The Newsie Girl - A Newsies Fanfiction

Chapter 3- Newsies

Caroline had sort of gotten used to being on the street. Sort of. She had gotten a job in a grocers to feed herself. When she wasn't working, she went to the book shop. She couldn't afford any of the books, but the shop owner was kind and let her read anything she wanted. She particularly loved one called Oliver Twist. Even though it was a children's book, she reread that one a lot. When she shop owner heard that it was her seventeenth birthday, he had given her a copy of Oliver Twist for free. She had wanted to pay him, but he said he wouldn't take a penny. She loved having a book of her own. She had sold most of her possessions to buy food before she got her job. It had been just over a year now. Caroline woke up one morning when she thought she heard a familiar voice. 

"Come on, Davey! The faster we get there, the faster we can get selling!" Caroline started breathing faster with excitement. That was Les! And Davey was with him too! She climbed down the ladder from the fire escape that she had turned into a decent bed. As expected, when Les saw the alley, we went down it. He stopped when he saw her. His face lit up.

"Caroline!" He ran over to her and she threw her arms around him, attempting to lift him and spin him around, but he had grown.

"Les! You've gotten so big!" she exclaimed. This was the first time she had been genuinely happy since she was given her copy of Oliver Twist. Davey came into sight, out of breath from running after Les. 

"Les, when will you learn not to run into...." he trailed off when he saw Caroline. This time Caroline was the one to run to him and tackle him in a hug.

"Oh my god! Caroline! I can't even believe....Caroline!" Caroline stepped back and saw that Davey's face looked wet.

"Are you seriously crying?" Caroline laughed. Davey shook his head, also laughing.

"No, I'm not." Caroline gave him her 'yeah right' look and hugged him again.

"You big baby." she said teasingly.

"I thought I'd run into you sometimes, and when I never did, I thought you either left Manhattan or..." he didn't finish his sentence, and he didn't need to. 

"So where are you two heading?" Caroline asked to break the tension. 

"We got pulled out of school!" Les said excitedly. Caroline raised an eyebrow at Davey.

"Dad lost his job. We're going to get a job as newsies." He perked up. "You should come. You'd probably make a lot more money then you are now. What do you do, anyway?"

"I work at a grocers." Caroline replied. "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to check out being a newsie." Davey smiled. 

"Come on, then. They just sounded the circulation bell." Les took Caroline's hand and pulled her ahead. They knew when they were at the right place because there was a line of newsies waiting to buy papers. They joined the line behind a newsie with a crutch. The newsies made jokes about the men selling the papers. When it was their turn, they stepped up to the men.

"Have a look at this! A new kid and a girl!" One of the men said. Les stepped out from behind Davey.

"I'm new too!" The newsies chuckled.

"Don't worry, kid. Rubs right off." said a newsie with a cigar. Caroline smiled at him.

"I'll take twenty newspapers, please." Davey said. The man everyone was calling Wiesel turned to the other two men, the Delancey brothers. 

"Twenty for the new kid." He turned back to Davey. "Let's see the dime." Davey looked confused.

"I'll pay you when I sell them." Everyone laughed.