by
Spitfire
"Nevah make promises. Dey get ya inta too much trouble."
Why din't I lissen ta ya, Mama? Jamie thought, tears running down her
face. I swear I'se gonna dis time. I ain't makin' any. I ain't lissenin' ta
any. She sat on the steps on the apartment building and pushed up her right
sleeve to feel the scar along her arm. Dat'll remind me. The most recent
of many. It seemed deep enough to last. I ain't. She stood up, climbed
the stairs and knocked on a door - third floor, apartment 12.
Dutchy was no stranger to heartbreak. He'd seen it for the first time in his
mother's eyes just before she died. And he'd his fair share of it in seventeen
years of living. So he knew it for what it was when he saw it in the girl's
eyes when Dave escorted her into the lodging house.
Pie Eater whistled when they walked in, Mush went weak-kneed (earning an
elbow in the side from Firefly) and all the older boys in what Kloppman liked
to call the lobby jumped to attention and pulled off their hats. She was worth
a whistle, Dutchy had to admit. She was about medium height with thick, long
reddish brown hair, an oval face, almost shockingly blue eyes - and there was
something more that he couldn't quite put his finger on and didn't try.
Whatever it was, it drew every boy in the room.
"Dis yer new goil, Dave?" asked Kid Blink, walking over with every
male under 20 right behind him. He took the girl's hand and kissed it - she
yanked it back, causing him to raise his eyebrows. "Jist a friendly
gesture." he defended.
She glared, and Dave broke in quickly. "This my cousin Jamie. We don't
have much room at our place and she wants to be a newsie anyway, so she's going
to stay here."
"I don't got a problem wit it." said Jack, giving his friend a
strange look. Actually, he had several problems with it. One, he was fairly
certain Dave was lying. Two, he could tell immediately that Jamie's presence
was going to cause havoc among the newsies. She drew boys like no one he knew
except Medda - and unlike Medda she was 'available'. He could forsee several
broken hearts - male and female - in the near future - not to mention broken
bones. But he couldn't just throw her out on the street. "Kloppman?"
he asked over his shoulder.
The old man looked up and pulled out his registration book. "Fine.
Fine. Your very welcome. Now, upstairs all a youse!" he shooed them away.
"Ya got woik tamorra, an' right now youse're cluttering my lobby!"
There were a few fond grins, and the group began to move up the stairs,
reluctantly. Clown and Pounce exchanged looks, linked arms with Jamie and towed
her upstairs between them. That was all that was needed to bring the male
two-thirds of the newsies with them.
"Congratulations." Pounce said, as they entered the girls'
bunkroom - shutting the door firmly in the face of the boys. Jamie, if
anything, was even more tense in all female company. "Ya managed ta get
half a Manhattan at yer feet in two seconds." She sounded amused.
"Ya ain't-" Jamie began quietly.
"Jealous?" Pounce asked.
Jamie nodded, looking at her hands in her lap. "I ain't doin' it on
poipose, but-"
"Yeah, well, I ain't wit nobody, an' Clown's man is in Brooklyn-"
Clown grinned. "Besides, Spot knows I'd soak him if he even thought
about cheating on me! You don't have to worry about Truth, either - she's
unattached - and Spitfire-" She rolled her eyes at Pounce in what seemed
to be a private joke.
"Dose two!"
"Who ya tawkin' 'bout?" A tiny, blond girl who challenged Jamie
for looks in a no-nonsense kind of way entered. "An' who's da new
goil?" Without waiting for an answer, she spit in her hand and held it
out. "Da name's Truth-"
"-'cuz she don't tell it." chorused the other two, laughing. Truth
rolled her eyes.
"Nevah make promises." Nevah make friends. Jamie shrank
back and said more coldly than she meant "Jamie. I'se tired, now. Which a
da beds ain't taken?"
Slightly taken aback, Truth pointed at one by the door. The female newsies
still did not number enough to fill the, so both the top and bottom bunks were free
on not only that by another bed. Jamie thanked her and carried her things over
to it, trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible.
"Friendly, ain't she?" she heard Pounce whisper. It hurt, but she
concentrated on undressing and getting into bed. Several more girls entered and
also began undressing. They congregated on the other side of the room and began
gossipping. Dey don't hafta be so obvious 'bout leavin' me out. she
thought. It proved her mother's point. No matter how friendly or how - she
pushed that thought out of her head - they seemed, everyone lied, everyone
broke promises. The only person one could depend on was oneself.
Although she hadn't been the most friendly to them, most of the girls put
Jamie's chilliness down to simple weariness and considerately moved their
gossip session to the other side of the room.
