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Post by manhattan on Apr 24, 2008 17:41:04 GMT -5
<<<<NEW DAY>>>>>
The door to the lodging house shook with a loud bang. If you were downstairs you could here muffled curse and then the door slowly opened.
Throwing her dirty backpack on the floor just inside, Manhattan bent down and picked up her hat from the ground just outside the door on the steps. Dusting it off on her pants, she began twirling it around on her finger as she looked about the room. Shaking her head to clear her vision and rubbing her forehead, she picked up her bag off the ground.
"Note to self find ice soon for forehead." Manhattan mumbled "Hello?!?" she spoke into the gloom of the room. As always getting up early was not a problem it was her getting up earlier than everyone else that seemed to be the problem. The room was deserted and coming from up the stairs you could hear the heavy breathing of sleeping Newsies and the occasional snore or mumble of sleep talk. Shrugging her shoulders she pushed herself up onto the counter. swung her legs up and leaned against the wall, putting her hat over her eyes she decided to relax and wait. Losing herself in thought
"whatcha need" Shooting straight up she saw the old man coming from the back room.
"room, bunk, whatever is open" Manhattan replied letting her feet drop from the desk and she followed them down.
"how about ice too" he asked her. For the first time since Entering the Manhattan Lodging she genuinely smile.
"like ya read my mind"
He nodded and turned back into the room leaving his spectacles on the counter, next to some paper. Taking a pencil from behind her ear Manhattan wrote a verse down on the paper. Losing herself once again in her head, her eyes took on an out of look focus.
Twilight stirs the dust of early time
before the city wakes
the mouths of the sleeping silent for once
until the day breaks
Putting her pencil behind her ear Manhattan stared out into the breaking morning and listened to the stirring of the bodies upstairs.
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Post by manhattan on Apr 27, 2008 14:28:22 GMT -5
The old man came through the office door once again with a rag of ice and a book. The book was huge and he was struggling carrying both at the same time. Manhattan vaulted the counter and took the book from his hands and set it on the desk.
"I take it this is all da Newsies for over the years and not just recently?" She asked. avoiding looking at him. She didnt want him to think she had only been helping him because he was older than she was. So instead she flipped through the pages of the old tomb gaining more and more interested as she flipped. he said nothing just studied her.
"You want this here ice?" he asked
"Oh right" turning away from the decrepit book she took the rag of ice out of his hands.
"how'd you get that shiner?" he asked. She looked at him as she placed the ice on her right eye.
"Getting bad huh? damn. I dont even have an exciting story for that one. Just me not focusing on what was going on around me. You hear the loud thud on the door?" She asked him. He just nodded figuring where this was going."That was me head meeting the door" she smiled crookedly at herself and him.
"Well unlike most that come through here youse havent been beatin unless your lyin to me but i dont think so." Then he hooted with laughter, loud and full.Manhattan just leaned against the counter and waited. Her grin growing wider as the old man cackled. Finally he turned towards the book and looked through the names on the last page that written on. "Looks like we have a few open beds but your goin ta have ta talk to Kelly. He runs this place more than i do."
"Now thats a lie" Manhattan smirked. winking at the old man. He just grinned at the blatant flattery, still chuckling under his breath at the girl before him. "Name and age. Just for some resemblance of a record, can fake it if youse want"
"Manhattan, 19" she said. "and its real. i dont lie except when i have ta."
"Kelly should be right up those stairs and in his room" the old man said writing down the information. Manhattan picked up her bag and stuffed her cap into it. Keeping the ice on her right eye she swung up the steps. The old man started to close the book and noticed the writing on some of the papers next to it. Picking it up he read it. Suddenly the girls head popped back over the banister.
"hey old man, whats your name?" she asked blowing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.
He chuckled "Knew i liked you girl, it's Kloppman." tipping his hat slightly to her.
"Salutations Kloppman" She said her eyes going to the paper in his hand. "Keep that can't think of someone better to have it than someone else who rises early and understands it." and she was gone up the stairs. Looking at the words on the paper in his hand he cackled out loud again. Who's have though someone who doesn't pay enough attention to avoid a closed door to the head could write something like that. shaking his head at this thought. He stuffed it into the page with her name on it and went back into the office to get ready to wake the rest of the newsies. knew i liked that girl
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Post by mabel on Aug 2, 2008 2:03:03 GMT -5
<New Day>
Walking to the Front Desk with Milo, Mabel stood on tip toe, bracing her hands on the desk and leaning over to see if the hat was lying somewhere behind it. Chewing her lower lip, Mabel hopped up to get a better look.
