AN:/ I know I never do this, but see if you can spot a certain OC in this chapter. Good luck!- Aisling

Jack helps Crutchy to class and then shows Davey where his first class is. After doing that, Jack wanders into his own class to see a new girl sitting in his usual seat.

"Scuse me, miss," Jack says, trying to be polite, "But that's my seat." The new girl looks startled as she gathers her things up quickly and rises to her feet. 

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know that this seat was taken," She stutters nervously and Jack takes her in. She has brown hair and eyes that look like someone else's, someone like Davey's. Jack rubs the back of his neck out of habit and asks her,

"I, uh, hate ta be so forward soudin, but are you a Jacobs?" He asks and the girl's eyes widen.

"Yes, how did you know?" She asks, arranging her things so they stacked nicely in her arms.

"Ya look like ya bruddah, who I'se met dis mornin. Saved im from some o da bullies." Jack smiles at the girl and tugs on a sleeve of his zipper hoodie. She is really pretty and he can't seem to take his eyes off of her. "So, ya new round here?" She nods and flashes a smile at him. "What's ya name, Miss Jacobs?"

"I'm Sarah."

"Sarah, I likes dat. Dat's a pretty name. Mind if I'se shows ya round today? And den meybe later?" Jack shoots her a flirtatious grin and winks at her. Sarah shrugs and looks off into the distance.

"How about we just stick to during the school day," Sarah says quickly and a sad look crosses Jack's face. The teacher interrupts them by quickly starting to take role call. Jack sits down in his seat and Sarah moves off to find hers. She goes up to the teacher and exchanges a few words with her before moving to her new seat. Jack goes through his day until lunch rolls around. He guides the two Jacobs siblings to the cafeteria. They sit down with every other high schooler that lives in Jack's apartment. Jack notices that Sarah is staring at Crutchy. David must notice too, because he leans over and begins to whisper something in her ear. That does not keep Sarah from staring at Crutchy however. Crutchy smiles at her and says,

"Hi! I'se Crutchy!"

"I'm Sarah. It's a pleasure to meet you," Sarah replies shyly.

"You as wells," Crutchy answers, trying hard to match her exceedingly proper behavior for a high schooler. Jack rolls his eyes and begins to eat his lunch. The boys talk about the school day and how terrible this teacher is and how this cute girl they like said this. Sarah shifts uncomfortably as she eats her small sandwich. Jack jumps in occasionally on the conversation, but he spends most of his time talking to David.

"So Davey," Jack starts and Davey jerks up to an upright position, "Whaddya tink o it here?"

"Well, it's not terrible. I don't really know anybody and some of those kids from earlier are trying to heckle me," He answers and Jack offers a sympathetic smile.

"Tried ta invite ya sister ta hang out wid me afta school an she didn't wanna, I'se got work at four thirty, but we'se could hang out a liddle bit," Jack says, trying to be friendly and encouraging to the new boy. Davey shakes his head.

"I think I'm just going to go home after school," He answers, "But, you have been very helpful and I think we are going to be great friends. My parents will just expect me home very soon after school."

"Dat's alright. We'se can help ya," Jack says with a smile. Suddenly, a small group of people pass by and pause behind Jack.

"He ACTUALLY managed ta TRICK our leadahs dis mornin," A voice says and another one says,

"Boy, ain't he gonna have ta pay."

"Oscar an Morris will see ta it poirsonally, I'se sure." Jack turns around and a frown appears on his face as he turns to talk to the two people talking behind him.

"Ya know, if you'se was really loyal ta dem, you'se wouldn't tell deir plans when da poirson deys wanna get revenge on is sittin right in front o ya. An it ain't da foirst time I'se gotten away," Jack advises and the bullies walk away staring at Jack as they do. Davey looks nervously over at Jack.

"Are you in trouble?" He asks and Jack shrugs.

"Nothin I'se can't handle. Morris and Oscar ain't da smartest tools in da shed, so's deys real easy ta trick," Jack replies as he notices that Sarah has moved across the table to talk to Crutchy. Crutchy has never dated a girl or really had affections for any, so maybe this will be good for him to talk to Sarah. Jack watches their conversation when suddenly, something in the window catches his eye. He whirls around to see Morris and Oscar with fists aimed at the back of his head. "Well, aftanoon ta youse too." Jack greets and crosses his arms. Both brothers are sporting large black eyes which every boy at the table knows is courtesy of Jack's fist. 

"Ya knows dose black eyes look Kelly sized," Race says with a wink of his eye, "Didn't take da hint dat you'se was gonna get hoirt, huh? When ya mess wid one of Jack's boys, ya mess wid all a Jack's boys, no questions asked. Now, have a nice day." Jack internally is expressing relief that Race is taking one for the team this time. Oscar suddenly catches Sarah's eye.

