Disclaimer: I don’t own Newsies! If I did, there would be a sequel-somehow- and it would be re-mastered!
“Headlines don’t sell papes, newsies sell papes.” Jack wove through the crowd as he told David this.
“Without us newsies, the citizens of New York know nothin’,” I said confidently. David looked skeptical of what I told him, but I clapped him on the back. He winced. “Wese
the glue that holds this town togethah, so you gotta loin the trade.”
We began to go our separate ways from the other boys of our group, each shouting our own versions of the boring headlines. As I handed an old man a paper from my shoulder, I heard Jack teaching Les about embellishing the headlines and saying anything to sell.
We stopped near a bakery and I set my papes down. They were getting heavy. I snatched Jack’s hat off his head and set it on the ground in front of me. Time to go to work.
“Good people of Manhattan,” I had several ladies’ attention, but it wasn’t enough. I pulled a large flower out of my sleeve and handed it to the closest girl. She blushed and there was some clapping. It wasn’t enough for me. I do like being in the spotlight. “Would youse like to see a trick?” Several kids nodded, pulling their mothers in my direction. I adjusted my grey cap to make sure it was secure and I pulled out a handkerchief.
“Young man, I cain’t do this trick myself. Would you lend poor James a hand?” I asked the closest kid to me. He nodded quickly and I winked at his mother, who looked nervous. “See this stone, kid?” I nudged a large chunk that was on the ground-maybe from building or poorly made streets. “I can make it…disappeah!” I threw the cloth over the rock and said the magic words. With a flourish, I whipped it off again and the rock was gone. “Now, boy, reach into ya pocket.” The kid did as I said and pulled out a pebble, one that fit perfectly in the center of his hand. His face split into a wide grin and he ran to his mom, showing her the pebble.
“Young lady, what’s that behind ya eah?” I reached behind another girl’s ear and pulled out a chocolate, which I placed into her clean, waiting hand. “Sir, pick a card!” I held the deck of cards I had grabbed from my pocket out to the gentleman in front of me. He picked a card from the fanned deck with a grimace. “Take a good look, your honnah, and then place it back in me deck.” He did so. I skillfully shuffled the deck and whistled. Hopefully, this would be a good haul today. After shuffling, I turned to an old man wearing a bowler hat and approached him. “Sir, would ya mind checkin’ your hat for me? I’m afraid I misplaiced one ‘o me cards.” He did so, with a small chuckle. His eyebrows raised as he pulled out a card. “Is ya card the…Queen of Hearts, sir?”
The snooty man nodded. The small audience clapped and I passed around Jack’s hat. It came back to me with several pennies, a dime, and a nickel. This particular crowd was generous. I pocketed the money and picked up my papes. I walked beck to where Jack and David stood by the shop. Les was grinning and trying to make his pirate sword disappear.
“Good show, sis. Ise not so sure the rat in the front enjoyed it, though.” Jack nudged Les, who was getting to close to the busy street.
“Yeah, well, I got around eighteen or nineteen cents already, Jacky, so we’se already off to a good start today.” I said. We started walking again. Jack led us as he continued to teach Les how to act. David looked like he had some problems with Jack, but I talked to him. “David, I know Jack may look like he’s real-um, what‘s the woid-irrepressible?”
“Irresponsible?”
“Yeah, that! Anyway, he may seem irresponsible, but he wouldn’ let anythin’ happen to Les. He took care ‘o me for nine years an’ look how I turned out!” David didn’t look that optimistic, but I clapped him on the back and smiled. Then I grabbed a paper, like my brother, and started selling as we walked toward Jack’s favorite selling spot. “Extra! Extra! Baby born with three heads! Brooklyn proud of it’s new citizen!” A women gave me a few pennies and I handed her the paper. I tipped my hat to her and said, “Thank ya, ma’am.”
Jack and I both sold several papers as we walked toward the boxing ring. David only sold two. The boy really didn’t understand that no one wanted to read about the trolley strike. Les seemed to be a natural. Jack was definitely right about him increasing our business.
