Richard frowned. The train’s whistle blew as students filed onto the impressive red locomotive that seemed to have jumped straight out of the 1860s. His mother had a hand on his shoulder as she pressed him steadily forward. She was nervous and the reasons were plain. They were the same reasons that his father had been putting an inordinate number of hours in at the office. The hushed whispers and muttered breathes were impossible to block out. Richard had done his best to ignore them, and he and his mother hadn’t lingered long enough to hear what the actual words were. Likely they were of an ugly sort. Mean words aside, Richard was still excited. It was going to be his first year at school and he wasn’t going to let this lot spoil it for him.

His mother hadn’t let him linger long enough to hear anything that anyone said. They had navigated quickly across the bustling platforms of King’s Cross and passed straight through barrier. He eyes went wide as they absorbed the crowd.

“Your father’s going to be disappointed that he couldn’t make it, but you-”

“I know,” Richard said, cutting his mother off. “I understand, Mum. You don’t have to worry,” he reassured her. She stroked his hair and they briefly embraced. He squeezed her tight, somewhat afraid to let go. Most of his friends were a year or two younger than him, so for the first time in a long time, Richard was going to be by himself.

“Be sure to write,” she said.

“Or course.”

“Alright. Well off you go then!” She smiled and urged him toward the express. Richard nodded, hefted his trunk, and walked towards the train. An older boy, probably in his last year lifted the trunk from his hands and let him bored before handing it back to him. Richard nodded thanks, but the tall boy seemed preoccupied looking through the crowd. There was a badge pinned to his chest with the letters HB emblazoned on it.

Richard passed through the carts and made it to a compartment that looked as good as any other and opened the door up. Two girls, mirror-images of one another, looked up at him. He scratched the back of his head. They looked about his age, maybe this was their first year too. “This compartment isn’t full, is it?”