Disguised In Lavender

Part 32

It was understandable how upset both girls were at the sudden drawback to their winning plans especially with Ducky. Dalla wouldn't be removed from the stables for the incident last night which only made matters worse. At least Lauren was half sure her father had been scared off by Mr. Terence but that was besides the point. She swept her hair back and stepped back into the golden gelding's stall, her hands more shaky than before. Gingerly reaching to the eye that had an odd glassy sheen across the black depths, Lauren let out a sigh.

If Ann was upset over not having a plan like last night then she'd lose her mind over this. "We're gonna fix this, aren't we buddy?" Ducky looked at her critically, heaving a sigh and swishing his dark tail back and forth in ready acceptance. "That's my boy." Lauren smiled and rubbed the itchy spot behind his ears, slipping a halter over his muzzle as she did. Ann had vanished by the time Ducky was tacked and Lauren crouched over to put on hock shields. Though it may have been a late minute idea, if it worked then everything would slow drastically.

Lauren waited in the frosty cold, holding her hands around her mouth and blowing warm air through her fingers. Riding in this was going to be hell, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it though. A metallic clang from the stable doors made Lauren lift her head, hopeful that Ann would come walking through. Ann's face wasn't the one that she met though, Dalla stood stiffly at the locked stall door to her own mare. Lauren pursed her lips and turned her back, poking her cheek against her tongue in disgusted agitation.

Some nerve Dalla had to show up at the barn after what she'd done, to be fair though, she probably didn't care. "I showed your daddy around after his run in last night. He was super intrigued by the Middleton dorms." Lauren almost fainted when she felt the sting in Dalla's threat shouted from across the barn. She could pretend not to hear the devilish cackle that followed but it stabbed at her mind. Ann still wasn't there and by now Dalla and her sparkling black mare was strung behind Ducky. "I'm taking the ring." It wasn't worth turning around to explain, Lauren unhooked Ducky's bridle and lengthened his stirrups.

Birds chirped in the stifling air of late December as Lauren laid her palm on Ducky's steaming neck. The sun was high in the sky, crisp blue sky showing through the high windows around the sand ring. Oxer jumps were set up along one side of the ring while a set of poles lined straight were hovering inches off the ground on the other. The hock shields hadn't worked wonders but Ducky's forward collection was getting better step by step. Of course, Lauren didn't have time to go step by step, she gathered her reins and adjusted her helmet again.

The feeling of sweat sticking her purplish hair to her forehead was disgusting but at least hard work was paying off. She shot a glance out the window towards the outdoor ring where Dalla was working her mare over a set of triple oxers with Tanner watching professionally. Still no sign of Ann, now Lauren was getting worried that something had happened, especially with her father. Shaking the terrifying thought to the back of her mind, the rider pushed Ducky into a working trot. He instantly curled his neck and went under the bit obediently, chewing contentedly.

With a burst of strength, Lauren grabbed a handful of his mane to keep from slipping sideways. "Canter." She clicked her tongue between syllables, pressing her heels against his ribs and pushing her outside leg back. Ducky dropped his head and took a leaping start into a rounded canter, hiccuping against his girth. Lauren squinted to keep her vision but slowly fell into an easy rhythm around the course, slowing her breath. She slowed the rocking in her seat and played with the reins, setting her heels lower and leg back.

Ducky took a choppy misstep but picked up the collected transition with a shake of his mane. "No." Lauren huffed under her breath, relaxing him back to a smooth rounded canter. On and on they went, fighting back and forth over the trip in steps between the two canter strides. "Alright, I give up." The rider slowed back to a walk and blinked against the haze behind her eyes, head aching again.

Irritation was stronger than anger but it really would be nice to have gotten at least one solid switch. Lauren ran her comb through Ducky's tangled tail, her eyes were unfocused and her mind circulating the ride. If only she could get that one collection right then maybe they'd have a chance at beating Dalla once and for all. So much was hanging on her shoulders, Lauren dropped the comb into her bucket and leaned on Ducky's shoulder. Her father knew where she stayed, Dalla was still after her, Ann had vanished, Ducky couldn't win like this.

Lauren wasn't one to cry over a show, her father maybe, but her one strength was a steel will over riding. "See you later, I guess. Before dinner." The rider patted the gelding's neck that was now cool from the brushing, she let out her breath nervously. "We'll get it." She assured him, even though with the luck she had there really was no telling if the pair would ever get anything. Ann would know what to say to make Lauren feel like everything would be just fine but she wasn't there. Wishing was stupid, there were other things to worry about other than the show

With Ducky back in his stall with a blanket over him and fresh hay pitched through the rails, Lauren walked back to her dorm. Half of her wished that her father would be there just to get the confrontation over with but he wasn't. Zack looked up from the desk where he was hunched over a calculus textbook and nodded a greeting. "I'm taking a shower and getting lunch, want anything?" Lauren asked, pulling her hair out of the short ponytail and setting her vest out on the bed to dry. "An explanation." Zack turned in his chair with the most serious expression Lauren had ever seen him with. "About?"

A million things rushed through her head, if her father knew the dorm then he might have told Zack about Ann. "Dalla told me something pretty interesting this morning after you left. Apparently Madge knew too, I'm the only one out of the loop." Lauren cringed with a sigh, here it was, the big reveal that made her palms clammy with sweat. "I didn't know you were gay." It was impossible to tell if it was disgust or encouragement in Zack's voice so Lauren stayed silent. "As the matchmaker of the school I thought maybe I'd at least have an idea." The younger girl let out a sigh of relief that tumbled into a laugh, Zack wrapped his arms around her.

So being outed by Dalla wasn't exactly what Lauren wanted but Zack was more excited about not having to take care of a child. The warm water turned cold and the rider turned the faucet off, pulling her towel off the hook and over her hair. A buzz came from the cabinet, Lauren gave the wet mop over her head a final shake and set the towel back. "Well aren't you the vanishing act." Ann's number was familiar by now, the purple haired leaned against the sink and listened calmly to her girlfriend's voice.

"I'm so sorry, darling. Madge dragged me away for study group, glad she isn't majoring in decency or she'd fail. God what an asshole, anyway, can we get lunch somewhere? Anywhere but the school cafeteria." Lauren couldn't stop her smile as the agitation in Ann's voice was almost comical over the phone. "Yeah, the library sells chicken salads." Zack raised an eyebrow as his roommate stepped out of the bathroom on the phone, a plain white shirt tucked into stable pants. "I'd make a 'but I want to eat you' joke but I am starving, be there in ten." Ann hung up first and Lauren clicked off her phone, facing Zack blocking her exit with his arms crossed smugly.