Marcella Crocetti, aka Hero, loses her dad soon after they leave her alcoholic mother. But, she met Racetrack Higgins and they found the Newsboys Lodging House together. It is now 1899 and things are changing; and it's not just the strike that's new...
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My thoughts were interrupted when Race came and sat beside me.
"Any good headlines ta'day?" I ignored the fuzzy feeling in my stomach when our thighs brushed against eachother. I tried my hardest to keep my cool.
"Look, 'Baby born with two heads'. Must be from Brooklyn," i said nudging him with my elbow. Race cracked and slapped his knee.
"If it had three heads then it'd be from the Bronx." We sat there laughing until we heard someone arguing with Weasel.
"Are you accusing me of lying?!" Weasel shouted. I rolled my eyes and mouthed "asshole" to Race who laughed silently.
"No, i just want my papes." I look over to see a new kid, a guy about Jack's age and a little boy who looked about 9 or 10 years old. Jack was counting through his papers.
"It's 19 Weasel. Don't worry, it was an honest mistake. Ya see, Morice here can't count ta 20 with his shoes on." All the newsies and I laughed as Morice Delancy tried to grab Jack through the bars of the window. "Hey Hero, spot me two bits would ya?" I nodded and was about to pull two bits out of my pocket, but a hand on mine stopped me.
"Don't worry about it, i got it," Race said. He quickly threw Jack two bits before I could protest. I didn't realize his hand was still on mine. I looked up at Race to see that he was already looking at me. He lightly smiled and intertwined our fingers. I liked the way his hand felt in mine. It was strange, but it made me feel happy.
"Hey, get a room loveboids!" I whip around at the comment and shout "Shut it Skittery!" Skittery laughed and pretended to hide behind Mush.
I saw Jack try to spit shake hands with Davey, only for Davey to pull away. I laughed at this and nudged Race to make him look up at the situation. He laughed and shook his head.
Race stood up and pulled me up with him, since he was still holding my hand. We began walking to catch up with the rest of the Newsies.
"Wanna sell with me ta'day, mio amore?" He asked. My stomach fluttered at the idea of spending the day with Race. My heart skipped a beat when he called me "mio amore" which means "my love" in Italian. This is what he usually calls me, but today it felt different.
"Mmmhhhhh, and why'se would you'se want me ta sell with ya?" I asked, pretending to think about it. He stopped and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe it's just 'cause i'se get lonely," he said with a fake pout. I scoffed at this and shook my head.
"I'se think you'll survive without me." I was about to walk away to sell my papes until Race gripped my hand and pulled me back. I looked him in the eyes, wondering why he pulled me back.
"Just...be careful, alright? Da streets are dangerous. I'll be at da track lata if you'se want ta come see me," he said with a light smile.
"I'se might just take you'se up on dat." And with that i smirked at him and walked away. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked beyond the gates, ready to sell my papes.
