The Grave Digger

Chapter 21: The Strike

   Bones started to get better. She still had a hard time selling newspapers, but Race helped her get through it. He defended her when people would be rude to her. Most nights she spent sitting with Race on the bottom floor of the lodging house, crying in his arms. None of the other newsies knew, and none of them would find out.
   As the months went by, Bones' selling went up and down. She knew she couldn't just sell newspapers, so she started pick pocketing again. She made enough money to make a profit. Race thought she shouldn't do that anymore, but she wouldn't listen. Everyday, she was out way past dark selling newspapers, and no one would question it. She had been able to find some odd jobs down by the docks on the Manhattan side of the bridge, and she started making more money. But she wouldn't tell anyone what these odd jobs were, and Race had a suspicion they weren't good.
   By the next year, Bones was starting to look better. She still hadn't grown any, and they all guessed she wouldn't grow anymore, but she was less underweight than she had been before, which was very good. And by July, she looked almost healthy.
   It was a particularly hot day, Bones could tell when she woke up, again, before the sunrise. When she was back down on her bed, she sat there buzzing. She didn't know why, but she was excited. She sensed something interesting was about to happen, but she didn't know what. She was sitting on her bed as the other newsies started to wake up. Or rather, Kloppmann woke them up. He came up there, and she waved to him. He rolled his eyes, and started getting them all up.
   Race couldn't find his cigar. He looked all over for it, and his first thought was that Bones had taken it. Until he saw Snipes with it. "Hey, that's mine!" Bones leaned over the edge of hers and Snipes bed. "You'll steal anuddah one!" Snipes said. Bones laughed at the two, and Snipes and Race threw pillows at her. "C'mon, we got stuff to do!" Blink yelled at them. Bones jumped and tackled Race on his bed. "Ya liddle sh-" "language!" Boots yelled at her. That morning was hectic.
   "So, how'd ya sleep, Jack?" Mush asked him. Bones rolled her eyes, and pushed past him. "On me back, Mush." Mush started laughing, and saying something about his comment. Once again, Bones rolled her eyes, and she took her hair down. She turned on one of the sinks, and started washing her hair, as Race started washing his face next to her. "Fellas be careful, she's washin' her lion's mane ovah here!" Race joked. She slapped him as she pulled her head up, her hair flying back with it, hitting Mush in the face. "Oh, geez, that hoit!" She pushed past him, saying, "oops," not meaning it. She wrung her hair out with a towel, and started putting it up. But something was gone. "Where's my hat?" She looked around, her eyes settling on Mush. It had to be him, that little wisecrack. He was worse than Race. "Mush, you piece o' shi-" "language, please!" Boots yelled. "Sorry, Boots!" She yelled, climbing over people, and chasing Mush, until she was able to punch him. He doubled over, and handed her the hat.
   After that morning, Bones was smiling ecstatically. It had been quite interesting, and that could only be followed by an interesting day. And it was. She was standing next to Race in front of the gates to the distribution center, with Jack behind her, when she randomly started coughing. Really she just choked on air, but Race put it off as the Delancey's coming near, when he said, "dear me, what is that unpleasant aroma? I fear the sewer may have backed up in the night," fanning himself with her hat. "Nah, it's too rotten to be the sewers." Boots laughed. "Yeah, it must be 'the Delancey bruddahs!'" Crutchy taunted. Bones was still coughing, and everyone started laughing.
As one of the Delancey's pushed Snipes over, Race whispered in her ear, "you okay?" She nodded as he said, "not good ta do that. Unhealthy," to the Delancey's. Then Jack got into a huge fight with them, and started messing with them. Race tried to make a bet, but it wasn't any good. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and patted her back to help her stop coughing. "Ya're not sick again, are ya?" Crutchy asked. "No, jus' choked on air." As she said it, she turned to face the square. There were two new kids, one about Boots' age, and one about her age. She jabbed Race's ribs with her elbow. "Geez, Bones, sharp elbows much?" She rolled her eyes and slapped him. She leaned on her cane, and looked them up and down from afar. The older one looked like a loner, but the kid looked as if he wanted to befriend everyone. She smirked at him, and guessed he saw, for he smiled back at her. She turned back to Crutchy, who didn't notice the new kids until Jack ran past them.
