All is fair in Love and Strikes (Sprace)

Chapter 3 I Race

Dave, Mush, and Jack dragged me halfway to the Brooklyn bridge. Literally dragged me before Jack just had to throw me over his shoulders. "No, no I'm not goin' ta Brooklyn." I insisted. "I don't need you'se to be my wing man." I was not about to look like a fool in front of Spot Conlon. I thought this strike would help me get my mind off him. That's why I said Midtown and not Brooklyn. "What's so bad about Brooklyn? And why would they be your wing men?" David asked, gesturing to Mush and Jack. Of course he had to ask. Now I gotta come out to the walking mouth. "You'se let this information slip and I'se gonna soak ya," I snarled. "Okay, okay I got it," David said. I looked around to make sure no one could hear. "I'se gay and I'se gotta crush on Spot Conlon," I confessed. David's eyes widened. "I won't tell a soul," he promised. I nodded my head and turned it to look at the river below.

"I'se gonna put you down now so you'se don't feel humiliated in front 'o Spot, okay?" Jack put me down right before we made it to the docks. "Thanks, but uh, I'm out." I saluted him and made a break for it but he was faster. "Ah, sorry Race but you'se goin' back up there so you'se don't run off." Jack said as he lifted me back on his shoulders and carried me toward the docks, Mush and David in tow. 

"Put me down!" I yelled, I started kicking, "Put me down you dirty, rotten-" I heard a laugh, but I couldn't see since they were in from of Jack and my head was behind. "Well, if it ain't Jack be nimble, Jack be quick." The voice said. "I see you moved up in the world, Spot. Got a river view and everything." Jack responded. No. No no no no no. Here I was, draped over Jack's shoulders in from of, not only the King of Brooklyn, but my crush. "You'se gotta be kidding me," I said, "Jack if you don't  put me down right now I'se gonna soak ya." "Fine." Jack put me down, keeping a firm grip on the back of my shirt so I wouldn't run, and smirked. I glared at him and punched him in the face, making his nose bleed and would definitely give him a good black eye later. Spot laughed. I loved it. It wasn't too deep but wasn't too high pitched like a little kid's. "Why'd Jacky-boy have ta carry you'se here?" He asked, still laughing. "That's for me ta know and you'se ta not find out," I said, fiddling with my cigar. He got up in my face. So close I could feel his breath. So close our noses were almost touching. God I just wanted him to lean forward just that little bit more and close the gap. I started blushing. No! Stop blushing! Not now, you're gonna give yourself away! I thought.  "I know what I want to know Racetrack. Tell me." He said. How does he know my name?  He said he knows what he wants so did he want to know? Maybe it's just because he's King of Brooklyn so he just knows everything... almost everything. Thankfully Mush stepped in to help. "Race doesn't feel comfortable in Brooklyn right now because he won this bet recently and tha guy wasn't too happy about it and tried to soak him so now Race thinks tha guy will find him here."  Mush explained with a little too much detail. 

Spot looked Race up and down, then smirked. Thankfully he seemed to believe it.  He changed the subject. "Yeah. So, Jacky-boy. I've been hearing things from little boids. Things from Harlem, Queens," He shot a marble with his slingshot, hitting a glass bottle square in the middle, breaking it. "All ova. They been chirpin' in my ear. Jacky-boy's newsies is playing like they're going on strike." "Yeah, well, we are," Jack said. "We're not playing. We are going on strike," David corrected. Spot got up in his face, like he did with me but not as close. "Oh yeah? Yeah? What is this, Jacky-boy? Some kind of walkin' mouth?" "Yeah, it's a mouth," Jack said. "A mouth with a brain, and if you got half a one, you'll listen to what he's got to say." Spot glared at Jack but David just started talking."Well, we started the strike, but we can't do it alone. So, we're talking to newsies all around the city." "Yeah, so they told me," Spot said, sitting down on a barrel. "But what'd they tell you?" "They're waiting to see what Spot Conlon is doing, you're the key. That Spot Conlon is the most respected and famous newsie in all of New York, and probably everywhere else. And if Spot Conlon joins the strike, then they join and we'll be unstoppable. So you gotta join, I mean... well, you gotta!" Spot smirked. "You're right Jacky-boy, brains. But I got brains too, and more than just half a one. How do I know you punks won't run the first time some goon comes at ya with a club? How do I know you got what it takes to win?" Boy this kid was stubborn, but I found it kind of attractive. 

I smiled a little bit but covered it up when Spot looked at me. I got up in his face like he did me. "Conlon, we's just walked three hours just to get here, half of it they were carrying me, we sent newsies out all across New York and we risked getting soaked, both literally and figuratively," I said gesturing to the river, "and you'se saying we ain't serious? How bout I roll ya for it eh?" I asked, pulling out my dice and backing up some. "double and you join the strike." Spot glared at me and pulled his pimp cane out of his belt loop, then laughed. "Use my last name again and I'se soak ya, but you'se got guts," he said through his laughter. He calmed down again and fixed back on his blank face. Spot would be good at poker, he's got the perfect face for it. "But that ain't good enough Racey. You'se gotta show me."

As soon as we made it out of earshot of the Brooklyn newsies and on to the bridge, Jack, Mush, and David all started laughing. "You'se should have seen your face when he was right up in it," Mush said between laughs. "Yeah, and when he was checking ya out," David added, nearly crying. "Wait, he was checking me out?" I asked. That just made them laugh harder. They continued to make fun of me and Spot all the way back to Manhattan.