FAMILIAR | Spot Conlon

Chp. 39: Printin

"Ya mom seems nice" Spot says.

"She's not" I reply flatly. I never really liked her but ever since I ran away I started thinking more about our relationship and realized how fucked up it is. She sort of went downward after my dad left and so did I. That messed everything up for us.

"Well she seemed ta like me" Oh god.

"Really? That's good"

"What's wit ya nails" I look at my nails and see the gold they're painted.

"Did yous dye em or somethin" Race says after Spot does. Nick and I burst out laughing and Race and Spot stand there looking confused.

"It's called nail polish" They still look confused.

"I's pretty much painted ma nails wit paint made for nails"

"Oh"

"That makes sense" They say. I let out one more giggle before asking them the question that's been on my mind since they arrived at the doorstep.

"So how did ya guys find me"

"Well Jack told David ta tell Race ta tell you that Jack had a plan and he needed you. And Race came ta me cause, well, I dunno and we's went ta Nick cause we's thought he would know where ya lived cause Jack told us you was cousins"

"That was a lot ta take in but I think I's got it"

"Now it made sense why yous was hangin wit Nick back then" He rubs the back of his neck like he does when he's embarrassed. I knew he was jealous! He would never admit it but I knew.

"Yeah. Wait Jack has a plan?"

"Yeah" Race shimmies himself between Spot and I. I wonder why he brought Spot. It's not like he was needed for what they're doing.

"What is it"

"Who knows. He's just told me ta get ya"

"Well we's can't just walk all the way there we won't make it in time" Then out of the corner of my eye I see a car coming near us.

"Play along" I start screaming and acting like I've broken something. I run into the middle of the road and the car stops. The man comes out and sees me.

"Help she's broken her leg" Race plays along thankfully.

"I"

"Need"

"To get to"

"Manhattan" I say the words slowly and apart from each other for effect.

"Well I'm headed that way I could take ya" The man motions for the back of his car.

"Oh would you? Me bruddas would have to come too. Mom doesn't want us apart"

"Of course" He helps me into the car and same with Race, Spot, and Nick. We hitch a ride all the way to Manhattan.

"Yous got a real future as an actress Camryn" Nick says.

"Maybe I's do. Fashion is more my thing though"

"I can tell" We both laugh and I lay me head on his shoulder. Ever since the last time I saw him he's always felt like a brother to me.

We get to the square and I tell the man to stop. I smirk at the guys and we all dash out of the car and start running towards the lodging house. The man is yelling at us but we don't care.

We get to the building and look around. The newsies must be inside. We barge in and immediately everybody stares at us. A few jaws drop.

I pause and look down at my dress. Oh. That's why.

"I's don't think I told ya, but yous look really hot in that dress" Spot leans down and says in my ear. I can feel his hot breath on my skin.

"They all seem ta think so too" He stands back up straight and I see all the guys standing there in awe. Kid Blink and David are in the front.

"Wow Cam I knew you was pretty but this is somethin else" Kid Blink says. It's still been awkward with us since he kissed me.

"Uhm thanks. David what did Jack need"

"Oh right come on" David grabs my hand and takes me to where Denton, Jack, and Sarah are. I wave goodbye to everyone and leave Race, Spot, and Nick at the lodge.

"What's he doing ere" I point at Denton.

"He's helpin us" Jack says.

"Mhm just like he's helped us wit the rally"

"Look I know yous don't trust me or like me but I want ta help. Truly" Denton comes forward.

"One more chance. Don't screw it up"

"So what's this big plan of yours Jack"

"We're gettin every sweatshop kid in New York ta join the strike. We're printin our own paper and we're gonna hand em out ta all the kids" That actually sounds like a pretty solid plan.

"And you'll neva guess where the printin press is"
~~~~
Jack leads us into an old dirty basement.

"You've been livin ere?" Sarah asks but Jack shushes her.

I notice that they've been holding hands this whole time. Guess I missed some things during the strike. I send Sarah a smirk and she returns it with a smile. I don't wanna say it's women's intuition but it is. She knew exactly what I meant and vice versa.

Jack uncovers a big piece of fabric to reveal a big printing press. It's super old and dusty but I think it'll get the job done.

"All right a platen press" Denton says. I guess it has a special name too.

"Looks like old man Pulitzer neva threw anything away"

"Wait this is Pulitzer's press?" I look at Denton and he nods.

"Oh shit he's gonna love this"

"Haha yeah. But will it work?" That's actually a really good question.

"David's right what if it's broken"

"It better work. We's got a deadline"

We start going through the drawers and find all the things we need. I have no idea what to look for so I'm relying on David and Denton.

We spend the whole night printing hundreds of "Newsie Banner" papers.
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I've been really bad about updating recently and i'm SO sorry. Also thank you so much for all the encouraging comments! Also WE HIT 2K GUYS.