   Eventually, Jack beat the Delancey's, and they said they'd get him. It didn't matter because Jack would beat them again. She got her papers after Race, who was absolutely sure he was gonna win with his horse, although Crutchy assured her it had a limp. She sat down next to Race, and pulled out a cigar. Race handed her a match, which she lit on the edge of the platform they were sitting on. She sat and smiled while he told her the headlines. "Baby born with two heads. Must be from Brooklyn. Hey, maybe it's ya're brudda. Kinda looks like you," Race joked. She nudged his shoulder, then she turned her head as the new kid said something about being short one paper. Jack stood up, and confirmed, the kid only had 19. "Hey, Princess Bones," she stopped Jack before he could say anything else. "I ain't no princess, Jack, an' I ain't got no money, don't ask." She knew he was going to buy the new kid more papers. "Geez, keep ya socks on," she glared at him, "sorry, insensitive. Hey, Race, spot me two bits, will ya?"
   Eventually, the little kid, Bones guessed it was the other kid's brother, went over there. She waved him to sit next to her. Race looked over from his paper. "Hey kid, I'm Bones, wha's ya're name?" "Oh, I'm Les," he held his hand out to shake, and she willingly obliged. She chuckled, he was so adorable. "So, Les, ya're new, huh?" He vigorously nodded, and she ruffled his hair. "So, I'm guessin' ya're abou' 10, 11?" "I'm turning 10 in August." She nodded, and looked at Race. He was laughing at her. She jabbed him with her elbow again and turned back to Les. "I turned 16 in June. He did, too. Same day." Les looked at her in amazement. "You're 16? You look younger than that." She smiled, and chuckled again. "Thanks." She pointed at Jack, "ya see him, ovah there? Dat's Cowboy, he's my bruddah. He's nice, bu' he can be a real pain." Les followed her hand to where she pointed.
   When Jack started talking to the new kid, Les ran up to him. "Cowboy! They call him Cowboy!" Jack laughed, "yeah, well that, an' a lotta uddah things, includin' Jack Kelly, which is what my muddah called me. And what's ya're name, kid?" "Les, and this is my bruddah David. He's older." Jack snorted. "No kiddin'." "Bones said you're her brother." Bones wasn't paying attention, she was talking to Specs. "Did she now?" Jack said, loudly. She whipped her head around. "What?" Everyone was staring at her, laughing, but the new kid was annoyed. She walked over to them, and that was the first time she really looked at the new kid. She nearly jumped, falling back into Mush. His and Rebel's similarities were unnerving. The same curly brown hair, the same bright blue eyes, even their facial features were the same. Quickly, she regained her composure after that brief slap in the face. But Jack had noticed. "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Ya needed me?" He smirked. "Makin' sure my liddle sista's a'ight." She laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Bu' I been hookin' up wit' dis one guy," she joked. "Oh, yeah? Who is it so I can soak 'im?" Jack laughed back. "Oh, ya know, short, scrawny, Italian." Jack laughed harder. "Did you jus' describe Race?" She didn't even realize she had. She and Race both started laughing. "Did I?" Jack rolled his eyes, and focused back on the new kids.
   Bones hadn't actually meant to describe Race. But when she saw David, who looked like Rebel, it was just an instinct. She pulled Race aside. "Does he look like Rebel to you, or am I goin' crazy?" Race looked back over at David. "Oh my God, he does. You ru-membah how Rebel came a newsie?" he asked, not knowing. She nodded. "Yeah, he ran away, dat's kinda how he got his nickname." They looked at each other. "You think Jack sees it?" she wondered aloud. Race shook his head. "I don't think Jack knew him too well." Bones tried putting her hand on Race's shoulder. "Stop bein' tall," she pouted. He looked down at her, and smirked. "Stop bein' short." She glared at him, then wrinkled her nose.
