|
Post by Jordan Brody on Jun 16, 2008 17:22:59 GMT -5
The fate of the Newsies was at stake and all Jordan could think about was how hungry he was. He was meeting The leader of Manhattan who just so happened to be Jack Kelly and in big trouble. That was the least of his worries. His biggest concern right now was what he would order. He let his eyes wander down the menu. He didn't look at the food choices, he looked at the prices. Whatever was the cheapest, was what he would eat.
4 cents. His eyes scrolled to the left. Blueberry Muffin. That wasn't so bad. A waitress with a very fake looking beauty mark on her cheek came over and asked him what he wanted. He ordered the muffin. She nodded, chewing her gum so furiously that he wouldn't be surprised if it tried to escape, and shuffled away.
There was a commotion off to the side, and Jordan turned his head just in time to see his muffin go flying off of the tray that the waitress had just lost control of. Some person had scooted out their chair just as she was about to pass with his muffin, and had knocked right into her, causing the tray to fall. Jordan's jaw dropped, as he watched her pick it up, brush it off with her fingers, and continue towards him. Eew.
What made things worse was what happened next. An old man walked by, sneezed so loudly and so far, that Jordan was sure everything that was in the mans nose was now on his muffin. But that wasn't the worst of it.
"Ooh! Are those kind of muffins good?" a squat looking woman asked, as she pointed towards his muffin. "I don't rightly know ma'am.." The waitress said in a voice deeper than Jordan's. "Oh, well, would you mind if I--" the woman didn't even wait for an answer. She was already out of her seat and had dug her fingernails into the muffin, taking off a generous hunk, and popping it into her mouth.
The muffin finally arrived, as did Jack. Jordan stared at the muffin, mouth slightly agape, and his eyes unfocused. That was so...Wrong.
|
|
|
Post by Jack Kelly on Jun 16, 2008 17:35:34 GMT -5
For a while, Jack Kelly had been meaning to meet with Jordan Brody, the Queens leader, about everything that had been going on. He didn't know what was going on in Queens, but Manhattan was buzzing with activity and worry. In every aspect of life Mike was making himself known. Several of Jack's newsies had suffered injuries, others were in emotional shambles, and there was the constant threat of someone--anyone--turning out to be Mike's cohort. Things weren't going well, and for once Jack wasn't afraid to say that he needed help.
If Mike was finding a way to get people together for his cause, so would Jack. Mike had already gotten Mitch and the Bronx on his side, so Jack knew he couldn't waste any more time in talking to the other leaders before Mike did. He knew Spot would probably be with him on this one--the Brooklyn leader knew as well as anyone everything that Mike had done. Jack had arranged a meeting with Jordan at Renolli's so they would be able to talk. Jack needed Jordan's support, along with that of the Queens newsies. They needed all the help they could get. Anything to make sure that Mike was sent away from New York, in any way possible.
Jack entered Renolli's in time to see Jordan sitting at a table as a waitress set a muffin down in front of him. Jack was wondering why the muffin was missing a large chunk already, and why Jordan was looking at it in horror. Approaching, Jack grinned lightly and asked casually, "Somethin' the matter...?"
|
|
|
Post by Jordan Brody on Jun 17, 2008 1:51:03 GMT -5
"Somethin' the matter...?"
Jordan glanced up, a slightly shocked looking expression placed over with a grimace plastered on his normally well humored face.
"You have no idea." he stated monotoned. With the very tips of his fingers, he daintily pushed the muffin towards Jack. It looked like a very other muffins, except that it was missing a chunk, and you'd never know that it had endured so much. That was the problem. How much did each bit of food endure before getting to its costumer?!
"Well...We're obviously not here for just a friendly lunch date...So, whats got your knickers in a bundle, eh?" Jordan asked, leaning back casually into his seat. The muffin was staring at him. It was haunting him. Eat...Me...Eat...Me... Jordan's temple began to throb. It was making him dizzy. Or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't eaten that he was dizzy? Whatever the case, he just couldn't handle that muffin taunting him like that.
"NO!" he yelled angrily, and slightly chaotically as he bounced forward, slamming his fist down onto the muffin. That aught to teach it a lesson. Glancing up, he noticed the startled expressions of everyone in the restaurant, and Jack who looked as though he wished he'd never come.