Sitting on the edge of the desk, she glanced over at Milo, "See it anywhere, Milo?"
The room was always kind of dim, so there was many a corner that a newsboy hat could be hidden. Picking up the sign-in ledger, Mabel was momentarily distracted. Flipping to the most recent page, she saw a good many names she didn't recognize. Mabel really needed to start socializing. It would make encounters less... awkward.
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Post by Milo on Aug 2, 2008 2:15:14 GMT -5
"nope" said Milo, walking around the room, occasionally bending down to check the darker corners. "I don' see it anywheah" he elaborated, a disappointed look on his face.
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Post by mabel on Aug 2, 2008 2:20:13 GMT -5
"Well then," Mabel hopped down from the desk, "Where were you after this? You said you went straight to bed, right?"
It was far too hot for Mabel's liking. The summer had been brutal and the Lodging House felt musky and damp in the humidity. Wiping a hand across her forehead, she breathed deeply. "Here's to hoping your hat didn't sprout legs--then we'd be in quite the predicament," She quipped with a grin, hoping to keep Milo's spirits up.
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Post by Milo on Aug 2, 2008 2:45:29 GMT -5
Milo giggled at Mabel's joke "Yep" he said confidently "Straight ta bed...I think" he frowned slightly, a pensive look on his face "I mighta gone ta da washroom first...I don' remembah, I was really tiahd, I nevah sold da evenin' edition befoah" he explained, looking at his feet guiltily.
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Post by mabel on Aug 2, 2008 15:07:38 GMT -5
"I mighta gone ta da washroom first...I don' remembah, I was really tiahd, I nevah sold da evenin' edition befoah"
Mabel nodded. It was no wonder the boy had been tired. It was a lot of work for someone that young. Hell, Mabel often opted out of the evening edition if she could get by with what she'd made that morning. Idly scratching her collarbone, she glanced at the stairway.
"Well, we best check the washrooms and then look around the bunks, then." She motioned for him to take the lead.
(D'you wanna go ahead and post in the washrooms? :])
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Post by sammie on May 26, 2009 22:30:09 GMT -5
< New Day > Sammie glanced around as she approached the steps, hoping that perhaps one of the older children could help her. She had spoken a few days earlier to the elderly gentleman who ran the establishment, but knew he wasn't always there and needed to make sure the basket she held got into the right hands. Lifting her skirts with her free hand to ensure she didn't trip she made her way up the steps, shifting the somewhat heavy basket onto her other arm before raising a hand to knock. After waiting several moments and receiving no response she tentatively reached out and opened the door, looking around for any signs of life as she slowly stepped inside. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Her voice carried through the empty room and she sighed, shifting the basket in her arms again as she approached the desk. Glancing at the sign-in sheet on the counter she did a double take, a grin slowly spreading across her face as she read the kid's names.  ((This is an expansion on a post I did quite a few months back, and a few months later Dutchy replied but I missed it and the thread died. Anyways, just starting over. And I couldn't resist the sign-in graphic...)) ((Occupants is spelled wrong... Oh Klopmann.. >_>)) |
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Post by Brook LaRue on May 28, 2009 16:52:49 GMT -5
Brook was coming down the stairs after talking to Racetrack again, tilting her head to see the woman standing there she approached cautiously as she drew closer. Almost like a hesitant cat wondering what the new creature was.
"Can I help you?"
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Post by sammie on May 29, 2009 21:36:26 GMT -5
Sammie startled slightly at the voice, not having heard the girl's quiet approach. Her grin returned, however, when she saw the girl, and before stepping over she set the basket on the desk. "Hello, I'm Ms. Bensen," she extended a hand, but continued to clarify why she was there. "I spoke to a Mr. Kloppmann about bringing some food for the children here once a week, I work for the city." Well, volunteered as a case worker, but calling something work didn't mean it had to be for a wage, not in her estimation anyway.