"Who's da porcelain doll ovah dere?" Nickel asked, like her best
friend Firefly of a somewhat jealous nature.
"'Da porcelain doll' as you put it." said Clown, "Is Davey's
cousin, and nobody's going to give her a hard time, are they?" Coming from
the only girl known to have soaked Spot Conlon, there was only one way to
answer this question.
"'Coise not!" Nickel replied. "I was jist askin'. Hey, ain't
Spitfire back yet?"
"Back a while. Up on da roof - still." laughed Pounce.
"Still at it!" exclaimed Clouds. "How long dey been tagedda,
anyways?"
"Eight months, two weeks, five days." a voice replied. Clouds
turned to see Porter behind her, wearing a dreamy expression. Truth had to bury
her face in a pillow to keep from laughing too loudly and disturbing Jamie.
"Youse two make da sappiest pair!" she said.
"Aw shut up, an' let me inta da circle!" Spitfire squeezed in
between Truth and Nickel.
"Honestly, though!" Her best friend pursued. "What is it wit
you an' all da lovey-dovey stuff?"
"I don't t'ink it's dat bad." murmured Firefly.
"What was dat?" Nickel asked.
Firefly blushed. "Nothin'."
"Nothin' my -" Porter turned the teasing on her friend. "I
was sellin' ovah by da pond in Central Park taday an' aroun' noon, who do I see
wit a coitin' coily-haired boy who I will not name-"
Firefly's face was as red as her name now. "We wasn't doin' much . .
."
"Not much?" Nickel raised an eloquent eyebrow.
"You're one to talk, Nick." said Clown. "I suppose there was
a reason you and Skit came in so late today?"
"Dat's my business." said Nickel complacently. "Anyways, you
an' Spot ain't 'xactly discreet."
"That isn't fair! We haven't really gone that far." Clown said.
"Just because we aren't ashamed to kiss in public. You might as well say
Jack-"
"I would say Jack, actually." laughed Pounce.
Clouds looked at Clown disbelievingly. "Wit Spot Conlon, ya ain't gone
dat far?"
"You think I can't handle him?" Clown replied meaningfully. They
all laughed.
"Back ta da subject, though." said Truth. "What is dis
obsession everyone has wit love? I mean if ya in it, ya go all
starry-eyed-" she gestured at both Porter and Firefly. "An' if ya's
not ya wish ya were. 'Cept fer me."
"C'mon, Truth." said Pounce. "Ya really don't like
anybody?"
"I jist ain't da type for it, dat's all." The blond replied.
"Like ya's gotta be a coitain type ta fall in love!" Spitfire
exclaimed. "Truth, dat's da most ridiculous t'ing I evah hoid! Name one
t'ing, 'sides bein' newsies, dat Fly, Clown, Nickel an' me's got in
common."
Truth didn't get to reply because at that moment Kloppman came through
ordering lights out and shooed them all into there beds.
There was something that bothered Porter, though. A certain look in her best
friend's eyes when she'd said that. It reminded her of the look she'd seen in
her own in the mirror 'eight months and three weeks' ago, a little of longing,
a little of heartache.
"Truth." She whispered when the lights had been out for almost an
hour and she was sure almost everyone would be asleep.
"Hmmm?" came a sleepy voice from the bunk above her.
"Ya do like somebody, don't ya?"
Silence for several minutes. "He's taken." Truth replied.
Dutchy lay in his bed, thinking of the new girl, Jamie. That look in her
eyes. She couldn't be more than fifteen - what could have put it there? Dutchy
had never been the one to 'discover' a new girl. That happened to lucky stiffs
like Jack, or Crutchy or Snoddy who had run into Truth while she was running
from the bulls and had been harboring a secret (he thought) crush on her for
the past three years, girlfriend or no girlfriend. He was perfectly ready to
admit he was falling for Jamie, half the boys had already, and more would when
she appeared at the distribution office the next day, he was sure. But it was a
different kind of love, half fierce protectiveness, half respect that she'd
survived if her life had been half as hard as the look in her eyes suggested. I
got a feelin' me life jist got a lot more complicated.
He was right.
It was settled without discussion that Jamie should sell with Pen. Most of
the other girls already had partners, and there was no way Jack was sending her
out with any boy other than himself or Dave. Which was fine with Jamie. Ya
can't break promises if ya nevah make 'em, an' ya can't get a broken heart if
ya don't let anyone in it. She didn't even say much to Pen, despite the
older girl's attempts at conversation.
"So your Davey's cousin?"
Very quietly. "Yes."