Well, some explanation would be needed there. Think fast..Think fast...Yes!
"Thats...What I plan on doing to Greaser." he said casually, as if he had planned the whole little charade out.
|
|
|
Post by Jack Kelly on Jun 17, 2008 19:26:30 GMT -5
"You have no idea."
Jack was sure he didn't. But he decided to leave it alone, considering there were much more important things to think about. He took a seat across from Jordan and propped his elbow on the table, leaning his chin on his fist, his eyes cast down toward the wood floor. It would be clear to anyone that everything that had been going on had been bothering Jack to the point where he was put almost permanently out of his good humor. But he hoped that with Jordan's and Spot's help everything would turn out okay.
"Well...We're obviously not here for just a friendly lunch date...So, whats got your knickers in a bundle, eh?"
Jack pulled a cigarette from his shirt pocket and put it between his lips. "You know what's goin' on, Jordan," he said, his voice sounding unnaturally hollow. He struck a match on the tabletop and lit the cigarette, only then realizing that his hands shook slightly. How long had they been doing that? Jack ignored it and went on. "Things over in Manhattan have been--"
"NO!"
Jordan slammed his fist into the muffin that had been set in front of him. Stunned, Jack blinked at him. What in the Sam Hill had just happened...?
"Thats...What I plan on doing to Greaser."
It was enough to produce a chuckle from Jack. He nodded curtly. "Ah...good? Good..." At least he knew Jordan would support him, at least...
|
|
|
Post by Jordan Brody on Jun 18, 2008 2:25:20 GMT -5
"You know what's goin' on, Jordan," "Things over in Manhattan have been--" "Ah...good? Good..."
Jordan leaned back in his seat and nodded, "Good..." he said trailing off. That could have been handled better, or differently, but it had been handled and it was over, so Jordan was happy.
Jordan thought about the consequences with joining Manhattan in its fight for a moment; There would surely be some losses and injuries, maybe even some deaths - but they weren't counting on those to happen. The Queens newsies were just as tough as every other boroughs, and are often stereotyped as the wusses of New York who love everyone and can't fight. That is wrong. The Queens Newsies fight just as well as the Brooklyn Newsies - the only difference being morality and kindness. The Queens Newsies know when to fight and when not to. They are kind hearted and generous, and they are very morally secure.
If Queens was a Harry Potter House, they would be the Gryffinclaws. A mix between Gryffindors and Ravenclaws.
Jordan had, in fact, been contemplating the issue that was going around - and he had figured, Mike is not the person to get tangled in with. He had already decided that he would be standing with Manhattan - this meeting was merely to secure it.
"You know were with you all the way Jack." he said seriously, offering the leader a smile.
|
|
|
Post by Jack Kelly on Jun 18, 2008 14:06:53 GMT -5
"You know were with you all the way Jack."
Hearing Jordan confirm their partnership made Jack slightly more relieved - slightly. Having Queens on their side was certainly a bonus, and it was definitely more than they had started out with. But Jack was only worried about one thing: would it be enough? He didn't know what Mike was doing, and he didn't know how many people, outside of the Bronx, that Mike had on his side. That was the most frustrating part of the entire conflict: Jack was at a loss as to what the other side was doing.
Jack also knew that he hadn't been himself lately: carefree, sarcastic and in essence in good spirits. But all this serious business had really turned him around. He could hardly recall the last time he cracked a joke since Mike came into town. That, too, bothered him more than anything. He despised the fact that someone else could regulate how he was feeling, whether he was aware of it or not.
Jack gave Jordan a firm nod. "Thanks, Jordan. Now listen...things - they might get bad fast. An' I don't want your boys to get hurt any more than my boys, see?" Since Jordan was offering his partnership for Jack's benefit, it was almost essential that Jack looked out for the welfare of Jordan and his newsies (more responsibility, Jack thought with a bitter tinge, just what he needed). He told Jordan, "Mike don't got a problem with murder, and anyone he got with him probably don't got a problem with it, neither." He stopped, wondering if after he said all this, Jordan might withdraw his support.
