April 12, 1912

Cassidy Miller stared up at the ship in front of her. It was a magnificent sight to behold, that was for sure. She just didn't want to behold it. Two weeks ago, she would have been having the time of her life. But now... what was the point? Titanic was just another escape from her troubles. Sighing, she turned to her driver.

"Thank you for the ride, sir. You can be going now."

The driver nodded, but glanced at her, expecting to be paid. Cassidy set down her suitcase, the only possessions she brought with inside of it. Digging through it, she grabbed a twenty and handed it to him. He nodded at her and turned away. She turned back to the ship. Steeling her nerves, Cassidy marched toward the ship. Walking up the stairway to board the ship, she glanced about. She was amazed at how diverse the people were who were boarding, and the people who came to see them off. She was amazed at how little she knew about any of them, but how they gathered together to send off this glorious ship on her maiden voyage.

"May I see your ticket please, Miss?" asked a steward near the boarding door. Cassidy nodded, pulling a little slip out of her dress and giving it to him. Deaming it worthy, he handed it back and told her to have a nice trip. With another nod, and a quiet, "You too," she headed to find her room in first class. Which, it turned out, was next to impossible, because the ship was massive and it seemed like there were billions of people on it. Everyone seemed to be so harassed and annoyed. Getting thwough this mess would be a miracle!

"Henry! Are you positive you packed the diaries? Those are precious heirlooms and so help me if they are not in the luggage, I will divorce you!"

"Carla! I told you to keep your turantula in its cage! What do you mean, 'It's in my pocket'? Put it back now!"

"Sarài! Sarái! Has anyone seen a little girl in purple come running through here?"

As Cassidy manuevered through the ocean of people in the corridor, she thought back to when she had found out about this trip. Life had been so...simple back then. It had just been a month ago, but it seemed like ages. Her parents had arranged for a luxery first class trip, of course, she could never expect nothing less. When your father is the most well-known businessman of the century, your life is paved with gold.

But Cassidy's life these days were paved with horse dung, it seemed like. She still had gold, of course. She had plenty of that, and wasn't afraid of it ever running low. Yes, she had gold, but what is the point of gold if she had no point in life?

Cassidy glanced at the door numbers around her. 72, 74, and... 76. Supposedly one of the grandest suites on the entire ship. She didn't doubt that as she turned the knob. Did everything have to be made out of the finest materials possible? And did it have to be so huge? As she stepped into the room, she was immediatly stunned by the sheer...amount of space there was. And the satin! Every cloth in the room was satin! Red satin chair upholstering, satin curtains, satin bedsheets, satin sofas. What happened to normal cotton?

Cassidy turned on her heel, taking in the room. Noticing all the doors around the suite, she figured that her room had about twelve rooms. She walked towards her bed, planning to unpack what little belongings she had, when she realized...her suitcase was missing! Cassidy panicked. Everything she owned was in that suitcase! She thought back to the last time she had seen it, when she had paid her driver.

"Oh, no!" Cassidy said aloud. "Crap, crap, crap!" Had she left it out in the crowd? She sprinted out her door, praying it was not too late. Why was her life so horrible lately? Someone had probably stolen it by now! As she pushed through the waves of people coming down the hallways, she suddenly felt a lurch, and the sound of engines.

"No!" she yelled, recieving some looks, still running wildly down the hall. She reached the door, but it was too late. The door was closed. Titanic had officially started her first flight on the ocean. The steward who had helped her earlier was nowhere to be seen. Defeated, Cassidy slumped against the wall. She was tempted to cry, but what was the point? It wouldn't fix anything.

Tiredly, she shuffled back in the direction her room. The people in the hall were a blur. Why did anything matter now? She soon found out, though, that it was nearly impossible to get throught to her room, because everyone else was trying to get to theirs as well. Not wanting to fight through anyone anymore, Cassidy walked away from the bulk of the crowds to the first door she found. As it turned out, the door lead to the poop deck. Perfect. She didn't bother looking around as she headed toward the rail. Gazing back towards Southampton, she humored the thought of jumping off and swimming. No, she thought, I would probably freeze to death before I got there. And the impact would probably crush me.

"Excuse me, beautiful?" Cassidy whirled around. Standing behind her was a young man who looked about her age, with curly copper hair. He was hiding most of it with a bowler hat, though, and wore a vest. He was smoking a cigerette, and had a strong Irish accent.

"I was wondering if it would be alright if I stood here," he said.

"Oh! Of course...Mr...?"

"Ryan. Tommy Ryan." He held out his hand. She shook it. "And you are...?"

"Right! I am Cassidy Miller."

"Right, Cassidy Miller. I don't s'pose you want a smoke?"

Cassidy stared at him. "Are you serious? I don't even know you."

"Ah, well..."

"Actually, I would love one...if that's okay?"

Now Tommy stared at her. "A lady like you...smoking?"

"You offered."

"Indeed I did," Tommy smirked and tossed her a cigarette. "Need a lighter?"

In response, Cassidy pulled out her own lighter and lit the tip of the cigarette. Delicately, she blew the smoke off of it.

Tommy Ryan grinned at her. "And what class are you, lovely lass? You don't seem to be one of the third class folk, like myself, even if you are a smoker."

"You are quite correct, Mr. Ryan. I am traveling first class. And my smoking is really none of your business. "

"Alright. Topic change. You traveling with anyone or by yourself? And I'll be having none of this 'Mr. Ryan' stuff. I told you my name is Tommy."

"You're kind of rude," Cassidy told him bluntly. "Also, I am traveling by myself. You don't need to ask any more questions."

"And I'm the rude one," Tommy muttered.

"Pardon me?" Cassidy glanced at the Irishman.

"Nothing, lass, nothing."

"Well, I'm going back to my room, Mr. Ryan. I don't really want to see you again, it hasn't been a pleasure. Excuse me." She started to go to her room, tossing her cigar overboard.

"Lass!" she heard Tommy call. She turned.

"I said, I'm leaving!"

"Okay, fine. But I almost forgot. Do me a favor and tell me if anyone maybe related to you has lost a suitcase? I found it before I boarded and have been trying to find out who it belongs to." He glanced at her expression. "It says 'Miller' on it and I thought you might know who-"

"It's mine!" she blurted. Recomposing herself, she asked, "Could I see it?"

Tommy grinned at her. "Right this way, miss!" He walked away from her towards third class, motioning for her to follow.

And so Cassidy Miller had no choice but to follow Tommy Ryan, not knowing if that was a good thing or a bad thing.