Second Chances

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Dear Wattpadders,

Here is my first book! Please have a look at it, and if you have any questions, or comments, send me a message below. I hope you enjoy reading!

Credit goes to:

Editors: @lily12blue and @Eyanier or @Eyanyan 

Front cover: a beautiful dappled Andalusian (spanish breed) horse

And any other support from friends.

Thank you guys so much!

To Pippa 

Chapter 1

Anna

Everyone was looking forward to the school trip on the third of June. Well, almost everyone. I was the only one that was actually dreading it, since I now had to face my old enemy, heights. My heart had skipped a beat when Miss Roundtree announced we would be doing acrosome (you know, like climbing trees but with ropes). Why couldn't we have gone to a theme park, where we could ride on the roller-coasters snaking up and down, screaming our hearts out until our voices would grow hoarse, but no, Miss Roundtree had to call the whole thing off. I remember my first experience with acrosome. Being hoisted up in the air, trembling like Mumble in Happy Feet. Once I was suspended in the air, I just couldn't activate my muscles. My parents tried to encourage me, but I am like a horse, once I have made up my mind, there's no going back. Yes, I am very stubborn.

I sat sulkily on my chair, but felt a comforting hand stretch out over my shoulders. It was my best friend Pippa. "I would also prefer going to the theme park, but we'll just stick together, alright? Just don't worry about it Anna," Pippa offered, hoping to lift the burden off my shoulders. But I feared that not even true friendship could banish my foe.

That evening, we met up at Riding South, our horse-riding stables. As usual, Pippa and I were extremely early so we found the canteen empty. We ditched our jackets and scanned the pin board to find out what horses we'd be riding. I was riding Night Star, a black mare, with a beautiful arched neck and a white star on her forehead. I usually rode her. Pippa on the other hand was riding Blizzard, a white Arabian, a powerful animal. Pippa and Blizzard matched just like two memory cards. Blizzard was the fastest horse of the stables, and was always jogging on the spot, a bit too wild for my taste, but Pippa could calm him down with one gentle whisper in his ear. We heaved the saddles into our arms and walked over to the horses. As we went, we passed Gypsy's stable. Like her curious old self, she poked her head out at us, ears pricked. I walked over to her, digging around in my pocket for any nice treats. I fished out a stale lump of sugar, which had probably been there for about a week but I got it out anyway. Gypsy, having a big appetite, lunged at it, licking my hand for any scraps. I could see that Night Star was feeling a bit left out, so I went over to her, gently put down the saddle and rubbed her velvety nose. ''Are you ready for a hack?'' I whispered in her ear. Her ears pricked forward to the word ''hack'' since she adored them. Pippa and I tacked up our ponies, helping each other with the saddles. Soon, Thomas came, as well as Lizzie and David. They saddled up the horses they were going to ride on and we met up in the yard. There was a gentle spring breeze and the soft April sun shone determinedly through the clouds, good weather for Scotland. With Blizzard and Pippa at the front, we started our ride through the forest. The smell of rain hung in the air, and the sun was hovering low over the horizon, turning the clouds shades of pink, orange and yellow. I thought that this was the best place anyone could be but my favourite part hadn't come yet. It arrived when Pippa turned around in her saddle and said ''Anyone up for a canter? Blizzard is bursting for one.'' Everyone looked insecure, but I definitely wasn't. So it was just me and Pippa. We chose a wide open grassland and in a few strides, Blizzard had already broken into a gallop, Night Star following him. The wind whipping our hair back, the rhythmic thunder of hooves underneath our feet and the potential feeling between a rider and horse was amazing, as the two ponies darted through the long stringy grass. Pippa caught my gaze, and we both grinned. There seemed to be no words to express ourselves, our eyes said it all. Blizzard and Night Star seemed to realize that the attention of their riders had focused on something else, and shoved their heads from side to side to recover it, making us both giggle. Soon we slowed down to a trot and made our way back to the group. ''That took long,'' said Thomas.''Well if you'd come with us, you might think that it only took three seconds,'' I retorted, leaving Thomas silent. Maybe I shouldn't have said that, I knew that Thomas was scared to canter in an open field, just like I was scared of heights. I rode alongside Pippa for the rest of the hack, and something really random just popped into my head ''Pippa?'' I asked