A Dying Breed

Chapter Two; Highschool Rodeo

    I unload both of my barrel horses and my breakaway horse from our little weekender trailer with my blue heeler tracking close by. After tying them up, I head to the time box to check in. I skim past the vendors as I walk, nothing peaking my interest until I see an emerald necklace that catches my eye. I inspect it closer and see a silver band that wraps around the gem which is rimmed in diamonds. I flip it over to reveal it's price tag that reads two hundred dollars. I walk away knowing that there is no way in heck that I am buying a necklace that is more than my entry fees despite how much I love it. 
I stare at the bustling warm up arena, contemplating if I should find another place to warm my horse.  I start to turn in the other direction before I hear someone calling my name. "Jade!" Ayla exclaims from behind me. I turn to see her on a sweaty red roan. "Wait up." She says jogging up to me. "What's up?" I ask. "Chase has a girlfriend." She explains. "What?" I exclaim very loudly. "Shhhh." She whispers. "Whoops." I shrug. "Who is it?" I question as we head back to where our trailers are parked. "It's Cheyenne." She chuckles. "What? Cheyenne Davis? That buckle bunny Cheyenne?" I exclaim. She nods. Cheyenne Davis, the girl who bullied me through middle school. I have no clue how she made it into high school rodeo. She qualified for junior high finals one time then she thinks that she is the best thing since sliced bread. "Chase wouldn't." I spit. "Oh he would." She shakes her head then points to a familiar boy holding hands with the red head that ruined my middle school years. "I would give it three weeks." I say, rolling my eyes. We have reached the trailers by the time we end that conversation. I lope some circles and jog a few before I hear a voice boom from the loud speaker, "The draw has been posted for women's and men's breakaway, team roping, tie down, and barrels at the club hall. The order of events is as stated before." "Let's go check it out." I tell Ayla, who nods to answer. My heart starts to pound out of my chest as we walk to the club hall to see the draw posted on the window. I am first out in breakaway, great.
I set Harley into the heel box. I nod my head as the baby powder flies off of my calf rope from my first swing. All I can hear is Harley's hooves beating against the soft arena dirt as we run toward the calf. With my third swing I throw my rope over the calf's neck and pull my slack as tight and smooth as a can bear. As my rope flings past my face, I look up at my time. "And that would be a 3 flat for Jade." the announcer booms into the loud speaker. I turn to Ayla, with the biggest smile I have ever plastered on my face. She throws an enthusiastic thumbs up my way. Harley jogs out of the area, the smile still lingering on my lips.
"Hey, beautiful run Jade!" Lane calls from behind me as I dismount and tie Harley up to the trailer. I flash a smile and thank him. He stands beside me awkwardly, leaning against the trailer. "Do you need something?" I question. "Uh um no." He stutters standing up straight. "I'm going to get ready to strap some. I am out tenth." He says and turns around. "Oh, I didn't mean that you have to leave." I explain. "No, really. I have got to get going. My bull rope won't rosin itself." He tells me. "Alright then." I say, putting my barrel horse, Malibu's, bridle on. I slip my foot into my stirrup and hop on. I stroke her red roan coat and head for the warm up arena once again.
