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Post by reeves on Mar 30, 2009 21:57:42 GMT -5
"But you're sad now"
Like Reeves said, the kid was smart. He didn't think he looked that upset, he hoped he wasn't...oh shoot yeah he was.
"Why?"
Reeves sighed and moved from fiddling with his button to taking out his route list and ripping the paper up into tiny angry little shreds. He stopped and let the little scraps fall to the ground.
"Well, having a bad day. Not a lonely bad day. But still a bad day. I work for that big ol' department store in Manhattan, y'know, The Greeley Department store? Well they hired another delivery boy, so now work for me is slower."
Reeves usually didn't let much things bother him, but work was important to him. He wasn't really smart like his older brother Darry, but he could work hard and earn an honest wage, and he was proud of that. His boss certainly wasn't a fan of Reeves, what if he was impressed by the new kid and laid off Reeves? Then where would he turn? Reeves liked his job. He liked being able to come home and brag to his brothers how many packages had been in his load that day. He sighed and ran a hand through his dark brown slightly messy hair before replacing his gray cap, tipped to the side as always.
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Post by Milo on Mar 30, 2009 22:14:56 GMT -5
Milo kicked lightly at the scraps of paper on the ground. "Oh, dat's too bad" he said, resting his chin in his hands and looking up at Reeves sympathetically. He may have just been a kid but he knew what it meant to people around here to lose hours. and, more importantly, he knew that losing hours, especially to a new hire, was often a precursor to loing your whole job and that was bad. Worse than bad, even, that could kill you in the long run. "least it prolly ain't personal" he sighed, attempting fruitlessly to put a positive spin on the situation. "jus' too many rich folk wantin' too many t'ings" he muttered, shrugging. Sometimes, when his mother had still been alive, he could remember wanting to be rich and have all the toys in the world. Now... well, now he had leaned not to wish to hard for things that would never, ever happen. As long as he sold pretty well in a day, he was happy.
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Post by reeves on Mar 30, 2009 22:26:40 GMT -5
. "Oh, dat's too bad. least it prolly ain't personal. jus' too many rich folk wantin' too many t'ings""
"Yeah? Well you don't know my boss, Mr. Alexander, labeled me as white trash as soon as I stepped through the door. Had to hire me though, needed help badly and I showed him what I can do."
Reeves sighed and threw his hat down onto his lap tiredly. He sighed and shook his head, not wanting to complain in front of Milo, at least he still had his job, and even if he lost it, he still had two older brothers to provide for him.
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Post by Milo on Mar 30, 2009 22:48:16 GMT -5
Milo shrugged again. "still ain't personal." he muttered, his voice filled with a wisdom beyong his years. " He prolly don't know nothin 'boutcha . Don't care to 'cause a' how ya look... shoah he got a reason, good or not, but eithah way, it's got nothin' ta do wit' you." to tell, this truth, this point of view of things was not his but, mrs. Shultz's. He and his parents had lived with the mother and her husband and five kids before his mother's death and he had lived with her for a few months afterwards. She had been a really nice and wise woman (which more than could be said about some of her sons) and he'd leaned a lot from her not least because she had been a former schoolteacher. she'd taught him not only how to read, but also how to get along in life without coming out of it too disappointed.
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Post by reeves on Mar 30, 2009 22:58:18 GMT -5
"
"still ain't personal.He prolly don't know nothin 'boutcha . Don't care to 'cause a' how ya look... shoah he got a reason, good or not, but eithah way, it's got nothin' ta do wit' you."
Reeves looked into the little boy's face, and took in what he said, slowly nodding. He didn't stop to think about most things, he hadn't seen it in that light. He just smiled and ruffled Milo's hair. He was still upset, but getting angry wasn't going to get him his job back.
"Did I ever tell you you're a smart kid, Milo?" Reeves asked smiling. "You might even be smarter than Darry. He's my older brother and he's in school trying to become a teacher." Reeves explained.
