Awww everyone's favorite Racetrack is now two years old! Ray = 18; Jack = 9; Louis = 7 1/2; Mush = 7, Charlie = 6. A guide for everyone. Including me. Especially me. I'm not even gonna pretend that I'm on top of this. There may or may not be more variety in newsie names, here or in upcoming chapters. Anyway. Enjoy! :)
"How much did ya make today, Snoddy?"
"More than you I bet."
"Was that really necessary?"
"Yeah."
"You're both insufferable. You know that, right?"
Ah, yes. The beautiful sounds of newsies making pleasant conversation after a long day of selling. It's cold outside, so no one can blame them for their frosty attitudes towards each other.
"Why do they'se always expect us to sell in the cold when nobody want to be out in the cold?" Buttons grumbles. "They expect us to do this every year. We're doin' nothin' but the same old routine as last year, and will be until the next one."
"This ain't forever," Ray reminds them all. "Spring'll come soon enough."
"Well yeah, but summer stinks and winter's always waitin'," Smoke says. "Buttons is right. It's a never ending cycle."
"Ya need to spend it right, though," Sheeny points out optimistically. "Or spend the money right." And on the table he dumps out a nice collection of coins. As newsies gather around to see his pay for the day, there are a couple of "wow's" and whistles and such.
"How'd ya get all that?"
"Gamblin'."
Snoddy snorts. "Here?"
Sheeny shakes his head vigorously. "Oh, no. You need to go to Sheepshead Races. That's where all the big races are."
"Races?" Charlie questions, resting his arms on the table.
"Horse races," Sheeny says. "ya see, Charlie, a bunch of horses will run in a race together. People try to guess what horse will win. So they bet on the horse. If the horse wins, you get money for it." He grins. "And I got lucky today."
"What's it like at the races?" Charlie questions.
"Loud," Sheeny tells him. "There are lots of people. Lotsa rich folk, ya know? If ya know who to bet with, and what horse to bet on, then you'se alright. This is a good horde, ain't it?" he gestures around at his pile. "If only it was for certain what horses'll be good each day."
"And Sheepshead's a long way to go each day," Snoddy points out. "Ya don't want to do that every day."
Sheeny shakes his head. "Not every day."
"How far away is it?" Charlie asks, just happy that the big kids have included him in their conversation for so long.
Sheeny stretches his arms out all the way. "Far. It's all the way in Brooklyn."
A lot of murmuring happens once Brooklyn is mentioned, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Charlie.
"What's up with Brooklyn?" Charlie looks around at all of them.
"They'se the toughest borough ever," Buttons tells him. "The newsies there? They ain't like us."
"They'se really ripped," Henry adds, and flexes his arms, demonstrating--without any muscle to show for it.
"And scary!" Snoddy grabs Charlie's shoulders.
"Now, now," Ray calls across the room. "Surely not all the Brooklyn newsies fit that caricature, now do they?"
YOU ARE READING
I'll Always Look Out For You
Fanfiction15 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...
