Disclaimer: I do not own "Lord of the Rings" though my heart has greatly desired to. I cannot describe the feeling of not owning this masterpiece. But then again, you probably cannot describe the feeling of excitement that I do not own it.

Chapter 2: Unwanted Surprises

Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…Be- Samantha groaned as she rolled over and turned off her alarm clock. Monday had definitely come to early. She had managed to finish her report but it was rather sloppily done and plus, she had only finished at one thirty that morning. She had every reason to be tired, and because of that, grouchy.

She managed to swing her legs out of the bed while throwing her covers off only to stumble and fall into the wall. Samantha almost screamed with frustration. She growled as she tore off her cloths and stepped into the shower, which by accident, was freezing cold. This time she did scream, but now at least she was more awake.

"Stupid shower. Stupid report. Stupid school. Stupid life," Samantha mumbled ruefully to herself as she scrubbed her body. When she stepped back into her room, her eyes quickly glanced at the clock which succeeded in sending her into a mode of panic. It was 6:37. Normally she was out of the shower by 6:25. Monday morning was already proving to be rather difficult for Samantha. She hurriedly threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, put on her make-up, grabbed her shoes and back pack, and then rushed into the kitchen.

Alison watched in amusement as her daughter rushed around the kitchen making both her breakfast and packing her lunch for later. She sipped on her coffee and laughed quietly to herself when Samantha began putting a bag of cheerios in he lunch rather than putting it into her bowl. Yes, Monday mornings were always hell for her daughter and most of the times she just liked to watch and wait for her daughter to get everything right.

Standing up, Alison realized that Samantha could use some help. She went over to the refrigerator and grabbed the ingredients for Samantha's sandwich. Samantha gave her mother a relieved look and finally sat down and focused on eating her bowl of cereal.

Samantha rushed down to her bus stop and thankfully she arrived just in time. The bus drove up and the small crowd of kids clambered on to the bus. As she sat down in her seat, which was in the very first row. She glanced around herself and for the thousandth time that year, she thought of how embarrassing it was to be one of the only senior students to still ride the bus. 'My mom really doesn't know what this does to me every day. And if she did, she'd get me a car.' Samantha thought to herself.

Samantha stepped off the bus and immediately her piercing eyes picked out her small group of friends. They wave her over and smiling, Samantha obliged. Her friends were busy laughing and talking with each other when she arrived at her destination.

"You look a bit rough this morning, Sammy. Wake up late again?" asked the tall blonde to her left as she eyed Samantha's wrinkled shirt and dark hair that was braided messily.

"Yes, the shower was cold and I had to take several minutes to fix the facet. My shower warmth always has to be perfect," Samantha replied. They all laughed.

"Monday's are always hard," commented the blonde again, who was named Kelsey.

"Yes, and it doesn't always help when you stay up late trying to get that damn book report done," Samantha said darkly.

"Why did you wait to do it then? I finished mine two weeks ago," put in another one of her friends. Samantha glared at the redhead.

"Because I'm not a perfectionist like you. I like having a life outside of school," Samantha replied. The redhead, Becky, smirked.

"Someone's PMSing," yet another girl laughed. Samantha pushed her lightly.

"I am not. I'm just grouchy and rightfully so, Jenna," she snapped. Jenna flipped her honey colored hair over her shoulder while the other girls raised their eyebrows.

"Right, whatever you say, Sammy," Kelsey laughed. "Come on, we should be going in now." The other three girls nodded in agreement and together they walked into the school building.

Samantha sat down in her assigned seat. She looked over at Becky, who was the only other one who had History with her this period. The teacher, Mr. Squire, strolled into the room, whistling a happy tune. Samantha rolled her eyes, annoyed with his cheeriness. Wasn't anyone else every depressed or grouchy on Monday mornings? She was beginning to think that she was the only one.

"Good morning class," he said brightly. Samantha didn't even bother to hide her glare. "I trust you all had a good weekend. However, it is now time to get down to business. We have busy week this week, so I am going to ask you to please open your text books to page 457." The class groaned. "Come on, it's not that bad. This is the easy part. Just wait till your test I've scheduled for this Friday." The class groaned again. Mr. Squire sure did have a way of torturing the students, and most of all, he seemed to enjoy it thoroughly.

"How was your day, sweetie?"

"Two words: It sucked!" Samantha glared as she sat down on the couch next to her mother. Her mother just laughed. "It's not funny. I have probably about three hour's worth of homework tonight. My teachers never give me any slack!"

"Well, I guess you better get started. You have to baby-sit for Mrs. Mender tonight, remember? They want you there at six thirty," Alison reminded her daughter.

