1897. Jack = 20, Kid Blink = 18 3/4, Mush = 18, Crutchy = 17, Spot = 14. This is the one chapter that I didn't plan for. Well. Enjoy! :)
Jack loves coming to see Medda.
Ray took him here when he wasn't even ten yet. He loved it so much, that even when he's twice that age, he comes to Irving Hall often to watch Medda perform.
And now he's here with Race beside him.
Jack actually didn't know that Race knew about Medda. It just happened one day when Jack was running from the Delanceys and ended up backstage like Medda told him to and he found Race there.
"She's beautiful, ain't she?" Race says as they watch her perform now.
"Oh, definitely," Jack responds.
Both of them found Medda when they had nothing. The circumstances were wildly different, but Medda took them both in without hesitation. Medda became the mother figure that they never had.
Race should have a mother figure. That's why Jack is glad that Race found Medda. He kinda feels guilty for how Race grew up without any mother in his life. That would have greatly impacted how Race grew up if he did have one. There's nothing they can do to change that now. Regardless of how it all ended up, Jack's still proud of the person Race has become.
When Race hears music, he gets so, so happy. And he doesn't think that he hears music like everyone else. Maybe it's because he's different, or maybe he just has an ear for music. Maybe both. Either way, he loves music. Every note, every rise, every fall. He can feel it when the music rises and falls. He glides up with it, or sinks down with it. And he can feel the movement of the song. Where it catches, or maybe "hits a rut", on a certain sound, or stops entirely, or maybe "hits a wall." for a dramatic pause, or just keeps going and going and going, Race is right there with it. And the poetry. The way that the words rhyme and/or resonate together. All the meaning and soul the musicians and singers pour into their art. Not enough people appreciate that. He can pick out every instrument that plays. Maybe he doesn't know the word for the instrument, but he sure knows what the sound is. His heart soars with the music. He understands it. And the words...he can feel the words, too. All of them. Music is...quite literally, a symphony. And if done right, it's an absolute master piece. That is why this theatre is one of his happy places.
"Any time I would feel stressed and needed something else to think about, I'd come here," Jack mentions.
"Yeah, me too."
"True, she puts on an outstanding performance, but she's also really nice and welcoming."
"I agree. It's a good distraction from all that's changed, too. When things change, Medda is always here."
"What kind of changes worry you, Race?" Jack asks.
"Oh, I don't know. The people who leave, the people who come," Race answers. "New faces to keep track of, getting used to the absence of others."
"Oh yeah?" Jack's noticed this about Race. Change always throws him off balance. Especially when it comes to people. If it's a new way of doing things, or something is moved around, he'll be unnerved, but then after some time he's okay. He takes longer to get used to people. When people first started leaving, he'd panic. He's getting better, though. And he's a little edgy around new people at first, but then he gets used to them all the same. Maybe it's that he can't recognize faces easily that makes everything harder for him, maybe he wants constants instead of new faces replacing the old ones. Whatever it is, he can still adapt to change pretty well.
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I'll Always Look Out For You
Fanfiction15 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...
