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  •  Kathi
      Kathi
Julie - A Life So Short
#1

Joined: 2007/2/25
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I started to write a story about a girl who worked on the Titanic and who died in 1912 when Titanic sank. I haven't finished it yet, but I will continue.
I thought I'd write a very short story, but it seems to become quite long.
And by the way, please tell me if there are any mistakes (I'm only fourteen and I'm a German).

It was a unusual dark and cold night when Julie Corbeau lit a candle and took on her clothes. The girl kissed her sister and her brother goodbye. She didn't feel sorry for leaving them, but she wished she had been able to explain everything to them. She hadn't even written a letter, and now it would have taken too much time. Julie wasn't very good at writing. Although she was happy she had made the choice to work on this ship (the biggest and the most luxurious ever built), she was a little afraid of the following days. And she wasn't sure what her mother would say when she saw the empty bed the next morning. As Julie walked down the street, towards the port of Southampton, she thought about the arguement she had had with her mother the day before.
"I forbid it, Julie", Mrs Corbeau shouted. "Now be quiet, I don't want to hear one more word about it." She sat down and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "But Mum", Julie inveighed, "this ship can't sink! Remember - I will be able to get to America, the land where dreams come true, and Henry told me he'd - " "Shut up, you nasty girl. This Henry you always talk about - he isn't even french, is he?" "No, but.." "Go to bed! I just don't want you to work on a ship, and I don't care how big or luxurious or whatever it is. Good night." "Good night", Julie murmured, and she went into the little room she shared with her twin brother Etienne and her four-year-old sister Gabrielle.

Henry was already waiting for his friend. They had decided to meet at the port of Southampton. "Half past ten near the bow", Henry had told Julie two days before. He sat on a big box with the red symbol of the White Star Line on it. "Joseph Bruce Ismay" the letters of gold on it said. "Oh, there you are", the boy welcomed his friend. "I just started to think you had changed your mind" He smiled. "Listen, Jules, we have to get these to the suites B52, B54 and B56." He pointed at the box he sat on, and at two other trunks that stood nearby. Julie took the trunks. They weren't as heavy as she had expected.

Half an hour later, she sat on a tiny bed, a cup of tea in her hands. Henry sat on the other bed. The room was so small that there was only space for the two beds, a chair and a box with some lifebelts in it. Henry added some more sugar to his tea. Real English tea - and sugar... When had Julie tasted this for the last time? Probably it was more than three years ago...
Julie was actually from Paris. The family had moved to Southampton after her father Fabien had died. "His" ship - he had rented it from a friend - sank near Iceland where he was fishing. After that Julie's mother began to work as a seamstress. But then they had to move in a smaller apartment, and after a few weeks Mrs Corbeau decided to move to Southampton where an uncle of hers lived. They reached the town in July 1909, after the uncle's death. All their life seemed to be an endless streak of bad luck. And it hadn't improved much yet. Being a stewardess and a lift attendant at this beautiful ship seemed to be a good idea - not only because she would get to New York. Julie loved ships, especially the big cruise liners she often saw at the port. She spent most of her free time there, watching the ships and wishing to travel on one of them once. Now her dream had come true... Julie felt very tired. She put the cup away and laid down.

The next day she was awaken by Henry who shouted "Put on your lifebelt, Titanic is going to sink!" directly into her ear. She jumped to her feet. "Huh? What's up?" "Only a joke, Jules. Come on, we have to bring the food stock to the kitchens. First we take the second class stuff." They went down the stairs and two other long corridors. Julie was really amazed. In every corner she saw men and women, some of them not older as herself. All of them were working, bringing stuff into the suites or to the kitchens. After what seemed to be hundreds of corridors, Julie saw the port of Southampton again. Many boxes, trunks and other stuff had been brought there. Henry laughed. "Yes, I know, but it isn't as much as it seems to be." Julie sighed. "Alright, the earlier we start, the earlier we're ready."
It took more than three hours to take all the food to the second class kitchens. Then they had a little break. They ate some sandwiches and drank some water. Fifteen minutes later, they went on with the trunks that should be brought to the first classe suites. Then they had to go into their cabin because the passengers arrived. "We don't want to bother them, do we?", Henry asked with an ironic smile. Julie went to the tiny window, but all she saw was the ocean and a few other ships because their cabin was at the wrong side.

Their work was hard, but it was interesting and (maybe most important) well paid. They had to bring the passengers up and down in the elevators. They prepared the food. They brought tea and cakes to the suites of the first class passengers. In the evening they were so tired and exhausted that they fell asleep instantly.
Julie and Henry, however, felt as though they were in heaven. They had enough food, a business and - most important - they were on the most beautiful ship ever built by human hands. "And the steel is from Germany, like my ancestors", Henry said proudly the next day. They were sitting in the kitching, peeling potatoes for the first class passengers. "Really? That's cool", Julie answered. "I am only from France. No idea which material of this ship comes from there." "You should never be ashamed of the country you are from", Henry said thoughtfully. "That's what Uncle Michael always told me. And I think he is right." "Yes... possible", Julie answered. They put the potatoes into the boiling water.

