They were back in the lobby, waiting for the elevator when Davey finally managed to speak up. “Jack? What happened back there?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion as he looked at his friend. He had never seen his friend act like that before. Normally, Jack Kelly was one of the most confident people he knew. What changed?
Jack pressed the up button and entered the elevator, seeming to ignore the question at first. But, after Davey entered and the door closed, he answered the question with one of his own. “Did you see the girl sitting there on the couch in the corner? The one in the plaid skirt?”
“The one you were staring at so intently? Yeah, I think everyone noticed the two of you staring at each other,” Davey admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “What about her?”
Jack sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. “She was at the cemetery when we were at...at Crutchie’s funeral.”
“Really?” Davey inquired as the door opened on their floor. The two of them strolled out of the elevator and down the brightly lit hallway towards their dorm. “I feel like I would have seen her, especially if you were looking the way you just did.”
“No, ya wouldn’t have,” Jack commented, “because you and the other guys left by the time she showed up. It was just me and Medda there.” He pulled out his key and unlocked the door when they arrived, only to find Les still hanging out on the floor, flipping through a spiral-bound notebook.
Davey was clearly a little surprised, especially considering the fact that his parents were nowhere in sight. As he entered the room, he crossed his arms and looked down at his little brother. “Les, what are you still doing here?”
“Mom said I could stay and wait for you if I didn’t leave the room,” the nine-year-old explained. “So, I sat down right here and waited.”
Jack stepped inside and closed the door behind him. It was only when he turned around that he realized what Les was holding. It was his most recently-used sketchbook He had been dumb enough to leave it on his desk, out in the open for curious people like Les to look through. “Whaddya doin’ with that? Give it here, Les,” he commanded, holding out his hand to take the book from him.
The little boy shrugged. “I saw it lying on your desk,” he started, “and I was curious. You know, you’re even better at sketching than I remember.”
Jack snatched the book back. “Thanks, but that doesn’t mean you should be snoopin’ in my stuff, okay?” He glanced down at the page the book was open to. Of course it was the picture of the mystery girl.
Les ignored Jack’s comment, mainly because he didn’t feel like acknowledging it. “So, who’s that girl you drew? Is she your girlfriend?”
“I ain’t got a girlfriend, Les, or you and the other guys woulda met her by now.” Jack’s eyes traced the lines he had sketched the night before, the ones that perfectly captured the mystery girl’s appearance. Although it was probably one of his most lifelike sketches to date, this was partially making him feel like he never wanted to sketch people again. Then again, looking at the picture, he wasn’t sure.
“Then who is she?” Les asked, with the curiosity only a child could have these days.
Davey sat down on his bed and leaned back against the wall behind him. “A girl who lives in the building. She was down in one of the common areas today.”
“How about we just drop this?” Jack snapped out of his mini trance and closed the sketchbook with a soft thud. As he sat down on his own bed, he set the book aside, but with a wordless glance at Les, he warned him not to go near it again.
YOU ARE READING
Those You've Known (Newsies)
Fanfiction"Those you've known and lost still walk behind you. All alone, they linger 'till they find you." Jack Kelly has been surrounded by death for most of his life. But after dealing with the death of someone he considers a brother, he is struggling to ho...
