The New Kid

[Risk]

Risk opened the door to the lodging house, peeking inside to see if anyone was around. Seeing that it was empty, Risk walked over to the desk, spotting the ledger. Dropping his bag on the ground, his brows furrowed as he browsed through the ledger, his eyes scanning the pages for anything legible other than scribbles and random letters.

This is going to be interesting, he thought as he read a couple of newsies' names.

[Goblin]

Goblin came in from a cigarette break to find an unfamiliar guy with luggage reading the registration book. Ah, it was good not to be the newcomer anymore.

"Hey," he greeted with his usual smirk. "Just moving in?"

[Risk]

"Oh, uh yeah," said Risk, grabbing a nearby pencil and scribbling his name on the page. "Just today. Heard the newsies stay here, so figured I might as well..."

[Goblin]

"It's not too bad here--just know what to watch out for. Jack Kelly thinks he's a cowboy, Racetrack's got a gambling problem, Kid Blink's real sensitive about the one eye, Mush is scared of girls, Tree's scared of cats, Sapphy won't date you, Zippy and Tag read dirty novels, and this girl Raven who's visiting from Brooklyn--be nice to her, she's been through a rough time." The fact that he knew all this after hardly ever talking to anyone was kind of scary, but the new kid didn't know that.

A very mangy tabby cat wandered in the still-open door and gave Goblin an accusing look. He sighed. "I don't have any food for you. Really."

[Risk]

Risk made mental notes of each newsie that he mentioned, sure that he would run into one of them around the lodging house eventually. They didn't seem too harmless. At least, so far. He was determined to find out more.

"And you are?"

[Goblin]

"Goblin Pearson," he said, offering a hand. The cat ignored his words and twined itself around his ankle. Goblin ignored it and noted the interest in the new kid's face, the way he seemed to relax just a bit while Goblin told him about the newsies, as if he'd expected worse. Well, obviously he'd left out his sister and Ershey. Their secrets were his, too.

[Risk]

"Risk Caldwell," he said, taking the boy's hand and giving it a firm shake. "You been here long?" He wondered whether Goblin would be a good source of information. If not, he didn't care. Gossip and tales worked its way around most people their age pretty easily.

[Goblin]

"Few months," Goblin said, his whole attitude extremely casual, which meant he was feeling anything but. He usually decided within minutes of meeting someone whether or not he was interested in them, whether or not they had secrets or could be useful or dangerous. Nothing that this Risk kid had said was at all unusual, but Goblin was getting a vibe. Like he was asking simple questions for not-so-simple reasons, trying to read something extra into the answers. Like he was...doing exactly what Goblin always did.

And that made it irresistibly tempting to mess with him.

"I know the place pretty well, though, so if you've got any questions, feel free to ask." And he decided then and there that the next answer he gave would be a lie.

((I brought Goblin into this thread because I imagined the two of them having a conversation, and the mutual sneakiness made my brain explode. ^_^))

[Risk]

((Loooove it. Oh, them sneaky boys.))

"Sounds like you know almost everyone around here," he said, trying to size him up. Risk couldn't pinpoint whether he liked the guy or not. Goblin, or so he was called, was a difficult one. "I'm guessin' everyone's out sellin' right now?"

He looked around the place, surprised that it was extremely quiet during the middle of the day. He was secretly relieved, not wanting to deal with a sudden onslaught of newsies. It would've been harder to keep track of everybody.

[Goblin]

He nodded, amending his decision--he'd save the lie for a question less blatantly obvious. "I was about to pick up the next edition, but I came back for a break. You planning to get started today?"

[Risk]

"Yeah," said Risk, shrugging. He never sold a paper in his life before but figured it shouldn't be too hard. Then again, he didn't want his new friend questioning his skills as a newsie right away. "I started a bit earlier then decided to head over here to take a look at the place. How're the selling spots around here?"

[Goblin]

"Not bad. Try Bottle Alley or the Harbor--or Central Park, it's guaranteed." ((Could. Not. Resist.)) Now he was getting downright impatient for a question that was worth a good lie. He shook his ankle and sent the cat darting under the couch. "I can show you around a bit if you want. We'll probably run into some of the others."

[Risk]

((I totally sang it in my head while I read it then realized what you just did a couple seconds after. LOL.))

"Sure, we'll do that," said Risk, trying to hide his excitement about meeting the other newsies. "I'll look for a spot while we walk around then."

He disappeared quickly, going upstairs to look for a decent and unused bunk. Once he was sure his bag was safely hidden (not that he brought anything that would cause any suspicion, of course), he went back downstairs to meet Goblin for his tour. "So what'd you think of the newsies around here? Like 'em?"

[Goblin]

Now there was something he could work with. "I dunno," he said thoughtfully. "Most of 'em are all right, but a couple of 'em seem kind of...odd." He glanced at the sky over Risk's shoulder as they walked out the door, checking for rainclouds like any intelligent newsie--or secretly watching his face.

[Risk]

"Everyone's a bit odd," said Risk, shrugging it off. "Did you mean weird or just... interesting?"

Risk opened his mouth to ask another question but quickly stopped himself, almost forgetting that he was undercover. He couldn't help it when the questions just kept on coming. Being curious was his greatest and worst flaw.