His two brothers were two of a kind. He was just younger...he tried to do what Darry told him...most of the time. Danny was more like a best friend than a brother, and was just downright daring and crazy. Reeves remembered about Milo's family, the fact that he didn't have one and he felt a little guilty about talking about his brothers.
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Post by Milo on Apr 4, 2009 15:56:49 GMT -5
Milo shrugged and looked down at the ground. "dunno" he muttered embarasedly "don' t'ink I'm dat smart" he added, smiling slightly. He liked getting compliments but they always made him feel kind of guilty, like he must've lied to them in some way to make them think that. After all, he really wasn't anything special. He'd juust met a lot of people who were and remembered what they said pretty good. He was pretty sure that didn't make him partiularly smart or anything. The way he saw it, all that it made him was not forgetful. "So, ya gonna get anothah job or jus' stay in the one ya got wit' less houahs?" he asked despeately attempting to direct thehe conversation away from himself.
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Post by reeves on Apr 4, 2009 16:22:08 GMT -5
Reeves just smirked, good old Milo, but the kid was right. He was observative. There, that was a good word. Milo did smile though and that made Reeves smile. It was good to see the boy smile.
"So, ya gonna get anothah job or jus' stay in the one ya got wit' less houahs?"
Reeves thought a moment, good question. "Well, I dunno yet. I'm staying for now at this job unless they lay me off. But if they don't and I stay but work poor hours, I'll work two jobs maybe."
Reeves made up his mind, he would probably take on two jobs. He couldn't tell Alice though, she wouldn't like that at all, but they only had three of them working small shifts for the family, and when the rent was due sometimes it wasn't enough, especially with Darry's tuition.
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Post by Milo on Apr 5, 2009 14:04:32 GMT -5
Milo nodded understandingly "Yeah, I guess dere ain't too many othah choices" he sympathized, adjusting one of the straps of his overalls which had fallen off of his shoulder. "It'll be tough, though" he added quietly, glancing up at Reeves. He could remember his mother working two jobs after his father died and before she got sick. She had been gone almost all the time and sometimes he had almost forgotten what she looked like. One time he had even accidentally called Mrs. Shultz 'Mama' because he saw her way more than he ever saw his real mama. He felt sorry for reeves that he'd have to go through that because , as far as he figured at least, it had to be even harder for the person working to jobs than it is for the people waiting for them at home. An that was pretty damn hard to start with.
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Post by reeves on Apr 5, 2009 14:11:42 GMT -5
"Yeah, I guess dere ain't too many othah choices"
Reeves nodded sighing slightly, his blue eyes dimming slightly. "Yeah, I know it will be. I ain't completely decided yet. I'll have to see if I can even find another job. Some places just ain't hiring, specially kids. If a man has a hard time finding a job, its gotta be hard for a kid. Alice sure won't like it either. That's why I'm not gonna tell her. Today my route was finished by noon. Noon. Heck! That's only five hours! and the rest of the day, if I just sit around wandering the city, I'm gonna feel guilty either way. Sides' its hard enough on Alice when the rent bill rolls around."
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Post by Milo on Apr 6, 2009 17:02:44 GMT -5
Milo gave another sympathetic nod. He didn't know much about trying to make things easier for an older sibling but he did understand how hard it could be to find work as a kid. He couldn't imagine having to look for another job right now. Granted, it would be easier for Reeves than it would be for him since he was almost a grown-up but it would still be really hard. And, he couldn't even imagine only being allowed to work for five hours each day. He'd probably starve. It'd be as bad as it was back when he was just pickpocketing for a living. Suddenly, Milo's face lit up as if he had just had an epiphany. "Hey, ya oughta sell papes part time. i know tons a' kids who only sell in da aftahnoods or da evenin's aftah school an' stuff. An' it ain't like ya hafta get hiah'd foah it or nothin'. Ya jus' gotta buy da papes so's ya can sell 'em" he smiled up at the older boy, proud of himself for coming up with such a good idea.