"Yippee," Samantha stated sarcastically, "Another fun filled night with the three brats of hell."

"Language missy!" Alison snapped.

"Sorry," Samantha apologized as she stood up. Grabbing her backpack, which could almost break her back from simply carrying it, she left for her bedroom.

Later that night, Samantha took a long, deep breath before knocking n the Menders' door. The door instantly was opened and it revealed a short, plump lady with tousled blonde hair.

"Sammy! It's so good to see you again! How are you?" Mrs. Mender asked joyfully. Samantha forced a smile.

"I am great. How are you?"

"Wonderful! Oh! Where are my manners? Come in, come in," Samantha stepped into the large house. One inside she could see the three Mender children staring at her from behind the couch. Thomas, who was the oldest yet only eight, gave her a mischievous smile. Nick, who was seven, and Cassy, who was five, followed his example and smiled a smile Samantha didn't like. She glared at the three of them.

"Oh, there the children are. Come on out you three! Aren't they such angels?" Mrs. Mender gushed. Samantha nearly gagged. They were actually quite the opposite. They always caused her trouble. Last time they had somehow managed to tie her to a chair and they didn't release her until five minutes before their parents had gotten home.

"They sure are," Samantha lied, wondering to herself what they had up their sleeves for her this time. She didn't even want to think of it. After Mrs. and Mr. Mender had explained where they would be and what the phone numbers were, Samantha was left alone with the children of hell. She stood facing them, glaring at them as if she could see what they were planning.

"So, do you have any ideas on what to do tonight?" Samantha asked. The children looked at each other.

"Oh, just a few," Thomas said. Samantha gulped.

"Would you care to elaborate?"

"Not really. You'll find out soon enough." Thomas held true to his word. Not three minutes later, Samantha was tied to the bed. As Thomas, Nick, and Cassy were naturally big children and Samantha was smaller and thin with barely any muscle whatsoever, Samantha knew that the three of them could overtake her easily. It would forever dent her ego, however.

It was rather embarrassing, though, when the Menders came back to find her red faced and breathing heavily. Samantha quickly explained that they had been playing and running around the house. Mrs. Mender seemed especially pleased to have such a nice babysitter and asked when she was available so her and her husband could go out again sometime. Even though the younger woman never in her life ever wanted to see those children again, she knew she needed the money for college. After telling the Menders that she was free next Sunday night, she quickly rushed out of the apartment and walked the two blocks home.

She quietly walked up the stairs to the third floor and was shocked to see that her door was open. Her mom, she knew, was out having dinner with a few friends and would not be home until late. So why was the door open? She tip-toed into the apartment and with a gasp, she noted that the whole apartment was a mess. The couches were flipped over. Clothes and jewelry and other items were lying all over the place. Samantha bent down and grabbed one of her homework assignments that she had worked so hard on. She went to stand back up, but a voice stopped her.

"Do not move," it said. Samantha's breath caught in her throat. Someone else was here, besides her or her mom. "You will not do anything."

"How are you?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"That is for me to know and for you to never find out," the voice replied. It obviously belonged to a man as it was deep and rough.

"What do you want?" she asked again.

"What every thief wants," came the reply. "Now, do you have any valuable items? I will find them anyways, but this could go a lot quicker if I had help from you."

"I will not help you steal from me," Samantha replied.

"Very well, I shall continue looking though. But you will follow me so I can make sure you don't leave to get the police. Now walk," Samantha did as she was told and followed after him. He walked into the kitchen and a plan formed in Samantha's mind. She reached over for a knife and quickly hid it behind her back. She reached out to stab the man, but he suddenly turned. Before she knew what was happening, a loud gunshot rang through the air. Samantha's breath was stolen as she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She fell to the ground, gasping. Her hands immediately went to her wound and a stinging sensation erupted, one that she had never felt before.

"Did you really think you were going to get away with that? Did you really think you would be able to hurt me? You are such a foolish woman." Samantha glared at him through her tears. She went to stand but another pain exploded in the other side of her chest as another gunshot was heard. The thief smiled and then turned around as if nothing had happened. A sudden wave of dizziness struck her. 'I've lost too much blood. Oh God, I'm going to die. Why did it end this way? I'm so sorry, mom. I love you,' Samantha's thoughts stopped short as she took one last breath before she took one last breath and became lost in the darkness that surrounded her.

Ok, ok, I know. This chapter is a little stupid and pointless but I promise that it will get better. It's only the beginning. She'll arrive in Middle-earth the next chapter, just so you all know. Again, I accept constructive criticism, but no flames. Please review!