"He's a good guy. He evah tell ya our nickname for 'im?"
"No."
"We call 'im da Walkin' Mouth."
"Oh." Pen sighed with exasperation.
"EXTRY! EXTRY! MAD HORSES STAMPEDE AND KILL THREE!" One wide-eyed
woman took a paper, handing him a penny. "Thank you, ma'am." Dave
grinned at Jack, the only other person who knew the stampeding horses had been
racing and the deceased would be mourned by no one except their fellow ants.
Jack, however, was serious. He'd been thinking. Which means trouble.
Dave thought.
"Davey," Jack put an arm around his friend's shoulders and steered
him down the street.
Dave looked at his best friend sideways. Something was up. "Yeah?"
"What's up wit Jamie?"
David looked slightly guilty. "What do you mean?"
Jack stopped walking. "Who is she, where's she from, an' what's she
doin' heah?"
"I told you. She's my-"
"Don't lie ta a master, Dave." Cowboy crossed his arms. "Ya
ain't dat good at it, anyways. Foist a all, ya don't look at 'er like a
cousin. Ya know me well enough ta know it won't go no further."
"Why don't you ask, Jamie?" David asked.
Jack laughed aloud. "Dat goil won't let a guy witin arm's length a her!
She ain't gonna trust me! I will tell ya, though, I was dis close ta tellin'
'er ta go an' I still is, so's ya betta spill now an' give me a reason not
ta."
David sighed with exasperation. "Look, it wasn't my idea, all right? I
got this from my parents. - And I'm holding you to that 'it won't go any
further,' you know-"
"Get ta da point, Mouth." Jack said, by which David knew he was
getting angry.
"Her mother was a friend of mine's, all right? They met on the boat to
America and they went to school together when they got here. When she was
seventeen, Jamie's mother ran away with some guy. He left them, maybe a year
after Jamie was born and the mother became a - uh - uh -" Dave's face was
turning red.
"Aw right, ya don't gotta say it."
"Yeah, well, Jamie grew up. She's very nice, very pretty-"
"-I noticed." Jack said dryly. "Ya tryin' ta say she took up
da fam'ly bisness, or is dat what she's runnin' away from?"
"My parents didn't tell me this, but I've got a very sneaky
brother-"
"-an' ya lissen at keyholes." Jack grinned. Dave was dead serious.
"She also grew up very naive about guys. And no, her mother kept her
out of her - work, but she fell in love with this guy - a few guys, actually,
one after another. And none of them were the right kind, so she's been beat up
a lot and that's why she won't let a guy within arm's length anymore. Her
mother's been dead a few years and she's been moving from place to place ever
since. Yesterday she showed up on our doorstep and my mom took her in, but she
won't take charity and since she doesn't know anything about sewing or laundry
or the other work Sarah does, I suggested the newsies. So are you letting her
stay?" he challenged. He knew his friend too well to expect any answer but
yes.
"Whaddaya take me for?" Jack exclaimed. "A coise." A
shadow crossed his face and he asked. "Dave, how old is Jamie?"
"Fifteen." David sighed, following his friend's thoughts.
"God, I hate dis woild."
Carmen Andrews, please tell me dere's a point ta dis 'sides torturin'
yaself. Truth watched the others sell, while scanning the crowd for a good
victim - uh, customer. She tried to smile at the thought. Porter had ta
remind me a dat. Well, dat's what best friends is for, afta all.
"EXTRY! EXTRY! ROCKS RAIN DOWN ON CENTRAL PARK! TELEGRAM FROM POPE
CALLS IT DA END A DA WOILD!" Pounce called out across the street. "T'ank
ya, sir. T'ank ya, ma'am."
Truth laughed to herself. An' I'll bet half a dem walked t'rough dat hail
storm, too. Then she surveyed their clothes. Naw, rode, not walked. Dey
wouldn't risk dose nice t'ings. Her partner hawked the headlines on the
opposite corner, while Pie Eater and Snoddy sold a little ways down the street.
It was a crowd for one beat, but the four of them made it work. It helped that
Truth's tactics were different from - and often more fruitfull that the
others'. Speakin' a which, I oughta be gettin' back ta woik. She picked
a target, a sympathetic looking young woman on the arm of a rich-looking older
gentleman. She turned her most frail and pitiful - the advantages of being 4
foot 10 blond and blue-eyed.
"Buy a pape, miss?" She asked, holding out her paper and widening
her eyes as the two walked by. "'S on'y a penny. Jist enough fer a liddle
stew fer me brudda an' me?"
