Marian smiled and fixed Isaac's white collar. "You can't get on a fancy ship such as the Titanic and expect the captain not to hit you on the head with his telescope if your collar crooked!" Isaac laughed along with her, the thought of an old man white a long silver weird wildly smacking him upon the head with a shiny telescope making him chuckle. Marian finally tamed his collar into the right position and stepped back, examining her work of art. "Marvelous, darling." Isaac grinned and held his arm out formally; Marian linked her arm with his and allowed him to escort her from the fancy limousine to the line for boarding.
"Do you have our passes, dear?" Isaac nodded in response, pulling out the two tickets. He quickly slipped them back into the pocket within his tuxedo; the passes were too valuable to hold when being this close to the scum boarding the ship. After a few moments of waiting in line with many more first class passengers waiting to board the unsinkable ship, they handed their passes to a sailor at the large door. The man inspected the passes before looking up at them. "Marian and Isaac?" The couple nodded and were permitted passage onto the ship. The moment their feet set foot beyond the door, the joyous laughter within overwhelmed them. Isaac smiled and led his fiance down a hall, where the sounds seemed to be drifting further away with every step they took.
"Let's find our rooms before we join in with the laughter." Marian nodded in agreement, following her love through the maze of hallways. At last, he stopped. "I do believe this is our stop, ma'am." He held the door open for her and gave a low bow. Marian giggled and walked past him, standing just inside the lounge. She held her hand out; he took it, got on one knee, and kissed it softly. Marian smiled gemtly. Isaac smiled as well, the adorable crooked grin making her legs grow weak.
He stood once more, taking her arm once more. "Now, Isaac my darling, I do believe it is time to join in the festivities." He frowned. "Can't we have festivities of our own?" He leaned closer grinning. She pulled away quickly. "I do believe this is not proper, Isaac!" Isaac's frown deepended as she walked from the room alone. He quickly followed her, intertwining his arm with hers once more. "It wouldn't be proper for you to walk in alone either." She grunted in reply, deciding it was best to ignore his snide comments.
They soon reached the end of the labyrinth of hallways; Isaac led his fiance into the great hall, where many smiles, laughs, and hugs greeted them. Marian put on her mask of happiness and drifted off with several ladies, her friends. They sat at a long table and drank tea, discussing (what else?) the wedding. "My dear," her friend Kristina said with a large and genuine grin. "Your dress must be white, it just fits your form! Soft ruffles down the front, strapless, long to the ground with a train..." Her mother creased her forehead, frowning. "Ruffles down the front? Strapless? A train?" She laughed nervously, continuing. "Not appropriate, child. I was thinking, you could wear the wedding dress I wore to my wedding! To the jaw and floor, no train at all, not ruffles, real diamonds..." Marian itched with annoyance.
Isaac, on the other, was completely enjoying himself. His father had long wrinkles that deepened when he spoke, "And tuxedo from the grandest little textile store in London. We can get the finest caterers. I was thinking Ze Chison's-" Isaac's closest friend, Henry, laughed, smacking his father on the back happily. The old man grunted in annoyance at the man's all too friendly actions. "Forget the food," said Henry playfully. "Let's talk about the wedding presents... Especially the one your new bride will be giving you when you get to the Bahamas the day after the wedding..." Isaac's father shouted over the laughter that had spattered the group of young men around them. "Inappropriate, Henry Piera." Henry chuckled, smacking the man's back several more times. "Only joking, sir."
Emmerson followed the same procedure as the rest of the first class passengers; it was a boring routine, as it was identical to any other ship's boarding ritual. Once he arrived on the ship, though, his extremely large family swarmed around him, congratulating him on his unknown fiance. His mother gave him a tight hug, her green eyes, identical to Emmerson's, watering. "I'm just so proud of you, son!" His grandpa chuckled. "Don't choke the boy!" His mother laughed softly and released him from the rib-crushing hug.
Emmerson smiled at his large family, who mirrored his smile as though imitating him. His family was chattering, their voices a low hum that seemed to blend in with the soft buzz of the room's talk. He seemed to be listening to his older brother talk, but he was thinking instead about the letter from his mystery fiance. It had come with a picture as well. Her name was Linda; She was 4 years older then he, but much less educated. He had been to college, and she had been a high school drop out. The only reason they were getting married was because Linda's family needed the money, and Emmerson's family needed the society's attention.
Linda had dull gray eyes and black hair to her waist. His father had spent many hours describing the girl, trying to make Emmerson fall in love before ever meeting her. His plan had failed, but Emmerson tried hard to please his family and acted as though he had not failed. His fiance was very tall and lanky, her neck long and graceful. She was the perfect woman of society; but, she was not the perfect wife for Emmerson.
