Piper of Manhattan (Spot Conlon Love Story)

CHAPTER 4-STRIKE!

Piper's POV:

The next morning I woke up before everyone else and got dressed in my and walked downstairs and sat on the front counter, waiting for the others, mainly Jack, I needed to talk to him about what I should do about Santa Fe and Crutchy.

Jack was the last one downstairs and out the door.

" 'ey Pipes," Jack greeted.

"Jack, Ise needs to talk to youse," I told him, walking to the distribution center beside him.

"Why? What's eatin' youse?" He asked.

"I-" I was cut off by a bunch of angry shouting from the distribution center.

"Whats goin' on?" I wondered as Jack and I started running to the distribution center.

I ran into the distribution center to see no one buying their papes.

"Blink, what's happenin'?" I asked Kid Blink.

"They jacked up the price!" Kid Blink exclaimed, "You hear that Jack? Ten cents a hundred! You know, it's bad enough that we gotta eat what we don't sell, now they jack up the price! Can you believe that?"

"This'll bust me, I'm barely making a living right now," Skittery complained.

"I'll be back sleeping on the streets," Boots said miserably.

"It don't make no sense," Mush said to Jack, "I mean, all the money Pulitzer's making, why would he gouge us?"

"Because he's a tight wad, that's why!" Racetrack yelled.

"Pipe down, it's just a gag," Jack told them, but I wasn't too sure.

I marched up to the counter and slammed my hand down.

"So, why the jack up Weasel?" I demanded.

"Why not?" Weasel replied, licking his finger and putting it in the air. "It's a nice day. Why don'tcha ask Mr. Pulitzer?"

I huffed in annoyance and walked off, sitting on the steps.

"They can't do this to me Jack," Blink said sadly.

"They can do whatever they want. It's their stinkin' paper," Race replied.

"It ain't fair. We got no rights at all," Boots told me.

"Come on, it's a rigged deck. They got all the marbles," Race said.

"Jack, Piper, we got no choice, so why don't we get our lousy papes while they still got some, huh?" Mush reasoned.

"No!" I exclaimed.

"Nobody's going anywhere," Jack added.

"They can't get away with this!" I yelled.

Jack sat beside me on the stairs and the boys began crowding us.

"Give them some room, give them some room," Les said, pushing his way towards Jack and I, "Let them think."

I smiled at Les and then went back to thinking up a plan.

"You done thinkin' yet?" Race asked impatiently.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! World employees only on this side of the gate!" Weasel yelled, causing us all to yell back at him.

"Well, listen. One thing for sure, if we don't sell papes, then nobody sells papes," Jack said. "Nobody comes through those gates until they put the price back to where it was."

"What like a strike?" David asked.

"Yeah, like a strike!" Jack exclaimed.

"Are you outta your mind?" Race asked.