Heartlines

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We sailed over the final jump effortlessly. The flight was balanced and calming, Kiro gentle beneath me. We met the earth with an easy thud, yet we were safe. He cantered on across the line, and I pat his black, glistening neck. The crowd clapped loudly, and I smiled brightly. It had been a flawless round. His pace had been perfect the entire time, and I had been one with him throughout the course. The victory was sure to be ours! All of a sudden, a buzzer went off. What? This wasn’t jumpers, and there was no time, which meant no need for an alarm. The annoying blat kept on repeating though, over and over – before I finally realized it was my alarm clock.

Awoken from the dream, I tapped on the electric clock gently, shutting the annoying call off. Through foggy eyes, I checked the time – 6:30 AM – time for school. As I dressed, I couldn’t help but think back to the marvelous dream. It was a rare one, especially, considering I hadn’t dreamed of jumping safely since the accident. Anything I did have was just replays of the event, from a body that wasn’t mine. I watched in slow motion, as Ghost collapsed over the jump, somersaulting into me. He would thrash a bit, then go still as people rushed into the arena. They were more like nightmares, and I was overjoyed when I found them gone. But this had been different. I was thankful for the change.

After getting dressed and grabbing breakfast, I waved goodbye to mom and herded Navy into my truck. Per normal, I was to drop Navy off at the Elementary school, then head to the High School, that was just a few blocks away. Considering I was now 18, I had my own license, and was able to drive everybody to their needed destinations, which saved gas. When mom had a job, I usually dropped her off there as well. We were all pretty eco-friendly people.

After I had sent my little brother on his way, drove up here, and parked, I walked myself to my locker. “Krista! What’s up?” Sam came bouncing around the corner, clearly in a happy mood. “Hey Sam, not much, just got here. Was the test in Trig today or tomorrow?” After chatting around with her a bit, I headed to class. Walking in the door, I was greeted with the familiar “there she is!” by Jared. “Here I am!” I plopped down in the seat next to him. We didn’t have a seating chart in Trig, but we all tended to sit in the same spot each day. “So, Kay, how’s that black doing?” I smiled, loving the opportunity to talk about him. “Great! I just had a dream about him last night. Jumping, of all things. I don’t know, I think he might really take me somewhere.” Jared nodded, but gave a bit of a concerned look, “Ya know, if he threw your trainer off, how can you be sure he won’t do the same for you? Maybe he was just being really good for you to hide his bad side, so that you’d be more surprised. From what you told me of his track record, he seems really nasty.” I just shook my head at the thought, “No, Jared, he’s not nasty. Well I mean, he’s nasty to other people, but not to me. He is so sweet once you connect with him. I can’t see him ever hurting me. Who knows, maybe he just really needed someone to see who he was, and actually give him a chance.” Jared shook his head slowly, giggling to himself, “You are a hard-headed one…” I laughed, and sat up straighter. “And don’t you forget it!”

After school had gotten out, I made my way out to the barn. Not before getting a phone from mom though – “Hey, Krista, I need you to take Navy to the barn with you. I can’t watch him. Miranda is picking me up to go shopping for some counters for her new kitchen.” I sighed, not really liking taking him with, but agreed. It wasn’t that I didn’t love my brother, I did. It was just that he was a boy, and I feared him getting into things he shouldn’t. I had taken him a few times before, but Trina hadn’t been there both times. I wasn’t sure how she’d take it. I called her, and of course she said it’d be okay – but I was curious of her real opinion.

I gave Navy a briefing before heading in. “Okay buddy, you need to be on your best behavior. Don’t bother Ms. Trina, she is very busy, and doesn’t want to be your babysitter. I’m going to be riding, so I can’t have you messing with me. You remember where the bathroom and the mini-fridge is if you get hungry. Just chill in the lounge until I’m done. Don’t break anything – and if you do, tell me. Don’t try to hide it. Got it?” He nodded excitedly, loving to be here at the barn. He was a smart kid.

I walked him into the barn, holding his hand. “Hey Trina!” I called. She came around the corner, enthusiastic. “Hey there Krista! Brought me a little helper today, did you? How much fun will we have!” She clapped her hands, then motioned for Navy to go with her. He laughed and ran her way. I smiled, glad the two could get along. She looked up to me before turning back with my brother in tow, “Kiro, as you may know,” she said with a smile. I smiled and nodded back, then turned to head to his stall. “Okay buddy, let’s see what we can do.”