Disclaimer: I do not own Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants but I do own Jacqueline. I can proudly say that she is my own creation. My sincere apologies to Gruen for butchering her novel. It's not that I didn't like her book, I love and respect it …so you can say this was sort of life like a tribute to it?
Jacqueline "Jack" POV
I know it's going to be another long damn ride when Camel, the oldest worker, brought in his Jake Leg to share with the crew in our car. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the old man. He's probably one of the greatest and most sincere people I have met compared to the rest.
"Now Jack, don't bring the atmosphere down. Where's your cup? Celebrate with us!" He spoke with extreme enthusiasm. I looked up at him, struggling to form a smile on my face.
"Not tonight, Camel" This has always been my way of rejecting his offer. God knows what is in those drinks but one thing I was certain about was that it isn't legit alcohol. According to him, it was some Jamaican herb of some sort, which I do not dare to try it AT ALL. If I wanted alcohol, I prefer the real thing, you know whiskey, beer...but It's all thanks to the absurd Prohibition Law. Fucking great. What ever happened to our unalienable right of being happy? If booze made many of us happy, why enforce such law for a right fought by our founding fathers? I swear the Government in a nutshell is ridiculous, hence why we are in this shit hole.
"You're missing out." Walden spoke out loud sloppily as if he were intoxicated. It didn't take too long for the old fart to stop bothering me, only to be replaced by the ever so determined Nick, who decided to sit next to me on the sideline of the party.
"You look very pretty tonight." Nick complimented me in the most awkward manner imaginable. I rolled my eyes wryly and responded back. "Now you have a fetish for girls covered by manure and smells like one too?" Somewhere in his face, I saw discomfort; I smiled with accomplishment that my goal succeeded when he finally excused himself to join the rambunctious crowd.
The sun has finally diminished in the horizon when we reached Ithaca, on our way to Candor. After spending much of my life on this moving train, I swear I'm a pro in navigation that August should consider me as his navigator but I know that's very unlikely.
Time would have been moving much quicker if I was able to take even the shortest nap before another routine of pitching up tents, cleaning manures and waiting. Unfortunately, the day conspired against me and decided that today would be another bad day for me—as if I'm not used to it.
Just past midnight, something or someone outside of our car made its presence known. I heightened my guard and grabbed my working knife—thank you flight and fight response! Before I knew it, Johnston had this hobo bounded by his hands while I stood in front of him and confronted this intruder with my knife against his throat. "Don't move" I spoke with much hostility that I could sense fear in him. "Camel, light!" In just a few seconds, the old man was next to me holding a lantern to the trespasser's face.
My body numbed instantly and my guard almost fell when I saw how perfect this person was. However, I caught it right on time and disregarded those feelings. On the other hand, just by the look of his eyes, I could tell that he had the shock of his life and slightly embarrassed to be held at knife point by a girl. Camel, drunk off his ass, attempted to lighten the atmosphere. "Don't be ruthless, Jack. The boy doesn't look like your typical hobo. He's dressed too decently" My sight subtly dropped to scan his other features but snapped back quickly up to his face when he chuckled. The sense of worry and fear had seemed to have melted. Damn it. I pulled my knife away from him and marched off to my quarter when I realized Camel's good point and also to avoid doing something stupid.
Damn, he's…alluring. Did I really just think that?
A/N: It would be lovely if I could have some feedback to this story so I know if I should continue to write it. Thank you for reading
-IDidNotResurface