The World Will Know (Newsies)

12: The Bottom Line

As Rebecca and Davey returned from Brooklyn, the young woman turned to look over at her companion. "Hey, it's been a long day. I'm gonna head back home, get some sleep before the big day tomorrow," she stated as a slight yawn escaped her lips. It had truly been a long day, and after all the climbing and running around the city, she was ready for a trip into dreamland.

"Oh, okay. Should I walk you home?" Davey offered, ever the gentleman.

She shook her head. "No, you should go talk to Les, try to get him back on your side and all that. You said you needed to do that eventually. I'll see you tomorrow at the rally, okay?" When Davey nodded, they exchanged quick farewells and went their separate ways.

As Rebecca walked home, though, she made the mistake of passing by the lodging house on the way home. It was the shortest way home, so it made sense for her to go that way if she really wanted to get some sleep, but it opened the possibility for her to run into another person.

And run into another person she did. Right outside the building, she almost ran straight into Jack. She managed to stop herself right before they would have collided, but Jack hardly seemed to notice. As Rebecca quickly steadied herself, he turned to face her. "Oh, you're here. You can come with me. I'm goin' to see Joe and invite 'im to the rally. Could use a hand," he told her. In all honesty, he had already attempted to invite Katherine to join him back at Medda's, but she had told him that she had something to do.

Initially, Rebecca hesitated. After all, she had decided not to spend time with Davey in order to get some sleep. But, then again, she had seen how Jack was this morning. Maybe it was better for her to go along with him for some emotional support.

Then again, maybe it wasn't the best idea. Jack didn't know the truth about any of the girls. He didn't know who Katherine really was, or who she and her sister were. But Pulitzer did. He knew who she was, and he could recognize her if he got a good look at her. So, she just had to make sure he didn't get the chance to make the connection. "Okay, I'll come with you. But I'll meet you at The World, okay?"

"Why can't you just come with me right now?" Jack asked, a hint of confusion on his face.

"I have my reasons. I'll be there in five, ten minutes at the most. But I'll be there, okay?" Rebecca didn't give him a chance to stop her, because as soon as the last word left her lips, she hurried down the street towards her house.

As she ran, her mind was racing. She was honestly pretty worried. Since Elizabeth had been taken away the day before, she hadn't talked with her parents that much. All she did was relay the story that she was staying at Katherine's, but that wasn't going to last long. Sooner or later, her parents would start to wonder why one of their daughters wasn't around. How long could she keep up the lie? And, how would they react when they found out that one of their little girls was now residing at the Refuge?

And then there was the situation with Pulitzer. The man knew her pretty well, due to her friendship with his daughter. The twins had known Katherine since they were little girls, which meant that Pulitzer had known her at a young age too. He had seen her growing up, and he would recognize her face in an instant. So, she had to avoid looking at him directly for sure. The safest bet would be to dress as a boy to avoid the identification. If she was identified, it would lead to an interesting conversation with the newsies afterwards, and she wasn't sure she was ready to have that conversation in the first place.

So, when she arrived home, she headed straight up to her room to change out of Elizabeth's dress. As soon as she was safe inside her room, she quickly changed out of her dress and into her shirt and pants, a small smile forming on her lips the entire time. Although she was nervous, the thrill of wearing her favorite outfit helped to ease her worry. After tying her shoes, she grabbed a hat off her dresser. She had stolen it from her brother's room this time, instead of the random stranger that lived in Katherine's building. Once her hair was tied up into a bun, she rested the hat atop her head and slipped out the door.