1934

You trace your fingers over the diagrams on the page, quietly repeating the name of each of the parts to yourself. Each part is labelled with a number, and the key to the numbers is on the bottom of the page. The tender is in the back of the train, while the smokebox is in the front.... You’ve got the sand dome, the rear bogie... You’ve looked at this diagram so many times you could probably draw it with your eyes closed.

“Tender, smokebox... The rear bogie...” You repeat to yourself quietly. No one else is listening to you, be it the fact that you’re sitting on a crowded train platform or that everyone else is far too preoccupied in their own business. Has their luggage been loaded on properly? Are all their children together? They’ve got all their tickets, right?

The only ticket you’ve ever needed to ride this train is your papa. As far as you can remember, he’s always been the conductor to this train, guaranteeing you a free ride. Your pa travelled all over the country in his train, and sometimes you would travel with him.

And sometimes your mother needed you at home. To help with the washing, she would say. I can’t do that it by myself. Ridiculous. Had your mother no respect for your desire for adventure? You’d much rather be riding the train across the country rather than being stuck in your cramped New York home.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by one of your favorite sounds- your papa’s familiar yell of “All aboard!” Grinning, you quickly gathered up your books and shoved them into your little bag. It was time to say goodbye to Central station- Not something particularly hard for you to do. It always smelled of something rotten that made you crinkle your nose and it just reminded you that you’d rather be on the train already. You quickly leapt to your feet and smoothed out your skirt, making sure to wipe your back down as well. It was probably smudged with who knows what, but you didn’t really mind.

Holding your bag tightly, you hurried along to the front of the train, where the conductor’s compartment was. There was your papa, his eyes searching to make sure everyone got on the train. Those eyes lit up upon seeing the little you struggling to climb onto the train, being far too short at your age to pull yourself up onto the large locomotive.

“Hey, little lady. Be careful there,” Your papa smiled, lifting you up under your arms into the compartment. “You could fall down onto the tracks.”
 

You sniffed. “Like that would happen!”
 

Papa gave you a brief look of reprimand, before smiling and shoving your head lightly.
 

“Alright, kiddo. Just be careful for your papa, would ya?”

You smile and nod, not really thinking about the meaning behind his words. He’s always saying stuff like that to you, it’s lost it’s meaning at this point- So you just smile and nod.

Your papa smiles back and you watch him lean back out the side of the compartment. It always takes a while for everyone to get on the train- People who were last minute packers and such. You, however, had gotten that scolded out of you. If you didn’t pack in time, that meant your mother just had another excuse to keep you at home with her- So you always took special care to pack at least 4 days in advance.

You manage to snuggle yourself between your papa and the door, peeking out to watch the usual people hurry to load up last minute luggage and get onto the train. Families, businessmen... Not anyone really interesting. You remember one time a magician had come onto the train, with his amazing tricks of being to pull about 1.75 in cents from behind your ear. That had been one that you liked.

However, someone new, yet nothing like a magician, stands out from the crowd this time. Clearly he didn’t get the memo about packing in advance like you had, because this boy was sprinting down the platform, clinging onto his suitcase like his life depended on it. The boy looked to be around your age, and he was dressed in a uniform like a horde of rowdy boys you had seen earlier. You watch him finally reach his destination of the luggage car and see the other conductor laugh as the boy struggles to catch his breath, patting him on the back.

You can’t see the boy’s face, but for some reason you imagine him smiling.

                                                                                                                       __________________

The second time you see the boy, it’s about an hour into the ride. He is wide eyed and curious, watching out the window one moment and watching the people around him the next. You watch him from the connector, observing his movements. It’s not often you see a kid around your age here- They’re either way too young or just reaching adulthood- So you can’t miss this opportunity.

You notice his uniform again, remembering the boys from before. You had seen brochures for it- There’s some boy's boarding school at the end of the line, in Illinois. But you had never really cared about it before.

You decide to make a move when he grows tired of looking all around, and settles for reading what you assume is his admission letter.

"Hi." You say.

The boy shows no reaction, much to your chagrin and the glances of some older women seated in the row behind him.

"Hi," You repeat louder. "Anyone home?"

The boy's head snaps up and looks at you, hair bouncing as he does so. He gives you a confused look before hesitantly responding.

"Um... Hi. Who are you?"

"No one. Who are you?" You reply, crossing your arms.

The boy gives you a strange look, obviously confused by your strange response. It wasn't your fault that you didn't really spend a lot of time socializing with people outside of your family, besides random passengers on the train. (Which were usually old ladies.)

"... Jungkook..." The boy, well, 'Jungkook', responds hesitantly.

"Jungkook, huh? Are you going to that boarding school in... Illinois?" You don't realize your mispronunciation of the word, only having ever read it in books before.

Jungkook snickers a little, but quickly quiets after seeing your disillusioned expression. Clearing his throat, he starts. "Yes, I am... going to that boarding school in Illinois." Jungkook puts emphasis on the word, with what you assume is the correct pronunciation. "You don't pronounce the s... It's French... That's what my aunty told me."

You don't respond, and return to your inspection of Jungkook. He has short unkempt black hair, looking like it's been recently trimmed but Jungkook doesn't really take care of it. He's wearing the uniform to this boarding school in... Illinois, which is a weird brown color. It has a blazer and shorts, a button up shirt and black tie. You can't tell how tall he is, since he's sitting down, but you can only assume that he's probably taller than you. Basically everyone is, after all.

Looking back up at his face, you see Jungkook looking at you confusedly. You think his expression somewhat resembles a rabbit, and that makes you laugh.

You plop into the seat across from him and give him a toothy grin.  

"I'm (y/n)." You ignore his incredulous look. "The ride is reallllly long. It's overnight and everything... You should play with me, because I'm sure we're both going to get bored."

Now it's Jungkook's turn to stare at you. Your hair is short and curled, something he can only assume that your mom did for you. You're wearing a grey sweater, with a red dress and knee socks underneath, the skirt reaching your scratched and bruised knees. Your dress isn't in the best shape either, covered in something like coal and dust smudges. He hasn't stood up yet, but he can only assume that you're probably taller than him. Basically everyone is taller than him.

Looking back at your face to see your impatient look, he sighs and puts his letter in his bag for safekeeping.

"Okay," Jungkook starts, but he can't get any further because you've already latched an hand around his wrist and you're leading him off through the car, without much struggling on his part. You go off, explaining about all the things you have planned for you two to do in 19 hours. There's hide and seek, tag... Hide and GO seek... You can go to the dining car and snatch sweets from behind the counter... There's always cards, but that's more like a last resort. The cards can go everywhere with the rattling of the train.

Jungkook can't see your face, but for some reason he imagines you smiling.