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Post by Street on Mar 6, 2010 15:04:47 GMT -5
"Your the same age as me then. Eh, lots of people are the same age as me."
Street looked at her skeptically. She glanced at Queenie, up and down. "There's no way yer the same age as me! I mean look!" She gestured helplessly, then shook her head nervously. "No, ya don't have skinny ankles! And, I bet ya have dimples on yer elbows, all I got is bones!" She rolled up on her almost transperent sleeves and showed Queenie her elbow. "Oh, sorry, must've fallen on something." She rubbed some dirt off quickly. "See? No dimples..." She shook her head. It was one of her greatest wishes, to have tons of cinnamon buns, no skinny ankles, and dimples on her elbows.
"No one likes to fight, except for maybe Brooks,"... "and hopefully, they aren't here. They're probably round Harlem, trying to figure out what's going on."
Street tilted her head, wondering what was going on. "Is somethin' goin' on? I haven't heard anythin' at all. Only this and that, here and there. Can never hide long enough ta figure it out. As ya can tell I'm sure, I can't stay still or quiet for too long." She chuckled. "I'm sorry, I'm not makin' any sense, am I? What I'm askin' is, what is goin' on with Harlem and Brooklyn?"
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Post by Queenie on Mar 7, 2010 15:45:50 GMT -5
"See? No dimples..."
"Dont worry, you'll get plenty o' food soon. Besides, it dont matter, dimples or not. We'se all the same." Queenie thought of that when she thought of how people, no matter their title, where the same. It was just kind of one of those things that it seemed everyone thought about. Well, people thought of everything, without knowing it. It was one of those automatic things someone thought about. Besides, no one could be so hungry forever, especially if you had a way of getting money, which was easy for newsies, but spending the money was a bit hard, since you had to be careful.
"I'm sorry, I'm not makin' any sense, am I? What I'm askin' is, what is goin' on with Harlem and Brooklyn?"
"Borough war, Ghost wants Brooklyn so a war broke out," she replied, "Dont worry 'bout it. T'ings have died down, so it wont be too bad, I guess." The war was crazy, anyone knew that if they read the papers. Queenie had too, so she never really cared about war unless it affected her any. Then she had some issues that she'd like fixed.
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Post by Street on Mar 7, 2010 16:03:08 GMT -5
"Dont worry, you'll get plenty o' food soon. Besides, it dont matter, dimples or not. We'se all the same."
Street bit her lip. She didn't want to argue, but that was wrong. So throwing caution to the wind she closed her eyes and boldly said, "That ain't right! People aren't all da same. There's people like ya who are kind and good and have power and shelter and friends and family too somewhere. Then there are people like them hoity-toities who don't notice nobody or nothin' unless they can get rich off noticin' such things, like you could ask a hoity-toity what color and scent a rose was and all they'd tell ya was how much it cost and how many more they bought then their neighbors. And then, there are people like me, who live under bridges and fight every day ta survive, who have to cheat and lie and steal just ta get somethin' even when we don't wanna lie and cheat and steal." Street opened one eye, to gauge Queenie's reaction.
"See? There are hoity-toities, then kids who are lucky enough ta be loved and cared for like ya, and then there are kids who have nothin' and no one and when they die no one cares 'cept for the rats 'cause they finally get ta eat somethin'!" Street took a deep breath and then took on the air of someone who was frightened. She had mouthed off to another newsie before and Street still remembered the broken arm... It hadn't healed right so it still pained her sometimes, especially in the winter.
"Borough war, Ghost wants Brooklyn so a war broke out,"... "Dont worry 'bout it. T'ings have died down, so it wont be too bad, I guess."
Street pulled on her ear lobe, a sign of nervousness. "War? Ya mean, people die and stuff? But how can they do that ta each other? Don't they know that it hurts people?" Street shook her head. Unlike Queenie, she knew nothing of anything, because she could neither read nor cared to. You couldn't eat a newspaper, she's tried once, because it had had left over fish on it, but it didn't go so well. She got real sick and she remembered how bright the rats eyes looked as they stared at her, waiting for her to die, and she remembered how the fleas left her and the lice went again, certain that she could no longer support them.
Now, Street made sure to keep her hair clean of lice and to stay away from kids with fleas and lice and any stray animals (except for the occasional puppy that would over power her with its cute eyes). She still stood out of reach of Queenie, her legs tensed to run in case Queenie did get mad at her and attack her. She didn't want anymore wounds.
