Thursday, November 1, 1894--Antonio's 11th birthday (Yeah, I looked up what day of the week that would have been). This birthday, though, is more than he could have ever hoped for. Significance and Euphoria are definitely the right words to describe this. Enjoy! :)
Antonio feels extremely lucky today.
Maybe it's just his birthday.
He likes the digits 11. Two one's. He's older than 10. And he likes the cadence of the word e-le-ven.
No matter what, he's ready to bet on horses at Sheepshead.
Jack has a feeling.
He's not quite sure what it is.
But for some strange reason, he wakes up this morning thinking about going into Brooklyn.
Maybe it's related to Stargazer? Or Ray? Or both? He's not entirely sure.
It's also Antonio's birthday. He'll make sure to do something special for him.
His intuition, though, is telling him to go to Brooklyn.
Antonio gets his papers and heads off immediately to Brooklyn. He feels like walking today. He's planning to sell the papes on his way to Brooklyn. He'll use every trick he knows to get rid of them quickly. Maybe he'll keep one today, if there's a good headline. Who knows?
He's been coming to Sheepshead frequently since April. Not every day, but as time went on, pretty much every day.
...He still hasn't found Andrea or Giacomo.
He's been to Moretti a couple of times more. And, just like the first time with Andrea and Giacomo, Signor Moretti insists that he can't take Antonio's money.
He's planning on going there for lunch, or a late lunch, later today. And today, he's going to give Signor Moretti the money he deserves for the delicious bread he makes.
And so Antonio starts walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Jack has only been across the Brooklyn Bridge twice--once on the way to Brooklyn, once on the way back. He was ten then. He went with Ray. He felt so important back then.
He yells off the side of the Bridge like Ray taught him to. It's really fun. Everyone knows that.
And so he heads off to the heart of the Brooklyn newsies' territory.
He knows that these newsies are different than the Manhattan newsies. He also hasn't been anywhere near Brooklyn since Stargazer passed away a few years back. It'll be interesting to see what's different.
"Whaddaya doin' in Brooklyn?"
Jack whirls around to find a short kid who looks to be around Antonio's age looking at him with both a glare and curiosity at once. Jack had no clue someone could make an expression like that.
"And what's it matter to you?"
"You're a newsie, ain't ya?"
"Yeah."
"What borough?"
"Manhattan. Again, what's it matter to you?"
"Why do so many Manhattan newsies come here?" the kid asks.
YOU ARE READING
I'll Always Look Out For You
Fanfiction15 years before the legendary newsies strike of 1899, a child was born. When he is 18 months old, he is brought to the Manhattan Newsies Lodging House. In time, he would be known as Racetrack Higgins. This is his story. This is the story of the news...