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Post by mabel on Jul 3, 2009 7:08:21 GMT -5
Mabel’s belongings, substantially more numerous than most of her bunkmates, were strewn across the floor of the bunkroom. Kneeling over her now worn leather satchel, she shoved and pushed her belongings to fit. There was no folding, no organizing—Mabel just scrambled to pack all of her belongings away.
Dragging her knees across the rough wood, Mabel move back to her bunk. Heaving the mattress up, she gathered her most valuable belongings—items she had hidden the moment she arrived at the Manhattan Lodging House. As the months wore on, Mabel almost began to forget they were there.
Grabbing the handful of sentimental jewelry and leather bound notebook, Mabel let the cot fall back into place. Tucking them safely in her satchel, Mabel hastily snapped the metal clasps closed.
Sitting back on her calves, Mabel released a shaky sigh. It was most definitely time to go home. She had not had time to write her parents, so her arrival would be a surprise.
Looking out the grimy windows, Mabel was met with blackness. Admittedly, it was far from the best time to leave, but this couldn’t wait any longer. The lodging house was suffocating; the longer she hesitated, the more she condemned herself to a penniless existence. Her own anxiety was doubled by the nervous energy perforating the lodging house: something was very wrong and Mabel was not about to stay and find out what.
Heaving her satchel up, Mabel strode determinedly out the door and towards the staircase. She tried not to think about the few people she would miss. She was pathetically unsuccessful.
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Post by shortstack on Jul 4, 2009 9:45:02 GMT -5
Shortstack stopped before the doors of the lodginghouse. She adjusted the cap on her head while contemplating her motives. Sure, she needed this job and a place to stay, but this was drastically different than living at her old home or on the street. She wasn't used to being friendly with people her own age, just being rather unfriendly with her fists. She also wondered what kind of reaction she would get from dressing as a boy, entertained or offended; she'd recieved many reactions through the years, none of them convincing her to dress otherwise. Or perhaps she would run into that small percent who thought she was a boy at first. She grinned to herself. That was always entertaining. After a while of standing there she realized she had been standing in front of the door like a fool. Since when did shee start caring what people think about her? Inhaling deeply, she turned the knob and slowly entered the building.
She glanced around the room as she set her sack on the floor. It was nicer than she had thought it would be, then again she wasn't used to much. The room was empty. She wondered if all the newsies were out selling, or just in their rooms. She contemplated just walking through the doors and finding someone, but she decided that wouldn't be the best idea. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Awkwardly she stood on her toes to see if anyone was hiding behind the front desk. Nobody. "Hullo?" she said awkwardly, "Is anybody there?"
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Post by shortstack on Jul 6, 2009 16:46:20 GMT -5
After about 10 mintues of waiting, Shortstack decided that she wasn't getting anywhere with no one at the desk. She could here voices from a nearby room; picking up her sack, she moved toward the room from which she could hear the voices...
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Post by Jack Kelly on Aug 5, 2009 21:15:14 GMT -5
Jack returned from the leaders' meeting, his mouth set in grim determination, his eyes unfocused with deep thought. He glanced around and saw a young boy standing near the front desk, hunting along the floor for a lost marble or the like. "We got kids upstairs?" he asked. The boy nodded. "Race and Blink back yet?"
"Racetrack I saw. Blink I didn't."
Jack swore under his breath. What happened to sticking together? He could only hope the kid was too preoccupied to notice Kid Blink, and than both of them were back. "Run up there. Tell them I want everyone down here this second. It's important." The kid barely suppressed a grin, feeling important after being given an important assignment, and ran up the stairs two at a time. Jack hoisted himself up on the front desk, leaned back on his hands, and waited, not without impatience.
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Post by Bumlets Russo on Aug 8, 2009 19:13:17 GMT -5
Bumelts came downstairs and leaned on his faithful broomstick, as always he lifted a brow and tilted his head. That was Bumlets for you. "Mabel's things are missing, seems like she's gone home.. Brook isn't here either... and no I ain't seen Blink.." It was true, but he figured that Blink was either hitting on other females in the borough or getting Brook in either case. "Specs is up here sleeping..." That was the report from the Bumlets front, at least he was a good soldier when it came down to it.
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Thanks Jim!
thanks admin!