About thirty minutes later, we arrived at the crowded ring. Men were shouting and cheering and the place stank of stale beer, cigar smoke, and sweat. This is were we usually sold the most papes. The four of us pushed through the crowded men and shouted headlines.
“Extra! Extra! Trolley strike drags on.” I could barely hear David over the cheering men.
“Extra! Extra! Ellis Island in flames! Big conflagration!” Jack’s voice carried and he quickly sold several newspapers to some drunk men.
“Extra! Extra! New disease causes baby to be born wi’ three heads! Your children could be next!” I collected the coins from several gentlemen and gave them their respected papers. David came up behind me.
“Where’s that story, James?”
“Thank you, sir. Page nine, Davy. Thousands sick!” I approached Jack when I saw his papers were almost gone. I gave him half my dwindling stack.
“Terrified flight of infoino! Thousands o’ lives at stake!” Jack called. I tossed one of my papes to a man at the top of the stands. He threw down a dime.
Jack noticed that Les was pushing his way through the crowd. “Hey, you start in the back like I told ya?” Les nodded. “K, show me again.”
Les coughed pathetically. “Buy me last pape, mistah?” I smiled. The kid was a natural!
“Tha’s heartbreakin‘, go get ‘em!” I said, smiling. Jack slapped him on the back and handed him another paper. David didn’t look to pleased.
“My father taught us not to lie,” he said.
“Yeah? Well, ours told us not to starve, so we all got an education,” replied Jack.
“You’re just making up things! All these headlines, they’re fake.”
“We don’t do nothin’. The guys write it, don’t they?” I asked.
“Anyway, it ain’t lyin’, it’s just improvin’ the truth a little.” Jack turned his attention back to the boxing match and I sat next to him. Neither of the fighters looked to good. The bell rang and round fifty-seven, or fifty-eight, began to cheers and boos from the crowd. I once again adjusted my cap.
“Guy gave me a quarter! Quick, give me some more of those papers.” I turned and saw that Les had come back. David leaned over to him.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait. You smell like beer,” he said to Les.
“Yeah, that’s how I got the quarter. Guy bet me I wouldn’t drink some.”
Jack and I laughed. “No drinkin’ on the job. It’s bad for business,” Jack said to the kid, smiling.
“Yeah,” I said. “What if someone called a cop on you?” David was squinting his eyes, trying to look at something across the ring. He gestured with the hand that held his papes.
“Is he a friend of yours?” David asked. Jack stood to see where he was pointing. He turned to me and grabbed my shoulder, a look of alarm was plastered on his face. I stood too and saw the one man who had almost ruined my life. It was Snyder!
“Beat it! It’s the bulls!” he cried, dragging me behind him as he jumped into the ring and quickly exited again. We pushed through the crowd and ran through an alley. David and Les were behind us. We darted across a street and I cried, “Hurry up, c’mon!”
Whistles blew behind us and Snyder bellowed and called out our names. “Sullivan!”
“Up this way.” Jack called, running up some stairs into a tall building. I stumbled on a stair and Jaack caught me. “I got you, I got you, Jaimy. C’mon, lets go.” We entered the building and ran up more stairs. There was a drunk man sleeping on the narrow staircase and I leapt over him as I followed closely behind Jack.
“Sleeper!” I called out to warn Les and David. We burst through the door to the roof and raced across it to the edge. Jack jumped off and shouted. I leapt after him and screamed as well. David and Les stopped and stared at the ledge, confused. I stuck my head up and waved my hand for them to join us. They ran to the side and jumped down the ramp and quietly crouched by us. I heard the door bang open and hurried footsteps.
“Sullivan! Wait till I get you boys back to The Refuge!” We had slipped out of Snyder’s dirty hands again, though narrowly. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and offered Jack a weak smile. He took my hand and helped me up. I hugged him quickly. We ran from the roof and sprinted down the sidewalk. We slowed when we came to Medda’s theatre.
