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Post by Administrator on Aug 30, 2008 21:51:28 GMT -5
Where people coming in and out of New York will pass on their way to and from their trains. You can catch people going both ways right here. Easy to find someone too.
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Post by Avalanche on Dec 2, 2008 0:13:05 GMT -5
Avalanche wasn't looking for someone. He wasn't here for any particular reason. He had a friend who had come through here once. She'd gone back home now, he figured. She wasn't here anymore, that was for sure. He was kinda upset about that, but he hid it well. Avalanche didn't seem to even know the meaning of the word upset. He was hardly thinking about his friend anyhow. It was one of his new favorite hobbies, this... wondering around the city to see what he could find. He'd gotten very good at it. The Aladdin of his time, he felt like. But if he wasn't careful, his name would get changed from Avalanche to Wanderer. It was all he did, when he wasn't working. And it was getting a bit cold to just be out wondering the streets of New York. He'd have to find a new hobby soon, and maybe (God forbid) make friends his own age... no more newsies. Could he do it?
That got him a little distraught. Avalanche had always been like Peter Pan, the boy who would never grow up, and now he was, and he had to, and he had no choice... it was just a difficult fact for him to face. He had had so much more he'd wanted to do. But he never gave up on his goals, or dreams, which brightened his spirits a little, as he continued to walk through the front of the train station. He stopped for a moment to watch an engine blow smoke from it's stack and he smiled a little bit, just standing there, marveling at the machine.
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Post by Nike Kennedy on Dec 3, 2008 23:29:36 GMT -5
The twins walked up to the train station that marked the entrance to Coney Island, stopping when Nike grabbed her brother’s arm. “Ya think they’ll have Cotton candy here, Styx? Ya know how much I grá cotton candy!”
“Dey bettas have cotton candy, else I’m cheesin’ it,” Styx laughed. “At least we know dey have a Ferris wheel!” He pointed to the giant circular structure that was visible above the roof of the station.
“Well, there’s always that,” Nike agreed grinning. “Hey! Look at that train!” She shouted excitedly! Styx rolled his eyes at his sister.
“Come on, Case,” he said slapping her playfully on the arm. “It ain’t like ya nevah clapped eyes on a train before. Whass da big deal about this one?” Nike looked over at her twin as though he were from another planet.
“Ya blind or somethin’?” She inquired, pretending to check his eyesight. “It’s a huge metal box on wheels that runs on steam, can go up to 60 miles an hour, and occasionally runs things over! What’s NOT to like?!” She finished enthusiastically. Styx laughed at her before eventually agreeing and holding up his hands in defeat.
“Alright, alright! It’s cracker,” he grinned. They stood there in silence for a bit marveling together at the giant speed machine. After a few minutes, Nike began slapping her pockets looking for a cigarette. Not finding one, she looked over at Styx to see him holding one out for her. He smirked as she snatched it from him and pulled out her matchbox only to find it empty. Thoroughly frustrated at this point, Nike looked up hopefully at her twin. Styx, an unlit cigarette in his own mouth, shrugged helplessly at her. “Síntoo, Case. ‘Fraid I’m out too.” Nike threw up her hands in disbelief.
“Does no one have a light in dis city?!” She asked of no one in particular. Styx grabbed her arm and pointed in the direction of the train they’d been admiring a moment earlier.
“Let’s ask dat guy. He looks nice enough.” Nike followed the direction his finger was pointing and after examining the man, who looked only a few years older than they were, shook her head.
“Nah, he looks like he’s in a daze.” Her twin looked back over at the man and nodded.
“Yeah, looks kinda depressed too, but that don’t mean he doesn’t have a light…”
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Post by Avalanche on Dec 3, 2008 23:33:37 GMT -5
Avalanche hadn't been paying any attention to the twins. He was off in his own little world staring at the steam coming out of the engine of the train. He smiled just a little and then glanced around the area, looking at the people around him. He was surprised when he saw two people coming towards him. What was stranger, he didn't know who they were. Why didn't he know these people? They looked like newsies. He'd better introduce himself. "Hello..." he said with a smile. "And who might you be?"
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Post by Styx Kennedy on Dec 3, 2008 23:46:12 GMT -5
Styx walked up and nodded at him. “I’m Styx, and da bird’s my sister Nike,” he explained jerking a thumb in Nike’s direction as she too nodded a greeting. “And, well, we’s sorry to bother ya….sir. Can I call ya sir?” Styx grinned up at him jokingly.
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Post by Avalanche on Dec 3, 2008 23:49:05 GMT -5
Avalanche about laughed out loud right then and there. "I'd rathah ya didn't. Judgin' by your appearance I'd say youse a newsie. And most newsies call me Avalanche," he said with a smile as he put his hands on his hips. Nice ta meet ya Nike... and Styx. You two need somethin', or do ya make it a habit ta walk up to strangers in train stations, tell 'em ya names, and then go about cha lives?" he asked as a joke. He was full fledged smiling now. He was always happy to meet new people, especially newsies, if that's indeed what they were.
