Titanic
Up In Flames
By
Predy96
Chapter 1
The huge throng that filled the Liverpool dock screamed and cheered as the massive ocean liner was boarded. Today was the big day of Titanic's maiden voyage, and it was big, indeed. Millions crowded the port to see her off, and over a thousand filled the decks. Amongst the crowd of people were hundreds of cars and carriages carrying first class passengers. One of the cars' back doors opened, and out stepped the beautiful young Daisy Cambridge, heiress-to-be.
"Oh, Mother! Just look at her!" Daisy exclaimed. Her mother, Duchess Fanny Cambridge, wife of the renowned Duke Ferdinand Cambridge, look up at the huge ship. She dropped her very, very expensive purse in awe.
"Oh my! She's…big!" she stuttered. Duchess Fanny stared a moment more before bending over to pick up her purse. As she stood up straight, a man bumped her from behind. She bolted upright in shock and spun around to face her bumper. It was a young man with a handlebar mustache. He went by the name of Gregory Hampton. He was a third class.
"Oh, I am terribly sorry, miss. I didn't see you there," he said. Fanny lifted her chin.
"You should be!" She touched her daughter on the shoulder. "Come, Daisy, we don't want to be around the third class…commoners. You might catch them."
"Yes, Mother," Daisy said, looking back at the young man sympathetically. The crowd soon swallowed them up. Gregory watched them for a minute before his best friend, Simpson slapped him on the shoulder.
"I got us tickets! We're goin' to America! YEEHA!" he hollered. Gregory grinned widely and they danced a little jig. They only stopped when the warning whistle sounded. They grabbed their luggage and raced up the boarding ramp.
"Tickets!" ordered the crewman. Gregory looked at Simpson as he fumbled for them.
"Here you are, my good man! Two tickets for America!" Simpson said. The crewman examined them closely, obviously skeptical about the authenticity. He handed them back. They were good.
"You may board. You two will have a third class cabin below decks, E deck."
"Of course, good sir! Cheerio!" Simpson said jovially. Gregory couldn't help but smile slightly. They squeezed themselves inside the doorway and walked down the hallway. They were onboard Titanic! Gregory's heart was whizzing with excitement. When they reached the elevator, he faced Simpson. The chap was sweating with joy and excitement.
"So, what are you going to do when we reach America?" asked Gregory. Simpson grinned hugely at him.
"What am I going to do? I'm going to found a clothing store and call it Simpson's Fine Clothing For the Unrefined! Then I'm going to get a pretty lassie and settle down. What about you, Greg?"
Gregory thought about this for a moment. What was he going to do? Then, it hit him.
"I'm going to see my great-aunt Clara and buy a girl a puppy so she'll go out with me."
They both laughed at this.
"But seriously, I'm going to do my dream job: baking fine pastries and breads. Oh, I can smell the rolls now. Mm mmm!" he said. The cage opened an they stepped out. A sailor in white clothing immediately handed them a life vest. It was orange and had a single neck hole with multiple drawstrings.
"For safety. It's procedure. Of course, we all know this ship can't sink." The crewman laughed heartily. Simpson and Gregory both laughed with him. The crewman walked away to greet other passengers.
"So, do you really think Titanic's unsinkable?" Gregory asked. Simpson shook his head.
"No ship is unsinkable, good chap. No matter how many compartments they have, it will eventually sink."
Gregory nodded.
Daisy rested her trunk on her bed and undressed. Her mother folded up her dress and put it away.
"Get dressed for dinner, darling. It's in thirty minutes."
"Yes, Mother," Daisy said. She unlatched her trunk and picked out a cute blue dress. She slipped it on and tied the ribbon in front. Fanny combed her hair and put a flowery hat on her. Fanny positioned Daisy in front of a full length mirror.
"You are so beautiful, Daisy. Simply gorgeous," she said. She sighed.
"Mother, stop it!" Daisy sighed. "Let's go."
Fanny sighed and followed her out of the room.