Oooooh CLIMACTIC MOMENT
Also very Javid :)
Enjoy! :)
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Everyone around them in the building is in a hurry, frantic. Jack grins smugly. They may not have stopped The World, yet, but they did unravel it.
And now the moment they've been waiting for.
Entering Pulitzer's office.
Pulitzer is turned away from them, smoking, not saying a word.
"Extra, extra, Joe," Jack says, a hint of taunting in his tone. "Read all about it." He saved one extra paper to say just this. He drops it on the desk and leans down.
"Now, I gave you a chance to be free, boy," Pulitzer states at last. He turns around. "I'm confused. Anyone who doesn't act in his own self interest is a fool."
"Then what does that make you?"
Both Jack and Pulitzer swivel around to look at David, eyes wide.
David's eyes are wide too, like he can't believe that he just said that.
A small smile starts growing on Jack's face.
"What?" Pulitzer spits out.
David swallows. He has to say more now, and not just a random outburst. So he goes on. "Every day you're losing thousands of dollars. Your circulation is down by 70%. And all of this, just to beat us out of one lousy tenth of a cent." He takes a step forward. "Why?"
Jack's grin grows even more. That's the boy he fell for.
Jack stands up. "I think I forgot to introduce you two." He slings an arm around David. "This is my pal, Davey." He and David look at each other, Jack looking fondly into David's eyes. "The Walkin' Mouth."
David grins too.
They face Pulitzer again.
"Oh yeah, Davey, this is Pulitzer," Jack says flatly. "You know. The guy who's been ruinin' our life for a week. Well. He's been doin' it much longer than that, but this week is just worse."
Pulitzer glares at them. They stand tall. Jack is aware that he's taunting a tyrant, in every sense of the word. Jack can taunt him all he wants, but he still needs to be careful.
"I called for the police just moments before," Pulitzer tells him icily. "They should be here by now."
Jack swallows. "I ain't goin' back to jail, Joe," he tells him, trying to keep the slight tremble out of his voice. "Never. You hear?" He heads to the window. "And I ain't alone in this." He opens the window. "Come see for yourself."
Pulitzer stands up. "Wait-"
Jack opens the windows. Big, expensive ones. Ones that open and you can see the whole world outside.
When they see the whole world outside, they see the square crowded with people, people from all over the city, chanting: "STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!"
Jack smiles, proud of what they started.
Pulitzer looks like he's going to have a heart attack.
"Go home!" he shouts at all the people down below, to no avail. "Go home! Go home! Go-"
"That ain't gonna happen, Joe!" Jack yells over all the noise. "They got voices now. They'se gonna be listened to."
"Shut the window and shut up!" Pulitzer shouts at Jack.
"I ain't doin' that!"
"Now you listen to me-" Pulitzer snarls.
"Oh no, you listen to me," Jack cuts him off defiantly.
They back away from the window, the noise more bearable inside.
"They got voices now," Jack continues passionately. "They've got voices now. And they're gonna be listened to. They ain't just goin' away. None of us are going away. That's the power of the press, Joe." He takes a deep breath after speaking so fast and so long. "So thanks for teaching me about it."
Pulitzer sits down at his desk again. It's clear he doesn't know what to do. "I ordered a printing ban on all strike matters." He looks up at them, still looking shocked and dazed. "Whose press did you use? Whose?"
Jack swallows. "Well, we only use the best."
David leans down over the desk like Jack is doing. "So on behalf of all the people, we say, thank you."
Jack smiles up at David. He's so glad that he's here.
They back away as the realization hits Pulitzer of just what exactly they mean.
It's a while before anyone says anything.
"What do you want, boy?" Pulitzer asks coldly.
"Well," Jack pretends to think on it, "you could lower the price of papes." He shrugs dramatically. "Maybe."
"If you put the price back where it was," David continues on to the idea, "then all the newsies will come back to work for you again. Then your business gets its people and--well, business back, while we don't give away our last cents just trying to make a decent living."
"And," Jack adds, "We need equal rights." He gestures outside. "All of us."
"There's only so much I can do about that, boy," Pulitzer tells him in a disconnected tone.
"But you can make the first move," Jack points out. "You can be the one to show you can treat your employees fairly."
"That's right," David catches on. "And then everyone else will do the same. Because ... 'cause ... this is the New York World that we're talking about. If you're powerful enough to secure a printing ban, then you're powerful enough to influence other bosses to treat people more fairly."
"'Cause we deserve our rights," Jack concludes. "And if you won't be the one to give us what we rightfully deserve..." He leans back. "Well, we'll just have to move on and find the one who will."
Jack and David have run out of things to say. But they still feel like they've said it all. They know they must have broken through.
"I can't lower the price of the papers," Pulitzer says tersely. It sounds like he's going to give more of an explanation, but he doesn't.
Jack and David's stomachs drop.
After all that, and it still isn't enough.
They're getting there, though.
