Kingston University for the Gifted

Chapter 10: Crazed Fans

I dodge another student leading a horse with a blue and gold exercise sheet - a Blue Ribbon horse. The stable area is swarming with new arrivals from the docks and visiting students running around. And to make everything worse, it's only four in the morning.

The path to Kiera's office is finally clear, and I shove open the door without knocking. "I'm sorry about the arrangements, Miss Barton. Perhaps-" Kiera looks up from her conversation with a student wearing a green polo - Jack Dalton University. Her face shows her relief. "Kyle!" she exclaims.

"What can I do?" I ask, getting the feeling I'll be the one solving this girl's problem.

"This is Penelope Barton. Her horse was assigned to Blue Ribbon's area," Kiera explains. "I think it was switched with another student's. Can you switch them back for me?"

"Sure," I sigh, turning to Penelope. "What's your horse's name?"

She crosses her arms and brushes her hair out of her face. "Sachem."

"No problem, I think I know where he is," I answer, gesturing for her to follow me. I push the door open and start towards the spare barn.

She speeds up so she's walking next to me. "So, what are you, a groom?" she asks, twisting to avoid a horse on cross-ties.

"Nope," I answer. We pass Sol's stall and he whinnies. I stop for a minute and rub his face. "In a minute," I mutter to him.

I start to move forward again, but Penelope isn't following me anymore. She's looking into Sol's stall curiously. "This is one of the Kingston horses, isn't it? Are you a Kingston student, then? I heard they're all freshman."

I blink. She asks too many questions for this early in the morning. "Yes, I'm a Kinston student. I'm 18, a freshman. And yes, Sol is a Kingston horse."

"Too bad, I'm 21. Is he yours?" Penelope asks, lightly stroking my horse's neck. "He's gorgeous. I heard Kingston students are riding two horses. Is he the one you'll ride in the Games?"

I resign myself to waiting a little longer to finish with her. "Yes, Sol's my primary mount, so he'll be in the Games. Prim, my secondary, is in the next stall over."

She moves to Prim's stall and gives her a practiced assessment. "The school really didn't skimp on the horses, did they?" she exclaims, impressed.

"No," I smile. "Would you like to move Sachem? I'm sure he's uncomfortable in trailer gear."

"Oh!" she exclaims. She laughs lightly and moves away from my horses. "I was so distracted I didn't realize. Lead the way."

I lead Penelope through the grounds to the outer stable and find her horse easily. Her things are the only green in a sea of blue and gold. "I'm sorry there was a mixup," I tell her, picking up her tack trunk. "Things have been rather hectic lately. We didn't even know we were going to have a show until two days ago."

She halters Sachem and leads him out of the stall. "Really? That's strange. How did you get ready?"

We make our way back to the main barn. "Very quickly."

As it turns out, her rightful stall isn't hard to find, either. In the aisle is a confused-looking man holding a horse with a blue and gold exercise sheet.

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"What's next?" I ask Kiera. Already I've sorted out Penelope's mixup, directed a new wave of Blue Ribbon riders in, and helped to prep arena B for the warmups. Unfortunately, there's still a half an hour until seven o'clock.