Brooklyn's Queen: A Spot Conlon Love Story

Chapter 7: Spot Conlon

Jack, David, Boots, and I all walk towards Brooklyn. We come up to the Brooklyn bridge. 

"I've never been to Brooklyn, have you?" David asks. 

"Really?" I hear Jack say.

"Don't worry Davey, I've never been either." I look at Jack, as I was blaming him.

"Oh hey, don't go blaming me. Blame Spot for being the guy he is." 

"Spent a month there one night." Boots tells us. 

Jack hits David arms, "Watch this."

Jack, Boots, and I scream over the side of the railing. Our screams echoed to the water below us. We all laugh and continue to walk on. 

David pips up, and says, "So, is this Spot Conlon really dangerous?"

Jack and Boots laugh. They continue to walk on. David and I look at each other and shrug our shoulders. We both haven't met him, so we can't say anything.

We come up to a dock, and we see boys jumping off the side into the water. They laugh and splash water at each other. Before we step onto the dock, Jack stops me and pulls me aside.

"Now, Finley, listen to me." Wow, he used my full name. He never does that unless he is serious. "I have not heard such great things about this Spot Conlon and goils. So, you gonna keep your hair hidden and keep your voice low." He starts to push any extra hairs inside my newsie cap. 

"Alright, alright." I say, helping him. My hair is not that easy to keep in one spot. "Jack, what do you mean you haven't heard such great things with him and goils?"

"I mean, he has just been with lots of goils, and I don't want me little sista bein' one of them to be played with her heart. I jus' care 'bout you Finn." 

I hug him, and we regroup with David and Boots. We step onto the dock. We walk past many kids. One of them pulls himself up onto the dock. He steps in front of us, and says, "Goin' somewhere Kelly?" 

Jack just pushes past him and continues on walking. All the boys have now stopped their activities and were watching us. I looked around and all of them stared us down, like we were strangers from a different planet, not welcome here on Earth. We come up to a pile of crates and boxes. I look up and find a boy standing on top of all of them.

"Well if it ain't Jack be nimble, Jack be quick." The boy said. He looked at Jack. 

"See you're movin' up in the world, Spot." That was him, that was Spot Conlon. "You's got an ocean view and everything." 

Spot climbed down the boxes to greet Jack. The boys spit shake. Spot then turned to see his Brooklyn followers were all watchin' us.

"Backs to work." He said to them, and they obeyed. 

I came up next to Jack, trying to get a closer look at Spot to see if he was the one from last night. Jack throw his arm around me and puts in on my shoulder. In this motion, he knocks off my cap. I try quickly to bend down and pick it up, but it's no use. My long hair flows out of my cap and in front of my face. I grab my cap and just hold it in my hands. Jack is surprised, and realized that there was nothing he can do to hide it now. 

"Who's the goil?" Spot asks, looking at me.

Jack sighs, "Tis me little-" 

"I can speaks for me self." I interrupt him. "I'm Finn Kelly, Jack's little sista." Yes, Spot is definitely the guy from last night. Those eyes were the same icey blue I saw in the darkness last night.

Spot and I spit shake and he looks at my eyes. He looks intently for a second, and then smiles and takes a step back, leaning against the crates behind him. 

"Wait a second, you's the boy from last night, aren't cha?" He looks at me and chuckles. "I would recognize those beautiful green eyes anywhere, and the red hair of course."

I smile, and say, "You caught meh." 

Jack crosses his arms, "Uh, you two know each other?" He does not look happy.

"Yeahs, your little sista was out and about last night when she and I ran into each other. Though I did think she's was a guy." He winks at me. "But, your skinny arms made me think twice."

Jack stares me down, and as he was mentally saying 'how dare you not tell me I ran into him last night'. I shrug my shoulders. Honestly, I didn't know it was a big deal, and I didn't even know it was Spot. 

Spot looks over to find Boots sitting on one of the boxes. "Heya Boots, hows it rollin'.?" 

Boots jumps off the box, and hands Spot come marbles, "I gotta couple of real good shootas here." He holds out his hand and Spot takes them.

"So uh, Jackie boy, I'm hearing things from little birdies." Spot loads one of the marbles Boots gave him into his sling shot, and starts to aim. "In Harlem, and Queens, and all over."

Spot shots the marble and David ducks as if he was aiming to hit him. It goes up and hits a glass bottle. "They're chirpin', in my ear, Jackie boys newsies playin' like they's goin' on strike."

"Yeah well we are." Jack blurts out instantly.

"We ain't playin', we are goin' on strike." I step in and say.

Spot gets really close to my face. I can feel his breath on my face, just like last night. It makes me shiver. "Oh yeah, yeah." 

David then speaks up, "Yeah, we aren't playin'! We are goin' on strike, and we are a union. We are taking our demands to Pulitzer-" 

Spot stops him, "What is this Jackie boy, some kind of walking mouth?" He points to David. 

Jack puts his arm around Davey. "Yeah it's a mouth, a mouth with a brain, and if you's got half of one you'll listen to what he's got to say." Jack now walks away and sits on one of the crates.

Spot Conlon also sits, throwing his head up, then down, giving David a stare like he's listening. I focus on his eyes. Every time they get me. Everything about him... 

David begins to speak. "Uh, we started the strike but, we can't do it alone, so... we've been talkin' to Newsies all over the city..."

"Yeah, so they told me. And what did they tell you?" Spot asks.

"That they're all waiting to see what Spot Conlon does. That you're the key, that Spot Conlon is the most respected and famous newsie in New York and probably everywhere else. And, if Spot Conlon joins the strike, they'll join, and we'll be unstoppable! So, you gotta join, and, well, you gotta!" 

Spot scoffs, and nods at Jack. "Well you right Jack, brains." He stands up and his cane hits the ground. "Well I gots brains too, and more than just half of one. How do I know you punks won't run the first time some goon comes atcha with a club? How do I know you's got what it takes to win?" He points his cane at David. 

"Cause I'm tellin' ya Spot." Jack says. Spot looks at him up and down.

"That ain't good enough Jackie boy." Spot turns around to walk away. "You gotta show me."

He takes a look at all of us, stopping at me for a longer amount of time than the others. "Make sure you's get your red hair inside that cap doll face." He points his cane at me. "I'd hate to see anythin' happen to ya." He turns back on his heels, and walks behind the boxes and crates. Two bigger guys follow him. I sigh, and we all start to head back to the lodging house. 

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Yayy And Spot is offically in the story