The Library Book

#36 - My Future, Our Future

Chapter 36 - My Future, Our Future
published: Wednesday, 24 June 2020

Percy glanced up at the clock and groaned internally. Why was it that, in class, time passed like a snail, but he could blink and miss his entire weekend?

1 hour of the English lesson had been delegated to writing essays about their ideas for the future. It was a follow-up to the Careers Convention, and just the beginning of the responsibilities they'd take on in senior year.

So far, exactly 9 minutes and 54 seconds of the lesson had passed, and Percy's mind was as blank as it had been at the beginning.

He didn't know what to do. Truly. Most people, by this age, already knew the field they wanted to go into, or specific job.

Casting a glance over his shoulder, Percy saw Reyna writing concentratedly, eyebrows drawn together as her neat scrawl covered the page. Of course, Reyna had always had a solid plan for her future — become a business executive, rise to CEO.

Turning his head slightly, Percy saw that even Luke was writing proudly. Christ, if someone like Luke was better at this than Percy, what was wrong with him?

Staring at the page in front of him, Percy turned his gaze to the prompts on the sheet.

Think about...
1) Subjects you enjoy
2) What interests you
3) Your goals in life

Yeah, Percy didn't have any answers for this.

Start simple, he told himself.

What subjects did he enjoy?

English was fun, because Mr Blofis was a cool adult, like, one of the adults who didn't freak out over his ADHD and actually seemed interested in helping him.

But the subject? A vivid mental image of reading Shakespeare for the rest of his life slipped into his mind, and Percy shuddered.

Maths wasn't even an option. In fact, as soon as he thought about it, Percy almost laughed. He desperately wished one of his friends — especially Annabeth — was in his English class. Outsider input would be useful.

Biology was an option, Percy supposed. He liked the subject, liked studying it — except that, he couldn't imagine himself doing it for a career.

Biologist was too...boring. That was the word. Every career he'd been told about was too mundane.

Moving on to the second question — 'what interests you?' — Percy paused. What interested him?

Annabeth, he almost wanted to write. A smiling to himself, Percy made a mental note to tell her about it.

Seriously though, what interested him? Swimming, but that wasn't a career option. The ocean, the sea, all that, had always interested him — but again, not as a career.

Percy made a small note in the top right corner of the page; 'marine biology (?)'.

Then, his goals in life. Holding in a derisive snort, Percy pondered over it.

What were his goals in life?

In the short-term, Percy wanted to go to college. Sure, lots of people didn't think it was essential, but he'd been saving up for this since he was a kid, and it had always been the best option to get out of Gabe's radius.

Then, of course, his long-term goals; kick Gabe out. Stand up to him. Get his mother out of that house with that dead-beat guy and give her the world, because, frankly, she deserved it.