He Didn't Carry The Dog (Newsies)

1. Race's Breakdown

"I should've seen it coming," Race whispered on the verge of tears. No one replied. Not even Davey, who was always cheering people up. No one even commented as Race pulled out a cigar. But of course, that was Albert's job to comment first, everyone else just joined him. The table was awfully quiet without him. Without his wisecracks, and his teasing Race. Everyone seemed to be occupied, staring at their uneaten food or fidgeting with their hands.

After a minute of painful silence, Jack took a shaky breath. "No one could have caught it in time, Racer. It's not your fault," he said softly. He looked up and was surprised to see Race was crying. 

Racetrack Higgings. The 'tough' one. He never cried. Everything was fun and games. A joke. And cigars. Nothing ever got to him. But, obviously they did, he just didn't show it.

Upon hearing Jack's surprised gasp, everyone looked up. Nothing was said, except a single "Fuck," from Davey. No one else knew anything to say, and even that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Jack opened and closed his mouth.

David Jacobs. The educated one. He wasn't the oldest, but he was in all honors class. He had such a large vocabulary, sometimes the boys had to tell him to 'dumb it down.' He always tried to cheer anyone up who was sad. Granted, he didn't always do it right, there were even a few times he'd made it worse. One of those times was with Al, so he also felt guilty. 

Jack Kelly. Ready to throw hands at anyone who dared hurt his boys, but never good at emotions and sappy shit. 

"Race..." Elmer said, reaching for Race's hands that were currently folded on the table. "NO!" Race shouted, abruptly standing up. Everyone looked at him in shock. "You weren't as close to him as me. I'm supposed to be his best friend! I'm supposed to know when he's not okay, supposed to help him. You're just a kid, anyways, so shut the fuck up, Elmer, you don't know shit."

Elmer Kasprzack. At 14 and a half, he was the second youngest newsie. Yet he was one of the smartest. If Davey wasn't around everyone went to him for help, despite his only being a freshman.  He also happened to be one of the most sensitive. 

Elmer gasped as his eyes filled with tears, and Jojo automatically gave him a hug, yelling at Race. "Race, what the fuck! He didn't do anything!" Race's eyes widen as he realized what he said. "Shit, Elmer, I'm sorry. I-. Fuck." He abruptly stood up and walked away. Everyone automatically turned their attention on Elmer, making sure he was okay. Elmer heard everyone say "Ignore him," or "He didn't mean it," but he didn't listen. After being the one to find the body of Albert, and having to watch everyone else in pain, he couldn't handle what Race had said to him, even if he didn't mean it. He buried his face into Jojo's chest, and tried to calm down. He breathed in the familiar scent of Jojo and tried to even his breath. As Elmer started to calm down, Jojo began to rock him back and forth, whispering to him. "It'll be okay, you're okay. He was just being an asshole, yeah, El?" 

Jojo De La Guerra. Having just turned fifteen a couple days ago, he was not much older than Elmer, which might be why the boys were so close. If you were to be a stranger observing their relationship, you might just think they were dating. But if you asked either one of them, they said they weren't. Jojo just cared a lot about Elmer. He liked to make people laugh, and was almost always joining Race in jokes. But when it came to his friends, and hurting them, he could hold a grudge for a long time.

Elmer nodded into Jojo's chest. He turned his head so Jojo could hear him. "You didn't have to scream at him, though. He's upset," Elmer looked up at Jojo and frowned. Jojo looked down at Elmer's tear stained face and frowned. He held eye contact with Elmer for a minute, then sighed and looked away. He looked back and wiped the remaining tears off Elmer's face. "I know, but he didn't have to flip out on you, either."

No one else had said anything, too interested in the scene unfolding in from of them. Breaking the silence, Finch spoke up on Race's behalf. "It's not like he was trying to be a dickface. His best friend's in the ICU for fuck's sake. He's in pain. Try to cut him some slack, Jojo." Finch wasn't mad, just a little mentally beat. He got up to go find Race.

Finch Cortes. 16 years old, definitely the wisest. Manhattan Newsie. You need advice? He's got it. Need to know who's in the wrong during an argument? He'll tell you the truth, not what you want to hear. Need a shoulder to cry on? Take his. He'll keep you in check, and he won't tell you something just becuase it's what you want to hear. Well, unless what you want to hear is right. 

"I wonder when this all started. For Alby, I mean. He was so good at hiding everything." Davey looked up, but didn't say anything. There was a look in his eyes. Almost as if he wanted to say something, but was too scared to. Realizing this, Jack looked at him expectantly. Davey noticed, and figured there was no way out of this now, so he might as well spit it out now. "The other night, I heard him sniffing. I figured it was just allergies, or a cold. But the next morning..." he trailed off, shuddering at the memory of poor Elmer's scream. No one else said anything until they left.

Word Count: 986 words

Date Pusblished: November 16, 2019