Oooh look at that title! Short, right to the point. April of 1894. Everyone is a year older. And...a certain someone finally appears. Enjoy! :)
Antonio truly wonders why no one wants him to go to Brooklyn.
True, they don't like the idea of him leaving Manhattan at all.
But he's ten now. He can handle leaving the city, surely.
And why is it Brooklyn that is always the worst city to mention? Any time someone talks about Brooklyn, it's like a taboo. And no one's ever tried explaining why.
It's spring of 1894. Spring means new beginnings. New opportunities. Yes, there is the new year. Then, there's when the world wakes up from winter. Spring. A fresh start.
Spring is...primavera.
And suddenly, Antonio has an idea.
Is this really a good idea?
Probably not.
Yet, he does it anyway.
He finds Andrea and Giacomo bright and early in the morning.
He walks right up to them, 20 papers in his bag to sell for the day, and before they even finish saying "Ciao, Antonio!" he says, "I wanna go to Brooklyn with you."
Not too long ago, Andrea explained Sheepshead Bay, and Sheepshead Races, to Antonio. And to Antonio, it sounded magical. Just the name Sheepshead. How does one get a name like that? Sheep's head. Sheeps head. But it's not two separate words. You know it's one. And the way that Sheepshead Bay and Sheepshead Races both end up at the same place, and both have those ay sounds...it's great. Antonio wanted to go. He really did. But he was still supposed to stay in Manhattan. And definitely not go to Brooklyn. But Antonio is curious. Really curious. So maybe curiosity will kill the cat, as people like to say (But why does it kill the cat? Antonio asks those people. After they look at him funny or say it's just an 'expression', he's just stopped asking). But surely it must be worth it.
And now Antonio is actually on his way to Brooklyn.
"What we like to do," Andrea explains to Antonio as they walk across the busy street, "is hitch a ride on the back of a carriage, and ride to Brooklyn that way."
"Wait." Antonio stops. "A carriage?"
"It's much faster than walking," Giacomo tells him. "I mean, you can walk."
"But why walk when a horse can do the walking for ya?" Andrea finishes.
Antonio hesitates. There's just...something about carriages. The newsies are all very wary of those too. They act like he should be too. And like he should know why none of them like carriages. But he doesn't. So they don't push it, and he doesn't know.
Then, Antonio reviews the facts.
He's breaking so many rules set up for him at once.
He's leaving Manhattan.
He's going to Brooklyn.
He's going to get there by riding unwelcomed on the back of a carriage.
He's going to gamble.
YOU ARE READING
I'll Always Look Out For You
Fanfic15 years before the legendary newsies strike of 1899, a child was born. When he is 18 months old, he is brought to the Manhattan Newsies Lodging House. In time, he would be known as Racetrack Higgins. This is his story. This is the story of the news...
