NEWSIES: The Ultimate Modern AU

How A Momentus Moment Occured

"Lady and Gentlemen," Crutchie announced to the gathering of lads in the kitchen, "Today we gather on this momentous occasion to witness beauty. To witness glory. Today we witness..." he paused for dramatic affect, "Jimothee's first feeding." Everyone gave a small clap and a few whoops. "Albert, my conrad, my peer, my pal, my friend... my brother; will you do the honour?"
"With pleasure." Albert raised two spinach leaves from Jacks bag, holding them with both hands and raising them above his head like a sword. Everyone began to snicker. "SHHHH! This is a serious occasion! Gosh you're killing me-" he splurted out through laughs. He tore the leaves up into tiny pieces and sprinkled them into the pan.

Everyone went silent with anticipation as the creature had its attention caught. Breaths were held. "The turtle approaches the offering..." Crutchie whispered, a continuation of his MC routine. "He sniffs the food, the strange green seems to appease him... AND HE TAKES A BITE!" The kitchen erupted with a roar, cheers from everyone. "JIMOTHEE HAS BEEN APPEASED! WE DID IT FOLKS!"

"Speaking of appeasing," Katherine reached into her bag, "How about you trolls?" The boys all stood up and ran over to her, thanking her and practically kissing her feet as she handed the subs out to everyone. "Ahaha you're welcome! Now we can all eat with Jimothee." She gave a grin to her left, where Jack was standing next to her, his arm on her shoulder and beaming like a loser. It's the simple things in life.

As they all sat at (and on) the table, or spread themselves out across the kitchen benches with their subs, Race moved the bag of vegetables into the sink. "Jackie Boy," he started to say, his mouth full of meat ball sub. "Explain this, where'd ya get the bag? And this jackpot..."
Trying to swallow his own mouthful, Jack began. "Well turns out that dumpster is full of good things. They practically throw away anything slightly off. Fellas, I'm talking about something as small as a bruise on an apple." The boys all huffed at the thought.
"Music to my ears. The pickier the people the more they throw away. And the more they throw away the more I eat. And the more I eat-" Finch began
"The further away from you I sleep." Race finished for him, slapping him on the back of the head. A giggle rippled amongst them.

Jack continued, "And the bag was just drifting through the wind-" he silently re-evaluated his wording, as did everyone else. They all had the same melody in their head now. The same tune. The same anthem. Romeo began to hum the tune to Firework by Katy Perry. When he reached the chorus, there was an obnoxious spontaneous choir in the kitchen. "CAUSE BABY YOU'RE A FIIIIIIRE WORKKKK-"

It was a gleeful night. Singing tunes with full belly's, and with the extra company of Katherine who ended up dancing on the kitchen table while the boys sang something of a Taylor Swift song, random parts of songs which they muttered the versus too and over confidently sang the chorus of; butchering the lyrics and replacing them with what they thought was correct. Did they have an inch of musical talent? Absolutely not; but none of that mattered

As the night dimmed down, Jack sat himself in the corner and watched Katherine play a game of Chess with Specs silently as the other fellas did their own thing. Elmer was showing Crutchie some baking video, Romeo and Albert arm wrestled while Race sat on the steps with a cigarette, chatting to Spot on the phone. It was serine, peaceful. His face was still warm from all the laughing, and his cheeks physically ached. He didn't know the last time he'd had that much fun.

Pulling a pencil and drawing pad from his back pocket, he scribbled down the apartment for what it was, a run down old place, inhabited by wild monkeys who were a family. And while for some it was hell, for him it was enough. Finishing up his sketch, he reviewed it with content.

He had drawn Katherine and Specs at their chess match, the burrowed brows on Katherine while she concentrated, and Specs with his chin which rest in his hand, while his arm hovered holding a chess piece over the board. It wasn't hard to draw considering they both hadn't moved a muscle in an eternity; strategy they called it.

"Checkmate." Katherine smirked at Specs who let out a loud exhale of defeat.