Stray on Strike

Spit-Shake

Pulitzer pulls back his hair and sit on the edge of his own fancy desk. I walk up and stand beside Jack. Needless to say the tension in the room is extremely high right now. All three of us look at each other.

I am used to being the one who gets the ball rolling so I'll be the one to talk first. "Listen, you know why we are here. We've talked this over before, except now the stakes are so much higher. We are here because you gave us the short end of the stick."

Pulitzer stands up and takes a few steps closer to me and Jack. "I cannot put the price back where it was. I'm sorry, I can't, there are other considerations." He says. But it did sound like he meant it when he said sorry.

Jack steps out, he looks back at me and then says. "I get it, Joe. You use the same face in front of all these folks. I ain't stupid, but I'm a constituent with a legitimate gripe!" Okay so when did Jack expand his vocabulary. Oh wait... Katherine, that's how.

"What if I reduce the raise by half, and get the other to do the same? It's a compromise we can all live with." Pulitzer says. I can't live with that. Newsies can't live off of that either.

I get this feeling out of nowhere so I rush up and stand in front of Jack and face Pulitzer. They both look at me funny for a couple of seconds. I didn't want me to look like a fool so I started to talk. "Many newsies weren't blessed to get an education like I did. So I know you're saying that you are only going to knock the price down by five cents. We were struggling to live before the price jack up. So taking off five cents isn't going to help in the big picture."

I looked at Jack and I saw something in him. He was thinking. "But... you eat our losses. From now on, every pape we can't sell, you buy back full price."

Joe becomes at little made at this and points angrily at Jack. "That's never been on the table!" He shouts.

"Well it is now.." I snap at him.

Pulitzer walks closer to the both of us. "Since you two seem to know everything. Tell me this. What's to keep newsies from taking hundreds of papers they can't sell? My costs will explode." Pulitzer spit out at us.

"Joe that has to be the stupidest thing you have ever said." I say. Pulitzer looks at me and squints his eyes threatening me without saying a word. I wasn't scared though. 

Jack then sheds some light on to the situation. "No newsie is gonna break his back carryin' around papes he can't sell; but if he can take a few extra and have with no risk, he might sell those and then your circulation will begin to grow."

Both of them look out the window at the newsies in the streets. Jack then looks over at Pulitzer and tries to stand exactly like he is. Then he mocks Pulitzer. "It's a compromise we can all live with."

All the laughter I was holding in fell out. I laughed really loud. And I don't say I'm sorry. Ya know why? Because I don't need to. Take that Adults! 

Pulitzer then looks over at Jack. Jack stop mocking him and stands how he usually does. Pulitzer looks at Jack. He gives Jack a look that I have not seen  come from him. Admiration. "That's not a bad head you got on your shoulders."

Jack spit in his hand and holds it out for Pulitzer. This is our traditional Newsie spit shake foreign to  the business man Joseph Pulitzer. "Deal?" Jack asks holding out his hand.

Pulitzer looks down at the hand and then looks back at Jack. "That's disgusting."

I repeat the exact words in which I told Davey when Jack did the same thing for him. "Well that's just the price of doing business."

Pulitzer reluctantly spit-shakes back. This is it. Now just time to give everyone the good news.