Saddled

Chapter 4

Horsemanship lessons were basically practicing “groundwork” which is basically what it is, working with the horse on the ground.  I didn’t even know there was those kinds of things.  I only learned the basics, making the horse walk forward, halt, and making the horse backup, which is basically making the horse walk backwards.

I put Maverick back into his “stall,” as Kimberly called it, and watch him as he circles around in the stall to face me.  Is he trying to say goodbye to me?  I carefully reach a hand out to touch his nose, but I pull back. I close the door and head off, straight for my cabin.

Somehow, Amelia and Lucy persuade me into joining them in a game of Go Fish and I try to teach them how to play Big 2 (which Lucy insists she had played before but had just forgotten the rules) but they failed miserably in trying to play.

Dinner is the same as lunch, Kimberly awkwardly trying to spark conversation with me and me awkwardly sitting in silence, and I return to our cabin and take a shower.  Jen leaves the cabin after dinner and doesn’t come back until I finish my shower.

I sit down on my bed and stare at the top drawer of the bedside table.  I don’t know how long I stay like until I tear my eyes away from the drawer.  I turn to look at Jen.  I wonder where she’s been going.  It’s only been the first day and she has left the cabin without any lesson plans.

My mind wanders to Maverick.  He was a good looking horse I suppose, especially compared to the other horses.  I wonder who the other camper’s horses are.

Suddenly my bed bounces violently and I get jolted backwards.

“Hey, Brei!” a girl squeals to me.

I turn around to see Amelia sitting on my bed and Lucy standing behind her.

“Hi, Amelia,” I say indifferently.

“Sooo who did you ride today?” she tilts her head staring at me with her huge round eyes.

“Weren’t you there at the horsemanship lesson?” I ask slowly.

She nods enthusiastically, her hair, which was still in pigtails, even after her shower, bounces up and down, “But I didn’t seeee.”  Sure you didn’t see.

“Maverick.”

“Ooooh Maverick!  You see Jen, over there?” Amelia asks, pointing to Jen.  Yes, Amelia, I do see Jen.  “She rode him once over the summer.  He used to be a crazy horse.  He kind of ran around the arena on his own free will.  But then Jen got assigned to him and did all this crazy cool lunging and liberty work and ohmygod it was so cool and they have this crazy good bond now and she worked Maverick and he’s all like really good now.”

I stare at her.  I didn’t understand pretty much most of what she said.  I just nodded.  I thought of what Josh said today at lunch about how Jen rode the horse named Valkyrie and how the horse “threw a few fits, but Jen handled her fine.”

“I rode Maverick once, for fun and he’s a pretty awesome ride,” Amelia says grinning widely, tilting her chin upwards proudly.

I nod.  I’m not sure how Maverick could be anymore of an “awesome” ride than the other horses.  Or is that not how all the horses act?  They aren’t all obedient or something?

If there’s something I learned about the horse world today, its that you can never be sure about anything.

* * *

I jolt awake to the noise of a blaring alarm.

I hear a slam and the alarm stops.  I groan and when I try to move, I immediately feel sore.  Not just normal sore.  But my back tingles, my arms ache, and don’t even start me on my thighs.  I stand up, all sore and tired.  Why do we have to wake up this early?