The Queen of Brooklyn~A Spot Conlon Fanfic

Chapter Ten: The Rally

That night, I'm eating dinner (some bread that Denton bought us) with the rest of the newsies at the Lodging House when Mr. Kloppman comes up to me. "He's awake, if you want to see him," he whispers in my ear. Then he walks off.

Everyone's staring at me. Slowly, I stand up. "I'll be right back," I tell the newsies. I slip out of the crowd, stuffing the rest of my bread into my pocket to save for later, and practically run up the stairs. I feel like I hear footsteps behind me, but I ignore it. I burst into the room, expecting Spot to be in bed still, but he's up and staring out the window, his arms folded atop the sill.

I don't really know what to say, so I just say, "Hi."

He turns around. "Oh." His voice is small, smaller than usual, and the smug tone is gone. So is the smirk. "Hey."

"Uhhhhh." Real smooth, Red. "I'm sorry. About what happened."

He shrugs, turning back to the window. Then he says, "By the way, Race, you can stop trying to hide behind the door. I see you."

"What?!" I wheel around. Sure enough, Race is crouching behind the door, trying to snoop on our conversation. "For God's sake, Race."

"Sorry. But I wanted to make sure Spot's really okay." Race shrugs. "Sue me."

I roll my eyes. "I was trying to have a private conversation."

"It ain't nothing I can't hear." Race locks his knees, daring either one of us to make him leave. "I know about Spot's parents. He's told me about 'em."

"Oh. Well, then I guess you can stay. So." I turn back to Spot, who still isn't facing me. "I didn't know they were that bad."

He shrugs again.

"Are you going to speak or not?" I demand.

Spot sighs, then finally starts talking. He's still looking out the window, but talking's a start. "It's fine. Really. I'm fine. But that's why I'm glad I live in Brooklyn...you know? They live here, in Manhattan...so they's pretty far from me." I nod, even though he can't see me. "Anyway, I'm sure Denton ain't gonna let my parents near me ever again."

"I won't either," I offer.

"Neither will I," Race adds.

He finally turns around, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Thanks, guys. For everything."

I hesitate, then ask, "What's really wrong? I know you're fine and not worried about your parents getting near you again, but you still seem upset."

"Well..." Spot sighs. "I dunno. Now everybody knows my secret. I'm used to being this tough, fierce newsie who everybody fears and dreads. I'm used to being the one who's asked to soak thugs...not get soaked by a thug."

"It's not your fault your parents are awful, Spot." I wait until he makes eye contact, then step closer. "It isn't."

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Race chants. We both turn around and give him a glare that makes him wither.

"I know," Spot says. "But it's just kind of embarrassing."

"Nobody cares."

"Really?" Spot raises a disbelieving eyebrow. "You can honestly tell me that not one newsie is asking you 'Who was that and what happened to Spot'?"

"Well..."

"Exactly." Spot shakes his head.

"Hey. It makes you seem even tougher now."

"Why? Because I have two bad parents?" Spot raises his voice, and I flinch. "How is that going to make me tough?" He notices my surprise and lowers his voice. "Sorry. I'm just angry."