“I’m not running any further.” David said, stopping Jack. Jack pushed past him, smoothed his hair, and entered the side door of the theatre. “I want some answers!” I slapped him on the back of the head and shushed him. The boy was real im-im-impatient? Yeah! Impatient! “Who is he, and why was he chasing you, and what is this Refuge?”
“The Refuge is this jail foah kids. The guy chasing us is Snyder, he’s the Warden.” Jack explained quietly and quickly.
“You guys were in jail?” Les asked in awe.
“Yeah.” I answered him.
“Why?” he asked.
“Well, me and my brudah were starving’, so we stole some food.” Jack said.
“Oh, right, food.” David said accusingly.
“Yeah, food, David,” I said. How could he not believe us?
“He called you Sullivan.” David stated this fact as he looked at me.
“Yeah, well, my names Kelly. Jack and James Kelly, think wese lie’n?” I asked him angrily.
“Well, you have a way of improving the truth. Why was he chasing you?”
“’Cuz we escaped,” said Jack.
“Whoa, how?” asked Les.
“Well, this bigshot gave us a ride out in his carriage,” I told him.
“I bet it was the mayor, right?” said David.
“No, Teddy Roosevelt. Evah hoid of him?” I asked. This kid was getting on my nerves.
“What’s going on down there? Out! Out! Out!” Medda descended the stairs toward us, waving her feathered fan and gesturing us out. She stopped when she recognized me and Jack.
“You wouldn’t kick me out without a kiss goodbye, wouldja, Medda?” he asked cockily.
“Ahh, Kelly!” She pulled us into a hug. “Where ya been, kids?” Medda was one of the few people that wasn’t a newsie that knew my secret. She really helped out when I needed girl time, advice, or when I needed to bath once and a while. “Oh, I miss seeing you two up in the balcony,” she said sadly.
“Hangin’ on your every woid,” Jack said as he kissed her hand. Jack, ever the ladies man. I pushed Jack into the wall, laughing, and led Medda down the stairs.
“So Medda, this is David and Les.” Jack rubbed his head and smiled good-naturdly at me.
“Hello.” Meddah said.
“And this is the greatest star vaudeville’s seen today. Miss Medda Larkson, the Swedish Meadow Lark.” I introduced her to the two boys.
“Welcome, gentlemen.”
“Medda also owns the joint,” said Jack, putting an arm around my shoulders.
Medda then took notice of the adorable Les. “What have we here? Oh, aren’t you the cutest little thing that ever was!” Medda tickled Les with her fan. I smiled and nudged Jack when I saw Les reach to get a paper. He coughed. “Are you alright?” Medda asked. He coughed again.
“Buy me last pape, lady?”
“Oh, you are good. Oh,” she nudged me, “This kid is really good.” She turned back to him. “Speaking as one professional to another, I think you got a great future.”
“So, is it alright if we stay awhile, Meddah? Just till a little problem outside goes away.” She nodded at me.
“Sure, sure, stay as long as you like. Toby, ah, just give my guests whatever they want.” I gave her another hug and smiled. She patted my head and went out to do her show. I grabbed a licorice whip from Toby and went to watch the show. Jack, David, and me went to the side of the stage as Medda began her song.
“My lovey-dovey baby…” Medda sang. It was one of my favorite songs. It always made Jack and I smile. “Come back my lovey-dovey baby, and kootchy-coo with me.”
We left toward the end of the show and stepped outside the theatre. Jack handed me a cigarette and then lit his own.
“Didja like that?” he asked David.
“Oh, I loved that. Loved it, it was great. She is beautiful. How do you know her?”
“She was a friend of our father’s,” I said as I hopped into a chair outside the theatre. “Les, wanna shine my shoes for me?” The three boys followed my lead and leaned against the chairs. Then David checked his watch.
“It’s getting pretty late. My parents will be worried. What about yours?”
