The Disgraced Newsie( Tommy Boy Alternate)

CHAPTER XIV

TOMMY BOY'S POV

The following day, I noticed that Jack and Crutchie weren't on the rooftop anymore, so I assumed that no one was in the lodging house because they were busy selling their newspapers. However, the last time I believed that there was no one in the lodging house, Finch turned out to have come home earlier than usual and shoved me down the stairs. I would not allow that to happen a second time. Hesitantly assuming I was alone in the lodging house, I walked downstairs and wandered into the dining room.

Unsurprisingly, I wasn't alone in the lodging house. I expected at least one of the boys to stay behind, but usually, they would hang out in their rooms, not in the dining room; regardless, I walked hesitantly into the room. Shockingly, there was more than one person in the dining room; however, this time, the group did not include Finch or the others who still had issues with me. This time, it was Jojo, Racetrack, and Specs. What were they doing here? Shouldn't they be selling their newspapers right now?

"What is going on here, guys?" I questioned all of them with genuine curiosity. I did not feel hostility toward any of them, as they never treated me as severely as the others. Well, Specs never mistreated me and often helped me out, while Race and Jojo stood on the sidelines for most of the time. Regardless, I felt that there was no reason for me to express resentment toward them. When the others knew of my presence, Jojo instantly ran over to me, hugged me, almost causing me to fall backward, and profusely apologized.

"Tommy, I am so sorry! I should have defended you in some shape or form! I am so sorry. Please, never leave again!"

"Wait, Jojo. Calm down! It is not your fault that I betrayed everyone. Besides, I deserved it anyway, and I had worse days than that."

"No, you didn't. You never deserved it," Specs voiced his opinion.

"Many people will disagree with that statement, and it is not like there is anything I can do to stop them from thinking that way about me. Anyway, is there a reason that you guys stayed behind? I assumed there would have been at least one person that would have stayed behind, but not all of you guys, so what is the problem?"

"We stayed behind for you. Listen, Tommy, I am genuinely sorry I never stood up for you or stepped in to help that much."

"Yeah, me too."

"Don't worry about it. Race, I understand that you would have lost so much trust with the other boys if you had ever defended me, and since you are next in line to become the leader of Manhattan, so you had so much at sake. And Jojo, you are the same age as me, so no one would have ever paid attention to you or would have treated you the same way as me if you had ever defended me."

"But that is not an excuse, Tommy. It is never a good excuse. Specs never cared if the others mistreated him, nor did Jack or Crutchie."

"Look, whether or not we agree that it is a good excuse; it doesn't matter. I forgive you two."

"You do?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Thank you! Thank you so much," Jojo happily exclaimed as he hugged me tighter.

"Thanks, Tommy."

"No problem. Anyway, I came down from the rooftop for breakfast, and I have no intention of leaving until I have some. Well, until the other boys come home earlier than usual, so if you don't mind, I would like to eat as much as possible while I still can."

"You still don't want to talk to any of them?"

"Of course not! Why should I?! The others don't deserve any forgiveness from me!"

"No, there is no issue with that. Whatever you want to do is fine by me. I just wanted to know what your plan was with the others."

"Well, now you know. Anyway, I think it is time to eat something before losing my only chance. I guess I will talk to you guys later."

RACETRACK HIGGINS' POV

While I appreciate Tommy forgiving Jojo and me, when he basically said that he would not give the others a second chance at redemption, it made me feel bad for the other boys. Still, at the same time, they deserved it because all of them mistreated them in the worst ways possible. Of course, that doesn't excuse me for how badly I treated him because by not doing anything to help Tommy, I contributed to the mistreatment.

However, Tommy could always change his mind. It is not like he can avoid the other boys forever. After all, as far as we know, Tommy is not planning on running away from the lodging house anytime soon, especially since the Harlem newsies could always try to kidnap him again. Eventually, he will have to confront all of them, especially Finch. But at the same time, Tommy has every right not to speak with any of them. At the end of the day, Tommy can do whatever he wants, which is in his right. I guess that we will have to see how the other boys will react to Tommy ignoring them, just like how all of them ignored him.