"Of course, dear. Henry, give the girl a quarter." Truth smiled
inwardly. She could certainly pick them!
"Miss, I couldn't-" she protested, eyes even wider.
She was not the only one. "Helen-" the man said, flustered.
"Henry, don't be so tight-fisted. You can and you will, child."
Helen insisted, taking a newspaper and giving her the coin. "And get your
brother something better than stew, all right?"
"Yes, miss! T'ank ya, Miss! An' youse, Sir! I'll get him some good
fruit, Miss, an' tell 'im it's from a beautiful, kind lady dat bought a pape
from me!" She didn't spend too much time on the man. She knew very well he
wouldn't have given her the time of day, if the woman hadn't been with him. She
ran down the street, winking at the boys as she passed. She had to appear
to be going somewhere at least.
Pie Eater signalled her when the couple was out of sight. "Ya shoa took
some time on dat one!" he commented. "Woith it?"
She flipped the quarter in the air and grinned. "Two bits."
"Ya gotta loin ta trust da master, Pie!" said Snoddy. She smiled
at him through anger. Nope, no point, jist torture.
Snoddy watched Truth walk away in search of another customer. It was one of
the sunniest of spring days and her blond hair looked like gold. She looked
like a classic fairy tale princess and she walked and spoke with the confidence
of royalty. If there hadn't already been a 'Queen' when she arrived (an older
girl who had long since left the newsies) he would have suggested that for her
nickname. If he hadn't been going with someone else . . .
"It ain't right." said Pie Eater.
He turned a little irritably. "I know it ain't right. So what's I
s'posed ta do?"
"Ast 'er out." His best friend glared at him.
"An' Kirstin?"
"Don't look at me. You'se da one dat went an' ast 'er ta be yer
goil."
"I din't know what I'se doin'. Ya had ta start dis again?"
"How far ya lettin' it go?" Pie Eater was fairly easy going, but
even he had his limits. "It ain't fair ta any a youse. Ya even said
anyt'in ta Truth? Evah?"
"When I'se goin' out wit someone else?" He knew it was a
hypocritical statement.
"What about da two an' a half yeahs ya had when ya wasn't goin'
out wit anybody? Ya's me best friend, Snoddy, but I don't unnerstand ya."
Dat makes two a us. Snoddy thought to himself. "EXTRY! EXTRY!
MAYOR'S NEW YACHT SINKS TA DA BOTTOM A NEW YAWK HARBOUR ON MAIDEN VOYAGE! CITY
HALL IN PANIC AS SEARCH FER SURVIVORS CONTINUES!"
"Heah, I'll show ya how ta do it - though I'm warnin' ya, I ain't da
best at dis." Pen told Jamie. "Now ya gotta understand, da most
headline writers got cheese fer brains. Da real stories wouldn't get customers
if ya was givin' away papes."
"So ya lie." Jamie said flatly. She understood that. It was the
way things worked.
"Well, improve da truth, as Cowboy says." Pen grinned. "Ya
don't hafta be so judgmental."
Ya don't hafta be so hypocritical. Jamie retorted silently. She knew
very well what people thought of her, just from looking at her. They didn't
have to pretend. "Show me, den."
"Well, see dis story? 'Mayor Poichases New Yacht?' Ain't nobody gonna
look twice fer a story like dat. But try somet'in like, lessee, dis - EXTRY!
EXTRY! MAYOR PART A HUGE SMUGGLIN' RING! ARRESTED ON BOARD HIS NEW YACHT SUNDAY
AFTANOON!" Several upstanding citizens bought papers, looking scandalized.
Several less upstanding citizens bought them for the gossip. And a few
purchased papers looking worried, glancing around for blue uniforms. They
needn't have worried, however. "No newsie woith 'is salt is gonna stick
aroun' ta sell near da bulls. Dey's jist lookin' fer a excuse ta pull
one a us in."
Jamie nodded.
"So, ah, what made ya decide ta become a newsie?" Pen made yet
another attempt at conversation during their lunch break.
"D- me cousin t'ought it was a good idea." Jamie said quietly. It
was the longest sentence she'd spoken that day.
Even Porter wasn't dis shy when she foist joined! Pen thought.
She decided to try a new spin on the yacht theme and maybe get a little more
out of the new girl. "Jamie whaddaya t'ink a dis? EXTRY! EXTRY! MAYOR
TAKES MISTRESS FOR PLEASURE JAUNT ON NEW YACHT, LEAVES WIFE AN' FAM'LY AT
HOME!"
Jamie went white. "Very nice." she said before runnning off, leaving behind a very bewildered Pen.