Emmerson had bright green eyes and blond hair. His features were exciting, beautiful, and unique. Linda was... plain, ordinary, and normal.
Although he dearly wished he was off with his brothers enjoying the ship's wonders, there were apparently wedding plans to be made, despite the fact that it had seemed the wedding was already so planned out that even one more plan would cause Emmerson's brain to explode. His eldest brother, visiting from Harrison College, put his thick arm around Emmerson's broad shoulders. "Dear brother," Jefferson, his sibling, said quietly, finishing the conversation he had thought he had been having with Emmerson, "This will all be over very soon, I promise. When I married Kendall, I hated her. It was arranged, and I hated the girl. She was fourteen when I was eighteen; I was much too old for her, and she was undeveloped and unable to give me children. But that girl I had begun hating, soon grew in to the beautiful girl I had always wanted to marry. Her brown eyes slowly turned a soft shade of blue, her body developed, and her light brown hair bleached itself blond. I soon fell in love with her; perhaps your story will end happy like I am."
Emmerson chuckled lightly to himself. "We can't all meet the right woman, Jefferson." His brother laughed along with him. "We can only hope," he said before trotting off with Emmerson's mother. He thought over Jefferson's words. Grew into the beautiful girl he had always wanted to marry... Well, Linda can't grow much more. She's already a giant.
Lori stood in a long line of dirty third-class hobo's, all of which were waiting to take a primitive health test. All they did was check their heads for lice, ask if they were pregnant, and felt their stomach to check for any lumps. After almost an hour of waiting, the doctor called out, "Next!" Lori hopped up onto the stool and the doctor sighed. "Name?" "Lori Evans." "Age?" "Nineteen." "Gender?" "...Male." The man looked at her before mumbling and writing, "Female..."
The old man named Dr. Jenkins then rubbed her head and neck line. "No lice... good, very good..." The man then ran a hand through his hair. "Are you pregnant or have you recently had intercourse." Lori giggled, her soft pink lips curling up into a grin. "No." the man nodded, checking a few empty spaces on his paper. He then rubbed her stomach gently. "No lumps," he concluded. "Your free to go. Next!" Doctor Jenkins handed her the paper as she walked past. "Show this to the boarding guards."
Lori snatched the paper and climbed a ramp up to the end of the next line. It was much shorter then the last, and soon the boarding directors were examining her physical and boarding pass. "Hmmm..." the man said quietly, holding the physical up to the light. "Hmmm..." he repeated. After almost a whole minute of humming, Lori snatched the two from him. "Should I leave or are you done?" The man's face contorted with annoyance, and he pushed her shoulders, causing her too fall back into a man behind her. The man quickly helped her stand up as the boarding guard spoke. "Get on the boat before I push you off the ramp next time." Lori was almost passed him when she stopped walking and faced him. "Never push a girl, jerk." She then retaliated by pushing him, and he stumbled back into the railing, shocked. Lori grinned. "Thanks for the pass, babe." She then darted onto the ship; she hoped they wouldn't follow her and carry her from the ship of dreams.
They didn't; she sighed a long sigh of relief. She had sold her mother's necklace in order to get a fare onto the ship. Once they arrived in New York, she would work hard in the factories until she could buy her mother a new necklace. If she had been taken off the ship, the vending of her mother's prized possession would have been worth nothing at all.
She looked around her; instead of the grand and ornate hall that had greeted Emmerson, a dirty lounge filled with trashy people greeted Lori. The people shuffled around, trying to claim beds for themselves in small rooms branching off of the lounge; the label 'bed' was vague. They were more like cardboard covered in ripped sheets and a thin mattress. Lori walked into the first room; Within was a small boy, about age 4, and his mother and Father. On the bottom bunk there was an old lady who was snoring loudly from the bed where she lay. Lori left for the next room; the room was full already.
Inside the next one was three men and an empty bunk. The three men looked sinister as they invited her to stay within their dorm. One reached out to grab her wrist, so she punched his stomach and ran out quickly. The next room she entered had four bunks as well (two sets). On one set was a woman and her husband. On the other was a girl about Lori's age with dark hair and dair eyes. She set her single brown bag onto the bed and said, "This is my bed." The girl on the bottom bunk shook her head. "No hablo ingles." Lori sighed. "Yo hablo espanol. Donde esta el bano?" The girl pointed down the hallway with a single frail finger. "Gracias." Lori left the room and followed where the girl had pointed. There was two overflowing toilets and a long line of woman and children.
Lori sighed; suddenly, an idea occurred to her. She scurried down the hall, into the lounge, and out of a door to her right. She didn't know where the door led, but she hoped it would eventually lead to the First Class levels. Her hopes came true; there was a tall staircase going upward. As she climbed, she could hear the rats scurrying around. The higher she got, the less rats there were; this only showed to her the true social-segregation there was against people of different classes. Walking is NOT helping my urine issue.
