So, I'm introducing songs now. For the songs, it will be like a script. There will be a bold song announcement so you'll know it's coming. CAPS LOCK will be used when singing, regular for speaking.
"Sixty cents per one hundred papes!?" The news spread quickly. Caroline was horrified.
"They can't just do that!" Finch shouted.
Why not? It's their paper." Race said, chewing on his cigar.
"It's their world." Crutchie added. Jack stood up on a wagon.
"Hold on. Nobody's payin' no new nothin'." Crutchie perked up.
"You got an idea?" Tommy Boy asked.
"Lemme think this through." Jack said and sat down. The newsies crowded around Jack.
"STOP CROWDING HIM!" Les yelled. He pushed everyone back from Jack. Caroline couldn't help laughing. "Let the man work it out!" After a long moment of silence, Jack stood up.
"All right, here's the deal: if we don't sell papes, then no one sells papes. Nobody gets to the window till they put the price back where it belongs." he shouted.
"You mean like a strike?" Davey asked.
"You heard Davey. We're on strike!" Jack shouted. Davey looked petrified.
"Hold on. I didn't say-"
"We'll shut this place down!" Jack talked over him.
"The cops'll bust our heads!" Finch objected.
"Cops ain't gonna care about a bunch of kids. Right, Davey?" Jack said.
"Leave me out of this. I'm just here trying to feed my family."
"And the rest of us is on playtime?" Davey sighed.
"It doesn't matter. You can't strike. You're not a union." Jack looked at the others.
"What if I says we is?" he asked. Caroline almost wanted to laugh. Davey got so exasperated when everyone didn't know as much as him.
"There's a lot of stuff you gotta have in order to be a union. Like membership." Jack raised his arms toward the newsies.
"What do you call these guys?" he said.
"And officers."
"I nominate Jack president!" Crutchie shouted. Caroline cheered with the rest of the newsies, but stopped when she saw Davey's face.
"How about a statement of purpose?" Jack was getting annoyed now.
"Must'a left it in my other pants."
"What's a statement of purpose?" Race asked.
"A reason for forming the union."
"What reason did the trolley workers have?" Jack asked. Davey looked stressed.
"I don't know! Wages? Work hours? Safety on the job?" He turned to Caroline. "Back me up!"
"Well, they have all of the qualifications to be a union, and what do we have to lose?" she said truthfully, but wished she hadn't been truthful when she saw how hurt Davey looked. He actually had a lot to lose. She'd talk to him later and apologize for saying that.
"Well, if you want to strike, the membership's gotta vote."
"So, let's vote." Jack turned to the newsies. "Whatdaya say, fellas? Do we roll over and let Pulitzer pick our pockets, or do we strike?"
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The Newsie Girl - A Newsies Fanfiction
FanfictionCaroline Jacobs doesn't have the easiest life in the world. When she was eight, her and her parents were evicted from their home and moved in with her aunt, uncle, her same age cousin Davey, and her one year old cousin Les. Her father died shortly a...