“Oh, their out West lookin’ for a place to live,” said Jack. He pulled his favorite comic out from his back pocket. “See, that’s Santa Fe New Mexico. Soon as they find the right ranch, they’re gonna send for us.”
“Then you’ll be a real cowboy,” Les spoke tiredly.
“Yeah.” The conversation came to a sudden halt as we heard several crashes down the street. Yelling followed soon after. We ran down the sidewalk and saw a large fire and a big mob of protesters. We were in the middle of all the yelling.
“Jack, James, why don’t we go back to my place and divvy up? You can meet my folks.” I barely heard him. I was cheering on a protester who had a bull in a headlock.
“It’s the trolley strike, Davy! These couple o’ dumbasses must notta joined or somthin’!” I said, urging another protester to punch a cop. I winced as he was tackled.
“Jack, let’s get out of here.” My older brother nodded, grabbed me and Les, and led us away.
“This is great!” I called back. “We’re gonna get a headline tomorra!” Jack carried Les back to David’s house. When the door opened, I heard a woman ask, “Oh, my! What happened?”
“Nothing, ma, he’s just sleeping,” David reassured his mother. Another man whose arm was in a sling stood.
“We’ve been waiting dinner for you, where have you been?” Instead of answering, David handed his father a pape and and set the day’s earnings on the table. “You made all of this by selling newspapers?”
“Well, have of its Jack’s and James’s. These are our selling partners and friends.” David pulled us into the house and shut the door behind us. “Jack and James Kelly, my parents.” Mr. Jacobs reached a hand out to me and I shook it firmly, trying to seem like a boy.
“Um, that’s my sister, Sara.” The girl he pointed at looked up from where she sat in her chair. When I saw the look on her face, I knew Jack was doomed. I shot a glance at my brother and I saw that this girl, Sara, was doomed as well. I was witnessing love at first sight.
“Oh, and who is this young lady?” I snapped my head back to Mrs. Jacobs. She was looking at me.
“Uh, what?” I asked.
“What’s your name, dear?”
“Ma, that’s James. Jack’s brother,” David said.
Damn. She knew. “Oh, well. The jig is up,” I said aloud. I took my hat off and allowed my hair to fall around my shoulders. David’s jaw dropped. “Sorry, Davy. Me bein’ Jack’s brudah keeps me safe. I was gonna tell you tomorra.”
“So, wait, what?” he asked.
“I’m a girl. I’m Jack’s sistah. The name’s Jaimy.” I hope he wasn’t mad at me. His ma obviously knew right when I walked in. It looked like his dad had an idea as well. “Are ya mad?”
“N-no, it’s just, I mean, you know-”
“A shock? That’s what the othah boys said. Especially Blink. Hope it doesn’t change your perception of me.”
“Of course not!” said Mr. Jacobs. “I didn’t raise an imbecile as my son! He understands. Right David?” David nodded. “Esther, maybe David’s partners would like to join us for dinner. Why don’t you add a little more water to the soup.” Mrs. Jacobs nodded.
“So, from what I saw today, your boys are a couple of born newsies,” said Jack during dinner.
“Can I have a little more?” I asked Sara as she cleared my plate. She smiled.
“Of course.”
“So with our experience and their hard woik, I think we can peddle a thousand a week without even breakin’ a sweat,” I said.
“That many?” asked Mr. Jacobs.
“More when the headlines are good,” I said as Sara brought my soup. I thanked her again.
“So what makes a headline good?” she asked. I looked at Jack. He immediately jumped in.
“Ah, you know, catchy woids like, uh, maniac or corpse or, uh, love nest or nude.” I eyed Mrs. Jacobs’s eyebrows raise. I shot her a wink across the table. She nodded slightly. We both knew they’d end up together before the year was out.
“Sara, go get the cake your mother’s hiding in the cabinet.” Mr. Jacobs said. His wife hit him with her napkin.
“That’s for your birthday tomorrow.”
He laughed. “I’ve had enough birthdays. This is a celebration!”
