by SahireRain
(Tehachapi, CA)
I waited for the dust to clear, then I strained my eyes to look at my new "home". Okay, it was pretty nice. Their was a porch swing on the porch, flowers in pots, nice windows.... and horses grazing in the nearby field. I turned to look at Ms. Collins.
She sneezed. Then said as if it was a routine, "Welcome to Golden Valley Farm Andrea. I'm sure you'll love it here. As I said, Ms. Emily Arana is a rancher and she's very nice. I'm sure she'll spoil you soon enough!" I grimaced. I did not want a person who would spoil me to death. Ms. Collins must have noticed because she just coughed and got out of the car. I stayed in my seat.
Then the screen door opened and out came a young woman who was smiling uncertainly. She walked toward Ms. Collins and said, "Ms. Collins, how do you do? I'm surprised you're early. Its quite hard to find my place." Ms. Collins gave a small laugh. "I'm fine thank you. The drive here wasn't that hard."
I slowly got out of the car. Of course, Ms. Collins noticed me. She beckoned me to come closer. "Andrea, this is Ms. Arana." The woman shook my hand warmly. "Please, call me Emily." I was about to say,"Please call me Andy" but corrected myself and said formally, "Nice to meet you Ms.Emily."
She gestured to the house. "Please, come in. I have refreshments waiting." we followed her in. The house looked very homey, almost like your country grandma's house. Quilts draped on the couch, attractive Coffey table with a small stack of horse magazines, frames with attractive family members or friends. I sat down on a chair.
Ms. Emily went to the kitchen and came back with a tray of fruit and a pitcher of lemonade. Tears stung my eyes and I stammered, "Uh, do you, would you mind if I went to see my room?" Ms. Collins raised her eyebrows and looked at Ms.Emily. Ms. Emily looked uncomfortable, but only for a second. "Of course. Come this way." I followed her up the stairs and down a small hall. She opened the door.
I surveyed the room. It was white, a small bed in the corner. A dresser. And a beautiful window with lacy curtains. I turned to Ms. Emily.
"Thank you. The room is..." I searched for the right word. Brilliant? No. Charming? No. Attractive? Yes, I guess that was safe to say. "Attractive. Very Attractive." She smiled."I'm glad you like it. Would you like to settle yourself in?" I nodded. She went down and soon came back with my suit case. Then she went back down.
I closed and locked the door. I sat down at the bed and began to cry silently. The first thing I remembered was my mothers death.
She had died in a fire. She was at a friends house with my younger brother Brad. She called a friends mother to drop me off there.
When we arrived the house was in flames. Firemen were there but my mom was out. I ran to her and she held me close. Then she suddenly shrieked, "Wheres Brad? Brad! Where is he?!" A fireman shouted, "Is that a child by that window?" She was about to rush in again but I grabbed her arm. "No!" I screamed. She gave me a kiss. "We're a family. Your brother needs to get out of there!" then before anyone could stop her she rushed in. She never came out.
No one wanted me because my mother and father's family never approved of their marriage. My father died when I was two so I ended up being a foster kid. It wasn't a nice feeling.
I organized my room then walked out and came upon Ms. Collins talking about her favorite fruits and how green apples she favored and did Ms. Emily love mangoes? Oh she did? Then how delightful! I just sat there very bored. Then Ms. Collins said she ought to leave and she explained all the rules and the do's and don'ts. I sighed a sigh of relief when she left.
Ms. Emily had a beautiful smile and i adored her brown curls that framed her face. But I wasn't ready to get to close. But she was awfully nice. The first thing she offered me was a nice hot shower. I nodded and she led me to the bathroom.
I stared at the mirror while I waited for the water to heat up. Tear streaked stains showed on my face. My brown eyes were red. And my auburn hair was greasy. The mirror steamed up and I jumped in the shower. Ms. Emily had luxurious shampoo. The scent of lavender calmed my serves as hot water seemed to wash away all my troubles. For a few minutes anyways. Shower finished and I dressed into fresh clean clothes. I walked down.
Ms. Emily seemed to be in the kitchen so I just looked around. I saw a board in the dining room. A few pieces of paper was pinned onto it.