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Post by Queenie on Mar 10, 2010 17:37:37 GMT -5
"That ain't right! People aren't all da same. There's people like ya who are kind and good and have power and shelter and friends and family too somewhere. Then there are people like them hoity-toities who don't notice nobody or nothin' unless they can get rich off noticin' such things, like you could ask a hoity-toity what color and scent a rose was and all they'd tell ya was how much it cost and how many more they bought then their neighbors. And then, there are people like me, who live under bridges and fight every day ta survive, who have to cheat and lie and steal just ta get somethin' even when we don't wanna lie and cheat and steal."..."See? There are hoity-toities, then kids who are lucky enough ta be loved and cared for like ya, and then there are kids who have nothin' and no one and when they die no one cares 'cept for the rats 'cause they finally get ta eat somethin'!"
Queenie couldn't help but smile as the girl ranted to her. Yep. She'd fit in perfectly, "Well, there are those differences, but to me, everyone's a chess piece. You start off as a pawn, and you work your way up. We're all made out of the same material, just painted differently." Street was probably a kid who would fit in at the lodge, even if she wasn't as crazy as everyone else. She'd still fit in, why? Cause she had a certain spunk to her.
"War? Ya mean, people die and stuff? But how can they do that ta each other? Don't they know that it hurts people?"
"Yea, but not our wars. Ghost wants power, and he aint afraid to let a couple of his newsies die off for it. The Brooks though... they're barely keepin' the flame alive, if ya know what I mean. They want to keep their borough, badly. I think it's cause they're afraid ta leave the borough, and they dont want any other leader than Spot." Queenie thought of Spot as a tough cookie, one you had to break apart to see what type it was. No one really could break him apart, or crumble him into a million pieces, which was what made this war, a chess game. Each leader thinking strategically and briefly in their moves.
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Post by Street on Mar 10, 2010 20:07:10 GMT -5
Street stared at her. "What's chess?" She asked, then shook her head it was not important. "Ya talk an awful lot about chess and chessboards and I have no clue what yer sayin', but I'm gonna act like I do so ya feel better." She grinned at Queenie, just happy that the girl didn't punish her for contradicting her. Street scratched the side of her nose, yawned a bit.
"Yea, but not our wars. Ghost wants power, and he aint afraid to let a couple of his newsies die off for it. The Brooks though... they're barely keepin' the flame alive, if ya know what I mean. They want to keep their borough, badly. I think it's cause they're afraid ta leave the borough, and they dont want any other leader than Spot."
Street looked up sharply. "Ghost..." Even the name scared her. She shuddered but brought her head up, stuck out her chin. She was not afraid of anybody. "So, Ghost is willin' ta let his people die, just for a few feet of land?" She shook her head. "If I was a leader, I'd solve everythin' with a poker game, 'cause no one can bet me at poker!" She poked her chest with her thumb, rather proud of her skill at the gambling table. She grinned. "I've seen Spot before." She leaned in toward Queenie. "Don't tell no one, but I think he's absolutely dreamy!" She giggled, hiding her face.
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Post by Queenie on Mar 10, 2010 20:15:44 GMT -5
"Ya talk an awful lot about chess and chessboards and I have no clue what yer sayin', but I'm gonna act like I do so ya feel better."
"Chess is a game that takes skill, and strategy. You try and take the person's king strategically. It's kind of confusing when you first learn, but then it's easy," Queenie liked talking about chess, even greater when she got to describe it. But then again, not a lot of people understood chess, so she just kept her mouth shut because she probably would of rambled on and on and on about it.
When Street said Spot was dreamy, she started laughing, "I dont. He's like a distant cousin, or a brother too me. Besides, he's taken so I dont even bother. 'esides, I dont like ta date other leaders, it just makes t'ings awkward ya know?" Street probably didn't know how awkward it would be, like, if she randomly started dating Ghost, it would be awkward for the other leaders, but then again, that would be just plai out wrong. She did not like Ghost, so if she dated him it would be suicide.
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Post by Street on Mar 10, 2010 20:32:56 GMT -5
Street nodded, still not sure what the girl was talking about. "Stra-teg-ically..." She sounded the word out carefully. "Like, um, thinkin' about what yer enemy's gonna do so ya can try and best 'em at it?" She asked, tilting her head. She laughed. "It's confusin' and I haven't even tried it yet!" She said between laughs.
"I dont. He's like a distant cousin, or a brother too me. Besides, he's taken so I dont even bother. 'esides, I dont like ta date other leaders, it just makes t'ings awkward ya know?"
"Awkward... Hmm. I've never had a brother, least not one I can remember, so I don't know what's that like. But I can imagine how awkward it would be. There was this one boy one time under the bridge and he started askin' all these questions that I had no answers for. I got all embarrassed and such and wish he'd just stop talkin'! Is that awkward?" She asked. She wanted to be sure, to make sure that she did not mess anything up. Street looked at her expectantly, like a child would a mother, waiting for her to explain her questions. Street had many questions. Her most important one was what did the bulls badges say? Even if she could read, she'd never stayed around long enough to find out.
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