Newsies: The Movie

Chapter 6

"Miss Medda Larkson!" the announcer announced to the crowd as they cheered.

"My lovey-dovey baby." Medda sang. "I boo-hoo-hoo for you."

Jack and David peered between all the ropes, Jack smiling wide.

"I used to be your tootsie-wootsie. Then you said toodley-doo." she made a waving motion. "I miss the hanky-panky. Each nighty-night till three."

Les nodded along to the beat of the orchestra's song.

"Come back, my lovey-dovey baby, and coochie-coo with me."

David closed the door to the theater, coming face-to-face with Jack, who was smoking a cigarette against the wall.

"So, ya liked that?" he asked, jumping off the small step.

"Oh, I loved that. I loved it. It was great, she is beautiful, by the way." he raised a brow. "How do ya know her?"

Jack forced a smile, ignoring the pain in his chest. Or was it on his chest?

"She's a friend o' me fathers'." he pushed himself onto a wooden chair. "Come on, Les, you wanna... shine my shoes fo' me?"

Les leaned against the boxes the chairs were sitting on.

David pulled a gold watch out of his pocket. "It's getting late." he put it back in his pocket and looked at Jack. "My parents are gonna be worried." he nodded at Jack. "What about yours?"

He shook his head, still ignoring it. "No, they're out west lookin' for a place ta live." he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a pamphlet. "Like dis."

He flipped it over, revealing a paper that said "Western Jim" in big red letters at the top, a man with a hat similar to Jack's, wearing red cloths and a blue scarf around his neck, a shotgun in his lap as he sat on top of a white palomino.

"See? That's Santa Fe, New Mexico. 'S soon as they find a real ranch, they send fo' me."

"Well," Les said, looking up at him as he stuffed the pamphlet back in his pocket, "then you'll be a real cowboy."

"Yep."

There was a crashing sound somewhere near by, and the three boys looked up, startled.

Les pushed himself up and Jack jumped down from the box, the three walking towards the sound.

They ran down the street, Jack in the front and Les in tow.

"Come on, fellas, wait up!" he called.

David and Jack stared at the crowd, a fire lit on top of a carriage and David dodged out of the way as a men came running down, one riding a horse.

The three ran to the side as a man came crashing down on the street, men right behind him with clubs and black hats, beating him up.

David looked at Les, who had fallen asleep on a box.

"Jack!" he called out to the boy, who was pretending to throw punches of his own in a mimicking way of the men. "Why don't we go back to my place and divvy up? You can meet my folks!"

Jack turned to him. "Already into that part of the relationship, eh?" he blinked and wiggled his eyebrows, David letting a blush rise to his cheeks as he looked to his shoes. Jack pointed a thumb to the chaos. "It's da trolley strike, Dave! The couple a dumb-asses must not 'ave joined or somethin'." he spat at the ground.

"Jack, let's get out of here."

A carriage went by and bells rang from it.

"So maybe we get a good headline tomorrow, Dave, though I bet it won't have a' much as a good out come as what might 'appen in your room laddah tonight, if ya knows what I's sayin'." he patted the boy with the bright crimson face's shoulder, pulling him against his side as he hooked a arm around his shoulder. He turned to the sleeping boy and gestured to him. "Look at dis, 'e slept da whole way through it!"

He pulled at the kids' arm, lifting him gently over his shoulders. He smiled at David, then turned and started walking.