August 1921
Somewhere traveling through Indiana

There was one thing Jacuzzi was certain of at this moment; he did not like trains. Nothing could have been more terrifying then watching the world fly by the window while one is stuck in a metal box buckling down a railroad track at high speeds. Granted, the seats were nice, and the decorations decent (at least compared to what Jacuzzi was used to), but none of these helped quell Jacuzzi's fright. He glanced at the seat across from him, where a boy who looked almost identical to Jacuzzi sat, staring uninterestingly out the window. At least Bress seems to be ok with it, Jacuzzi thought, though it didn't bring him any relief. The 8 year old boy timidly grabbed at his mother's skirts while staring down at his shoes. Jacuzzi had been more nervous and fainthearted than usual after what had happened a few months ago. Maybe it was a good thing they were leaving Chigago, Jacuzzi thought, Maybe it could be a chance for a new start, an' dad'll have his new job, an' maybe mom won't even have ta work… His thoughts trailed into nothing as Jacuzzi's mother brushed his hand away from her skirt. Bress, fed up with the lack of action, jumped off the seat and left the car, which left their mother sighing tiredly.

Back in Chicago, Jacuzzi spent his days selling papers, while Bress did…well, whatever Bress was up to. He was supposed to be selling papers as well, but who knew what Bress was doing when he wandered off. Jacuzzi often worried about Bress. There was an awful lot of trouble a young boy could get into on the streets of Chicago, especially for a boy as hotheaded as Bress. On the other hand, Jacuzzi avoided trouble as much as he possibly could, though on occasion, it found him. Like a particular incident two months ago, which left Jacuzzi in quite a state.

Jacuzzi's mother turned to gaze out the window.

"Mom?," Jacuzzi asked, "Ummm…do you know what our new house is gonna look like?"

She turned back towards her son with strained smile, "It shouldn't be too different from our old one."

"…will we be alright there?"

She paused for a minute, as if thinking of things that 8 year old boys shouldn't be concerned with, "Of course we'll be."

Jacuzzi's father recently found a new job in Detroit, one that promised to accommodate his injury, working for Ford's company, manufacturing cars. That meant their family needed to pack up what little they owned and move. Mr. Splot wanted to shove everything and everyone into their undersized car, but Mrs. Splot insisted that she wanted to take a train ride at least once in her life.

A conductor passed by, announcing the amount of time until their next stop. Jacuzzi's mother asked how much longer it would be until they arrived in Detroit. Jacuzzi didn't quite catch the answer, but he assumed it would be awhile. His mother stood up and walked in the direction of the dinner car.

Jacuzzi found himself now alone in the small, third class train car, zooming down the Grand Trunk Railway, fearful of both the train and of the prospect of Detroit. Jacuzzi tucked his knees under his chin as scenery continued to roll by the window.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading this! This is only my second published fanfiction, and I'm hoping to add many, many more chapters to it (I have a lot of ground to cover to get it where I want). Most of this story is based around some RPing that I did, though I'm beefing it up a lot, changing a few things, and putting it all into prose format. Also, just so you all know, I'm a pretty big history nerd, so I like putting legitimate historical facts, locations, and such into my stories. For instance, the Grand Trunk Railway was an actual railway that ran from Chicago through Detroit and made it's way into Canada, with one slightly smaller line headed to New York. I just thought it was pretty nifty (considering Grand Punk Railroad and Another Junk Railroad) so I included it. Once again, thanks for reading!