The next day had come, Snyder was no where to be found so Chase and Bex had returned home to their parents and Paul was back in front of the circulation gate with his fellow Newsies waiting for the headline to be put up.
"Man I didn't get a wink of sleep last night, damn sirens kept me up the entire time" Alex whined. Ray nudged him "Sirens are like lullabies to me, the louder the siren the better the headline, the better the headline the better I eat and the better I eat-" "The Further away from you I sleep" Maili interrupted him.
"Hey everyone sorry we're late, we had ta help Pops with his leg. How's everyone doin?" Chase asked, arriving with Bex on his shoulders.
"Ask me that question after they put up the headline" Ray said, "say what's the hold up with it anyway?"
"Keep ya pants on Ray here they come" Logan said as a man in a bowlers cap climbed up the ladder and started to write down the headline.
"WHAT THE HELLS THIS!" Kendall exclaimed looking up at the board as the other Newsies ran over to her. "New newsie price 60 cents per hundred!?" The newsies started to question and panic about the situation. "They can't just up the price when they want can they?!" Kendall asked. "Of course they can it's their pape!" Ray said. "I'm gonna be sleeping on the streets" said a worried Punzie. "You already sleep on the streets..." Maili looked at her confused. "In the worst Neighborhood" Punzie responded.
"What's goin on here fellas eh?" Paul walked over reading the headline as he began to chuckle. "Nah this can't be right watch it they're just pullin our leg".
"PAPES FA THE NEWSIES LINE UP" Weasel yelled. Paul walked over to the window "heheh good joke there Weasel ya really had me and the fellas goin there, I'll take a hundred Papes"
Weasel looked at him and laughed, "If ya want a hundred papes, ya gotta show me another dime". Paul looked at him disgusted "I ain't payin 60 cents for that many papes!" "Then move over for someone who will.." weasel said with a cackle. Paul looked at him and slammed the desk "cmon fellas". He led the group off to the side where they began to chatter amongst themselves. "Let's just take our buisness to the sun huh?" "I'll save ya the walk they upped their prices too" "Dammit what're we gonna do Paul?!". "Alright alright everyone calm down! Lemme think on this for a second" Paul said as Bex started to push people away from his so he could think.
"Hey Paul, ya still thinkin?" Bex asked after 4 minutes of awkward silence. "Course he is, can't ya smell the smoke?" Chris said with a laugh.
Paul motioned them all to come back, "alright fellas so here's what we do, if we don't sell papes, no one sells papes. They gotta see that they can't just up the price whenever they want without our say. We gotta show em that they can't push us around like this!" Paul said slamming his fist on a pile of papers. "You mean like a strike?" Chase asked, "Well you heard Chase we'll go on strike!" Paul said with a smile. "What no no, ya can't go on strike! You're not a union" chase shot back
"Well what if I says we are?" Paul retorted
"Ya need a lot of things to be a union" chase answered "like members"
"..Well Whataya call these guys" he pointed to the group of newsies.
"Well ya need an administration"
"I ELECT PAUL AS PRESIDENT" Punzie yelled as everyone nodded in agreement
"Well ya need a statement of purpose"
"Well alright what purpose did the Trolly workers have?"
"I dunno, a fair contract, safer working conditions"
"Well we got none of that! Hell I bet the reason you're out here with us is cause ya pops didn't have a union am I right?" Paul said to chase, to which he nodded in agreement. "So I declare that our union is hereby formed to watch each others backs! Union we stand, hey that was pretty good someone write that down". "I gotta pencil!" Bex said standing next to Paul "we'll meet out Secretary of State, and what do you say Chase?"
Chase hesitated for a bit but eventually walked over to them smiling "boys...We got ourselves a union!". Everyone cheered as Paul, Bex, Punzie and Chase stood on top of a stack of papers.
Paul was the first to speak, "Pulitzer and Hearst they think we're nothin..ARE WE NOTHIN?"
"NO!" Everyone yelled back
"They need to understand that we are not enslaved to them, we are free agents!" Chase added.
"Pulitzer and Hearst they think they got us, do they got us?"
"NO!" Everyone echoed.
"Were a union now! The newsies union, AND WE MEAN BUISNESS!" Exclaimed chase getting more excited.
"Even though we ain't got hats or badges, were a union just by sayin so, and the world will know! What's it gonna take ta stop the wagons, are we ready?"
"YEAH!"
"What's it gonna take ta stop the scabbers, can we do it?"
"YEAH!"
"Well do what we gotta do until we break the will of might bill and joe.."
"AND THE WORLD WILL KNOW!" Everyone yelled. "AND THE JOURNAL TOO. MR HEARST AND PULITZER HAVE WE GOT NEWS FA YOU. SEE THE WORLD DONT KNOW, BUT THEYRE GONNA PAY"
Chase started to take his paper bag off everyone mimicking him as they through them to the ground. "Stead of harkin headlines we'll be makin em today! And out ranks will grow!"
"And we'll kick their rears!" Punzie cheered
"AND THE WORLD WILL KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN HERE"
Paul asked again "when the circulation bell starts ringin, WILL WE HEAR IT?"
"NO!"
"What if the Delancys come out swingin, WILL WE HEAR IT?!"
"NO! WHEN YA GOT A HUNDRED VOICES SINGIN, WHO CAN HEAR A LOUSY WHISTLE BLOW. AND THE WORLD WILL KNOW. THAT THIS AINT NO GAME. AND THAT WE GOT A TON OF ROTTEN FRUIT AND PERFECT AIM. SO THEY GAVE THEIR WORD WELL IT AINT WORTH BEANS. NOW THEIR GONNA SEE WHAT STOP THE PRESSES REALLY MEANS."
Paul and chase climbed up to the headline board as chase fought off the man with the chalk and paul scribbled "STRIKE" across the board. "AND THE OLD WILL WEEP AND GO BACK TO SLEEP AND WEVE GOT NO CHOICE BUT TO SEE IT THROUGH"
Punzie cheered "we found our voice!"
Bex whine "and I lost my shoe-"
The group looked up and saw Chase and Paul climb back down with a cheer. "Pulitzer may own the world but he don't own us!"
Everyone echoed him
"Pulitzer may crack the whip but he won't whip us!" He said as he got echoed again.
"AND THE WORLD WILL KNOW. WEVE BEEN KEEPIN SCORE. EITHER THEY GIVES US OUR RIGHTS OR WE GIVES THEM A WAR. WEVE BEEN DOWN TOO LONG. AND WEVE PAYED OUR DUES."
Punzie cheered again "And the things we do today will be tomorrow's news!"
"AND THE DIE IS CAST. AND THE TORCH IS PASSED AND THE ROAR WILL RISE. AND THE STREETS GROAN. AND OUR RANKS WILL GROW AND GROW AND GROW AND SO THE WORLD WILL. FEEL THE. FIRE AND. FINALLY. KNOW!"
The Newsies stormed down the street, breaking open the circulation gates. All of North manhattan's newsies on strike as Paul led his group back to the diner.
YOU ARE READING
Newsies- VA Edition
HumorPaul, Punzie, and the rest of the gang are all taking the places of the characters in the musical show Newsies as they attempt to strike against their unfair bosses rules and regulations making their lives a hell of a lot harder.
