Growing up (Clexa)

Chapter 4

I stood in the hallway watching Ray walk away for a little too long. The inly thing that pulled me back to reality was the bell ringing signaling the fact that I was late for 7th period Advanced Placement U.S

I quickly tried to slink into the classroom and take a seat so nobody would notice me.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Griffin." I heard Mr. Peterson say from his desk. "I thought potential valedictorians were supposed to be punctual."

I was way too embarrassed to answer him. There's no calm and cool way to say "sorry I was late because I was staring at a boy". So I said nothing and took a seat next to Ally

This was the only class besides lunch that I had with my best friend. In a lot of ways Ally wasn't very academically oriented, but when it came to history she was a total nerd. I learned that very unexpected fact when I met her in global history class two years ago where she held the highest grade for almost the entire year.

"Sup, slacker?" She said as I gathered myself and prepared for today's lecture.

"Very funny." I said before I turned my attention to the front of the room.

"You're never late for anything. What happened?" She asked sounding genuinely concerned.

"You must finally be rubbing off on me." I said as I playfully stuck my tongue out at her.

She laughed triumphantly and before she could reply Mr. Peterson called the class to attention and started teaching.

The rest of the day went buy quickly, and then volleyball practice passed by with ease. We were getting ready for our first game next week against Amherst. I wondered if Ray would be coming to watch us play against his old school and then felt silly for getting my hopes up thinking about him.

Now that school and sports was finished for the day I got to go to one of my favorite places in the world.

Seven Meadows was a horse farm set in the middle of 50 acres of land in Easthampton. With the first week of school being so busy, I had to cancel my riding lessons for a little while. But now I was back and ready to be around horses like I had been all summer long.

School and sports were what I was doing to get into a good school, but riding horses and being around animals was my real passion. And the only thing I was confident about being really good at. My mom took me to my first riding lesson when I was five years old and I have been hooked ever since. In my freshman year, grandpa Marcus and grandma Abby bought me my first horse with the promise that I was to work at Seven Meadows to pay for his board.

As I pulled into the parking lot in front of the barn I felt all the tension and stress leave my body. Coming here felt like coming home after being away on a long trip. Everything made sense here. There was no pressure to have friends or be smart or be a good leader for my team. Here I could be myself and have fun doing what I love the most.

"Welcome back Lou!" My riding instructor Theresa said from the outdoor arena. She was giving a lesson to a little girl on Bucky, the world's most bombproof pony. "Go inside and find Bruce! He wanted to have a quick meeting with you."

"Alright great! Thank you!" I said as I waved and headed towards the barn.

"Louisa! Excellent I was just asking when you'd be getting here." Bruce said as I put my stuff down in the office.

Theresa's parents owned Seven Meadows and when she and Bruce got engaged, he came on as barn manager. He was in charge of hiring and training new staff and getting everyone's schedules together while Theresa focused on giving the majority of the riding lessons. The two of them made a great team and were preparing to take over the property for Theresa's parents when they retired to Florida in a few years.