"Pepper to ride over at Rachel's"
"New feed scheduled."
"Nate arrives at the farm now at 6."
I shrugged and went to the living room. Ms. Emily came in with a dish cloth. "I hope you don't mind but a work hand is coming over in 13 minutes. I forgot to cancel it, I didn't want you to have a grand tour of the farm, but I forgot."
"I don't mind," I said quickly. But I did. I wanted to nap but Ms. Emily had been so kind the least I wanted to do was make her feel bad.
She nodded. Then a heard the sound of a truck coming into the drive way. Ms. Emily sighed.
"Nate has a way of coming here early." The door opened and a guy came in.
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by SaphireRain
(Tehachapi, USA)
"Hello Nate, you're early." Ms. Emily greeted. Nate smiled, a sheepish smile. "I know." Ms Emily handed him a drink. "Well, I want you to start work at 6, sharp. And since its 10 minutes before that time, cool your self down." He drank the lemonade quickly and looked at Ms. Emily, "Natasha wants to come over soon. She wants me to ask for her when is a good time."
Ms. Emily scratched her head. "How about next week? Next week Tuesday? Monday I'm very busy with my riders." Nate nodded. "Okay." Ms. Emily smiled at me. "Nate, I'd like you to meet Andrea Anderson. Andrea, this is Nate McNeil. He's 15 and he's one of my very best stable hands."
He smiled shyly at me, making me surprised. "Hey" he said.
I raised my eyebrows. "Hey? Okay, wasn't it suppose to be HELLO when you meet someone? Oh well, what did it matter?"
"Hi." I replied. I observed his curly brown hair spilling over his forehead. Brown eyes. Tall. Nice smile. Finally I just looked out the window, because I was so mixed up.
Ms Emily looked at me and Nate. "You can show her around Nate." He shrugged and replied, "Sure." I followed him out, impressed when he opened the door for me.
He showed me the office, the impressive tack room, the stalls, horses. But I truly didn't care about the stables. I just longed for my mothers laugh, her hugs. I strangely missed my brothers stupid jokes and teasing. Nate was nice though. He seemed notice my disinterest.
"What is your favorite thing to do?" he asked me. I looked at him, wondering if this was just a question to just start up a conversation. "Um, I like reading." He rolled his eyes, in a playful way. "You like reading. What do you love?"
"I love to adventure outdoors. You know, like rock climbing, exploring."
He smiled. "That's cool. I'd do rock climbing this summer but I'm way to busy here at the stables." I sighed. "Does lots of riders come here during the week?" He climbed up a fence and sat down. I did the same. "Yeah. Lots of girls. Like there's only two boys out of seven girls." I groaned inwardly. I wasn't ready for this. "Are they nice?" I felt silly asking this but Nate didn't make it worse.
He smiled. "Okay, let me give you the tip. Megan Macy is the stiff and high girl here. She has the cluster of girls that side with her. There names is Alexis Shane, Katie Hawn, and..is it Chantel Hughes? Yeah, Chantel. They may be stuck up but they are good riders."
HE jumped off, and said, "I'd better start doing my job. You can go back to the house or if you want stay out here you can."
I jumped off and replied, "I'll go back the house. I'm tired." And sick of new things, I added in my mind. That night I had a hard time going to sleep.
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by SaphireRain
(USA)
I love comments! Please, tips, encouragement, anything is welcomed!
I woke up and dressed quickly. I wore a worn out jeans and a light sweater. I let my hair hang loose, and put on my favorite tennis shoes. "Good morning Andrea!" I whispered. Walking quickly, I stepped out the house and walked to the stables.
"Lets see what makes horses so special." I thought sarcastically. I walked slowly, passing each one. Dusty, Flash, Rusty, Mia, Roxie, just nothing that seemed special. Then as I passed a stall that seemed empty, I heard a kick, and splash of water.
I almost screamed. I looked and the most scary horse I ever seen kicked the bucket, this time almost breaking it. The horse snorted and reared. This time, I ran to out, trying to block out the screams in my mind. Breathing hard, I heard a voice.
