✧*̥˚┈┈┈┈ TOP OF THE MORNING TO YA
▃▃▃▃▃ ஓ 🗞️👑 ▃▃▃▃▃
◦○◦ 𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄: meet me at midnight
╭ ..••°☾ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄
❛ 𝚀 𝚄 𝙴 𝙴 𝙽 𝙾 𝙵 𝙼 𝙰 𝙽 𝙷 𝙰 𝚃 𝚃 𝙰 𝙽 ❜
❦⭒ ——（𝙽𝙴𝚆𝚂𝙸𝙴𝚂）
╭ ..••°☾ 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒐𝒏 🎯📠
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
-: ✧ 𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴. 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 ✧ :-
"In 1899, the streets of New York City echoed with the voices of newsies, peddling the newspapers of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst and other giants of the newspaper world. On every corner, you saw them carrying the banner, bringing you the news for a penny a pape. Poor orphans and runaway, the newsies were a ragged army without a leader. Until one day, all that changed."
In the streets of Manhattan at the Horace Greeley statue, four small boys lay about. Three around the feet of Horace and one in the arms and lap of him.
Just like every morning, newspapers were being printed, rolled up, and stacked for the newsies to take out and sell. And at the Newsboys Lodging House, an older gentleman walked up the stairs that creaked every step he took.
He walked into a room where multiple boys lay in bunk beds, all still fast asleep. A quite but prominent snapping was happening as the old man just shook his head at the boy.
"Boots!"
A dark skinned boy jumped up and looked at him before yawning and laying back down.
"Skittery. Skittery. Skittery!" He walked over to another boy and hit his foot.
Skittery sat up abruptly quickly shouting, "I didn't do it. Ow!"
He received another slap but this time to the face.
"What do you mean you didn't do it? Get up. Get up! When you get up, you have to get up. Snitch!"
Another boy who laid on the bottom bunk, who had his thumb his mouth almost like a baby, was awoken from the man's yelling.
"Get up, get up, get up. Come on, everybody's sleeping here."
"That's offensive, Mr. Kloppman." A young girl, who seemed ready for the day already, walked out of the bathroom.
"At least one of you children is responsible." The man acknowledged her before continuing, "They sleep, they sleep. They sleep their life away, these kids."
"The ink is wet. The presses are rolling! Sell the papes! Sell the papes!"
On one of the top bunks, two boys sleep, one with the opposite foot to his face. As he wakes up, he quickly sees the foot and roughly pushes it away from his face with a small grunt. Both the man and the girl walked over to another set of bunk beds.
"Hey, Cowboy. Hey, Cowboy." The man speaks
"Come on. You're dreaming about selling papers, Jacky-boy?" Lila continued
The man starts hitting him, "Hey, hey, hey."
The older boy, known as Jack, rolls over to face the man, " Don't want to. What's the matter with you?"
Jack buries his face into the pillow.
"What's the matter with me?"
"What's the matter with you? I ain't selling any of your-- Get off my back."
The man slaps him once more.
"Hey, go away from me. You're mad."
The two continue to squabble as they both let out laughs before Jack finally gets up. On the other side of the room, Racetrack Higgins sits on his bed looking through a bunch of things on the small bedside table. He continues to look until he looks at the neighboring bed where Snipeshooter lay against the non-existing headboard with a cigar in his mouth.
"That's my cigar."
"You'll steal another."
A boy with sandy blonde hair and an eye patch comes up behind Race, "Hey, bummers we got work to do."
Another newsie by the name of Specs pulls up his other suspender, "Since when did you become me, mother?"
"Ah stop you're balling!"
"Who asked you?" The group asked Crutchy in unison
Everyone just moved on their merry way as Mush made his way over to Jack who is in the process of pulling his pants on.
"So how'd you sleep, Jack?" The boy asked him
"On me back, Mush." The older boy grumbled, still trying to pull his pants on.
"Ha-ha-ha! Hear that, fellas? Hear what Jack said? I asked Jack how he slept and he said 'On me back, Mush.'"
The two started punching each other before Mush walked away and then Crutchy approached Jack.
"Hey, Jack, when I walk does it look like I'm faking it?"
"No. Who says you're faking it?" Jack slings one arm around Crutchy's shoulders and keeps the other one holding his pants up.
"I don't know. It's just-- There are so many fake crips on the streets today, a real crip like me ain't gotta chance. I gotta find me a new spelling spot where they ain't used to seeing me."
"Try Bottle Alley or the harbor."
"Try Central Park, it's guaranteed."
"Try any banker, bum or barber."
