Taking place pretty much right after Stargazer left. There's gonna be a lot of familiar names, and a lot of unfamiliar names. I've found names of real life newsies and am using them here. Anyway. Enjoy! :)
"This is Antonio," Ray tells the crowd of newsies around him. "He's a year and a half. He'll be livin' with us now."
"But why?" a kid going by Itey asks. "He ain't old enough to sell papes."
"Unless ya carry him around to get people to feel sorry for ya," another kid points out.
"Who is gonna be the sorry feller who has to look out for him all day?" a teen named Morris asks.
"Kloppman will look after him while we're all out sellin'," Ray explains. "There's gonna have to be some shared responsibilities for looking out for him. For the most part, though, I'll do it."
When Jack, Louis, Mush, and Charlie, the four youngest kids in the lodging house, went and told everyone that there was an 18-month-old kid staying with them, no one believed them. When they all learned that they were telling the truth, though, that's where opinions differed. Most, especially the older ones, are very skeptical.
"How does one take care of a child this age, anyway?" Snoddy asks.
"Care, food, and plenty of naps," Ray responds smoothly. That gets a couple of newsies to chuckle, while others who wanted a more realistic answer roll their eyes. Ray shoots them a glance to reassure them that their questions will be answered in time.
"I'm not surprised you were the one who wanted to take him in," Buttons comments. "Between your love of kids and your love of Stargazer-"
"Alright, that's enough," Ray cuts him off firmly. He knows Buttons doesn't mean anything by that. He just ... doesn't like hearing it out loud. He's too used to the outside world not accepting that latter form of love. He relaxes his shoulders and focuses on the first part. Your love of kids. It's true. He loves kids. He was the one to convince Kloppman to let Jack stay with them when he was almost seven, and Charlie when he barely five, and Louis and Mush when they were six. A lot of people lose hope in kids once they've reached thirteen. Not Ray. To him, kids are a joy. If Ray could, he would take in every young kid he saw on the street, give them a better life inside the lodging house rather than out.
"Why did Stargazer have a kid with him anyway?" Morris asks.
"That's not the important part. The important part is that Antonio has no one more to look after him, so it's up to us now."
Jack tunes out the chatter. The newsies asking Ray questions, Louis and Mush on the floor whispering in each other's ears, Charlie informing the newsies all he knows about Antonio, all of it. Jack takes a few moments to think to himself as he strokes Antonio's tiny hand. You'll have to be his older brother, Jack. The thought excites him. Both Ray and Stargazer believe in him to be Antonio's older brother. Both of them. He looks up to both of them. A lot. And he's the only one they've told that to. They trust him. They know that he'll look out for Antonio in ways that most won't ever bother to. He puffs out his chest a little.
Suddenly, Antonio's itty bitty fingers wrap around Jack's fingers. Sure, he's surprised, but he glows on the inside. Antonio chose him.
Ray notices this. "He's really taken to you, hasn't he, Jack?"
Jack's heart warms even more as he nods happily.
"How in the world has he stayed silent this whole time?" Smoke asks.
Ray shrugs. "He must be tired. Good for us, though."
A lot of heads nod in agreement.
"Antonio is officially going to be the youngest newsie of all time," Morris says.
"Yeah, yeah he is," Ray smiles. "And because of that, he's special already. Who knows just what he'll bring to the world when he's older?"
And so they all take one real good look at Antonio before heading off to bed.
Antonio Higgins, who is peacefully slumbering, unaware of what all think of him, that he'll have a very unique future ahead of him, that he is the youngest newsie in the history of the Manhattan newsies.
I hope that wasn't that bad. I hope I'm wise and choose to revise a lot before hitting the publish button. And I did. My only regret now is that this hasn't even reach 1000 words yet. But hey at least I'm learning to revise BEFORE publishing! haha
I found names like Itey, Snoddy, Morris, and Smoke to use as newsies. And of course, one can get creative when needing a nickname haha. Except for the most part, I didn't here. The reason why I wanted to use real names is, for one, historical accuracy, and a nod to that these people existed, and for another, I need names of newsies that could have been around in 1885 that probably wouldn't be newsies still in 1899, like Bumlets or Skittery or Boots and such. Yeah, I know I already have Jack and Louis/Kid Blink and Mush and Charlie/Crutchy, but they're an essential part of the story from the beginning.
I feel like Ray would listen to Every Child A Promise by Robi Kahakalau. She, like Ray and I, love kids, and sees the joy and spark in them. It's a good song. And Sistah Robi is an actual goddess, I'm telling you.
This is definitely on the shorter side. Not that that's a bad thing. NOW it's 1000 words!
I feel like I'm being repetitive in some way but I don't know what I'm repeating haha.
Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section at all times.
Best,
~Your Beloved Author (who wants you all to listen to Reggae Calling sung by Robi Kahakalau--or just anything sung/written by Robi Kahakalau)
VOCÊ ESTÁ LENDO
I'll Always Look Out For You
Fanfic15 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...