She finally reached the top of the stairwell; she peaked through a crack in the door at the top to reveal a large chattering family; among them was a man a little older then she, by the looks of it. She sighed; the only way Lori would make it through the buzzing crowd and into the clean, 17 toilet restroom was if she made a mad dash like a crazy person, or stole a dress. She went with the second option. Sneaking down the stairs one level below, she peaked through the door that now stood like a giant before her; beyond was a long hallway with lots of doors, identical to the one that concealed her. One of these doors must lead to a room. She knocked on one door; A short woman answered it immediately.
"What do you be wanting?" Lori frowned seriously. "Wrong room, I apologize." The woman slammed the door in her face, so Lori calmly walked to the next one in hopes no one would be there. She knocked, but several moments passed with no answer. Lori pulled a small knife from her pocket and unlocked the door quietly. When the soft *click* sounded, she slowly opened it, the door screeching like a mouse about to snatch cheese off the counter. It was dark within; a good sign that no one was there. She turned on the small, kerosene lamp upon the beautiful beside table and opened a dresser.
Jackpot.
Within was a beautiful silver and green dress. She unhooked it, and quickly changed into it, also stealing some lemon to make her smell good. She then shut the door behind her, returning everything to how it had been a moment before she had entered. She locked the door and then sneaked back up the staircase, almost tripping over the length of the dress. Lori walked casually into the decorated ball room; no one even seemed to notice her. She walked according to society's rules into the women's restroom. It was almost as though to fit in with society you merely had to look like them. She relieved herself before walking back into her new-found staircase.
She pulled the dress above her ankles as she slowly climbed down the stairs. What do I do with the dress? She wondered. There was no dresser in her room; she stopped walking as she noticed a sign beside a door she was about to pass that read, 'Utility'. She tried the handle: locked. She pulled the knife from her boot and clicked the lock open. The door squeaked open and she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She stripped off the expensive dress, revealing the dirty brown pants and button up white collared shirt beneath; they were boy's clothes, but they fit. She looked around the closet for a place to hide the dress, but the only spot she could see was the broken rafters. She climbed onto a bucket tediously, stuffing the dress into the ceiling's hole.
Once stepping down, she looked up and checked every view. Satisfied that the dress was hidden, she left the closet, sneaking back downstairs, returning the dirty room and rat infested basement of the Titanic.
Sarah giggled, linking arms with her best friend, Beth, as they reached the short line to enter onto the Titanic. "He will propose any day now, Sarah," Beth mumbled softly, changing the subject from gossip to marriage rather suddenly. Sarah rolled her eyes. "Not again." Secretly, Sarah didn't know whether or not she wanted Michael to propose; she loved him yes, but she was unsure that she was ready for such a permanent, dedicated, committed, and serious relationship. Sarah was like a cougar; always hungry, always searching for more prey. Men were like prey to her; when she craved them, she got them. When she was done with them, she threw whatever was left of them back into society's ring. Beth knew this, but often tried to convince her what she did was wrong. Sarah, although a cougar, was also a donkey. She was stubborn and listened to no one.
Instead, she did everything her way, whether they failed or not. Many people thought Sarah to be rude, but she could not just stop being herself; it was just another piece of her personality.
She could be obnoxious, rude, oblivious, blunt, and loud, but she could also be nice.
Occasionally...
At last, Sarah handed Beth's and her own boarding pass to the directors. Then nodded them through. The two ladies were greeted by hugs from Michael, and Beth's husband, William. The four of them chatted for some time before the men decided they would wander around to search for something to do that night. Beth squealed at Sarah as the men dissapeared amidst the mob of passengers in fancy dresses and expensive tuxedo's before saying, "You two are meant to be!" Sarah shrugged softly. "Maybe." Beth's smile faded into a frown, but she did not reply.
Sarah looked over Beth's shoulder to see a young man with broad shoulders and black shaggy hair. His eyes were the darkest shade of brown she had ever seen. He was laughing with several men and women, but suddenly met eyes with Sarah. They stared at each other, eyes locked, until a woman cupped his jaw, pulling his face close to hers as though about to kiss him. Beth dragged Sarah away; "Let's go make sure the maid's pack our stuff up alright." When he had jerked his head away and looked back at the where the girl had been standing not a moment before, so that he might look at her bright eyes again, she was gone.
Perhaps he would see her at the masquerade ball that night.
Secretly, Sarah was hoping the same thing.
Author's Note: First chapter, kind of a... really long intro, describing their personalities a little and the story line. Kind of. Hope you like it :)
Please review, as always :)