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Post by Administrator on Apr 15, 2010 0:05:14 GMT -5
There's a bench outside the front gate to come and rest on whether you've just finished selling, or haven't yet begun.
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Post by Gianna Mancini on May 28, 2011 19:41:42 GMT -5
<New Day - Open>
Gianna sat on the bench outside of the distribution center, a stack of papers at her side as she stared down at the headline across the front. The other newsies had all scattered, off to sell their papes with a twinkle in their eyes and the confidence to do so at their back. But for Gianna, it just wasn't that simple, she hadn't yet learned the art of spinning a headline, of picking out what lines were best and making them sound more important than they really were. Yesterday she'd given her stack to one of the younger girls, let her scamper off with the stack and subsequently the extra wages. Gianna didn't mind much - she made do with what she had and as long as she had a bed at the lodging house, she'd get by.
She glanced down at the papers again and let her eyes settle on the large print and considered some advice that Prince had offered her when they had gone over to Caprice Hall. That perhaps Gianna could find away to incorporate her music into her selling, sing a headline or two, at least until she got over her shyness enough to make a sale or two. Under her breath she started to hum softly, tilting her head as she studied the headline, lifting her hand she traced the letters: M-A-Y-O-R - and softly, just barely loud enough for her own ears, she began to sing.
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Post by Alexandreia Halliway on Jun 29, 2011 20:05:38 GMT -5
Lexi didn't usually wonder out of the Bronx unless she was visiting a friend, but she had a day off from work and decided the walk would be better then staying cooped up inside the lodging house. Especially since the girls had the ability to drive her crazy sometimes, but she loved them all. She considered nearly every one of them a good friend of hers but sometimes she needed a respite from the craziness. It was still early so she walked by the Journal to see if anyone was around that she might recognize. She figured she should meet the new leader of Queens, she believed his name was Styx but she wasn't going to go looking for him.
She paused as she got closer to a bench that a girl she didn't recognize was perched on. It seemed like the girls lips were moving but Lexi was at a loss as to whether or not she was talking to herself or it was a habit because she couldn't hear anything. She'd met a lot of people with odd quirks so she wasn't one to bat an eyelash at something like that. Instead, she found herself walking closer but still trying to keep her distance because she didn't want to impose on the girl. After a moment when her presence wasn't noticed she cleared her throat and smiled. "Going over the headlines? Anything worth reading?"
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Post by Gianna Mancini on Jun 29, 2011 20:34:20 GMT -5
Gianna had been so caught up in her music, so distracted by the creation of her song that she was oblivious to her surroundings - the world seemed to fall away and stop as she crafted a melody and used the words on the paper in front of her. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that Gianna was plunged back into the reality of where she was and she jumped as the person spoke to her. Eyes wide, she looked up to see a pretty girl with a nice smile watching her and for a moment Gianna could do little more than blink at her, caught so off guard by being addressed.
"Um...no, I mean yes...." Gianna started and then stopped, furrowing her brow as she looked down at the paper and then shrugged a little helplessly at the girl. "To be honest with you I don't really know yet, I hadn't gotten very far." Gianna sent her a small, somewhat regretful smile as she looked down and realized her finger was still hovered over the "M" in the headline. Feeling awkward, Gianna withdrew her hand into her lap and looked up at her new companion and searched for something to say, anything to make the silence that stretched out seem somehow smaller. "I'm still...learning," She said finally, deciding that any chances she might have had at selling this girl a paper had long since passed and dissipated into the wind.
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Post by Alexandreia Halliway on Jun 29, 2011 20:45:55 GMT -5
Lexi swallowed back a small giggle, figuring the girl really wouldn't appreciate it if she thought she was being laughed at. Really, Lexi wanted to giggle because she seemed as apprehensive as Lexi had been when she'd first started selling. Lexi had caught on real quick that she wasn't very good at it and could make more money serving food. She moved to sit next to the girl on the bench and continued to smile widely at her. "It takes a little while to catch on, I was never any good at it."
She glanced over the girls shoulder to scan some of the headlines and shrugged helplessly. "Seems like time away doesn't help to hone that skill." Lexi fished in her pocket for a penny before holding it out to her, "Would you mind if I took one off your hands?" She really had nothing to do this morning and reading the paper might help pass some of her free time. "Oh, by the way, I'm Lexi." Lexi blushed a bit at the lapse in her manners. She was sure the girl probably thought she was weird coming out of nowhere to strike up a conversation with a perfect stranger. Lexi innately trusted other newsies though because they usually had something or the other in common.
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Post by Gianna Mancini on Jun 29, 2011 20:56:53 GMT -5
Lexi sat beside her on the bench and Gianna followed her movements with still wide eyes until she made mention of never being good at it either. For some reason the knowledge that the seemingly self assured girl sitting beside her had once been a newsie caused Gianna to relax just the slightest bit. Lexi bent over the paper for a moment and then shrugged just as helplessly as Gianna felt and Gianna couldn't help but smile a little at the gesture - at least she wasn't the only one this didn't come naturally too. "You...were a newsie?" Gianna asked quietly, studying her more intently - at least as intently as she dared and not appear rude.
