Blitz: A Newsies Story

Chapter 7: King of New York

((Hey fansies! Sorry it's been soooo long since I updated. It was some serious guilt tripping from @laurodinsra that convinced me I should probably update... XD Have faith though; I just wrote multiple chapters for you guys, and I will post them one by one as I edit them, so there shouldn't be any more super long waits on this one! Yay! Enjoy the new chapter! Comment and vote if you like it, I love hearing all of your feedback! Enjoy! -Wolf))

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Chapter 7: King of New York

The next day, the 'Hattan newsies and the Brooklyn newsies gathered at Tibby's to discuss the strike. By now, I had managed to remember just about all of the Brooklyn newsies' names, and I had been introduced to the rest of the 'Hattan newsies.

I was currently sitting at a table with Spot, Ace, Dodger, Specs, and Skittery. Jack, Davey, Les, and Mush were at the table beside ours, and next to theirs was a table occupied by Race, Bumlets, Boots, Kid Blink, and Snipeshooter.

"Hey fellas! Did ya see it?" Denton came bursting in, indicating the pape in his hand. He brandished the pape at Jack, walking up to the table to show him. I got up from the table and headed over, peering at the pape over Jack's shoulder, Spot right behind me. Soon, all of the newsies had gathered around.

"Ey, where's me pitchah?" Spot demanded, leaning over me in an attempt to see the picture on the front page of the pape. "Where's me pitchah?" I elbowed him in the ribs, and we exchanged a grin.

"Them woids there, they all about us?" Boots questioned, pointing at the words beneath the picture of all of us. I nodded at Boots.

"Ey, look Jack!" said Kid Blink, poking Jack's face in the picture. "You look like a general or somethin'!"

"Would ya get ya fingers off a my face?" Jack muttered, brushing Blink's hand away.

"Where's it say my name?" Spot then asked, leaning around me again. I shoved him away, but he resumed his searching a moment later. "Where's my name?"

"Would ya quit thinkin' about yaself?" Jack grumbled, giving Spot a look. I giggled, which earned me a glare from Spot.

"You got us on the front page!" Davey exclaimed to Denton. Denton chuckled, putting a hand on Davey's shoulder and saying, "You got yourselves on the front page." He surveyed the group of newsies, and then added, "We just have to make sure you stay there."

"So what?" a voice piped up. It was Skittery. "Ya got ya pitchah in the pape, so what's that getcha, huh?"

"What do ya mean?" Mush shouted at him.

"Shut up!" grumbled Spot and I in unison, which made Race give us a weird look.

"You've been in a bad mood all day!" Jack yelled at Skittery.

"Ey, dumb and glumb, what's the matter witchu?" Race asked, getting up in Skittery's face and shoving him. "Ya in the papes, ya famous! And when ya famous, you get anythin' you want, and that's what's so great about New York!"

"Yeah!" I called in agreement with Race, and he grinned at me, winking.

I raised my eyebrows at him as Mush piped up. "A pair a new shoes with matchin' laces."

"A permanent box at the Sheep's Head races," Race put in.

"A porcelain tub with boilin' watah," Spot suggested.

"A Saturday night with the Mayor's daughter!" Blink shouted, leaping up onto the table top. I gave him a pointed look, but he just looked mighty proud of himself.

"Look at me, I'm the king of New York!" crowed Race, jumping up onto a table as well and dancing around while holding the pape high in the air. "Suddenly, I'm respectable, starin' right at ya, lousy with statcha."

"Nobbin' with all the muckety-mucks, I'm blowin' ma dough and goin' deluxe," Jack shouted with a grin.

"And there I be!" Race hollered, "Ain't I pretty!"

"It's my city, I'm the king a New York!" Jack joined in.

The boys all went for the pape at once, and shouts of, "Don't rip it! I said, don't rip it!" filled the air, until I finally snatched the pape out of their hands and jumped up on the table, holding it high above their heads.

"A corduroy suit with fitted knickers," Boots said suddenly, starting up the daydreaming once more.

"A mezzanine seat to see the flickers!" Les suggested.

"Havana Cigars that cost a quartah," Snipeshooter put in.

"An editors desk for the star reporter!" Davey yelled, kicking a chair at Denton, who took a seat.

"Tip your hat, he's the king of New York!" I shouted, waving the pape in the air.

"How 'bout that, I'm the king of New York!" Denton agreed.

The rest of the newsies joined me as they lifted up Denton in his chair, and we shouted, "In nothin' flat, he'll be coverin' Brooklyn to Trenton, our man Denton!" Blink tossed a sheet of red fabric onto Denton's shoulders, making it look like he had a king's cloak.

"Makin' a headline out of a hunch," Blink pointed out as Denton was set back down on the ground.

"Protectin' the weak," put in Denton, "And payin' for lunch!" added Race with a smirk.

"When I'm at bat, strong men crumble!" Denton declared.

"Proud yet humble," Race announced, "He's the king of New York!"

"I gotta be either dead or dreamin', cause look at that pape with my face beamin'. Tommorra they may wrap fishes in it, but I was a star foah one whole minute!" we all crowed, grinning triumphantly, and more boys jumped onto the table tops and began to dance around.

"Starting now, I'm the king of New York!" we all shouted.

"Ain't ya heard, I'm the king of New York!" Denton yelled.

"Holy cow!" we all interrupted, "It's a miracle! Pulitzer's cryin', Weasel, he's dyin! Flashpots are shootin' bright as the sun, I'm one highfalutin son of a gun! Don't ask me how! Fortune found me, fate just crowned me, I'm the king of New York! Look and see! Once a piker, now a striker, I'm the king of New York! Victory! Front page story, guts and glory, I'm the king of New York!"

The boys finally all jumped off of the tables, and cheers were shouted out as we all congregated once more around the table that I happened to be still standing on, pape in hand. I held it out to Davey, and then jumped down, bumping into Race as I landed. "Sorry," I said quickly, grabbing onto his shoulder to steady myself. "Ya fine, Blitz," said Race with a grin.

"Alright, so let's hear some ideas," Jack said, looking around at the assembled newsies, and at Denton.

"Well, we gotta show 'em we're serious," said Davey. "We gotta stay in the papes."

"My paper's the only one printing any strike news so far," said Denton slowly.

"Well then we gotta do somethin' so big that the otha papers'll feel stupid if they try an ignore us," announced Jack.

"Right," said Davey.

"Like a rally!" I suggested, and Jack nodded. "Yeah, like a rally! A rally with all the kids from all over New York. We'll make it the biggest, loudest, noisiest blowout this city's ever seen!"

"We'll send a message to the big boys!" Davey said with a laugh.

"Yeah!" everyone agreed. Jack nodded. "There's a lot of us, and we ain't goin' away," he said.

The waiter brought out a tray of drinks at this point, and we all took one, raising it up in the air.

""We'll fight until damn doomsday, if it means we get a fair shake," Jack added.

"Hell yeah we will!" I shouted, grinning. The newsies laughed and agreed.

"Hey guys," said Davey, raising his glass higher, in a toast. "To our man Denton!"

Denton laughed at this, but we all did it, raising our glasses higher, and shouting, "To our man, Denton!"

((What did you guys think? Please comment and vote! I love you all! Stay beautiful, -Wolf))