"Hey, gorgeous. What are ya doin sittin wid da liddle crippled kid, huh? Wouldn't ya ratha hang out wid someone cool like me?" Oscar asks and Sarah shakes her head. She silently grabs Crutchy's arm and Oscar shakes his head. "Ya new kids don't gotta clue what you'se doin hangin round wid Kelly and his crew. Ain't gonna be long fore ya see dat's we worth it." Sarah shakes her head again and clings closer to Crutchy. "An Kelly, don't forget what day it is." The boys saunter off and Jack glares at their retreating backs. The bell to end lunch rings and everyone goes off to their next class. Jack's life is all work and no play. Except for hitting on Sarah who seems to enjoy Crutchy more than Jack at the moment. The rest of the day drags on and after what feels like forever, Jack is driving his group of kids home when Crutchy offers a word of advice from the passenger seat.

"Ey, Jack?"

"Yea, Crutch?"

"Be careful out dere. Da Delanceys seemed ta be serious bout dose threats an stuff."

"I'se will be fine, ya just do ya homework an I'se will be home afta woirk."

"Okay, but ya will tell us if someting happens, right?"

"Yea, I guess, shoah."

"Okay." And with that, Jack pulls into the driveway and unlocks the doors of his van. Jack shuts the van off and goes inside with the rest of the boys. He works on his homework and gets almost all of it done before he has to go to work. As he leaves, he hears Race trying to break up a fight. Not wanting to get involved, he leans his head in the other room and announces,

"I'm going ta woirk, see ya latah!" Jack jumps in his van and heads to the coffee shop in Harlem. Once he gets there, he pulls his apron on and helps Claire, one of his coworkers, open up. Claire goes to a different high school than Jack, but they are both the same age.

"Hey, Jack! So, how was school?" Claire asks in a cheery manner. She tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder and smiles a huge grin at him. Jack pushes in some chairs making them look presentable.

"Eh, it's Tuesday. Wasn't da best day evah," He replies as he flips the tattered closed sign to open. Claire flips on the light up open sign on the big glass window that looks out onto the street. The two stand behind the counter and Claire leans close to Jack. Closer than Jack really appreciates. Jack doesn't mind flirting with a girl every once in awhile, but Claire tries too hard. Way too hard. She really only seemed to have eyes for Jack at work where Jack had eyes for whoever he felt like hitting on that came to the coffee shop or to work that day.

"Is Flavi showin up at all?" Jack asks as he wipes down the counter and prepares to get ready for customers.

"Yea, I'se right here," A new feminine voice states from the back door. The back door swings closed revealing a short, dark haired, Italian girl.  

"Oh, yea, I'se just wasn't shoah dat you was comin," Jack says as she crosses her arms.  Flavi rolls her eyes,

"Mhm, an when have I evah missed woirk, Cowboy?" She pauses and answers her own question, "Oh, right! Nevah!" Jack rolls his eyes as she walks over to Claire and takes the iPad from her to clock in.

"I'se sorry, okay?" Jack asks, trying to get his coworkers to understand. "Where's Snappah?"

"Where do you think?" Claire asks in her only slightly New York accent. Unnoticed by all, a young brown haired woman about the same age as all of the workers sneaks in and sits down at a table. She opens up a laptop and begins to type. The back door swings open loudly and a voice shouts,

"I'se here ta all who was wonderin, got held up in some traffic, ya know?" The other three employees turn to see Snapper standing there with a goofy smile on his face. Suddenly, he begins to scold his coworkers. "Ladies and gent, what do we have here? A customer an a young lady at dat! All alone!" Snapper points in the general direction of the girl and Jack turns. He finds that he can't stop staring at her. She is absolutely gorgeous and Jack forgets about Sarah and any other girl that has told him now, because suddenly, she is all that matters to him. "Go get er, Jacky," Snapper encourages Jack and nudges him in the direction of the girl. Jack walks over to her before he can think through anything.

"Hello dere," Jack starts with a slightly flirtatious lilt to his voice. The girl looks up and gives him a nod. "Can I'se get ya someting ta drink or munch on?" Jack continues and the girl keeps typing away, ignoring him. "Da java chip shake is my poirsonal favorite," Jack says and the girl finally stands up and says,

"Can't you take a hint?" Jack takes a step back looking more than a little stunned. "I'm very busy working on my application for college and you are not helping at all. I might order something once I'm finished. I thought here would be a quiet place to work, but I guess with overenthusiastic coffee boys, it's not." The girl slams the lid of her MacBook Air closed and marches out the door. The other three sigh, clearly disappointed with how the exchange went.

"Well, looks like Jack killed any hope we got o getting a regular customer," Flavi mumbles and Jack shoots her a glare. The coffee shop was rarely busy anymore and the coworkers were begin to hate it. They wanted to have something to do, but all they ever did was stand around and talk to each other since no one ever stopped by. None of the employees on this shift had any idea what the other shifts did to customers, but they always tried to treat them with respect. Jack grabs the tools required to clean off the table that the girl was sitting at and gets to work. Claire comes up behind him.