My heart thumps as hard as a boombox on the fourth of July as I wait on top of my warmed horse by the in gate. "It's ok." I whisper to her petting her neck. She sways back and forth, getting more amped up as each run flies by.  I finally hear my name called, "Jade Wilson is up on Malibu. Next is Lyla Jennings on Lulu." I lift my reins and guide her inside of the arena. Once we are lined up, I kick her to go. She rates perfectly to the first barrel. I lift my inside rein and sit down to complete the turn. The next two turns go by just as flawlessly. Before I know it, I am on the run home. I whip her with an over and under asking her to accelerate even more. We cross the eye in a flash. "That will be an eighteen point two three for Jade. Nice run." The announcer says. I pat Malibu's neck with a grin. "That will be good enough for second place!" The announcer exclaims. My grin grows even wider. I brush my brunette hair from my face revealing my expression to the crowd. We exit the arena to see the one and only Cheyenne frowning in my way. I give my eyes a roll. "What's with you Cheyenne? Why do you always look like a chihuahua nipped you in the ass?" I question with a smirk. She stays silent and huffs, then looks in the other direction. That's what I thought. I rip off the velcro of Malibu's sport boots then cool her down. After, I tie her up at the trailer, just as I did with Harley earlier. Once I have situated the horses and offered them water, I head to the fence by the bucking chutes where I see Ayla standing. "Hey girlie." I say resting my arms on the fence. "Hey." She answers, her eyes still on the random bull rider strapping one in the arena. "Nice run by the way!" She tells me, finally making eye contact. "Thank you." I murmur. "How many people until Lane goes?" I ponder. "Two I believe." Ayla explains. I nod my head. The next two rides are not very good, neither of them making the eight seconds. Sooner or later, it is Lane's turn. I can see Chase helping him on the bull and pulling his rope for him before he nods. The bull comes flying from the chute, tossing its head in the air. He spins to the right, making Lane become unbalanced. Lane falls off before the eight. I shake my head and groan. "Lane has been having trouble lately." I say to Ayla, who nods in answer. I can see both Jake and Chase bury their faces in their palms as Lane finds his way out of the arena.
    After the rodeo, after claiming our checks, we finish packing up our things and loading our horses as the sun fades from the sky. Lane still in a bad mood from his ride, or lack thereof, asks, "Are we going to dinner tonight?"  I look over to Ayla and throw her a shrug. "If you guys want to." She states, mirroring my shrug. "Follow us." Chase says while opening his truck door and sitting in the driver seat.
    I turn up the quiet country music playing on the radio as we make way to wherever the boys are leading us to. Ayla turns it down. "Hey!" I exclaim reaching to turn it back up. She smacks my hand. "What's with you and Lane?" She questions. "What do you mean?" I ask truthfully. "Oh cut the crap Jade! I see how he looks at you." She asserts. "I do too, he looks at me just the same as he looks at all the buckle bunnies he picks up. He is a bull rider Ayla." I object. She shakes her head, "For being so smart, you are so clueless sometimes." I roll my eyes focusing them on the empty country road we continue to drive on. "I could say the same thing to you. Aren't you the one who doesn't like having a boyfriend." I grumble. "That's the thing Jade, you are not me. You are Jade. The one who has dated plenty of roughies in her time. You have only dated those kinds of boys. How is this different Jade? Why do you suddenly care?" She nags. I ignore her question as we continue this drive that seems to drag on forever.
    We finally reach a brightly lit diner with a sign that reads Ruby's Place. I cannot tell you how many times we have been to this restaurant. After church, after rodeos, even for lunch on a passing period for school we come here. All of the employees treat us like family. We take a seat at our usual table in the back corner of the building. We don't have to order since the waitress flashes us a smile already knowing each of our orders by heart. Everyone sits in awkward silence. Ayla makes eye contact with me and looks between Lane and I who is sitting next to me. I huff and roll my eyes, which I find myself doing a lot lately especially when Ayla keeps doing this bologna. I break the silence and congratulate Chase and Lane on their win, "Well at least your roping run was a success." Lane has cooled down enough to smile weakly and thank me. Chase does the same. "If our run was a success, what would you call your runs? They were amazing, the same goes for Ayla. You guys did great!" Chase exclaims as the waitress sets down our plates of food. "Thank you." Ayla and I chuckle in unison. Everyone starts to tuck into their food. I sip some soup from a little cup. After we all finish, I pull my wallet from my back pocket. "I have got it." Lane says pushing my hand away from the cash register. "No it's ok." I argue moving my hand again. "Seriously Jade? It's my treat, think of it as a celebration for your runs." He protests. "That's what pulling a check is for." I rant and hand the money to the cashier before he can get another word out.