The Diaries of a Soul Rider

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

My name is Natalie Arabella Rosewood. I live in East Hampton Village, New York. I know, it's a very prestigious area. I know many people would give anything to have the luxury I have, but to be perfectly honest, I don't like it here. It's much too posh for me. I was never one for glamour, shopping trips, and spending four-hundred dollars just for a pair of shoes.

My mother, on the other hand, she's the most materialistic person I've ever met. She can be quite snobbish at times. She often tells me things like, "Sit up Natalie, you weren't raised in a barn."

My father, he's an entrepreneur. My grandfather created his own company many years ago, and so the company was passed down to my father, and he's had much success along the lines of business.

But my parents, they don't necessarily love me. They love showing me off to their snobby friends, but they only reproduced to carry on the family name. To their surprise, their first child was a girl. They desperately needed a baby boy though, so our family's name could be carried on. Then, eight years later, they tried again, and they had yet another girl, me.

Maybe this is why they were so cold to my sister and I. Because they wanted sons, but they got daughters instead.

Oh well though, my parents are barely ever home. They've always got meetings, or parties to attend. We have a maid though, her name is Jane, and she's probably more kind to me than my parents are.

My hobbies include horse riding and dance. As a young child, I absolutely loved horses. I'd always wanted one of my own. After a few weeks of begging my parents, I got one. His name is Juno. He's a tall, chestnut, French Saddlebred. He stays at a local boarding stable, and I visit him often.

I woke up to the sound of Jane calling my name "Natalie!" She yelled, "You're going to be late for dance!" At that I sprung out of my bed and checked the time. It was one o'clock. My, if my mother were home, she'd be so angry that I slept all day. Dance started in a half hour. I got up out of bed, brushed my long, curly, rose red hair and put my dance leotard on. On the way out, I grabbed a protein shake, my phone, and my dance bag.

As soon as I walked outside, I felt the hot sun. My friend Ella and her mother were here to bring me to dance, since my parents were busy as usual. I threw my stuff in the car and we were off to dance.

Just when Ella and I walked inside the building for dance, I hear my best friend, Layla yell "Rataallliieeeee!!!" I chuckle a bit and walk over to where her, and the other girls on my competition team are standing. Layla points to a photo and says "This is our costume for competition this week! We're gonna rock nationals!" She then smiles at me.
I reply, "They're so cute! And obviously, we'll do great!" She nods and we start dance class.

Coach Mia comes in with a new dancer around my age and says "Hello girls! I would like you all to meet our new competition team member, Alyssa!" We all wave and say hello to the new dancer. Just then Layla nudges me and says "Looks like you've got some competition." And points to where Alyssa is stretching. My other friend, Jess butts into our conversation and says "Wow, she's good. Looks like Nat will have to share the spotlight." I laugh and jokingly say "Oh please, no one is better than me." We all laugh and continue stretching.

Soon enough my mother comes to pick me up, which is surprising. She never really takes interest in what I do. She's way too self-absorbed. When I get in the car, she has a strange look on her face. I can tell she's planning something. I look at her and say "Something wrong?"

She looks back at me and says slyly "No, your father and I just need to talk to you."

The rest of the car ride was silent. I could tell something was up, but I had absolutely no idea what she and my father had in store for me.

Soon enough, we arrived back to my house. When I walked in the front door, I see my father sitting on the couch in the den. I then hear my father say "Natalie, sit down." I do as he says. This makes me quite uneasy. My father is acting strange. This reminds me of when my father told me that my older sister, Noella, had passed away. It brought back terrible memories. Lost in thought, I hear my father say "Your mother and I, we need to talk to you..."