Move!"
"Does it look like I'se got any money?" I shot, turning back to face the street. I hadn't expected the reply to come out sounding so hostile, but it was true. I didn't have any money to spare for breakfast; never mind the morning edition of "The World."
I had expected him to leave, but I still felt his presence behind me. I furtively glanced to the side to see him sit next to me on the curb. He placed his stack of newspapers on the ground underneath his legs and turned to look at me.
"Well, I'se sorry, Miss... I didn't think too deep into it; I'se jus' doin' me job."
His stare made me feel uncomfortable. I directed my gaze down, letting my eyes wander all over the cobblestone bricks. The carriage wheels, which were just about all I could see from this angle, squeaked through muddy puddles that had collected in the road.
"Would ya please stop callin' me dat?" I asked. I was glad to find that my voice hadn't come out so demanding this time; it was more of a request, if anything.
The newsboy's dark eyebrows curved upwards and his smile turned into a pensive frown. "Callin' ya what, Miss?"
"Dat. Miss. Quit callin' me Miss."
His eyebrows furrowed even more. "Oh... I'se sorry. What would ya rather me call ya, den?" he asked.
I carelessly shrugged a shoulder and turned the back of my head to him without responding. Even though we were sitting on one of the busiest, noisiest sidewalks in Manhattan, silence seemed to ring out.
"I'm Bumlets," he said. I looked over my shoulder to see that he was offering his hand out towards me. When my eyes wandered up to meet his, he smiled the same warm smile that he had before. My gaze went back down to his outstretched hand. I must've stared at it for a minute straight, but he didn't pull away.
"Tetris," I said finally, hesitantly placing my hand in his. We shook.
He pulled his hand away and the two of us fell into silence again. After nothing was said for over five minutes, I, once again, expected him to leave. But he, once again, didn't.
"You look hungry," he commented, searching my face.
"I ain't," I lied. "And how is someone supposed to look hungry?"
Bumlets seemed taken back by my sarcasm. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Ya jus' look pale, is all I meant...Like ya ain't eaten in a while."
"Maybe dat's jus' da way me skin looks normally."
He put his hands up in defense. "A'right, a'right... I ain't tryin' to offend you or nuttin', Miss- Er, Tetris. It was jus' me way of offerin' to take ya for some lunch, is all..." Bumlets sheepishly lowered his head to stare at his feet.
Me and my defensiveness... All he was trying to do was be nice, and I just jumped all over him.
"Oh... Sorry; I didn't mean to..." At a loss for words again, I let my voice fade out and just sighed instead. "Thanks anyway."
Bumlets nodded and got to his feet, grabbing his papers on the way up. "A'right, den. Nice meetin' ya, Tetris." He turned his back to me, paused for a moment, and then faced me again.
"How about dinner, den? I mean, you'se gotta be hungry by den, huh?"
I couldn't help the slight smile that pulled at the corner of my mouth. As much as I tried to tell myself that I just wanted him to leave, he was being really sweet. Still, I shook my head and tore my gaze away. I couldn't let him pay for my dinner; Newsboys' weren't much better off than I was. The little change they carried around in their pockets was just enough to keep them alive.
"Aw, why not?" he asked.
"'Cause," I began, shaking my head again. "I ain't got any money to pay ya back."
"Dat's a'right; you don't gotta. It don't matter."
"Itdoes matter," I insisted.
Bumlets sighed and lowered himself so that he was kneeling down next to me. "Look," he said, locking his eyes with mine. "I always go to dis place for dinner wit me best friend, Itey. You ever hoid of Tibby's?"
I nodded. The restaurant was down the street from the meat market, located on the corner of the block.
"Dey serve dese real great fries dere, 'nd dey come in dis huge basket... I'd never be able to finish 'em by meself, so me 'nd Itey always order da fries and split 'em," Bumlets explained. "But it jus' so happens dat Itey's stayin' in Queens tonight. Apparently he's got a goil dere now, so I'se on me own for dinner dis evenin'... Unless, a'corse, you join me."
I sighed. "I dunno..."
"C'mon... Otherwise I'm jus' gonna have to leave half-a-basket of really great, uneaten fries on da table..." He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, as if to say, "What's the harm in going?"
"Fine," I muttered.
Bumlets' persuasive expression broke and I couldn't help but mirror his contagious grin. "A'right, den. So I'll meet ya in front of Tibby's around... say, six?"
I shrugged. "Fine by me."
After nodding and offering a small wave, Bumlets stood up again and turned to walk away.
While watching him disappear through a break in the crowd, I wondered how he had managed to get me to agree to this. I bit back a smile.