Newsies Lodging House, aka the home of the Newsies, sat hidden in a corner.
You wouldn't think much of the old structure if you were to pass by it. It had a small brown door and above it were the yellow, washed out letters that spelled Newsboys Lodging House.

Inside, many boys were asleep on bunk beds placed closely together, while a girl's was hidden away in one corner.

Kloppman, the owner and great friend of the children, made his way up the stairs like every morning to wake up the rambunctious lot.

"Boots!" The elder man startled the sleeping boy and others around him. "Skittery! Skittery! Skittery!" He called, slapping the dirty foot that was hanging off the edge of the bed. "What, I didn't do it!" The tall boy sat up quickly, eyes blinking rapidly.

"What do you mean you didn't do it? Will you get up? When you get up, it's time to get up! You also have to wake up Y/N, ya know she doesn't listen to anyone else." The tired boy nodded in agreement, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he made his way to the bunk bed in the corner.

There lay asleep Y/N Kelly, who was not a morning person. Her face was buried deep in her pillow and a very thin comforter barely covered her, as most of it was hanging off the bunk.

Skittery looked at the small girl as a small grin inched it's way on his face.

"Hey, Y/N, ya gotta wake up." He spoke softly in his accent and shook her lightly. Some words escaped from her but they were muffled by the pillow.

"C'mon! We've got to sell the papes." He shook her, more violently this time. A string of curse words followed from the girl as she turned around so that her face was right in front of his. "Atta girl." Skittery laughed, patting her head, and made his way to the washroom.

"I'm not a horse!" The girl complained in a raspy voice before shoving her face back in her pilllow.

"That's my cigar!" Racetrack scolded Snipeshooter, who had the cigar in his mouth, the younger boy retaliated with, "You'll steal anudder!"

Y/N sighed as she climbed down from the top bunk and walked over to the two, smacking both boys upside the head, "Hey bummers, we got work tah do!"

She walked into the middle of the room to see Specs huffing his morning breath into Kid Blinks face, "Since when did you become me mudder?"

The cripple of the group, Crutchy Morris, walked in between the two, "Oh stop your bawling!" to which the rest of the boys began to look offended, "Hey, who asked you?"

"Leave the boy be," Y/N defended. Making her way over to the sinks she smiled at the familiar sight of boys rushing to get to the washroom.

Jack, Y/N's older brother, and Mush were joking around, punching each other as Crutchy stood behind them, quite awkwardly.

Y/N washed her face along with her teeth, and Crutchy was giving his thoughts on finding a new selling spot as there's "so many fake crips on the street today, a real crip ain't got a chance."

"Try Bottle Alley or the harbour." Y/N hummed, making her way over to Skittery as water dripped down her face before the boy wiped it away with her towel.

"Try Central Park, it's guaranteed" sang Racetrack as Jack flung shaving cream onto Mush.

"Try any baker, bum, or barber" her brother spoke, making his way to an old, stained mirror.

"They almost all knows how to read," Skittery tried to make his way over to a towel, but with all the water in his eyes he stood on Y/N's foot, making the girl squeal in pain and smack the boy with her towel. "Sorry!"

Kid Blink walked out of a stall, which happened to be the toilet room, slamming the door open and the awful smell of his business flew out, "I smell money!"

Crutchy was unfortunate enough to pass by, "You smell foul!" Blink, turned around, ready to give Crutchy a soakin' but Mush stepped in, "Met this goil last night" as he pushed Kid Blink away.

Y/N walked over to Skittery, who had managed to get half of his shirt wet and still hadn't found the towel, so she threw him hers. "Thanks." He blushed.

Crutchy made his way over to a metal tub, trying to get some water but Boots was in the way "Move your elbow!"

Racetrack made his way around the room, soap and water in his eyes.

Skittery teased the Italian by waving the cloth in his face. Like he could see it anyway. "Pass the towel!" Skittery jumped up onto a bench, waving the towel around. "For a buck I might!"
Y/N grabbed the towel and the much taller boy jumped over her.

All at once, many of the boys made their way out of the stalls "Ain't it a fine life, carrying the banner through it all? A mighty fine life carrying the banner tough and tall."

Y/N quickly rushed into one to get changed.

"Every morning, we goes where we wishes we's as free as fishes." She pulled off her navy blue onesie, leaving her in just her underwear.

She put a tight bra on, one of her brothers grey T-shirt's with the sleeves rolled up, and brown three-quatre trousers as well as her old brown boots.

Quickly putting her hair up into her cap, she walked out singing, "Sure beats washin' dishes"

And the boys continued, "What a fine life carrying the banner home-free all!" Tumbler rolled across the floor, pulling his suspenders up as he ran out.

Y/N laughed at the boy, remembering her younger brother Michael. She shook her head to get the memory out and followed the crowd.

They all made their way out of the lodging house. Poor Kloppman was not able to count how many there were as they were running out rather quickly.

Y/N caught up with her older brother and pranced around the street with him, heading towards the well known Newsies Square. "Summer stinks and winter's waiting. Welcome to New York! Boy, ain't nature fascinating, when you'se gotta walk?"

They all began doing their own gymnastics and dances, jumping off of stairs, doing roly-polys on the way. "Still, it's a fine life, Carrying the banner with me chums! A mighty fine life, Blowing every nickel as it comes"

Skittery was play fighting with a group of younger boys with the stick he had grown an attachment to.

Bumlets linked arms with Y/N and a group of others and they began to jump around in an odd line. Crutchy walked up to the front of the group, doing his own dance moves "I'm no snoozer, sitting makes me antsy, I likes living chancy!"

