𝚁𝚄𝙽𝙰𝚆𝙰𝚈 ° racetrack higgins

Planning

Once all of us had settled down after our outburst, we started discussing ways to amp up the strike.

"Well, how about we hold a rally?" Davey suggested. "We get together all of the cities and plan our next moves."

I sighed. "Wes can't do dat. At least not yet. None of the otha newsies are gonna listen to us until they gets the nod from Brooklyn."

"But, we didn't back down." Les complained.

"Yeah." Davey agreed. "They said they would join us if we could show we wouldn't back down at the first sign of trouble. Clearly we didn't."

"Well, Spot runs on his own accords." I said flatly. "If he thinks we didn't do enough, then he's not comin'. And if he's not comin', wes ain't got a chance."

As if on cue, a small boy came into the deli. I instantly recognized him as Squeaky, the youngest of the Brooklyn newsboys; he had come searching for Spot a couple times when we were hanging out. He frantically looked around before he approached Albert, who was sitting across the restaurant from me. "Where is Pockets? I need to speak to her."

"Over here, Squeak." I said, sitting up straight in my chair.

The boy turned his head towards me and ran over, a smile on his face. "I have a message from Spot." I nodded at him, a signal to go on. "He said that he heard what happened at the center yesterday, and he's really impressed. Spot Conlon has agreed that the next time you take a stand, Brooklyn will stand right behind you. Along with all the other burrows; Harlem, Midtown. You name it. They're all in."

Only a few of the boys that were sitting at my table heard what Squeaky had said, and they started smiling and cheering quietly; Race, Mush, Romeo, and Boots.

"What is it?" Jojo asked.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Albert asked.

Race turned to me with a smile. "Ms. President, would you like to share the news?"

I nodded, smiling as I stepped up into the table. All the newsies turned to look at me, curiosity across their faces.

"As of this point in time," I said with a bright smile. "Our strike consists of Manhattan, Harlem, Midtown, the Bronx, the Bowery, Queens, East Side..." I trailed off. As I had listed off the other cities, the boys' smiles grew wider and wider. "And Brooklyn!"

The whole deli erupted into cheers. Boys hugged each other out of excitement and threw their fists into the air. After a minute, I whistled loudly, causing the place to go quiet again.

"Now, Davey." I said, causing the boy in question to turn to me. "What is this you were saying about a rally?"

David smiled before starting to explain the plan to myself and the rest of the newsies.

Word Count: 476