Newsies everlasting

Chapter 7

Sunlight streamed through the windows as Winnie slowly began to wake up. She reached over to Jesse, only to realise he had already left. The clock on the wall read 11:30 - winnie had never dreamed of sleeping in so late back at home! Gradually, she sat up, rubbing her eyes which were heavy with fatigue. Jesse's crutch was missing from the corner of the room, and in its place he had left a note.

Sorry I had to leave early, I had to get to the circulation gate by seven. I didn't want to wake you. If I don't see you while I'm working, just know I'll be finished at around four, but you'll easily be able to find me selling papes somewhere. Crutchie x

She understood, of course, if he wasn't out selling newspapers the other boys would be worried. Still, she wished she could have seen him before he left.
Winnie made her way to the bathroom, and evaluated the state of her face and hair in the mirror, sighing at the nots in her hair. After brushing her teeth and splashing water on her face, she tried to tame the mess with a hairbrush, and almost instantly went to construct the tight up do she was so used to. She then remembered that her mother wasn't around to criticise her anymore, and decided to simply pull it back into one, long braid.

Once she had dressed herself, deciding on a delicate, pale blue summer dress and a light cream blouse to go under it, she called out to Medda that she going to explore the city.

"Okay, child, you have fun now," her aunt replied in her usual jovial tone, "make sure you say hi to the newsies for me!"

Winnie braced herself once again for noisy city, as she half ran out of the door in excitement. Instantly she had been transported into a land of chaos, movement, and most importantly, adventure! At once, she recognised the various calls of the newsies she had met the day before, and enjoyed actually seeing them in practice. Though they all held copies of the same paper, each of them were yelling different headlines, making up various tales of fires, explosions and murders, grabbing the attention of passers by.

"SERIAL KILLER RUNNIN' WILD"

"FIRE WIPES OUT ENTIRE CITY"

"KID THROWN OFF BROOKLYN BRIDGE"

"WAR FEARED VERY SOON"

Winnie giggled out how gullible the public were as they snapped up papers, only to realise that the only news was that the temperature had raised a little in the last three days.

"RESTAURANT POISONS CUSTOMERS"

Now that was a voice she recognised- Jesse. She turned around to find him limping about, calling headlines, as a group of school girls gathered around him and pitied his crutch, each of them producing coins to by a paper. She could see a spark of joy in Jesse's eyes as he managed to sell seven papers in one go, however it was quickly replaced by a hint of frustration as the girls wouldn't leave him alone. He managed to mask his annoyance with his signature 'smile that spread like butter', but Winnie easily recognised his feelings and laughed to herself. Although she had no right to be jealous, she enjoyed watching him try to break through the crowd of girls, but they wouldn't let him escape. Suddenly, he noticed Winnie, and raised his eyebrows as a plea for help. She nodded back and marched over to the group, much to Jesse's relief.

"Hey, will you girls leave my boyfriend alone, he's working!" She yelled,  pushing her way through them, pretending to be Jesse girlfriend. He gave her a look as if to say "seriously, that's the best you could come up with", as she just shrugged in response, the pair of them trying to conceal their laughter. Sighing with frustration, the group finally left, throwing evil looks back at Winnie who just smiled and waved back sarcastically.

"Hey thanks," Jesse smiled, as they finally broke down into a fit of giggles.
"Any time! Does that happen often?" Winnie asked, nodding over to the girls before they disappeared around a corner.
"Sometimes. Ladies love the crutch, apparently," He laughed, "but at least it means I sell more papes."
"Aren't you tired" She asked, confused how he hadn't collapsed yet after practically no sleep.
"Eh, just a bit," he shrugged, "but I'm used to it. On another note, ya should have heard the boys when I returned this mornin'! They were all like oh my god crutchie we thought ya were dead and were ya kidnapped or something. Luckily none of them thought I was with ya. Well, actually, I'm not sure about jack. He didn't say anything at all, and usually he has a lot to say. I reckon he's worked something out, but I'll have to talk to him tonight. Oh, and Morris has apparently left town this mornin, but no one knows that Oscar ain't with him."

"That's a relief at least" Winnie sighed, remembering the night before. It was crucial no one knew Jesse secret, "what are you going to tell jack?"
"I'm not sure yet" he admitted, staring at the floor as he considered his options, "he can read me like a book, so he'll see right through any story I come up with."
"Look, you can just use me as a back up plan" Winnie suggested, "just say you were visiting an old childhood friend, you wouldn't be lying at least."
"What, at four in the mornin? Ya know what he'll think if I said that." He had a point. It did sound suspicious if Jack found out Crutchie had gone to visit a girl randomly in the middle of the night, even if nothing did happen.
"True. But hey, if that's what it comes to, let him think that. As long as he doesn't know about Oscar. And, hey, when his body does get found, at least you'll have an alibi."
"Ha, some alibi" he smirked, as Winnie hit him with a newspaper. He both dissolved into laughter again.
"Oh god, ya don't know how much how much I've missed ya, Winnie," he smiled, grateful that he had been reunited with his childhood friend. Maybe the world didn't hate him as much as he thought. Talking of "the world", Jesse had papes to sell.
"Hey, wanna tag along while I sell these?" He asked, remembering he had work to do.
"Sure," Winnie shrugged, before watching Jesse step back out into the street as Crutchie, yelling headlines into the streets of New York.

Hours passed, as Winnie received her very own personal tour of the city. She watched in awe as Jesse sold his last paper, hours before the other boys.
"What can I say?" He joked as Race groaned, comparing his remaining stack of papers to Crutchie's empty bag, "people feel sorry for the disabled kid."
"It ain't fair! I wish my leg was busted too" Race grumbled.
"Trust me, ya don't! At least ya can actually walk and run and stuff" though Jesse was smiling, Winnie detected the sadness in his words, and quickly tried to change the subject.
"Hey, do you guys know anywhere good to eat?"
"Yep, just the place!" Finch exclaimed.
"Follow us" yelled Elmer, as he ran off with the other five boys that had joined them.

Winnie turned to Jesse, and gave him a quick hug, before squeezing his hand and dragging him to follow the others.