Jack shook his head and leaned in slightly, his cigarette held in one hand. "You and your boys don't gotta get mixed up in anythin' until things start heatin' up." Jack had no doubt that they would. "All I need from you is when I call on you, you and your boys'll be there." He stuck out his hand across the table. Partners?
|
|
|
Post by Jordan Brody on Jun 26, 2008 2:16:15 GMT -5
"Thanks, Jordan. Now listen...things - they might get bad fast. An' I don't want your boys to get hurt any more than my boys, see?" "Mike don't got a problem with murder, and anyone he got with him probably don't got a problem with it, neither." "You and your boys don't gotta get mixed up in anythin' until things start heatin' up." "All I need from you is when I call on you, you and your boys'll be there."
Jordan nodded. He knew full well what the risks were, but he had thought it out, and had come to his best conclusion. Queens would fight with Manhattan. He had always thought of Jack as a distant brother of sorts, one of those people who you know and trust - but that you don't really know that well, or hardly see.
"You can count on Queens. I've talked to me boys already and they are more than willin' to fight with you 'Hatteners." Jordan said grinning. They had all talked it over, and Jordan had found that his Queens newsies were willing to do more than just fight Midtown.
"You aint gotta call on us only when you need backup. We'll go right into everything with you." he said seriously.
He glanced down at the mutilated muffin in the middle of the table, and then back up to Jack. "You want that?" he asked, gesturing down to the muffin with his eyes. He sure didn't want it - and hell would freeze over before he payed for that thing. It just sat there, hunks missing from it - slightly flattened from Jordan pounding it, and looking just a tad dirty from all the time it did on the floor and near peoples noses. It was slightly sickening.
|
|
|
Post by Jack Kelly on Jun 28, 2008 21:22:51 GMT -5
"You can count on Queens. I've talked to me boys already and they are more than willin' to fight with you 'Hatteners."
Jack nodded, and gave Jordan a tight smile. "You got some good boys, Jordan," Jack said. He was undeniably glad that he had the Queens boys on his side. He knew that Jordan would fight, and most of the other boys in Queens as well. They were more than willing, so Jack hoped that they wouldn't back down, no matter what happened. "I'm hopin' we can beat down Greaser with who we can get. But he got his boys in Midtown, and I hear Mitch is goin' with him, too..." That was the only thing Jack was worried about...if Mike had gotten the support of one leader, who was to say he couldn't get the support of another?
"You ain't gotta call on us only when you need backup. We'll go right into everything with you."
"A'right, Jordan." Jack leaned in again, lowering his voice a little. "Then you should probably know what's gonna happen. There's gonna be a fight. And even though nothin' was made official, it looks like it might be on Mike's territory. Maisy's Field would be a good size, and the bulls won't break nothin' up." Jack knew that fights tended to get from bad to worse when the coppers got into it.
"You want that?"
Jack looked at the muffin in a slight disdain. "Ah...no, no thanks..." he said haltingly.
|
|
|
Post by Jordan Brody on Jun 30, 2008 15:45:54 GMT -5
"You got some good boys, Jordan," "I'm hopin' we can beat down Greaser with who we can get. But he got his boys in Midtown, and I hear Mitch is goin' with him, too..." "A'right, Jordan." "Then you should probably know what's gonna happen. There's gonna be a fight. And even though nothin' was made official, it looks like it might be on Mike's territory. Maisy's Field would be a good size, and the bulls won't break nothin' up."
Jordan could see the whole thing in his head. A big battle on the most godforsaken field in the most godforsaken place in all of New York. He could just picture the two sides running, and colliding with each other, fists flying, teeth bared, fancy feet, and no muffins. No muffins...? Oh no...It's haunting him now. It's going to haunt him for the rest of his life.
Jordan took a shaky breath. trying to rid himself of the blueberry thoughts. "Just tell us when, and we're there." he said, not looking at Jack, but staring intently, angrily at the stupid caved in, snot covered, filthy muffin in front of him.
"Ah...no, no thanks..."
"I'm never eating here again." he said shortly. He was slightly terrified as to what had already made it into his stomach from this place in the previous visits, and would not be surprised if he died an early death or got poisoned.
((Jordan is sooo...Un-concentrated...Like pulp free orange juice...))
|
|