Paved with Gold

Steerage

János woke up at daybreak from the suspense of departure day. He was so busy the day before that he had almost forgotten about the entire reason he was in Hamburg.
He dressed quickly as he could smell Babette cooking breakfast and he hurried down the stairs. The boat boarded at 8am. It was around 6am, so he had plenty of time.
János walked into the kitchen and sure enough Babette was cooking a feast yet again. She had a pan of eggs going, a pan of sausage, and thick slices of fresh bread with butter and jam. She waved at him and he took a seat. He watched her pile up a plate for him, and he was grateful as he never would have been able to afford a plate like that.
They ate in relative silence together. János ate 3 sausages, 2 eggs, and had at least 3 slices of bread with butter and jam. He hadn't had jam since he was a small child and it took everything he had to not eat the whole loaf.
János asked Babette directions to the port, but they struggled to understand each other. Eventually she said she would just walk him herself.
János thanked her many times for the food and for the opportunity to stay with her. He went back upstairs to collect his small bag and wash up while Babette cleaned the kitchen.
Right at 7am, Babette led János out of her house and onto the cobblestone street he walked yesterday. She took a left, going back to the city square. He walked slowly to keep up with her elderly pace. She pointed out different plants and tried her best to describe the parts of town to him.
"Work. There" she said and pointed to a large brick building right on the edge of the square.
"When I was young." She continued. János observed the building.
It read "Zeitung" and had stacks of newspapers outside. He assumed she was a clerk at the newspaper.
They continued walking through crowds of people, and a sparkling blue started to emerge into his line of vision.
The ocean.

János had never seen the ocean. As they walked closer, the cerulean blue became wider and spanned as far as his eye could see. A lump formed in his throat. He hadn't thought about being on a large body of water before.
Babette pointed to the right and János followed her finger.

There it was. The Amerika Steamship, waiting patiently in the port. It had a large and wide black base, with fat cylinders sticking up, and cables going every which way. Next he saw the immense crowd standing before the boat, waiting to board.
János' mouth hung open in terror.

"Ticket?" Babette asked kindly and held her fingers in a rectangular shape.
János fumbled in his bag and gave him her ticket. She nodded her head, grabbed his hand, and lead him to the correct line.

János couldn't help but notice the caliber of people in each line. The first line had the least amount of people. Men wore the finest suits, leather shoes, and carried leather handbags. They smoked pipes while they waited and spoke in a proper tone. Women wore big dresses that drug the ground and large frilly hats. They all had tight curls in their hair and looked displeased with standing outside.
The second line consisted of nice looking men and women. Tweed suits and dresses that weren't near as large. Many families in this line had one or two children with them, who were also dressed moderately.
The third line, and the line that János was placed in, consisted of the majority of people waiting to board. These people were definitely poor. They looked a lot like János with their thin and tattered clothes, and very small bags containing the smallest assets. These families had many kids with them, and looked like they had spent every last cent they owned on their tickets.

Right as János and Babette reached the his appropriate line, the conductor started yelling in German, presumably about to board the ship.
The fancy line went first. The women's heels clicked on the bridge that went from the street to the boat as their poofy dresses bounced with every step. The men followed suit, still talking nonchalantly and smoking their pipes as they followed their wives. They looked like this was just another day; like they weren't making the biggest life decision to date.
The second line followed quickly, with bumbling children stampeding through the ramp ahead of their well dressed but not rich parents.
It was then time for the third line. János took a deep breath as his heart started to race with anticipation and fear. He looked down at Babette who smiled at him and stretched her arms out to him.
János paused as he was not expecting her to want a hug.
He bent down and hugged her. She smelled like his nagymama.
Babette rubbed his back and gave him a couple pats. With that, she turned and walked away.

Janos took another deep breath and began walking with his group up the ramp. When he first walked in, he saw a glorious ballroom with pristine white tables and chairs and beautiful centerpieces. The people from the first line were already sitting at the tables, still gossiping like they were going on vacation.
They turned a corner to see a smoking lounge with vibrant green lounge chairs, poker tables, and a bar.
János tried to stop himself from looking, as he knew where he was staying was nothing like what he was looking at.
They all walked down a set of stairs to what he imagined was 2nd class. There were long hallways with doors to individual rooms. At the end of the hallway there was a communal dining area that was not near as nice as the one upstairs. János started to get nervous.
The group walked down another flight of stairs and it got warmer, and János could hear the internal machines of the boat working.

"Here we are." The conductor said boringly. "Steerage."

János glanced around.

Ten to fifteen long wooden tables with benches separated the large open room. Bunked cots lined one side, and the other side was open with nothing.
It was already hot and dank as more people started to pile in. The once large room continuously felt smaller.
János sat at the edge of one of the large tables. He could already feel the rocking of the water. He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes, praying the week would be over soon.