   That day wasn't much better for Bones. She didn't sell any papers, and it had been dark for hours before she decided to turn in. She looked back at the bridge, and wished Race was with her. Then she thought about how she hadn't seen Spot in years. She hadn't even thought about Brooklyn until that morning, and she felt horrible. She was so tired, she wasn't sure she'd be able to make it back to the lodging house. She sat down on some steps, her papers out next to her, and propped her head on her hands. She didn't realize she was drifting off to sleep unt...
   She woke up just after the sun had come up. The newsies would all be getting ready already, so she decided to go ahead to the distribution center. She stood up, grabbed the papers she had from yesterday, and dropped them in an alleyway on her way to the gates. Of course she was the first one there. She fiddled with her ring while she waited for the others, not thinking they'd be worried about her. Surprisingly, David and Les were the next two there. "Hey, Les, Davy." She waved, then yawned. She hadn't really slept well, and she guessed only for about three hours. "Hey Bones!" Les ran over to her, and sat down next to her. David walked over, "good morning. Did you sleep at all?" He questioned. She kept yawning, and she looked tired. "A liddle, you?" He scoffed lightly. "Yeah." She nodded, placing her head on her hand again, and closing her eyes. "Hey, losah!" She heard. Her head shot up with a smile on her face. "Hey, joik!" She yelled at Race, laughing. "Smell any good headlines while you were out all night?" He said, putting an arm on her head. "I ain't an armrest, Race, so you best put that arm somewhere else, before it comes off." He chuckled, and put his arm around her waist. "Ya're so tiny, Bones." She smiled, and jabbed his ribs, knocking the air out of him. "Oh." "Ya're right, I am tiny, poifect fo' slippin' rats undah some people's pillows." He looked at her. "You wouldn'." She looked at her non-existent fingernails. "Who's ta say I haven't already?" He stared her down even more. "Ya couldn've. Ya weren't even back at tha lodgin' house las' night." She smirked. "Ya nevah know, Race, ya nevah know." David was looking at the two of them, confused. "What are you, like ten?" He asked her. She looked at him, annoyed. "I'm 16." He looked her up and down. "There is no way you are 16. My brother is nine, and he's taller than you." She took a deep breath. "Well, ya see, ya can' grow too well when ya can' afford food everyday, an' I'm guessin' gettin' hit by a streetcar don' help much. Oh, Davy, I been meanin' ta ask ya, did ya have an olda bruddah, maybe 4, 5 years olda den you?" He thought about it. "Not that I can remember, I'll have to ask my parents. Why is that your business?" She looked him in the eyes. "One o' my first frien's looked exactly like you." He didn't say anything else.
   By then, the Newsies started arriving at the gate, and were all relieved to see Bones already there. "Why didn' ya come back ta da lodgin' house?" Mush asked. She sighed. "It was real late, an' I was real tired when I started back." He nodded. "Ya sell any?" She shook her head. "I did pick pocket from some idiots, though." She told the story. By the time she was finished it was time to get their papers.
   They drove up the price! Bones was outraged. David and Jack had suggested a strike. She thought it was a great idea, but the others weren't so sure. She knew she could convince Race. "Think abou' it, Race. Look, I could hardly afford da prices when they were normal, how'm I s'pose ta afford dem now?" Race bit his lip, then he hugged her. "Ya're right." Jack and David talked a little more about it, and then Jack said they needed to get people to go to other places. She thought she should stay and look after the Manhattan newsies, since Jack was obviously going to go to another borough.
   "Well, you and me Boots, we'll go to Brooklyn. And Dave can keep us company. And Bones, you should come, too, Brooklyn's ya're old stompin' grounds." She scoffed. "I don' know, it's been a while, Spot might not want ta see me." In reality, she was scared. It had been two years since she'd been down there. Spot might be mad at her for not even letting him know if she was alive. "I ain't askin' ya ta kiss 'im, I'm jus' sayin' you know Brooklyn real well." "Fine, bu' if we run inta da bulls, I'm hidin' behind you," she joked.
   She told Jack that she should be used as a last resort to try and get Spot on their side. That she should stay behind one of them until he said no, which Bones knew he would, any good leader would say no at first, and then she would step out and talk to him. Jack tried to protest at first, but he realized what a great plan it was. And with that, the four set off for Brooklyn.