A few days later, on a sunday, they had to bring the plates into the first class dinner room because one of the waiters had become ill. It was a very hectic atmosphere in the kitchen. Cooks were running around, waiters were bringing plates to the tables and taking empty plates back into the kitchen again. Julie was responsible for the non-alcoholic drinks, Henry was washing the dishes. He was a little jealous because his work was much harder.
It was about half past ten when Julie brought an orange juice and a glass of water to table number 11. "This is for you, madam. And your water, sir..." "Thank you, Miss", said the man. He lifted the glass to his lips, but suddenly the ground shook. The water splashed out of the man's glass. His jacket became wet, but when Julie wanted to wipe the water away, he jumped to his feet and pushed her away. He ran to the exit. The other passengers were confused. Nobody actually know what had happened until another man stood up and told them to be quiet. He said "Ladies and gentlemen, don't worry, everything is okay. The shudder you felt was probably caused by a big wave. Now sit down, please." He waved to make a waiter come to his table. "A brandy for the gentlemen, please." The waiter nodded. "Of course, sir." He went ino the kitchen.
In the meantime, one of the older guys who did the washing-up had noticed Henry nearly fall into the sink. He was so tired he couldn't even think clearly anymore. The guy - his name was Carl - told Henry to go straight to bed, "otherwise I will take you to your cabin myself". When Henry saw Carl's muscles he decided to hurry.
Posted on: 2007/5/16 20:14
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  •  Captain Dan
      Captain Dan
Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#2

Joined: 2007/3/27
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So far, very nice. No mistakes that I saw.

Daniel
Posted on: 2007/5/18 15:55
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  •  Kathi
      Kathi
Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#3

Joined: 2007/2/25
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Here's the sequel:

Julie was worried. She had heard the man assuage the passengers, but she had a feeling he wasn't right. How could he have known about the "big wave" a few minutes after the shudder? She decided to look for her best friend. He wasn't in the kitchen and she couldn't find him in the dinner room either. After a couple of minutes she decided to wait for him in their cabin. When she opened the door she instantly heard him snore. She didn't want to awake him, so she sat down and began to write a letter to her family. She would send it to them after the ship had reached New York. It wasn't easy to find the right words, and when she laid her pen at the table, it began to slide to the oppsite side of the table. Julie looked at it in amazement. After a few seconds she realised what this could mean. She knew a lot about ships because her father had told her so much before he had died. Julie got to her feet. She ran down the corridors to the kitchen. The head cook Charlie was still standing in front of the oven. The tissue he used to wipe the sweat off his forehead was wet as though it had fallen into the ocean. "Charlie!" Julie had to shout because it was so noisy there. Most of the passengers had left, but there was still so much to do: Bread for the breakfast was baken, the dishes had to be put on the tables and all the other preparations for the next day had to be done. "What's up, Miss?" He always called her "Miss", and Julie thought it was annoying. For her, it always sounded as though he wanted to tease her. But now she didn't care. Charlie was one of the best informed crew members she knew. "Charlie", she yelled in his ear. "What did this shudder mean? Don't tell me it was just a wave or something. Did we hit anything? Maybe it's only my table, but don't you think the ship is a little more... I don't know... at an angle than it usually is?" "Well, Miss...", the cook started. "I don't know whether it's true but I heard we hit an iceberg." Julie swallowed. "But this needn't mean we are in any danger", Charlie added quickly as he saw the shocked expressions on the girl's face. "I assure you, we're on the safest ship I know. And I know many ships. He was right, of course, but Julie still didn't feel very safe. She decide to go back into her cabin. Stewardesses like her weren't allowed to go to one of the first class decks, and she didn't want to get into trouble now. When she arrived, she saw Henry stand at the window, watching the water outside. "The water is not horizontal", he said calmly. "Huh?" Julie went to the tiny window and looked down. "Shit", she said. "That's not the water... I think I know what this means." And she ran out of the cabin, straight to the forbidden first class deck and to the bridge.
_________________
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Posted on: 2007/5/18 19:02
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  •  Kathi
      Kathi
Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#4

Joined: 2007/2/25
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Please comment.
_________________
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Posted on: 2007/5/29 18:38
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Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#5

Joined: 2007/1/28
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Good. You even know an *American* Curse word. X3
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Don't be afraid of the dark... be afraid of what it hides...
Posted on: 2007/5/29 20:23
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  •  Titanic_charlie
      Titanic_charlie
Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#6

Joined: 2006/12/30
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its really cool!
Posted on: 2007/5/29 22:17
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  •  Kathi
      Kathi
Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#7

Joined: 2007/2/25
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An American curse word? really? Where is it?
_________________
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Posted on: 2007/5/30 16:01
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Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#8

Joined: 2007/1/28
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Quote:

Kathi wrote:
An American curse word? really? Where is it?


#OOPS#.
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Don't be afraid of the dark... be afraid of what it hides...
Posted on: 2007/5/30 20:59
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  •  Titanic_charlie
      Titanic_charlie
Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#9

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errrrr........... i think the word there talking about is S-H-I-T-
Posted on: 2007/5/30 22:36
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  •  Kathi
      Kathi
Re: Julie - A Life So Short
#10

Joined: 2007/2/25
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I don't think so, because it didn't say oops in my post but in TSstudios it did.
Well, I continued writing the story but the internet connection of the computer I saved it on doesn't work.
_________________
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.

Posted on: 2007/6/4 15:12
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