The Graduate
Pen name:DameNellie
Rating:K
Summary:Emmett McCarty the human never even dreamed of going to college. Emmett the vampire learns that every opportunity is there for the taking. Canon, Pre-Twilight.
AN: Thanks to Lisa for her valuable feedback, although she hasn't seen the final version so any lingering errors are mine. Thanks to HMonster4, AccioBourbon and TheHeartOfLife for organizing this Emmett-fest and letting me contribute.
Emmett McCarty had never been much into school. In his hometown and in his family, education didn't mean much. Growing up in the Appalachian mountains, he had always been more interested in the outdoors than in books and school work. He grew up under the shadow of the Great Depression and he knew the most important thing for a man was to make a good living. He had never been very good at school work; he was much better with his hands. Besides, the McCartys couldn't afford the luxury of educating their sons - it seemed a waste to spend hours in class struggling to understand about math and poetry when they could be out earning money for the family. So Emmett had left school at 14 and started an apprenticeship with his father.
The family had moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the mid 1930s, to take advantage of the building boom that had been kick-started when the vast wilderness of the Smoky Mountains had been declared a National Park in 1934. For the first time since the Great Crash, the living seemed easy. There was plenty of work for the McCarty boys, building new hotels and houses for the scores of tourists coming to sample the great outdoors. Emmett felt all the freedom and expectation of youth. He spent weekends in the woods with his brothers, hiking and hunting. One of their neighbour's sons had come home with a bear after one trip. They'd strapped it up onto a sturdy branch and hauled all the way back into town to show off. From that point on, Emmett had been obsessed with hunting bears. And it was this very thing that got him killed in the end.
In his second life, as a vampire, he had done well at school. He found he had more of an interest in the subjects now that he found them easier to comprehend. To his surprise, he found that he enjoyed subjects like math, physics and chemistry - subjects he thought were only for 'squares'. He even found he had a new apreciation for poetry, now that he understood all the words and could easily recite his favourite passages from memory. He read The Road Not Taken and thought back to his last day as a human in the woods with his brothers. Just like Frost, he had taken the lesser worn path. At the time, he had merely been tracking bear. But he realised how taking that different route than his brothers had changed everything for him. He never knew words could capture life so well.
When Carlisle suggested college to him, he was initially reluctant. It was something he'd never even considered for himself. He wondered how he'd fit in with all those academic types. He wondered if he'd been out of place among the sons of Captains of Industry – he, a poor boy from the backwoods of Tennessee. But as Carlisle pointed out, he wasn't that kid anymore. He would be older in years than the rest of his classmates and he'd have seen much more of the world.
So, in the Fall of 1947, he started his first undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College. His new intelligence made it easier for him, although he still had to work hard to achieve his near-perfect scores. But he relished the challenge. For the first time since he became a vampire – no, in his whole existence - he felt like he was really achieving something. In fact, he was so excited about his college experience that he'd initially had trouble remaining aloof from the other students. He wished that he'd been able to participate in football and fraternities. Ultimately, though, he knew that he needed to keep a low profile, however much that went against his natural conviviality.
Instead, he threw himself into his studies. Even though he knew he had this new vampire intelligence to thank, he was excited to be using it. Of course, understanding came easily for him now and he had a photographic memory but he still needed to apply himself. He'd always had a hands-on, practical sort of intelligence. However, when it came to project proposals and essays, he had found it hard to order his ideas in an academic way. He knew the answers; he had the vocabulary. But it still took some getting used to before he was able to put it all together and make it coherent and thorough.
After an initial adjustment, though, he thrived. He loved having something that was entirely his. He couldn't rival Carlisle in wisdom. He could rival Edward in music or literature. In Engineering and Physics, however, he could hold his own. He threw himself into extra-curricular projects to keep his mind buzzing through the long night hours. He bonded with Esme over architectural projects. He helped design faster engines for Rosalie's cars. He felt, once more, the excitement and passion of youth, and this time not just for his wife.
At the end of his four years at Dartmouth, as he stood to collect his Bachelor degree summa cum laude, he felt bloated with pride. His success had been about more than hard work and good grades. He'd learnt to exist on his own for the first time in his life. He'd sought and found that delicate balance with the humans between camraderie and intimacy. And he'd learnt that despite where he'd come from, what his former life had been, that this new life gave him endless possibilities. He might never have a traditional job. He might be bound to repeat the cycle of high school endlessly. But he was no longer limited by his intelligence. He could choose to learn, to improve, to contribute. It still surprised him. It made him grin too.
