Disguised In Lavender

Part Seven

The ringing of the dorm's doorbell sent both girls leaping for the door, racing down the hallway to the reception desk. "Late Night studying?" The secretary smiled kindly, checking Ann's dorm pass and handing over the steaming bags of cup noodles. "Thanks." They answered almost in unison, hunger making them giddy as they rushed back to the room. Lauren stuck her key into the door, fiddling with it as Ann bounced excited on the balls of her feet. "I got it, I got it!" She assured as she kicked the door open, pulling the box of tissues from the outdoor table as Ann scampered inside.

It was almost cute as Lauren watched the shorter girl pull the cups of food from the bag and set them neatly on the desk. "Oh this beats the cafe." Ann smiled, inhaling the warm aroma wafting around the room as Lauren set the lids in the trash. "The things I'm going to have to teach you." She chuckled, pulling the pair of chopsticks apart and spiraling the red coated noodles into a tornado of spicy delicacy.

Ann tapped the ends of her chopsticks against the table and lifted a spring roll to her mouth, one hand ready to catch any mistake. "Mr. Terence should assign work more often." Lauren nodded in agreement as she slurped the noodles with vigor, trying to keep sauce from landing on the folder. Contented silence fell over them, broken by the spinning of noodles and click of chopsticks.

Lauren let her spoon clatter to the bottom of her bowl and leaned back, crossing her arms around her stomach. "I can't eat anything else, I'm stuffed." Ann giggled as she slurped the remains of her ramen between the chopsticks, letting her gaze rest on Lauren. "What? Do I have food on my face?" The rider asked, touching her cheek, raising an eyebrow as Ann laughed and pushed the empty cup aside. "No, I was just thinking." A chilling breeze tussled the plastic bag, making Ann shiver and hug herself tightly. "What about?" Lauren asked, pushing the rusted window down and clicking the locks, tilting her head.

"Well I can't even ride and you seem perfectly fine letting me train you. The last girl I tried to help nearly but my head off. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm really sorry about that six yesterday." Ann tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear and rubbed her bare arms, the plain shirt not warm enough for November. Lauren glanced over her shoulder and pulled the sweater she had laid out in her dresser for the next day. "Consider this a forgiveness gift then."

The sweater was made of thick polyester and crisscrossed with different stable logos crowded with color. Ann pulled it tentacles over her shoulders and glanced back at Lauren for confirmation. "Cute." She nodded with a thumbs up, Ann couldn't hide the smile creeping into her face as she played with the sleeves. It wouldn't be missed, Lauren knew that much and felt slightly guilty that she hadn't given Ann a better one. The moon hung low in the sky and clouds cast strange shadows across the trees, making them look like outstretched arms.

Madge, a roommate of Ann's, had driven over to take her back so that she didn't have to go alone. Lauren had walked her out and now she sat at the foot of her bed with the forgotten folder in her hands. An excuse she might never have the courage to use even if she would see Ann everyday. Seeing her in her own sweater stirred a feeling in Lauren's gut that she hadn't felt before. "I'm going insane, go to sleep." She snapped to herself, trying not to let her thoughts even dare drift to what Ann was doing with her dashing roommate.

The stalls were quiet aside from the swish of tails against the wrought iron window guards, a pleasant atmosphere. Lauren sat scrolling through her phone with her back against the tack room door and her helmet propping up her feet. She'd texted Tanner to meet her here ten minutes ago and mostly lost hope in him showing. He was probably running after Dalla and getting yelled at for doing the right thing, Lauren sighed.

Maybe that meant she should save him. Her face fluttered to the opening of the long hallway, willing his broad chested figure to burst forward. Accepting the fate, she stood and collected her gear, slipping off her boots and tossing them into her cubby. Her sneakers pulled snuggly over her feet as she slowed her pace out of the barn, hoping someone would stop by.

It was a lonely Friday when classes were pushed back and hour for anyone who had things to do. Lauren glanced down at her phone, looking up at the dorm numbers scrawled across the nearest building as she dialed. Ann picked up almost instantly, wind taking snippets of her greeting as if she were in a jet flashing through the sky. "Hey, um, are you free? Like right now?" Lauren asked with a cringe at how outright she sounded, pacing in tight circles with her eyes unfocused.

A pause went static between the line and Lauren half expected to be hung up on, which was fair. "I'll be there in five." Ann agreed, a huge smile spreading across the rider's face as she pumped her fist excitedly. "Cool, meet me at the stables." A sharp whistle made Lauren spin on her heels, hardly catching Ann's goodbye as she hung up. Dalla crossed the quad with her arms crossed snuggly over her chest, ponytail swinging.

Tanner trailed behind her, his head down and an inconsolable sense of dread written on his tensed face. The other rider stopped in front of Lauren, tilting her head and letting her hands drop to her side as she puckered her lips. Lauren let her phone drop, hitting the home button so Dalla couldn't see Ann's call name on the screen. "Don't even think about seeing that little trainer of yours again outside of the ring, hear me?" Dalla hissed between gritted teeth, forcing Lauren to be stuck in her venomous green gaze.

"Excuse me?" She snapped back, getting closer to Dalla and lifted her chin and a vain attempt to seem taller. "Let's not do this here." Tanner's voice was small as he hovered a hand over Dalla's shoulder, biting his lip until a swell of red appeared. "Oh we're no doing anything, I'm making myself very clear, come on." The slash of air that cut across Lauren's face as Dalla pivoted past her feet more like a real slap. She didn't even try to catch Tanner's eye or ask for an explanation, too heated to talk at all.