Saddle Seat

Chapter 8

Kate greeted me at her stall, nickering and sending a cloud of steam into the air. I patted her neck and let myself in. She wrapped her neck around my shivering body. I closed my eyes as let my warmth radiate into her.

"Kate doesn't usually show a whole lot of affection." A voice said. I flinched slightly, but didn't move. Opening my eyes, I noticed Marcus peering at me through the glass window of the stall door. I shifted my gaze to Kate's beautiful coat.

"Yeah, well, maybe she doesn't like you. Ever think of that?" I retorted, patting the mare's neck before leaving and pushing Marcus out of the way to do so. He scoffed.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have better things to do than listen to your weird friendly babbling. I will be ready at 10:30 for my driving lesson. The lesson will go from 10:30-11:30. We will be back in the parking lot at 11:30. If we are not, I will push you out of the car and drive myself back." I turned around and headed back to my room. There was a chore list, so I tackled things I could handle. I swept the tack rooms and grooming stalls. Then, I organized the recent additions to the stable files alphabetically as stated on the chores list. Finally, I found the cat food and put two cans out for the cats to share. When I was finished, it was 8:45. My aunt came in and whistled.

"Good job Sadie! If you want to go out for a run now, then ride Kate, it would be about time for your driving lesson." I nodded, and eagerly got changed. Soon, I headed out. Riders were just arriving, so I went out a side isle to avoid the hustle and bustle. I noticed Kate's new green halter and lead rope were hanging on her hook. I took off at a light jog, and hit a hill, adjusting my speed so I could get up easy. The ground was covered with yellowing leaves and the trees overhead provided the perfect cover. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the day was.

I finished my run quickly, and walked back into the stable. The isles were crowded with students, ranging from kindergarten to mid thirties. Most of the kids were my age. When I walked in, they all stopped and stared, as if I was Medusa or some weird creature. Some people even allowed their mouths to hang open. I walked into my locker room, got quickly changed, and walked right out. The stares became more amazed and I heard the guys give off a few low whistles. I ignored the stares.

"Who is that?"

"Isn't that Cindy's kid?"

"Dang, she looks gooood in breeches."

The last comment made me glare at the group of teen guys my age. They all shot me nervous smiles back.

"Welcome to Kallger stables." One of them said, intersecting my path down the isle. "I'm Kay." I gave him a sweet smile.

"Oh well hi Kay, I'm Sadie, and shouldn't I be saying welcome to you since I've been here since 5:00?" I replied, easily slipping past him. His friends all jostled him while I walked away to track down Marcus forum driving lesson.

"Hey, have you seen Marcus?" I asked one of the passing stablehands. They looked around and then pointed.

"Yeah, he's coming up the road." I thanked her and waited for him. When I saw him coming up in a Corvette, I knew today was going to be fun.
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"So you ready to try all of the skills we learned today?" He asked. I nodded, deciding that after that torture I could finally have a little fun, providing the car was a Corvette, after all. So when he said go, I started at a steady pace of 40, then floored it until I was going about 95. We were driving down a straight away, so I had nothing to worry about. Marcus was yelling at me, but I rolled up the glass divider sectioning the front from the back and turned up the music.

Eventually, I slowed to about 50 and turned into the stable drive. Kay was riding his horse in a nearby arena and when I drove past him I have him a nonchalant wave.