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Post by reeves on Apr 6, 2009 17:20:08 GMT -5
"Hey, ya oughta sell papes part time. i know tons a' kids who only sell in da aftahnoods or da evenin's aftah school an' stuff. An' it ain't like ya hafta get hiah'd foah it or nothin'. Ya jus' gotta buy da papes so's ya can sell 'em
Reeves thought about it long and hard, not saying anything. He paced back in forth in front of the fire escape where Milo sat. He turned to Milo and his face was slightly doubtful.
"You think I'd be able to do it? I mean, I ain't the greatest at words and such. I watch them make up headlines and it looks dang hard. And what if nobody wants to buy from me? I mean I bet there's gotta be at least one kid in the city that gets left with no customers. There's so many newsies."
Reeves remarked, the fifteen year old rubbing his neck and looking at the little boy for condolence. It would be easier than finding an actually hiring job, and he could do it easily without Alice worrying perhaps, or he didn't even have to tell her.
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Post by Milo on Apr 6, 2009 17:59:40 GMT -5
Milo shrugged "I dunno 'bout that but I always got customahs. Some of 'em I got 'cause I'm a kid an' dey feels sorry foah me. Ya prolly won't get too many 'a dose 'cause ya so much oldah. but dere's plenty a' guys who sell whos way oldah den you. So dere's gotta be some kinda trick, to it. I mos'ly jus' stare at people til' dey get so creeped out dat dey jus' buy a pape ta get me ta go away." He looked Reeves over for a moment before adding an apologetic "But, I don' t'ink dat'll work too well foah you. Dey'd jus' prolly try ta beatcha up." He thought for a few minutes before continuing. "We'd jus' hafta getcha a sellin' spot dat's real convenient foah da folks who'd mos' likely wanna buy from ya. An... I t'ink dat'd prolly be de folks who already recognize ya" The smile returned to his face and he turned to the older boy slowly, even more proud of his idea than he had been before. "Or... you could always jus' bring da pape wit' ya when ya go on ya route. Dat'd take care a' most all of da sales ya need ta make an' it wouldn't hurt nobody else's sales 'cause da fathahs goin' ta work'd still wanna get dere own papes"
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Post by reeves on Apr 6, 2009 18:12:28 GMT -5
Reeves head was reeling after all the possibilities. He already had a slight headache. He clutched his forehead and groaned, before ruffling Milo's hair in a brotherly fashion before groaning.
"Milo, slow down. I don't know much about newspapers and you know it. You're making my head spin."
Reeves sat down next to him again and thought carefully. "No, I don't think taking papes with me on my route would be such a good idea. First of all, I'm already carrying fifteen at the max pacakages, so how would I carry the papes? Also, I'm already getting paid for the packages. They don't want to waste their money or time on a kid like me any longer than they have to. So you could help me find a good spot or something?"
Reeves asked still a little uncertain.
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Post by Milo on Apr 10, 2009 22:22:13 GMT -5
Milo let out a small, frustrated sigh and leaned his chin on the palm of his hand. "Look" he began, making a point to make his speech slower and more deliberate. "all, ya gotta know of what I jus' said is dat you gotta find a way to get an edge ovah da othah folks sellin' around ya if ya wanna sell good." he paused for a moment to let reeves take in what he meant. "foah me, dat edge is dat i'm a cute lil' kid an i can be really creepy to people if I wanna an' dey can't beat me up. I t'ink yoah edge is dat all da rich people, da ladies at least, anyhow. Dey know yoah face. ya' familiah 'cause ya bring 'em deir packages an' stuff. So..." he gestured grandly and paused for effect "whethah ya bring da papes ta da doors or not, ya gottta get ya'self a spot wheah, you can sell ta da same foalks ya delivah to." He finished with a sigh, this time more of finality than frustration. He didn't think he'd talked this much at one time in at least a month and, to him, that was a really long time.
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Thanks Jim!