𝚁𝚄𝙽𝙰𝚆𝙰𝚈 ° racetrack higgins

Learning More

Omg! Thank you all so much for 100 reads! Woo! On with the story...

I took my time in getting back to the lodging house, my thoughts replaying what had happened the past few hours. The new boy, Spot, seems kind enough. Though, I don't really know him that well, so I shouldn't be quick to judge him. He could have just saved me for his own personal gain.

It was already sunset when I finally made it back to the lodging house. I opened the door and saw Kloppman at his usual place behind the counter. He gave me a kind smile before I headed towards the stairs. Even from here, I could tell the boys were awfully quiet; usually you could hear their loud banter the second you walked in the door. But even now, the only sound you could hear was the soft creaking of the steps as I climbed them.

As soon as I stepped foot into the large room, I was engulfed in a tight hug. I did need to see who it was to know it was Jack. I hadn't met anyone else who smelled of leather and pine. "Where da hell 'ave you been, Tate? I've been worried sick about ya. We all have."

I looked over my brother's should to see all of the newsies in the room, all looking at me with concerned eyes. It had only been a day and they were already seeing me as a little sister they needed to protect.

"I'm fine, Jack." I said softly. "He didn't hurt me, I swear. Someone stopped him before he even came within five feet of me."

Jack pulled back with a confused look on his face. "Wat do yous mean someone stopped 'im? Who was it?"

"Spot Conlon."

When I said the name, everyone seemed to come to a stand still. A few of the younger boys seemed afraid by just hearing his name, while the older boys seemed on edge, most likely due to past experiences with him.

"What? Why is everyone so scared? Is there something I don't know about Spot?"

"Spot Conlon is da King of Brooklyn, Pockets." Specs said, looking at me with big eyes.

"He leads all of da Brooklyn newsies." Mush spike up, causing my head to turn towards him. "And he wasn't just given dat position; he earned it."

"How did he earn it?" I asked, genuinely curious to know more about the boy who had saved me from getting soaked.

Kid Blink shrugged before sighing. "Not sure. But I do know dat if somethin happens in any or da burrows, Spot knows about it immediately. He's got a network of spies everywhere, along wit a lot of guards."

"Why does he need guards?"

"To make him seem intimidating." Skittery said. "To make him seem powerful."

"Look, Spot is a no good, rotten kid who doesn't do anythin unless it benefits 'im." Jack said, stepping in front on me.

"He seemed nice enough." I said softly. "I mean, he helped me when Morris could have easily beat me to a pulp."

"Dats cause he think he can get somethin out of it. Maybe use it as leverage against me. Thinking if he helped you out, I'd have to owe 'im or somethin."

I shook my head, furrowing my brows together. "He didn't even know who I was until I told him. Listen, you may not trust him, but I don't think he saved me to gain an advantage. I think he did it to help out."

"Now why would he do dat?"

"I don't know. Ever think he was just being nice?" I asked. When no one answered, I sighed. "Look, I'm tired. I'm just going to head to bed."

Jack nodded and turned around, now his back towards me. "We all should be heading to bed, actually. Lights out, fellas! Early start tomorrow."

"Carrying da banners." Race said softly, standing up from his place against the wall. I hadn't even realized he had been there; he was in the back, leaning against the wall with his cigar in his mouth. He wasn't wearing his cap, which allowed for his blonde curls to flow freely. The boy gave me a soft smile before setting his cigar on the bedside table and climbing onto his top bunk, which was a few beds down from me.

I climbed up onto my own as Jack crawled into the bunk beneath me. "Carrying the banners." I agreed before my head hit the pillow and I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Word Clarification
'Ave = have
Dat = that
Wat = what

Author's Note
Sorry if the chapters are kinda boring. I'm just putting in some fillers until I figure out what to do next. I'll probably evolve her relationships with certain people more before I start getting into stuff about the strike, which may come sooner than I had initially planned. We'll see.

Word Count: 763