"Why?" David blurts.
"'Cause if he gives in to nobodies like us, then that means we have the power," Jack answers the question. "And he can't do that." He faces Pulitzer, who continues saying nothing.
Jack swallows. Then he gets an idea.
"Ever heard of a compromise, Joe?" he asks. "You know, where two people won't ever be happy with their conflicting views, but they take a little of both and try to make it at least a little better."
"Yes, yes, I know what a compromise is."
"I propose a compromise," Jack declares. "You keep the price of papes where it is. Fine. But now the newsies get to sell back the papes they don't sell to customers. Then that newsie don't need to eat the loss of what they don't sell. Ya see, if we knew that we could sell back papers to The World, then we would take more, not less. And you still get to keep your lousy tenth of a cent." He takes a breath to drive his point home. "So, Joe. What'll it be?"
Pulitzer thinks about it. He actually thinks about it.
Jack and David hold their breath waiting for him to speak again, hearts beating fast in anticipation.
Neither of them exhale until he gives them his answer.
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"I think that went well."
"Yeah?"
"I mean, we got what we wanted."
"Sort of."
"Hey, it was better than nothing."
"That's true."
"Can't believe you stood up to Joe like that."
"Me? What about you?"
Jack chuckles. "Yeah, I had a few things to say to him I guess."
They begin walking down the stairs.
In the couple moments without talking, Jack can't take it anymore. He's been lying too long. And he wants to show that he changed.
"I need to tell you why I lied to you about my family," Jack bursts out suddenly.
David slows his walking. "Yeah?"
Jack nods. "Mhm." They both stop walking.
"I'm listening."
Jack takes a deep breath. "My father ... wasn't the best person to be around. My mother died when I was young, so it was just me and him. And it's a time I want to forget more than anything. One day I couldn't take it anymore, and I ran away. Found the lodging house. Changed my name, to distance myself from that past. I never wanted to talk about it, so I never brought it up."
David nods understandingly. "I'm glad you're telling me about this now. I won't ask you to go into great details about what happened. But if you ever do want to talk, just know that I'm here for you, okay?"
Jack, not trusting his voice, nods to show his gratitude.
They continue walking down the stairs.
"So what are we gonna tell everyone what happened back there?" David asks.
"The truth, I guess."
"And will you be ... improving said truth?"
"Hey wait a second-" Jack stops. He turns to see David's face. David, who is obviously playing with him. In an accusatory tone, Jack starts, "you're just messin' with me."
David can't hide his grin. "Yeah."
Jack shoots him the most reproachful glare he can muster. "If you're gonna mess with me, don't make it so realistic, 'kay?"
"Okay," David chuckles.
The truth, I guess.
David deserves to know more of the truth.
They barely make it down more than a few steps before Jack stops walking again. "Wait."
David stops with him.
Jack swallows. "The night when I could've escaped, but didn't ... when you found me right outside this building ... Pulitzer made a deal with me that was more than just fancy clothes."
David says nothing, waiting for Jack to go on.
Jack sighs. "They threatened you, Davey." He averts his eyes, clenching his fists. "Pulitzer ... he threatened that you and all the newsies would go to the Refuge. And ... I just couldn't let anything happen to you, Davey. That's why I scabbed. Not just for the fancy suit--which I didn't like anyways. It was either continue the strike and see you locked up, or stop the strike, work for him again, and you stayed safe. I don't know if you'll ever understand, but ... if I was in the same situation again, I wouldn't have picked anything different."
David hears what Jack is saying. If I had to choose between you staying safe or you taking the fall, I would choose you being safe.
David thinks on the first time Jack lied to him and broke his heart. How much pain he went through. How happy he was up until that moment. Then he thinks on this week, and everything that they've been through together.
And in the memories, David sees that Jack changed.
"Actually," David says at last, "I think if I were in that situation ... I would have done what you did."
Hope and relief flash through Jack's eyes. "Really?"
"Yes," David reassures him.
Jack smiles.
David smiles right back at him. It's these smiles that he fell for.
Finally, they walk down the last stair and head toward the doors that lead to the outside world.
"Ready?" Jack asks.
David grabs Jack's hand. "Yes." Jack squeezes back gently.
Together, they reach for the door.
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Aaaaaand that it's for this chapter.
I love the music I'm listening to right now.
So it started out very by the script ... or by memory ... but then I kinda went elsewhere haha.
Because the real deal in 1899 was a compromise. And I really like writing it.
I just thought it would be really funny if Jack turned introductions into a quip, okay?
I really liked writing Jack finally getting everything out in the open.
What's interesting is that the earlier chapters were very much from David's perspective, and now they're more very much from Jack's perspective, and I'm trying to balance it out the best I can (that's my inner Libra at work haha).
Equal rights. That's all I have to say.
So. Last chapter is the next one.
So how will I choose to wrap up this story?
Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.
Best,
~Your Beloved Author (who can't wait for equality and equity and world peace)