Destructive - Newsies | Sprace

One | Race

Another day, another stack of papers distributed to New York City. Racetrack, along with a couple other Newsies who had finished for the day, were currently taking refuge in the Manhattan Newsboy Lodge House. It was a rare sight to see newsies trapping themselves indoors, but it was winter in New York, no one dared to spend a minute outside longer than they had to.

Racetrack was a simple newsie. He was known for his need to place bets and gamble on everything, alongside always having a cigar hanging from his lips. While no one wanted to admit it, Racetrack Higgins was probably one of the most charismatic newsies that ever worked for The World. And you bet your ass he was aware of this.

"I raise two." Race stated, sliding two dirty pennies into the middle of the floor.

Race was playing Go Fish with Albert and Snitch, yet somehow he managed to find a way to bet on it. That was Racetrack for you.

"I'm headin' down to Brooklyn. Anyone seen Davey?" Jack Kelly entered the room, readjusting his hat.

At the sound of the word 'Brooklyn', Race's head popped up and his saliva stained cigar fell from his mouth.

"Why you goin' to Brooklyn?" Race asked, "You seein' Spot Conlon?"

"Er, yeah. I was gonna take Davey but I don't think he's done sellin' yet so you can come if you want." Jack offered, looking slightly disappointed.

Race placed his cards face down on the floor, then stood up and grabbed his thin coat that was hanging from one of the bunks. It had been a good four months since the newsies had beaten The World, but in those four months temperatures had dropped and it's not like any of the newsies had the money to afford winter coats, making the cold season a scary time for those who easily became sick. Race was lucky enough to find his coat at his selling spot. Some poor rich kid had left it behind about two years back, and since then Race has worn the jacket thin.

The pair of boys stepped out into the familiar streets of New York City and began winding their way over to the Brooklyn Bridge. It didn't take long for the cold to sink through Race's coat.

"Why you goin' to see Spot?" Race asked.

"We got things to discuss. We're an alliance now." Jack explained.

"I think alliance is taking it too far, more like 'not enemies'." Race chuckled to himself, recalling how most newsies feared Brooklyn until they joined together with them for the strike, and that once the strike ended, most newsies went back to fearing Brooklyn.

It was quite a haul, especially in the cold, to get from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Race always enjoyed crossing the bridge though. As they neared the end of it, they could already spot three of Spot's boys lounging at the point of crossover from bridge to land.

"Back down, Switch," Jack instructed as one of the boys stood up.

'Switch' seemed the be the leader of this little trio of boys, as he stood in front of the other two and carried himself a little higher.

"We got a meeting with Spot. Surely you know." Jack sighed.

"Don't mean I like ya." Switch spat.

"Just let us pass." Jack insisted.

Switch practically snarled as he moved out of the way so that the Manhattan boys could make their way down to the small docks, which is where Spot would normally be hanging out.

As they walked along the thin wood, newsies and fisherman alike could be seen hanging about. Some were yelling at the Brooklyn boys because they kept snagging fish from the boxes they would put them in once they were caught.