Walking In Worlds Beyond (A Lord of the Rings Fanfic)

Chapter 2

Two Years Later:

The final year of high school was going to be the most boring time of Emily's life. She couldn't understand why everyone made such a big deal about senior year. It was just another year of school and the only difference was that they expected you to have your entire future planned out.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Emily kicked a pile of leaves as she wandered down the driveway towards the house. She had hoped a run would clear her mind and bring some answers, but the cloudy September day only made her feel more melancholy. Life was a strange journey filled with unspoken expectations from adults. They treated you as though you were an adult one minute and then the next, patronized you as though you were a child once more. It was a frustrating transition period, one which Emily wished was over.

Her parents weren't terrible in terms of being parents. Yes, they would pester her about what colleges or universities she was going to apply to and want to know if she had met all her deadlines for class. On occasion, they would question the programs she might apply to and suggest ones they thought would be right for her.

Mostly they actually just weren't really around to bother her too much. They both worked frequently and had such long shifts that they didn't usually get into her business. The Harris family seemed to thrive on being detached in some areas. Unless she started acting 'off' or something, or they had a few days off and suddenly thought they should be asking questions, or if she really messed up badly enough for them to notice, her mom and dad were pretty lost in their own worlds. Really though, for the most part, Emily supposed they left her in peace because they deemed her a 'good' and 'responsible' young person who was 'well adjusted', whatever that meant.

Lately, she wasn't overly bothered by them. The rest of the world, on the other hand, did bother her.

That push to pick a 'career' and go off to a university or at least college and be 'successful' or 'make something of yourself'. She felt the pressure to get it right the first time and was ashamed that she didn't actually have any idea what she wanted to do with her life. It was as though the rest of her peers were calmly boarding this train at the station knowing exactly what direction it was going and here she was scrambling so she wouldn't miss it not having an idea what was going on. It was a lonely feeling.

What is successful anyway? Who gets to decide that!? If I make enough money, will that be a success? If I become a great doctor or scientist, is that success?! There has to be more to life than money and achievements that are used to judge your worth!

It didn't help that she had 'successful' siblings who were on their way to having good-paying jobs and lived on their own. They figured it all out like it was nothing, heading off to their universities so casually and easily. Why did it have to be so hard for her?

Shaking her head, feeling none the wiser about life, Emily trudged on.

In truth, she really didn't feel as though any amount of effort on her part to become the worlds' definition of 'successful' would do any good, which made her wonder, what was the point of all this? It wasn't like she was super athletic and gorgeous like her sister, and she wasn't brilliant like her brother. She was just plain old Emily. Average grades, semi-decent looks, introverted, socially awkward, and not at all up to speed with what her age group was interested in. She had one close friend named Rory who had moved out of the country and a tiny handful of 'sort of' friends at school who mostly ignored her. Teachers mostly overlooked her or else singled her out making her life miserable in some form or another. Goodness, she hated school.

I'm probably best to just apply to some generic program that accepts pretty much anyone. It's not likely I'm going to be offered a scholarship or anything. I might have a slight chance at a running scholarship, but that's so far-fetched. I'd have to get back on the team and without Rory sticking up for me with Coach, I don't think they will look twice at me.