Lila then comes up behind her brother smacking him upright on the head, "They almost all knows how to read."
As the group of Newsies, continue to rush around to get ready for their upcoming day of adventures, they continue singing.
"I smell money!" Blink sings coming out of the bathroom
To which, Crutchy goes to walk in, "You smell foul."
"Saw this girl last night." Mush winks at Lila
Jack hits him in the back.
"Move your elbow."
"Pass the towel."
"For a buck, I might...." He sings as he dangles the towel in front of Race
"Ain't it a fine life? Carrying the banner through it all. A mighty fine life. Carrying the banner tough and tall."
As they continue singing, the boys and Lila make their way downstairs as the old man from before counts them all on their way out.
"Every morning. We's go where we wishes, we's as free as fishes. Sure beats washing dishes. What a fine life. Carrying the banner home free all."
They all run down the street, some doing kicks and some doing jumps. All while the workers are getting all the papers ready for the Newsies.
They come to an alley, apartments on either side and barrels all down the street.
"Summer stinks and winter's waiting. Welcome to New York. Boy, ain't nature fascinating, when youse gotta walk?"
Now in an open street, the boys start to full on dance. Doing a set of leaps and turns such as assembles and tours.
"Still it's a fine life. Carrying the banner with your chums (it's a fine life). A mighty fine life (carrying the banner with your chums), blowing every nickel as it comes (a mighty fine life) (Blowing every nickel as it comes)"
Crutchy then comes forth to start singling by himself, "I'm no snoozer. Sitting makes me antsy, I like slamming chancy."
"Harlem to Delancey, what a fine life. Carrying in the banner through the slums."
They then approach a cart that carries nuns and some bread and water. As the nuns sing. they hand out the food and drinks to the younger kids.
"Blessed children. Though you wander lost and depraved, Jesus loves you. You shall be saved
As the group continues to gather their food and water for the morning, a woman comes through, trying to find her son. The newsies then head out and start to reunite in an alleyway.
"If I hate the headline, I'll make up the headline and I'll say anything I hafta. Cause it's two for a penny, if I take too many, Weasel just makes me eat 'em after. Look, they're putting up a headline, you call that a headline? I get better stories from the cooper on the beat. I was gonna start with 20 but a dozen will be plenty. Tell me how I'm gonna make ends meet?"
They were now standing in front of the statue where some kids were previously sleeping.
"We need a good assassination. We need an earthquake or a war."
"How 'bout a crooked politician?" Snipeshooter sings
"Hey stupid that ain't news no more." The newsies then start throwing their hats at the young boy.
"Uptown to Grand Central Station, down to city hall. We improves our circulation, walking till we fall."
The boys finish singing in front of the World newspaper place, as two boys, around the same age as Jack or a little older, approach the group.
"Dear me. What is that unpleasant aroma?" Race asks, "I fear the sewer may have back up during the night."
"Ah, too rotten to be the sewer."
"Yeah, yeah. It must be the Delancey brothers."
They let out a laugh as the boys walked up to them. "Hiya boys."
Oscar, the shorter of the two, grabs the back of Race's head, "In the back, you lousy little shrimp." He then throws him to the ground and Lila goes to help him up.
"It's not good to do that. Not healthy." Race says
"You shouldn't be calling people lousy little shrimps, Oscar, unless you're referring to the family resemblance in your brother here." Jack states.
"5-1 that Cowboys skunks 'em. Who's betting?" Race asks
"Bum odds." They all call out.
"That's right, it's an insult. So is this." Jack takes off running, holding Morris' hat which he had grabbed just moments before.
The boys, and girl, all let out an "ohh" and continue to cheer on their leader.
As Jack continues to run around the square with the Delancey's following him, Jack runs into a boy and his little brother, who were previously watching the event before.
"What do you think you're doing?" The older boy questions
"Runnin!" Jack exclaims and takes off once more.
The newsies start back up again singing as Jack walks through the crowd after losing the brothers. Though soon, the two catch up with him and throw him to the ground but it's not much longer before Jack wins once again.
They all cheer as the gates open and they all pile into the small but still realitvly open space and they line up to get their papers for the day.
"See you tomorrow, Cowboy"
"You're as good as dead, Cowboy" The two brothers glared at him
"Oh, Mr. Weasel!" Jack sings as he rings the bell that hung above and to the right of the counter.
"Alright, alright! Hold your horses. I'm coming, I'm coming."
"So, didja miss me Weasel? Did you, did you miss me?"
"I told you a million times, the name's Weisel. Mr. Weisel to you. How many?"
