brooklyn nights

chapter nine

careless;

3rd person POV

Still having the memories of last night in her mind, Joan threw her legs out of the bed, noticing weakness taking over her. A chuckle left her lips before grabbing a blouse, wrapping it around her upper body, too lazy to put on a bra. She buttoned it up leaving the last two buttons open. She took a fresh pair of underwear and a skirt, putting both on and opening the door, to see the other door wide open. Jack is rambling on about some sort of rally. A cheer went through the rows, the girl quietly making her way inside to lean against a bunk. As Race noticed her, a laugh escaped his lips, to which he pressed his hands over them. "Oh, mornin' Joan. You's lookin'..." thinking about the right word to describe her state, Jack got closer to her. His hands brushed some of her hair over her shoulder, before reaching for it and placing it over her neck again, his eyes wide open. "Oi Kid, you's were in your bunk last night, right?" He look behind himself to Kid Blink who was sitting on his bed with his face in his hands. A yawn left his mouth, followed by a nod. "Yeah, why's you askin'?" He jumped down, coming closer to the two of them. "Nothin'. You just seem tired, that's all." Jack send a grin to Joan, who was trying to hide her neck from the rest of the boys. "So Joan, tonight we's havin' a rally at Meddas. You wanna join?" He sat down on a bed, his look shooting towards the girl. Race standing next to him, still trying to contain his laughter. "Sure why not." She smiled at him before turning around, quickly making her way to her clothes, trying to find some sort of scarf. "Fuck." As she continued her search under her bed, she heard footsteps coming closer. Quickly jumping back onto her feet, she saw Jack holding a bandana towards her. "2 days, give or take." He grinned at her before sitting down on the bed whilst the girl wrapped the fabric around her neck with a smile. "So no accident?" His head was laying to the side, analyzing the girl. "You could call it that." Both of them started to laugh. "Kid did you dirty." She stopped laughing and looked at him confused. "Whats Kid to do with that?" Jack shook his head and stood up. "We's all know the two of you ain't done with each other." Following him, she grabbed him by his shoulder. "It wasn't Kid! Trust me." He looked at her confused, noticing that she was being serious. "But.. don't tell me you's and Race-.." Joan clapped her hand over his mouth looking behind him inside the boys' room, but they were too busy talking about the Rally to notice her and Jack talking. "No! You don't need to know. I'm just sayin' that it ain't one of our newsies." She slowly took her hand off his mouth just for his eyes to grow again. "But it was a newsie!" He started laughing, skipping into the room to join their conversation. Joan rolled her eyes, before walking down the stairs to be met by her grandfather sipping from his cup.

"Nice seeing you alive. What happened to your eye?" He came from behind the counter, reaching out for her eye to touch the dark skin. The swelling went back but the red/purple color was still around it. "You didn't go to the fight, did you?" His voice went from worried to angry. Joan gave him a shy smile. She pressed his hand away from her face and took a deep breath. "Wrong place at the wrong time." He smiled at her and went back behind the counter. "How's John?" She went through the door behind the counter to grab the laundry tub. "Getting old, just like I am." A laugh escaped her lips as she placed the metal thing in front of the counter just to go back inside, taking the basket with her. "You's still a boy, grandpa." He shook his head and waved her off. "Joan?" She turned around with the tub in her hand, the basket sitting inside of it. "He tried buying the Lodge off again." She placed the tub outside on the porch, walking back to her grandfather. "You said no, right?" He looked at her with a small smile. "Of course. But he's going higher. Someday I won't be able to say no to him. I'm not getting younger and this.." His hands waving around the room. "Is not getting easier as well. You remember his son Pete? He would take care of everything." She gave him a sad smile before walking outside, placing the tub under the tap, filling it up with water. "At least wait for the boys to find a job. They's countin' on you." Both of them smiled sadly, thinking about what would happen if the lodge closed. With the basket in her hands, the girl skipped up the stairs to get the boys' laundry. "Washin' day ladies!" She placed the basket on the ground, clothes flying through the air. "Me pants were 'bout to start walkin' on their own." Skittery threw them inside the basket along with other pieces of fabric. "10 more seconds!" After counting them down out load, more newsies ran up to her to put their clothes in the basket, before she took it, walking downstairs again to turn off the tap. Getting on her knees, she started scrubbing the clothes, placing them in the water, and going over it with a soap bar.