Iceberg

Upset and embarrassed by Sylvia and Miss Gruber’s disapproval of her questions to the captain, Hazel leaves the café. On the first-class promenade, she runs into Mrs. Abelman and asks which class she’s in. Mrs. Abelman says that class doesn’t matter; she later implies that she’s in third class but simply goes where she pleases. When Hazel laments what happened over dinner, Mrs. Abelman encourages her to keep being curious and asking questions because that makes Hazel different. Mrs. Abelman shares that she had a daughter who died while saving others in a factory fire, just like Hazel’s father died saving others on the ocean. Hazel wonders if her mother will ever recover from her grief but hopes that someday she will. Wanting to know more about icebergs, Hazel agrees to meet Mrs. Abelman in the second-class library the next morning.

Hazel decides to take the opportunity while she’s on the first-class deck to go to the bow of the ship and look out across the ocean. She thinks about the arrogance of the Titanic and of her own self for being so bold. She asks a nearby officer how many lifeboats are on the ship, and he answers 20, which Hazel knows is barely enough for half the people on board.