How Green Becomes Wood

"I guess I never thought about it," Rumy admitted. "I don't really plan. I just..." She paused, thinking about her words. "I've always known what I wanted, and it's always been the same thing. Except for when I was four and wanted to be a Luchador, and that summer when I was seven and was determined to run away to join some kind of artsy circus because I'd just seen Mirror Mask. Other than that, I've always wanted to be in the dirt. I never cared how, and I guess I still don't really care how. Farmer, rancher, mud wrestler... Don't care. I do love cows, though. They're like giant puppies! My 'plan' is just do what I love and see what happens, I guess. All I know is I'd die in an office job, any kind of office job. My mom gets on me a lot for not having any kind of plan. I don't even know if I'm going to do college. Maybe a trade school thing. I wouldn't mind welding."
 
"I'm pretty sure my mom pestered me about it daily since the day I was born. She takes her children's success very seriously." Sloan told her flatly, "But if you want to work in agriculture you should go to trade school. I mean, unless you're content working someone else's farm and doing whatever you're told to do, chucking watermelons into a truck or whatever, and there's nothing wrong with that, but if you're really passionate learning the details about soil or animal husbandry would probably be helpful."
 
"Oh man, that has to be so frustrating," Rumy said with a wince. "My cousin gets treated like the golden child, and his parents are both like that to him. I used to be jealous and stuff until he had a full-on breakdown in college from the pressure." She reached over and put her hand next to Sloan's arm but didn't touch it directly. "I'm sorry. Please look after yourself so that doesn't happen to you."
 
"I'm okay," She promised, "I'm used to it. I think part of why I want to focus more on gymnastics now is because I'm sort of expected up give it up and focus on just a standard education now, but I don't want to just quit everything I've worked hard."
 
"Damn straight!" Rumy agreed heartily. "Nothing wrong with standard education, but, come on! You've been working on what you can do for ages! You're amazing! As long as you want to gym, you should gym. When you're ready to stop you'll stop."
 
"I mean I still do want to go to college and everything, I just care less about if I go to some Ivy League something. I kind of feel like I spent too much of my life worrying about my college application." Sloan said, "I don't have high chances of being rejected from most schools, which is great, but I feel like I could've done a lot less while still having good options."
 
"Honestly, not really," Sloan said truthfully, "Like I said, all I really care about is who scouts me. If the local state school gives me a better offer than a school in, I don't know, Tampa or Nashville or Santa Monica or... a place in Alaska or Hawaii, I'd go there. I mean, presuming they have a program that suits me."
 
"I wouldn't blame you if you did. I mean, a bit of space can work wonders, but then you'd have to worry about roommates and stuff," Rumy remarked. She hesitated, for once, smoothing out her napkin. "I guess even if you went here and didn't have to move out, you still could. If you knew someone you think you'd get along with. Sell it to your mother as life experience or something. If you wanted. But I guess this is a point where you couldn't plan if you wanted to. It's all down to scouts and acceptances."
 
"I think most universities make all first years live in a dorm, even if they live close to campus," Sloan said, thinking about it, "Either way, I'm not letting myself stress too badly about it since it is all kind of out of my hands."
 
Sloan looked at Rumy for a few moments, trying to think of an answer to her question before finally saying, "I don't know. I think I've thought so much about what to do immediately after high school but never what happens beyond that."
 
"I want to go to one of those space camps for adults," Rumy grinned. "I think that'd be stellar! Real starry-eyed stuff." She grinned and waggled her eyebrows at Sloan with her terrible joke.
 
"Alright, alright, you got me there," Rumy giggled. "I don't actually want to go to space, though, not really, but it's fun to play at space, if you know what I mean." She checked the time on the clock on the wall. "I should probably get going."
 
"I'd like to go to space, but not in like... a Katy Perry way. Which means I'll probably never go, but I think it'd be cool to see the earth from above." Sloan said, gathering her belongings, "Yeah, it's getting late. This was fun, though."
 
Rumy's expression wobbled just a little as she took that in. "Alright, cool. See you later!" she said cheerfully.

She turned and headed for her car, shoulders slumping a little. Maybe she'd read Sloan wrong. Maybe Sloan wasn't actually into girls? But she'd been so sure! Or maybe Sloan just wasn't into her. That was alright, but why go through all of this if she wasn't? Was it really as simple as Sloan didn't get it? Rumy sighed as she got into her car. And people said she was dense. But maybe that was harsh. Right now, all she wanted was to go take a hot shower and maybe have a bit of a self-pity cry before putting her big-girl pants back on. At least nothing had gone drastically wrong. That was something.
 
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