"Harlem tah Delancey!" Y/N nodded with a grin.

"What a fine life carrying the banner through the slums." the boys ended with an air hump.

Y/N turned her head around at the sound of the Nuns, "Blessed children thought you wonder lost and depraved." They were nice older women, giving small amounts of breakfast for the group of unfortunate children.

"Jesus loves you, you shall be saved!" One of the women passed Y/N a larger piece of bread and a cup filled with what was most likely coffee.

Not being a fan of coffee she gave Skittery the cup and passed half the bread onto Tumbler.

A woman began making her way through the crowd, making Y/N pull her cap down slightly. "Patrick, darling," she called out.

The others boys ignored her and continued to thank the nuns for food, "Just give me half a cup,"

"Since you left me, I am undone."

"Something to wake me up,"

"Mother loves you."

"I gotta find an angle,"

"God save!"

"I gotta sell more papes,"

"My son!"

They all made their way around the woman and towards Newsies square once more. Jack decided to go through an alley way so some boys followed. "If I hate the headline, I'll make up the headline and I'll say anything I hafta!"

Y/N gazed around the alley with the bread in her mouth.

"'Cause it's two for a penny, if I take too many Weasel just makes me eat 'em afta."

A new headline was being put on the noticeboard that you could see from a couple meters away, "Look! They're putting up the headline,"

"What's it say?"

Trolley Strike drags on for the third week, Y/N along with her brother scoffed.

"They call that a headline? I get better stories from the copper on the beat."
"That won't pay! So where's your spot? God, it's hot!"

Skittery leaned on the girl as they passed by passerby's and other Newsies.

"I was gunna start with twenty but a dozen'll be plenty"
"Will ya tell me how'm I gonna make ends meet?"

Finally by the statue of an old, and probably dead, guy, the group began  playing around again, "We need a good assassination! We need an earthquake or a war!"

Snipeshooter spun around a lamppost, "How 'bout a crooked politician?" Like that was news, they all began throwing their caps at the boy, scolding him.

"Hey, stupid, that ain't news no more!" Y/N sat down at the bottom of the statue, the gate to the distribution building that produced the papes wasn't going to open for another ten minutes. She enjoyed standing back and looking at all her friends and family having fun, as she would day dream of Santa Fe just like her brother.

"Uptown to Grand Central Station
Down to City Hall
We improves our circulation
Walkin' til we fall!"

She walked over to the gate, just as the Delancey brothers did too.

Oh how Y/N despised the Delancey's and wanted to give them a good soakin'. Actually, you wouldn't know of a single Newsie who did like them and wouldn't be willing to give them a shiner when they got the chance.

However, Y/N couldn't get too close to them as they could find out she was a girl. True, the constant dirt on her face, as well as her cap shielding most of it, made her look somewhat like a boy, her body looked very feminine. Her voice wasn't very high but when she would lower it from time to time it would sound really ridiculous and fake.

Y/N walked up behind Skittery and placed her chin on his shoulder.

"Dear me! What is that unpleasant aroma? I fear the sewer may have backed up during the night" Racetrack scoffed at the two brothers, imitating that there was an extremely unpleasant smell floating around.

Skittery laughed and the vibrations tickled Y/N neck, sending a shiver down her spine. She then spoke up, lowering her voice slightly, "Nah, too rotten to be the sewers." She smiled.

Skittery laughed once more. "It must be the Delancey brudders." Crutchy said, doing a weird voice. Oscar glared at Y/N, who he knew as 'Ballad'.

All the newsies called her that outside the lodging house, first of all for her safety, and second because she listened to ballads whenever she was able to, she would tell them that she felt like she was a part of a bigger story like the ones she would read.

The ugly git, as Y/N called him, looked back and put his focus onto Snipeshooter. "In the back, you lousy little shrimp" and he pushed the young boy to the ground. Most boys glared back as Jack picked Snipe off the ground.

"It's not good to do that." Racetrack scolded.
"Not healthy." Y/N agreed.

She made her way around to get a better view of the situation as her brother spoke up, "You shouldn't call people lously little shrimps, Oscar, unless you're refering to the family resemblance in your brudda here."

A smile appeared on many of the children's faces. Racetrack then decided to start a bet, like always. "That's right. It's an insult." Y/N yelled at them.

"Yeah, an insult. So's this!" Jack knocked Morris' hat off, grabbing it quickly and running off, the brothers following suit yet very behind. The boys along with the one girl followed after, curious of what the outcome would be.

The fight between the brothers and the Kelly boy occurred almost every morning and always ended the same. Jack winning.

Jack got to the statue, nearly knocking a boy, with light curly brown hair, freckles and cold blue eyes, over. "What do you think you're doing?" The boy was already annoyed. "Runnin'!" Jack ran off again as the Delancey's nearly got to him.

As the others ran off to follow Jack, Y/N stayed behind. She saw the random boy wincing in pain. "Hiya, the names Ballad Kelly." She said, putting on a thicker accent with a deeper voice.

"Umm, I'm David. Why are you putting on a weird voice?" He ignored her outstretched hand. She replied with a confused look and then put her focus back on Jack, who managed to make his way back over to the distribution centre.

Finally ending the fight between him and the Delancey's.

"C'mon!" Y/N pulled David along by his sleeve as a small boy followed them. Jack slid down a rope as the gates fully opened.

••••

Edited: 23 August 2020
Words: 2263