"Whaddya want?" Jack asks as he sprays the table and starts to wipe it down. Claire stiffens and says,

"Don't feel bad, we'll get more customers and you really did a good job. That girl just seemed to be kind of a snob, ya know? Don't take it personally." To Jack's surprise, Claire leans up and kisses his cheek. Jack pretends that it did not happen since he does not reciprocate her feelings. Claire looks a little hurt, but she walks away with a sad smile on her face. This is exactly why Jack hates Tuesdays. People like the Delanceys beat him and the other boys up, and people like Claire know this and are super affectionate to  him on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are also the days that nothing happens in the coffee shop. None of it was fair to any of the people involved. Jack wipes at the table aggressively and notices that his coworkers are still watching him. Snapper smiles as three new teenage girls come in and order drinks. Jack watches as Snapper interacts with girls and begins to make their drinks. Once he has finished, Jack helps Snapper with the drinks. Claire smiles at him encouragingly, looking a little hurt still. The girls smile and say how adorable their two servers are. They promise to come back tomorrow for coffee. Snapper winks and says something that Jack does not quite catch. Flavi takes care of the dishes, smiling shyly in Jack's direction. The rest of Jack's shift remained somewhat peaceful until an old friend walked in the door.

"Jack Kelly!" Miss Medda Larkin, who owns Irving Playhouse, shouts his name. "You are just the man I need to see."

"Really?" Jack asks and Medda nods.

"You an the boys doin anything Saturday night?" She asks and Jack shakes his head. "You should come down to the theatre. There is a show going on that you boys might enjoy and I need you to paint backdrops for the next show." Jack flashes her a smile and asks her,

"Now what can I get ya ta drink?" Medda examines the menu and smiles.

"I'll have an espresso, Mr. Kelly. I need something with a little extra kick today if you know what I mean," She says, winking at Jack. Jack smiles as he starts to make the espresso. "Oh and Jack! I hired a new actress for this new show. She's about your age and she is a gem! I think you two will get along perfectly. She plays the lead and she is brilliant. This young lady also writes and I think she wants to be a reporter and do acting on the side. I'm not really sure, but she said she would perform for this show for sure." Jack smiles again and says,

"Well, you'se will hafta introduce us. I'se interested." Jack hands her the drink she ordered and she smiles,

"Thank you, Jack. I hope to see you and the boys there. Don't disappoint me."

"Oh, don't worry, Medda. I ain't one ta evah disappoint. I'se even met some new kids taday. We'se can bring dem along too."

"By all means, the more the merrier, Jack. Fill the balcony! I enjoy seeing you and the boys up there."

"I'se will be dere and I'se will bring every single boy wid me." Medda laughs at Jack's enthusiasm and glances at the watch on her wrist.

"Oh! I have to be going for practice for the show. I will see you and the boys Saturday night, Jack!" Medda says and Jack rushes out to give her a hug. For once, the dismal coffee shop seemed to be a happy place. It's Victorian era floral wallpaper that probably hasn't been changed in decades, seems to brighten. The gray, plain tiled floor covering the floor has a new shine and the lighting making the worn brown tables look brand new. Medda is the kind of person that can brighten up any place she walks into and at an old coffee shop in Harlem, she did just that. About an hour later, Jack and the rest of his coworkers close up the coffee shop for the night. Bidding all of his friends a good night, Jack hops in his van and drives home. Thoughts of Saturday night, the girl he is going to meet then, and the girl he tried to help at the coffee shop weighing on his mind. He pulls into his driveway feeling happy that he survived another Tuesday.

AN:/ There you go! Another chapter! Poor Jack! Although, you have to admit, that customer was not very nice. Did you spot the OC? If you did, please tell me who you think it is! Yes, there are some new ones in the mix now, but tell me who is in the oneshots as well as here. I hope you like the modern AU. Things will begin to pick up soon. I just wanted you guys to get a feel for what life is currently like for the Newsies. The story should begin to move forward next chapter. I hope you enjoy it! Please tell me what you think in the comments below or in the story. I love feedback! Also please vote for Flavi or Davey driving on my profile page if you like my oneshots and wish to have opinion on what one shot number six is about. Thank you for telling me what you think if you have, I appreciate it and will keep it in mind for my writing. As I have said in the oneshots, you can imagine any character however you like, except for the OC's because I created those characters. I have a certain image for them and you do not know who they are, so I am giving you some ideas. Anybody else is fair game. If you have seen the original Newsies movie and you prefer the way Crutchy looks in that one over the Andrew Keenan-Bolger Crutchy, then imagine that. I don't have a preference, that's just my example. They are both good Crutchys and they are both different Crutchys. I hope you have fun reading this one, because I am having a blast writing it. Enjoy the story! See you soon, friends!