The Disgraced Newsie( Tommy Boy Alternate)

CHAPTER VI

TOMMY BOY'S POV

Living on the streets wasn't any better than I thought. I knew it would be terrible, but I didn't think it would be that bad.

The streets were cold and unforgiving, and it was tough to find a decent meal around here, especially since I didn't have that much money on me, but it was still better being out here on the streets than staying in the lodging house. Besides, the alleyways weren't that bad to sleep in. Sure, sometimes it can be cold and wet, especially at night or if it is raining, but it was better than worrying every day that the others would beat me up.

But that wouldn't last forever because the next day, I heard someone calling my name while I was out in the open looking for something to eat in one of the trash cans. I quickly ducked into the nearest alleyway until I was more confident that the person was gone. I poked my head out of the alley, then saw that it was Jack looking for me. He seemed to be frantically looking for me and worried about something for some reason. He wasn't worried about me, was he? While he was one of the few people who showed me kindness since I betrayed them, it doesn't mean he would waste his time looking for me.

Unless Jack wanted to make me return to the lodging house. Why would he want to get me back to the lodging house? No one more than him knew how badly the others treated me, so why would he want to bring me back to that place? I would be much happier on the streets than ever in that lodging house. If he was looking at me, the others who also apparently cared about me might be looking at me, but I can't let him find me. I can't let anyone of them find me. It wouldn't end that well for me if I were brought back to that place.

JACK KELLY'S POV

How? How can it be this difficult to find Tommy? What if Harlem had already seen him? No, I know that Slingshot would have sent one of his newsies to personally send me the message that he captured Tommy or that he would have the news delivered to me by a letter, so I don't think that he found him yet. Regardless, Tommy made it clear that he didn't want to be seen. It was true that Tommy could have been anywhere in New York right now, but he wasn't stupid enough to step into other newsies' territories, so I knew that he was still in Manhattan.

But the question was where he was. Most of the boys lived on the streets by heart, but Tommy was a street rat. He knew every single alleyway and hiding spot that ever existed in Manhattan; some of those hiding spots and alleyways that I never even knew existed. I looked in most of the alleyways I knew but couldn't find him anywhere. This was impossible. I couldn't find this kid anywhere. How could Tommy have disappeared like that? Manhattan may have been one of the largest cities in New York, but it wasn't that large. Regardless, no matter what, I wasn't going to stop looking for him.

Unfortunately, it was nighttime, and there still weren't any signs of Tommy being around here, so reluctantly, I returned home to the lodging house. I knew that the others were already in their bedrooms because none of them wanted to know what would happen if I saw them inside their rooms. While I appreciated they were listening to me, I felt terrible because I never wanted any of them to be afraid of me. I feel like I overreacted, but most of the time, the punishment felt justified because none of them should have ever put their hands on Tommy like that, and now he is missing, and no one can find him because he felt unwanted and everyone hated him.

I climbed up the staircase to the penthouse, where Crutchie was already there and ready to go to sleep.

"Any luck?"

"No. I don't know where the kid could be. I have to give him credit; he is good at hiding."

"Probably because he doesn't want to be found."

"I know he doesn't, but I am not going just to let him stay on the streets, especially when Harlem is on the prowl."

"I know, but Tommy is a tough kid who can care for himself."

"True, but that doesn't mean I want him out by himself."

"Neither do the rest of us. Well, at least the ones who acted as if they cared about him."

"I am certain that the others still care about him, but they just let their anger get the best of him. Not that is an excuse in the slightest."

"I knew what you meant, Jack."

"To be honest, Crutch. This makes me wonder what would have happened to me if I didn't explain to everyone why I betrayed them at the rally. I am certain that I would have been treated worse, but it was clear that the others weren't fans of the ones deemed traitors. But it just doesn't make any sense. The others were more than willing to listen to me and let me explain what happened, but when it came to Tommy, no one would give him the chance to explain anything."

"I don't know, Jack. It is complicated."

"Isn't it? Anyways, I think it is time for us to head to bed. We have a long day ahead of us, and it wouldn't be wise to waste it by staying up this late."

"You don't have to tell me twice. Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight, Crutch." I laid down on my side of the penthouse, then went to sleep. I hoped that tomorrow I would be able to find Tommy and tell him to come home and let him explain his side of what happened during that scabs incident.