“I’ll get the knife!” said David.
“I’ll get the plates!” said Sara.
“This is only the beginning, Poppa! The longer I work, the more money I’ll make.” David looked so excited.
“You’ll only work until I go back to the factory and then you are going back to school like you promised.” said Mr Jacobs. David’s expression saddened.
“Happy birthday, Poppa,” said Sara, kissing his cheek.
“Thank you. This is going to heal. They’ll give me back my job.”
The family cut and served the cake and we ate. It was delicious. After dinner, Jack and David went out to the fire escape. I talked to Sara. She was really a lovely girl. Soon, though, we had to leave and get back to the lodging house. I said good bye to Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs and Sara, placed my hat on my head-not bothering to tuck my hair up- and joined David and Jack on the fire escape.
“Your pa said it’s time to come in, Davy. Sorry I didn’t tell ya,” I said as I climbed out of the window.
“It’s not a problem. I know you’re just trying to stay safe.”
“Thanks.”
“See you tomorrow. Carrying the banner.” David said goodnight and climbed through the window. I leaned on the railing next to Jack. An old sadness crept it’s way into my heart as I remembered the way the Jacobs had been together. They obviously loved each other very much. I wordlessly followed Jack and we descended the stairs of the iron fire escape. I could tell Jack was sad, too.
“So that’s what they call a family. Mother, Daughter, Father, Son.” I sighed. He took my hand. “Guess that everythin’ ya heard about is true.”
“So we ain’t got any family. Well who said we needed one? Ain’t ya glad nobody’s waitin’ up for you?” Jack asked me sadly.
“When I dream, on my own, I’m alone but I ain’t lonely.” I gripped Jack’s hand tighter. “For a dreamer night’s the only time of day. When the city’s finally sleepin’ and my thought’s begin to stray, and I’m on the train that’s bound for Santa Fe.” I closed my mouth, suddenly very tired.
“And I’m free, like the wind. Like I’m gonna live forevah. It’s a feelin’ time can never take away!” Jack pulled me onto a passing cart with him. “All we needs a few more dollars, and we’re outta here to stay! Dreams come true, yes they do, in Santa Fe.”
We jumped off the wagon and walked through several alleys. I bitterly kicked some trash out of the way. “Where does it say we gotta live and die here?” I asked. “Where does it say a guy can’t catch a break?”
Jack answered with a question of his own. “Why should you only take what your given? Why should you spend your whole life livin’ trapped where there ain’t no future? Even at seventeen? Breakin’ your back for someone else’s sake!”
I spoke, as angry as he was at our work and lifestyle. “If the life don’t seem to suit ya, how bout a change of scene?? Far from the lousy headlines and the deadlines in between!” We both angrily stomped through the streets and kicked trash cans and caused silent mayhem. Running across streets and kicking up dirt, we stole a horse. I leapt onto it after Jack and he urged it forward.
“Santa Fe! Are you there? Do you sweah you won’t forget me?” asked Jack.
“If I found you would you let me come and stay?” I spoke to the air.
“We ain’t getting any younga, and before our diein’ day, we want space! Not just air!”
“Let ‘em laugh in my face, I don’t care!” I shouted, closing my eyes.
“Save a place. We’ll be there,” Jack said as he leapt off the horse and helped me down. “So that’s what they call a family. Ain’t ya glad we ain’t that way?” he asked as he put an arm around my shoulder and started walking to the house.
“Ain’t ya glad we got a dream called…Santa Fe?” I quieted as I saw Racetrack walking toward the lodging house.
“Hey, Race,” said Jack dully. “How was ya day at the track?”
“You now that hot tip I told ya about?”
“Yeah?” I said as I feigned interest.
“Nobody told the horse.”
As I got ready for bed that night, I remembered our dream-Santa Fe- and hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.
Longer chapter for you guys! Did you like it? Is Jaimy fitting in well inside the story? I promise Spot will come in soon, as well as some flashbacks! Thanks to my reviewers and subscribers!
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