Jack picks up a paper, "Don't rush me, I'm perusing the merchandise Mr. Weasel. The usual."
"A hundred papes for the wise guy."
The boys continue to pay and collect their papers and before going out to sell, they sit on the steps. As they're sitting, the little boy from early comes up to them waiting for his older brother, and Jack asks him if he wants to sit down.
"Look at this! 'Baby born with two heads.'" Race says flipping through the pages
"Must be from Brooklyn." Lila lets out a snort as she lays her head in Jack's lap and her legs in Race's.
Jack looks down at her, "Ah morning sunshine."
"Morning cowboy." At the counter, Davey, the boy from before, counts his papers. "Hey you got your papes, now beat it."
"I paid for 20, I only got 19."
The Kelly siblings both turn their heads to see what was going on, Jack being more interested than his sister.
"Just move for a minute sunshine." Lila groans but nonetheless moves for her brother and curls up into Race's side to fall back asleep.
"Are you accusing me of lying, kid?"
Both Les, the younger boy, and Jack stand up from their spots on the ground.
"No, I just want my paper."
"He said beat it."
Jack counts the small stack of papers that sat on the counter, "No, it's 19, Weasel. It's 19. But don't worry about it, it's an honest mistake. I mean, Morris, he can't count to 20 with his shoes on. "
Everyone let's out a laugh as Jack asks race to spot him two bits. Race removes his arm from around Lila, who was lying next to her best friend, and digs around in his pocket before flicking the coin to Jack and putting his arm back around the girl.
"Thanks. Another 50 for my friend here."
"I don't want another 50."
"Sure you do. Every newsie wants more papes."
"I don't."
"What, are you stupid?" Race calls out
"I don't want your papes. I don't take charity from anybody. I don't even know you. I don't care. So here are your papes."
Lila and Race were now standing as they follow Jack, Davey and Les down the steps to the opening by the gates.
"Cowboy. They call him Cowboy." Les exclaims
"Yeah."
"Well, that and a lot of other things, including Jack Kelly, which is what my mother called me. This is my sister, Lila."
Lila nods her head, "And what do they call you, kid?"
"Les. And this is my brother, David. He's older."
"Ah no kidding."
Jack hands his papes to Race before turning back the the boys, "So how old are you, Les?"
"Near 10."
"Near 10. Well, that's no good. If anyone asks, you should say you're 7. See, younger sell more papes. If we're gonna be partners, we wanna be the best."
"Wait, wait, wait. Who said anything about partners?" Davey cuts in.
"Well, you owe me two bits, right?"
"Jack, you owe race two but I mean..." Jack rolls his eyes at his sister while some of the other's laugh.
"Well, so I'll consider that an investment. We sell together, we split seventy-thirty." Lila hits him on the back of the head, "Plus, you get the benefit of observing me, no charge." He continues
David lets out a scoff which Jack mocks.
"Hey, you're getting the chance of a lifetime here, Davey. You learn from Jack, you learn from the best."
"They're right David. I'm not one to agree with things said about my brother, but they're right. Jack's the best at selling papes."
"Well, if he's the best, then how comes he needs me?"
"Listen, I don't need you, pal. But, I ain't got a cute little brother like Les here to front for me. I mean I have Lila, who is the prettiest girl you shall ever meet, but they're ain't no way I'm letting her out and about by herself."
Jack's right. Every time they sell papes, you will see Lila either attached at the hip with Jack or Race, depending on her mood.
"You know, with this kid's puss, and my God-given talent, we could move 1000 papes a week. So what do you say Les. You wanna sell papes with me?"
"Yeah!"
"So we got a deal?"
"Wait. It's got to be at least 50-50."
Lila and Jack, along with some others, scoff loudly.
"60-40, I forget the whole thing."
Les and the others encourage David who finally agrees. David holds out his and so does Jack but not before spitting in it which causes David to jerk his arm away.
"What's the matter?"
"That's disgusting!"
The five of them start making their way to the streets of Manhattan, some of the newsies let and some are trailing behind.
"The name of the game is volume, Dave. You only took twenty papes. Why?"
"Bad headline."
"Listen here Davey. The one thing you got to learn first is that headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes. You know, we're what this town together. Without newsies, nobody knows nothing." Lila explains just as a woman scurries in front of the boys who take off their hats making a few comments.
"Baby born with three heads!"
╭┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✦❘༻༺❘✦┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈╮
𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆 ~𝑻𝒐𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒀𝒂
𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 ~ 𝟐𝟓𝟖𝟑
╰┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✦❘༻༺❘✦┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈╯
𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞?
·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