The Only Girl Newsie

Chapter 23: Newsies Square

I sat down in Newsies Square as I watched the sunrise. Today will be the day. Today will decide our future. Today we will take a stand.

Slowly the newsboys gather together. As they finish spreading the news of our strike, we all wait, hoping someone will come. Jack, Davey, and Les all came and found me at some point.

"How are youse holding up, Madie?" Jack asks me as he sits beside me.

"I'm fine," I told him. It wasn't totally true, but a lie like this won't hurt him.

"You think anyone's comin?" Race asks, joining our crew.

"Just give it time, will ya?" Davey tells him.

"At the very least Spot will show up, right?" Les asks, looking up at me.

All the boys' spirits were low. The sun had risen, and no one had arrived. I look around at the boys and know that today we will make a stand, even if it is just us.

"Pulitzer and Hearst, they think we're nothin'. Are we nothin'?" I ask.

"No!" Les yells in response. The other boys don't seem so sure.

"What's it gonna take to stop the wagons? Are we ready?" I ask again.

"Yeah," Jack says, looking at me.

"Wait, I hear something." Race says, standing up quickly.

Suddenly I hear something in the distance. It starts out faint, but it grows louder by the second;  there's shouting. I turn my head to look down the square to see hundreds of kids coming our way. And none other than Spot Colin was leading them with the Brooklynn newsies right behind. Behind them was every working kid in New York.

Spot comes running up to me as I stand to greet him. "What up, Miss Madie?" He asks me.

"Nuthin. Just winning a strike is all," I tell him, a smile on my face.

Jack stands and grabs my hand. "You ready ta go tell Pulitzer?" He asks me.

'Ready as I'll ever be' seemed like a good answer, but I thought of one even better. "Of course I am."

The two of us start toward Pulitzer's office, with Davey right behind. We have a score to settle, and the battle is almost won.