Lexi held out a penny to her and offered to take one of the papers and Gianna wordlessly picked one up and handed it to her, pressing the coin into her palm until she could feel the imprint of it there. "Hello Lexi," She said when the girl introduced herself and Gianna felt a smile come to her face rather easily now as she looked over at her companion. "I'm Gia." Feeling a bit of kinship with Lexi, Gianna looked at the paper in Lexi's hands and then at the stack beside her. "Prince says I should try singing the headlines since I like to sing, thought it might make it easier for me," Gianna explained, tapping the stack of papers and looking back over at Lexi. "That's what I was doing when you walked up...singing I mean."
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Post by Alexandreia Halliway on Jun 30, 2011 18:14:35 GMT -5
Lexi nodded her head as she turned to look back at Gianna. "Yep, for awhile at least. Found out pretty quickly though that people mostly felt bad for me and that's the only reason they bought a paper from me." Her smiled widened and she folded up the newspaper to set it in her lap. "Got a job working at a restaurant after that. I actually live at the newsgirls house in the Bronx." Lexi knew she was babbling and couldn't help but blush a bit because of it.
"Pretty name," She said lightly. Lexi couldn't help but shudder a bit at the thought of singing in public. But then again Lexi didn't have a pretty voice and she was sure that if Prince had suggested that to the girl then Gia must have a really pretty one. "That sounds like a great idea. You'll probably get great tips even when people aren't buying a paper from you. I'd never be able to do that, then again my brother tells me my voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard." She shrugged lightly, her smile never wavering as she spoke. "Oh? You were too quiet for me to catch anything. If you want to you can practice on me."
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Post by Gianna Mancini on Jun 30, 2011 21:07:10 GMT -5
"Do you like working at the restaurant?" Gianna asked softly, relaxing even more when Lexi said she lived in the newsgirls house in the Bronx, Gianna had never been there but knew of it from some of the others who had friends that lived there. She could never imagine being a waitress herself, it was always the part of what the dance girls did that caused Gianna serious pause. Small talk and general discussion with strangers had never been her forte - which was why the fact that she felt so open with Lexi was a bit surprising.
"Thank you," She said with a small smile when Lexi complimented her name and Gianna could feel a blush against her cheeks as she felt doubt crawl back into her mind. Lexi seemed nice enough but what if she found the idea of singing headlines to be a foolish one, practical as it was to Gianna, she knew that not many understood the way that she saw the world - in notes and rhythms. But it seemed Lexi thought nothing of the sort, as she enthusiastically embraced Prince's proposed plan and Gianna couldn't help but duck her head a little as Lexi told her she was too soft for her to hear on her approach. "I'm....a little shy," She admitted with some trepidation as she glanced over at Lexi, her eyes widening a little when the girl offered to listen if Gianna wanted to practice. Looking down at the paper beside her and then back up at Lexi, Gianna decided after a few long moments that it couldn't hurt. Humming a few bars her eyes strayed to the black and white pages of the newspaper and then fluttered shut as she began to sing the song she'd crafted from the words she had found there.
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Post by Alexandreia Halliway on Jul 6, 2011 13:36:56 GMT -5
A small smile formed on Lexi's face at Gianna's question. "I suppose there are worse ways to make money. Plus most of the customers are really nice and don't bother me that much." Which was much better then what happened with most barmaids Lexi knew. Always having to fend off one drunk after another. Lexi would never make it in that kind of environment. Although she was fiercely protective of her family Lexi wasn't much of a fighter and would prefer to diffuse fights then get into them.
"You're welcome," Lexi replied with an even brighter smile as Gia ducked her head. She seemed embarrassed by the compliment and Lexi immediately understood why when Gia told her that she was shy. Lexi nodded her head sympathetically and could understand the girls plight. When she'd arrived in the city she'd been extremely shy as well, but that was mostly due to what had happened in Jersey City rather then it being part of her disposition. A large smile formed on Lexi's face when Gia began to hum and then sing the song she'd worked out for the headlines. Gia had an amazing voice and Lexi was surprised she was selling newspapers instead of singing at on the music halls around the city. When she finished her song Lexi clapped her hands together excitedly, "That was wonderful. You have a beautiful voice."
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Post by Gianna Mancini on Jul 6, 2011 20:07:10 GMT -5
Gianna sang until the song naturally seemed to peter out, actual verses not fully taking shape and she lingered on the last note before allowing her gaze to drift back to Lexi. The girl looked like she was going to burst, beaming and clapping her hands as though Gianna had just finished singing a great aria as opposed to a few pieced together headlines from the morning's paper. "Thank...thank you," she said softly when Lexi praised her singing and Gianna couldn't help the smile that tugged at her features. "I like to sing," She explained, dropping her eyes away from Lexi and looking out over the uneven cobblestones, tracing the shapes of them with her mind's eye. "I feel different when I sing."
The shyness was returning a little bit now that the music had died down and only conversation lingered, but Gianna battled through, determined not to let it cause her to lapse into silence. "I don't feel so..." She paused to search for the right word, lifting a shoulder in a half shrug as she mused. "...unsure." She settled finally, finding it the best way to explain things thought she wasn't sure that she ever would. She turned her eyes back to Lexi and sent her another smile, finding some of the nerves had settled as she looked into her warm, friendly eyes. "Thank you for listening."
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