"Calm down, calm down, Shadow. Shhh...." I walked into the barn, watching Ms. Emily. As soon as Shadow calmed down, she looked at me. "Are you okay?"
"Whats wrong with him? He could hurt someone!" I blurted. She smiled wearily. "So you noticed." She took a lead rope, and attempted to lead Shadow out. He refused, snorting and prancing. Then he went out, dancing sort of with those dangerous hooves. Once he was out in the corral, he reared and bucked. I covered my mouth. Was Ms. Emily really keeping this wild animal?
Ms. Emily walked towards me. "Andrea. I know this seems new to you, but I rescue abused animals. This one is healthy, but not in his mind. He's been beaten and-"
"Say no more. I got the picture. Uh, what will you do to him?" I asked. She shrugged. "I have a friend that will work with him. Come, are you hungry?"
I nodded quickly. As we walked back to the house, I looked at Shadow. His eyes showed fear. Something that I was feeling.
When Ms. Emily's students arrived, I met them at the stables lounge. Actually, I didn't meet them. Just learned their names. As they did to me.
Megan, Alexis, Katie, and Chantel looked like serious riders. And they had on expensive riding clothes. Aimee and Ally seemed a little more casual. They all looked a bit worn out after riding.
"Students, I'd like you to meet Andrea. Andrea, this is my students. Megan and Chantel is the brunette. Katie and Ally is the blond. Alexis is the dark haired girl and Aimee is the auburn. Matt is the tallest guy here, and Andy is my most goofy student."
"Hey!" protested Andy. Ms. Emily laughed. "Just kidding Andy." Aimee laughed and Ally smirked. Megan just rolled her eyes. "Andrea. We've heard about you. Hope you like it here." She spoke with a voice that sounded too nice. Aimee raised her eyebrows. "Are you riding here?"
I blushed. "Not exactly." Or was I?
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by Saphirerain
(USA)
I gripped the fence so hard, my fingers hurt. I closed my eyes, just waiting to hear Nate crashing and his beautiful and scary dapple grey crying.
"Hey, you okay?" I hear him ask. I opened my eyes. "You're, you're okay?!" I ask in disbelief.
"Well, yeah. Its no the most scariest thing to do. Are you like, really squeamish?" He smiled,a teasing smile and before I could talk back, he rode away.
I just stood there, thinking I was a bit squeamish. Or scared? Or starting to become a little sensitive girl I always despised in books. I shook the thought away and went to find Ms. Emily. She was in her office. She was always pretty, organized, and...do I dare use this word...perfect?
"Hey Andrea. I was thinking, would you like to take a ride on one of our horses?" I shook my head vigorously. "No, no thanks Ms. Emily. I'd like to just watch." I hated myself for saying this. I was not getting sensitive! Or was I?
Sorry this is sooo short! And please comment!
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by Saphirerain
(USA)
I grab an apple and run out the kitchen. The morning sun is slowly rising up and the dark gray clouds create a moment to pause and stare up.
I run to the meadows white fence, watching the horses graze until one catches my eyes. All the horses were staying away from it and it was pacing madly. Then it would run and the rest would scatter away and a controlled pace.
It seemed unhappy. I chomped on my apple and then I hear someone walking. I turn around and there's Nate.
"Hey," he says. I smile. "Hi." He climbs on and I ask, "Did Ms. Emily buy a new horse?"
He nods. "A couple. Some Arabs. See that one? I say that's the worst."
I look at him. "Why do you say that?" He smiles, a warm bright smile. "He reared once, then ran wildly when Ms. Emily tried to exercise him. She fell off and it almost looked like he was going to step on her."
I stare at my hands. "Will Ms. Emily sell him?" He laughs. "You kidding? Ms. Emily will try a hundred times before selling a horse like that. He could be a good jumper if he has a good trainer. I think in time he'll be okay."
He jumps off the fence and looks up at me, his blue eyes laughing. "I'll see you around."
I look back at the horses. When the Arab comes closer, I can't help but jump off the fence. When I see his eyes, there's fear. Something I feel.