Lea of New York

Chapter 20- The Rally

Spot, Jack and David walked to the front. Jack turned to the audience of newsies and yelled, "Carryin' the banner!"

The noise died down and Jack continued with his speech.

"So, we've come a long way, but we ain't there yet and maybe it's only gonna get tougher from now on. But that's fine, we'll just get tougher with it. But also, we gotta get smart and start listenin' to my pal David, who says 'stop soakin' the scabs'."

"So what are we supposed to do to the bums, kiss 'em?" Race piped up. I smirked a bit.

"Any scab I see, I soak 'em, period." Spot said in his loud, strong voice.

"No, no, that's what they want us to do," David said, "If we get violent, it's just playing into their hands."

Spot stepped closer to David and lifted his fists. "Hey, look. They're gonna be playin' with my hands, cause it ain't what they say, it's what we say. And nobody ain't gonna listen unless we make 'em."

The newsies began arguing, loudly and fiercely. I started to worry it would get physical. That's when I realized David was right. Race didn't notice I left until he saw me run up to the front.

"You got no brains!" I shouted, "We startin' ta fight each other, it's just what the big shots wanna see. That we're street rats! Street rats with no brains! No respect for nothin', including ourselves!"

I was about to continue my rant when I felt Jack place his hand on my shoulder. He then said, "So here's how it's gonna be. If we don't act together, then we're nothin'. If we don't stick together, then we're nothin'. And if we can't even trust each other, then we're nothin'."

"You tell 'em, Jack!" Kid Blink yelled from the railing of a balcony.

"So what's it gonna be?" I called out.

A lot of the boys agreed with Jack. Race looked at me and said, "We're with ya, Jack." He motioned me back to my seat. I sat back down next to him with a smile.

"So, what do ya say, Spot?" Jack asked, turning to him. He looked into the crowd, then locked eyes with me. I sent him a pleading look.

"I say that what you say is what I say." He responded, spit shaking with Jack. 

The crowd erupted with applause and cheering. Medda came through the curtains, causing even more cheer. I rolled my eyes and clapped. Medda began singing.

"High times, hard times,

Sometimes the livin' is sweet,

And sometimes there's nothing to eat,

But I always land on my feet!

So when there's dry times,

I wait for high times and then,

I put on my best and I stick out my chest,

And I'm off to the races again!"

Medda grabbed a parasol and called out, "Hello, newsies. What's new?" She looked over to me and waved me up. I quickly bounced to the stage and began to sing the first verse.

"My good friend the mayor, he called me today,

He said, 'Lea! The voters are turning away.

Help me,' he cried, 'or they'll give me the axe!'

I said, 'Your Honor, you've got to relax...'"

Medda shouted, "Everybody!" and we all bursted into song.

"High times, hard times,

Sometimes the living is sweet,

And sometimes there's nothing to eat,

But I always land on my feet!

So when there's dry times,

I wait for high times and then,

I put on my best and I stick out my chest,

And I'm off to the races again!"

Medda and I sang the next verse together.

"So your old lady don't love you no more,

So you're afraid there's a wolf at your door,

So you got street rats that scream in your ear,"

We all sang, "You win some, you lose some, my dear!

Oh, high times, hard times,

Sometimes the living is sweet,

And sometimes there's nothing to eat,

But I always lands on my feet!

So when there's dry times,

I wait for high times and then,

I put on my best and I stick out my chest,

And I'm off to the races again!"

Medda and I sang while the boys echoed.

"I put on my best! (I put on my best!)

And I stick out my chest! (And I stick out my chest!)

And I'm off! (And I'm off!)

And I'm off! (And I'm off!)

And I'm off!

To the races again!"

The boys cheered and chanted. I laughed, finally feeling happy and free. Race came up and hugged me. I smiled bigger than I'd ever smiled before. I looked for Spot, but then I saw a black bowler's hat in the back. My face paled.

"It's Snyder," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

David came up to Jack and shouted, "Jack, it's Snyder!"

"What?" He yelled.

"It's Snyder!" I yelled to him. His face paled and he planted a kiss on Medda's cheek.

"Thanks, Medda, I gotta run," He said before running into the crowd of newsies.

All of a sudden, a shrill whistle blew and Bulls came out from all over. The boys began to run and fight. I lost Race in the crowd. I turned around, trying to find him. I turned back to the stage to see Race go up against a Bull. He got kicked in the stomach, then punched across the face. Medda was pulled back as Race was being dragged away.

"NO!!!" I screamed. I felt my heart stop. I felt someone grab my hand. I looked up to see Spot.

"Spot!" I yelled through tears, "Spot, they took Race! They took him!"

Spot pulled me through the chaos. We went outside. It wasn't any better out there. There were Bulls on horses formed a barricade around the building. I turned to see Kid Blink get struck by a Bull.

"Blink!" I yelled. Spot lead me back inside to try and find another way out. Somehow, a horse got inside and was rearing at some kid. I looked closer to see the kid was Jack.

"Jack!" I shouted, pulling free from Spots grasp and grabbing the reins of the horse. I swung my leg over the horses back and sat in the saddle. I tried to turn the horse away from Jack and out, but someone knocked over a vase, startling the horse and causing it to rear. I fell back and hit my head on the floor.

The same feeling I felt weeks ago came back. I felt dazed, weak, and unfocused. I could feel myself being dragged away. That was all I could feel. Consciousness slipped away. The last thing a heard was Spot shouting my name...