It had been a year since John Laurens was informed of the current situation of his family. Under his fathers request, he had kept the circumstances of their financial crisis to himself. Laurens had noted his siblings didn't seem to notice what was going on. At first, he was bewildered that they didn't notice; that seemingly all of society didn't notice yet! Though, in 1929, things hadn't shifted too much in their way of life.

The young man was confused at first as to why his father wasn't as anxious as he. It took Laurens some time before realizing, Henry Laurens, his father, had come to terms that it was out of his hands. It seemed so early but yet..so late. Too late to stop it all. So early that no one noticed.

The Laurens family was far from poor, everyone seemed to know that, at the very least. John Laurens feared that wouldn't be the case within the next few years. However, he kept on with life. Laurens still continued his studies, cared for his siblings and spoke regularly with his acquaintances.

As of late, a new 'hobby' came for him. Laurens was looking for a job. His father had told him not to, making it clear he had it under control. Being the smart man John was, he disobeyed his father, knowing damn well that what his father was saying were blatant lies. It made him feel like a child to be lied to by his own father. It would've made him feel as a coward and even more childish to believe the fabrications Henry spoke of.

It was nearing December 1929. Laurens was painfully aware that what he feared was coming. The greatest economic depression of all. The shut down of the stock market. The panic of banks. All of Johns fears? It all was becoming reality at an unbelievable pace.

On the other side of the economic chain, was Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had been working at an automotive manufacturing industry since he was sixteen years old. His fears suffered from Laurens'. Hamilton had been noticing the amounts of industries suddenly closing and shooing out all of its workers. He wasn't too sure why yet, but there were rumors of what had been happening. His fellow workers spoke things like;

•those industries were found using children as their workers even after the child labor law.

•Those industries had polluted air, and got all the workers sick and they all died. (Hamilton thought that was absolutely ridiculous, but a part of him was a little worried..just in case that anything had been happening).

•Technology wasn't devolving fast enough. That one really made Hamilton nervous. What if his industry hadn't been developing fast enough? What if they were all left jobless?

The rumors made him anxious, to say the least. Hamilton tried to put the thoughts out of his mind, though that was difficult when rumors seemed to be the only damn thing the workers spoke of. As more and more industries shut down, Hamilton also realized that the men that came to his industry in search for jobs, were quickly shut down. That raised a few obvious questions in him.

Like most, he couldn't help but speak about the matter with some of his close friends. Hamilton wiped his hands on his pants, still in work clothes and at his friends house. He sat in the house of Hercules Mulligan. After migration, Mulligan had been an extremely helpful asset to Hamilton. He had lived with Mulligan since migration.

Mulligan helped Hamilton back when Hamilton was barely a teenager, just arriving in the states. Jobless, homeless, and defenseless. Since then, they became close; having almost a father- son relationship. Almost.

"Have you heard of what's been happening?" Hamilton asked Mulligan, sitting on the couch in Mulligans living room.

"No. Fill me in." Mulligan said from his kitchen.

"You haven't heard? Workers are being laid off. Industries closing. No one knows why." Hamilton said, slinging an arm around the top of the couch and looking over to the kitchen. He couldn't see Mulligan from there but still spoke and looked in that general direction.

"Seriously? Huh. Bet it's a money thing." Mulligan said.

"A money thing?"

"You know. Maybe the workers weren't paying enough and everyone strikes. But instead of the pay raise, they all got fired and the company closed." Mulligan said, making a semi-educated guess. "Sort of like the Newsboys strike back in the day."

"Except everyone is fired this time and there are child labor laws now." Hamilton said, shifting his eyes and sighing.

"Same difference." Mulligan muttered.

"They wouldn't strike for no reason. I mean, yeah, money but..we aren't being payed horribly. Oh, and what you said, with the whole company shutting down? It's not even that! It's just one factory part of the industry. So, my pay actually went up. Not that much, but around ten cents or something. It's just..so strange. Why all of a sudden? And if not that, why now? Maybe you're right. Maybe it is a strike thing. I heard some people talking just the other day, and they were saying that we— my factory— might get put on the shelf. What happens then? Where do I go? Would I just be jobless? Because from what I've observed is that once you're let off, you can't find another job. Some guys came in, wanting a job. The boss just..waved them off. It's packed at the factory, duh, but still. Make room for the men. Have decency, you know? It's just a couple guys who need some jobs. ..I fibbed a little, not just a couple. Quite a lot, but you understand what I mean, right?"

"Yeah, kid, I get it. I don't think they'll shut it all down without warning, anyway. And if you did get let off, you could work at my house, help out with the tailoring business." Mulligan said, walking out to the living room and sitting down next to Hamilton. "I'm sure it's nothing."