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Post by Styx Kennedy on Dec 4, 2008 0:03:40 GMT -5
The twins laughed appreciatively at his joke, “Well, nice ta meetchya, Avalance!” Styx grinned, spitting in his hand before offering it to the ex-newsie. “And ta answer…all…of your questions: yeah we’s newsies, but not here, we sell in Queens; no, we don make a habit of this; yes, we do need somethin’, and of vital importance too.” He stated in one breath, continuing before Avalance could say anything. “Ya see, we seem to be outta matches,” he explained gesturing to their two unlit cigarettes. “And…well…ya don think ya could spare one do ya?”
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Post by Avalanche on Dec 4, 2008 0:07:57 GMT -5
Avalanche, of course, spit in his hand and shook his with assurance. Styx had hardly said the word 'matches' when Avalanche started digging around in his coat pocket for just that. By the end of the sentance he produced a match and offered it to the boy. "Ta-da," he said with a genuine and full smile.
"So... Queens kids huh?" he said as he looked at the two of them. "Used to be a Queens newsie myself. How do ya like it out there?" he asked interested in these two.
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Post by Nike Kennedy on Dec 4, 2008 0:27:40 GMT -5
“Amazin’!” Styx exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “You should be a magician! But hell, Why stop there?! You should run for mayor!” he laughed and slapped Avalanche on the back.
“You were a Queens newsie too?!” Nike interrupted lighting her cigarette then passing it so Styx could light his. “For how long? Who was leader then? What do you do now?” She took a drag, forcing herself to slow down and not release all the questions that were pouring through her head.
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Post by Avalanche on Dec 4, 2008 0:32:08 GMT -5
Avalanche laughed. "Whoa whoa there! Hold on kiddo, one question at a time," he said with a smile. "I was a Queens newsie since I was 14... all the way 'til I was 21. Nearly 10 years," he explained. Back when I first became a newsie... oh man..." who had been leader all those years ago? When he was thirteen... he couldn't remember. He wasn't even sure they had leaders at that point. He did remember when he was about 15, someone bein' sorta in charge, so he said his name, "Wednesday, we called him," Avalanche remembered. Wow that was ages ago. "But once he left, I took over. I appointed Prince to be leader after me," he added to the explanation. "After that? Now? ...I'm a dock worker here in Brooklyn," wasn't nearly as glamorous as it sounded
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Post by Styx Kennedy on Dec 4, 2008 17:10:50 GMT -5
"Whoa whoa there! Hold on kiddo, one question at a time,"
Nike grinned at that, pushing her long, and sometimes unruly, hair behind her ear. She was well known for talking too much whenever she was exited. The two of them listened to the rest of Avalanche’s tale with rapt attention.
"But once he left, I took over. I appointed Prince to be leader after me. After that? Now? ...I'm a dock worker here in Brooklyn,"
“Woah, woah, woah, woah! Get out o’ that garden, mate! YOU were the Queens leader a’fore Prince?!” Styx was flabbergasted. “It was YOU that appointed her...I mean him…er… him leader after you?...”
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Post by Avalanche on Dec 4, 2008 22:32:09 GMT -5
Avalanche laughed. "I was the one who found 'im stranded in the snow. Yeah, I used ta be a newsie leader. And yeah, I was the one who made Prince leadah when I left. Got to old ta sell, and wasn't gonna get anywhere, or make any money. Can't be a newsie forever." That was a depressing statement for him. That was a high point in his life, it's all kinda... gone down hill since then. But he didn't let his sadness show. Avalanche didn't like the emotion, so he ignored it when he could. Instead, he kept a bright smile on his face.
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Post by Styx Kennedy on Dec 4, 2008 22:45:37 GMT -5
Styx shook his head slowly then took another drag of his cigarette. “I can’ believe We’ve met two Queens leaders in less than a week…” Nike nodded in agreement.
“But hey! Now you work at the docks! That must be nice in the summer, you can just dive right into the river if ya get too hot!” Nike always seemed to find the best part of any situation, she was an optimistic sort of person. Styx grinned at that, then came up with a question of hi own.
“So, tell us, what made you choose Prince to be leader?”
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Post by Avalanche on Dec 4, 2008 23:03:26 GMT -5
Avalanche laughed. "It's nice at times, workin' at the docks, I mean. Unloadin' ships. Ya meet interestin' people too," he said. "Not a terrible place to work.
At Styx's question he looked at him and had to think for a moment. It wasn't a hard question, he just wondered how to answer it. "Well... he was dependable, dedicated, and a good kid. I knew that he'd treat the others well, and I knew they would respect and listen to hime. As weird as it would seem. Most people in Queens did listen to him. In fact," he lowered his voice, "sometimes people forgot she was a girl. So she became easier to respect, listen to and look up to. And, at the same time, she could be a mother figure to some of these boys," he explained. He then tbrought his voice back to normal volume. "Plus... he's pretty tough," he added as a sort of joke.
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Post by Styx Kennedy on Dec 4, 2008 23:37:10 GMT -5
Both of the twins laughed at that, though they understood. “Yeah, I guess he is pretty good a balancing his two different...sides. And I can see how ya might forget who he really is.” Styx shrugged.
“God knows he’s had enough practice…” Nike interrupted taking another drag. “So, what brings you up here on dis fine December morning, Avi?”
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