Note from Echo: Okay, first Brooklyn asks me to type her story on the site and later on today Misty asked me to. Only Misty's story doesn't have a title! *sigh* Oh well, I'll just have to get back to that later on. Anyway, here goes.

Charity's Story
By: Garfield

"Hey miss. You really need to get up. Miss, hey Miss. Are you awake?"

"Wha? Hah. Hey what's going on!? Where am I?"

"Your in New York City Miss." replied the conductor.

"OH. Yeah." I sat there for a minute as the memory came back. The snake. The cliff. My mom and dads carriage falling over. It still made me tremble every time I think of it. Now here I am in New York on my way to my aunts that I have never seen.

I got off the train and went looking for some information of my aunt.

The ticket man told me that my aunt had left a note for me. The note gave her address and told me to walk.

When I arrived my aunt inspected me as if I was an item that she was thinking of buying. After looking at me for a while she said "I guess you will do." In this real high voice.

I became a slave. She made me work all the time, cleaning, cooking, waiting on her. It was terrible.

One day after she had worked me really hard I went to bed and when I was sure that she was asleep I snuck out.

I wondered the street all night wondering what I was going to do. When the sun came up I got something to eat with the lettile bit of money I stole from my aunt.

As I was walking 2 guys started yelling at me and acting like they were going to beat me up. I wasn't really scared I had met with their kind plenty back on the ranch. Just as I was about to tell them to get lost or get their asses kicked to Timbucktoo a very good looking guy came up behind them and said. "Hey Moris, Oscar, what ya doin?"

They turned around and yelled "Mush get lost thie ain't no business of yours, Mush. Get lost, before we rough you up."

Then the guy they called Mush grabbed them by the neck, knocked their heads together and let them fall. Then he turned to me and smiled real nice and said "Hi, my name's Mush. Are you O.K.?"

"Hi, my name's Charity. Thanks for taking care of those guys so that I didn't have to get my hands dirty."

"You sound like you were about to do that"

"I was. I'm more than capable of taking care of my self. Your papers are blowing away."

"Ah shit." he yelled, running after them.

I helped him run them down and put them back together.

"What you got all those papers for anyway?"

"I sell them. A penny a pape."

"You sell papers? Do you think I could sell papers too?"

"Well you could. We don't have any girl newsies though."

"Where do you live? I wouldn't think that that would buy you somewhere to live."

"I live at Lodging House that's where all the newsies live. It's just a room with a lot of beds."

"Do you think I could live there?"

Papes! Buy your papes! Thank ya sir. What do you mean 'could you live dere?' Where do you live now?"

"Nowhere. I just ran away form my aunts."

"Why?"

"Because she is a bitch and I don't like her and I absolutely won't go back."

"Well. I don't know what Kloppman will say, but I'm pretty sure it will be all right. Come on I'll show you around and introduce you to the Manhattan newsies."

"Well hello there miss. My name's Jack Kelly, but everybody calls me Cowboy."

"My name's Charity but everybody calls me Charity_"

"You're pretty cool." he laughed.

"Cowboy do you think she could stay at the lodging house and sell papes?"

"Why would you want to stay at the lodging house? Where's your parents?"

"My parents are burried back in Oklahoma. I was living with my aunt, but I didn't much like the idea of being a slave so I ran away." I told him with a proud tilt to my head. "And I'll never go back to her!"

"Well then let's get you settled at the lodging house." said Mush.


Well I've been living at the lodging house now for a week. I tell you what. You talk about a commotion. I haven't seen a commotion like that. When I walked into the lodging house with the two boys. Everything went suddenly quiet. Then all of a sudden all hell broke loose. I could tell they don't get female company very often.

After the novelty wore off I was introduced to all the newsies. They all wanted me to go with tehm so they could show me around. Mush put a stop to that real quick. He stood up on a bunk and stated very loudly that I'm goin gwith him and if anybody had a problem with it they could take it up with him.

Today is my first day they would let me go by myself. I told them very firmlyu that today I was not going to go with any of them.

Now I'm lost. Maybe I should have stuck with Mush for a while longer. Now I'm stuck on this bridge with a bunch of guys looking at me and none of them will let me pass or answer my questions.

"Well, well, if it isn't a lost little girl on the wrong side of town." said a short little boy as he walked up to me. He was clearly the leader of this little group.

"Hey, could you tell me how to get back to Manhattan?" I asked very nicely.

"Well, why should I? Why should I waist my time explaining to you for nothing?"

"Your waisting your time as it is talking to me and trying to scare me, so why not waiste some more giving some simple instructions."

"Maybe if you tell me why your in my territory I'll tell you how to get out."

"I was just selling my papes. I had stupidly told the boys that I could go out today by myself but I got lost and now I'm here and I should have listened to Mush." I said, ending on a breathless note because I had said that all in one breath.

"Whoa, slow down a minute will you. Now how do you know Mush and why are you talking about selling papes."

"Here let me make it simple for you. The Delancey bros were giving me some hell one day. Mush came along and sent them packing. Now I live at the lodging house with him and the other newsies. Now how do you know Mush?"

"All the New York newsies know each other. We might not like em all, but we know em all."

"Wait a minute, are you saying your a newsie?"

"Yep. I'm Spot leader of the Brooklyn newsies. And you just happen to be in Brooklyn."

"Well then I've answered all your questions. you know my best friend Mush. Now will you please tell me how to get back to him."

"Just because I said I knew him doesn't mean I like him. What you gonna do if I tell you I hate Mush."

"Well I'll figure I will just probably have to kick your ass to get our of this place."

I was just standing there and all of a sudden it got totally quit. Then I was surrounded by laughing.

"I take it ya'll don't think I can."

"Hell no. There ain't nobody that can kick my ass. Especially not some girl that has to depend on Mush to save her from the Delancey's." he said real tough like.

"Would you like to prove that. I think you will be pretty embarrassed when I throw you off this bridge with all your friends watching."

"Don't you realize that your just a girl and girls can't do shit to a man?"

"Listen boy, I've ran into plenty of boys with your same attitude back home and every time they have regretted it."

"You're not back home now are you. You're in Brooklyn and there ain't a girl that can kick my ass."

"Try me!"

"Yo, Charity, there you are. We've been looking all over for you." Mush yelled as he and Cowboy ran up. "Hey Spot thanks for finding my girl for me." He added as he put his arm around me.

I shrugged his arm off and ignored him. "So are you gonna try me or are ya chicken?" I asked Spot.

"I'll try ya."

"Whoa. What's going on here?" Cowboy yelled.

"This asshole thinks he can kick my ass and use me as sport and I won't put up with it."

"Hey Spot." Cowboy whispered. "I don't want to embarrass you, but I would step down. She really worked over Oscar and Morris. Broke Morris' nose and Oscar has 2 black eyes. She like knews some foreign way of fighting."

"That right?"

"That's right. It's called karate."

"Come on Charity. Back off." Mush whispered.

"Why?" I asked. "I didn't start this. I didn't ask him to start dissin' me."

"Look everybody, we're all friends here. There is no reason to fight. Now if you two don't back off I'll floor both of you!" Yelled Jack.

There was complete silence as for a while as everybody stared at him. Then I busted up laughing.

I guess that just loosened everybody up and let us all relax.

Spot and I shook hands and became friends. He told me he had just been joking. I told him I wasn't. I stayed witht the newsies. All was well.

THE END

Fanfic Stories
Fanfic Index
Back to Brooklyn and Echo's Newsie Junk