Clash of the Titans



Chapter One:

Whitestar Lines, Ireland
07:23 GMT December 17, 1911


I skipped happily into my dad's office. He was pretty high up in the chain of command on this project, but was never given publicity or written down as a member. He was the invisible third wheel. And he liked it that way.

Before I could walk in though, I heard my dad yelling.

"I'm not doing it, James!" my dad yelled. "That is the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"Suit yourself!" another voice yelled. One I instantly hated. A moment later, James Hauds Stormed out of my dad's office.

James was NOT a likable guy. He had dark, nasty looking hair, the color of which I couldn't tell nor wanted to find out. It lay slicked back along his head, trailing down his neck. Extremely long for the time. His eyes were cold, dark, and bottomless. His face had acne trailing over it. 

He was dressed in a dark brown-green suit that looked utterly disgusting. He looked overall as if he had emerged from the bottom of someone's stomach. 

"What're you looking at, kid?" he asked. His voice was as disgusting as his features. Scratchy, cold, and he sounded like he was taking sme drugs.

I was tempted to respond with something insulting, but that wouldn't be very lady-like. Instead, I nodded coldly at him and walked not my dad's office. 

His office was messier than usual. Papers were scattered all over the floor and what looked like the door handle was laying crushed on his desk, not far from two fist sized holes. Dad had his head in his hands.

"Dad?" I asked.

My dad was a little better looking than James. His face was clean shaven and he was wearing a smooth, brown suit. He had a dark green tie on and his brown Sherlock Holmes hat hung with his coat behind him.

"Yes, Tiana. What is it?" my dad asked in an exhausted voice.

He had sounded like this ever since the construction of the Titanic had begun, but he sounded even worse right now.

"What was James doing?" I asked, bending down to pick up some papers.

"Tiana! Don't!" my dad exclaimed. "Don't mess up your dress!"

 I sighed and stood up, setting the blue prints on his desk. I could see why he didn't want my dress getting messed up. It was a beautiful, jewel-encrusted, jade colored dress. It was highlighted with gray and white.

"Sorry dad." I said. "But what did he do?"

"He wanted me to add something to the design. I said no and he went ballistic. Something about righteous something-or-other." my dad said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Darling, run along. Don't be worried about me." My dad said, standing up and putting his hand on my shoulder.

I grinned and ran out the door.

"And please! For the love of God! Be careful and stay clean!" he yelled after me.

As usual it hardly registered. 

I ran through the cold, damp morning. The fog made it hard to see, but the gigantic outline of the Titanic looked almost foreboding. Hidden in the fog, the black shell zoomed in and out of my focus. With the little lights shining through the windows it looked like a demon, or some evil spirit. Maybe I was a little offset after the conversation with my dad. Maybe I was just paranoid. Either way,I should've recognized it as a warning.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The building was lit softly against the snow.

Aghany, Ireland
20:03 GMT December 24, 1911

Inside, a hundred people we're dancing to the soft music that played. I seemingly blended into the crowd. No me noticed me. No one but one boy.

"Tiana!" he exclaimed happily.

"Alex!" I replied in the same manner.

Alex and I had been courting (or as I believe it is called now, dating) for some time. He was a handsome boy of sixteen, one year older with me. His messy brown hair was scattered over his face, although he had obviously tried, and failed, to comb it straight. His intense, gray-blue eyes looked happily in my direction.

Like all of the other men in the room, he wore a black and white tuxedo. I was nothing like the black and white males. My dress was a beautiful, soft, chocolate brown. Blue and green jewels flashed over it. My silk gloves came up to my elbows. My black, spiky hair had been done to make it look longer for the party, but both Alex and I liked it better the way I normally wore it.

"How are you?" he asked as I slipped my arm through his.

"I'm great ow that you're here!" I said with a playful grin.

"Now that I'm here?" he replied in the same playful tone.