What it's like to be a Cherry Blossom

Chapter 8: Clara and Faiza

"You're late Grace." Valentina said, giggling.

"Hey, nice to see you too Vale!" I replied sarcastically. "And I'm not late. And if I'm late, why isn't Mai late? Hm?"

"'Cause I ran and got here two minutes ago." Mai said, with her usual smile on her face.

"Well it's not my fault you decided to run away. I was happy walking, plus I'm kinda sore." I replied, rubbing my thigh. We heard people walking, who happened Luna and Clara with another girl, chatting happily, approaching us.

"You actually came!" Clara said, shocked. "I thought you weren't going to come."

"And miss the chance to meet your horse and get to know you? No way!" Maiko quickly replied.

"Guys, this is Faiza Sabzwai. She's Clara's dorm-mate." Luna said, pointing with her thumb at Faiza.

"It's nice to meet you, Faiza!" Mai said  cheerfully."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." Faiza replied in a shy voice.

"So!" Clara suddenly exclaimed, smacking her hands together. "Wanna meet my horse?"

***

We waited for Clara to take her horse out of the barn. I'll admit, I wasn't very eager to meet the horse. Why would I want to meet a 1000 pound beast who could easily step on me? I'm not a big fan of equestrian activities, especially considering the riders. They claim that horse-back riding is a "sport", even though the horse is doing everything. They just... sit there. Plus they're pretty cocky about owning horses. But Clara seemed nice. She was confident, but not cocky. At least that was what I could tell. I've just met the British girl only a few hours ago!

Hooves clip-cloped from the barn. Clara came out, and followed by her horse. He was tall. He had a reddish coat, and a white line on his face. Oh, and he also has a white spot on his back left leg.

"Girls, this is Copper Masterpiece! Call him by his barn name, Cop, if you like. Cop, these are the girls." Clara kissed Cop's neck.

"OMG he's so cute!" Maiko shrilled.

"He's so majestic." Luna marveled.

Valentina shuffled closer to Cop. "Ay bebé, que hermoso eres!" She said in Spanish, scratching Cop's snout.

"I missed you, Cop." Faiza suddenly said, hugging the horse. Clearly Cop was enjoying all the attention.

"He's... uh... big." I blurted. Maiko shot me a look. Clara tilted her head, and then ignored the comment. I'll admit, her horse was pretty cool, but I'm still not a big horse fan. "Um, Clara, why does Cop have a white spot on his back leg?" I asked, earning another glare from Mai. How was I supposed to know? I'm a ballerina, not a rider!

"What? Oh, you mean the sock. It's part of his coat. It's sorta like a birthmark! Like the face mark he has here," she replied, touching the stripe on his face. "It's completely normal for a horse to have these markings. In fact, I believe it compliments Cop's chestnut coat."

"Clara, I believe we should be heading back to the dorms. It's supposed to rain today. Maybe that way we'll get to know each other better." Faiza suggested.

"I think that's a excellent idea." Vale said, holding her hand out, just to have rain drops land on her.

Clara went inside the barn to put Cop in his stall. When she came back, we walked towards the dorm building, and half way through, rain started pouring harder. We ran as fast as we could without slipping. When we were finally at the door, we were soaking wet. Because we were fairly far from each other's dorms (Luna and Valentina were a few dorms down ours, but Clara and Faiza were on the third floor–Green Valley) we decided to hang out in our room. Mai went to grab some towels for our guests, while I made hot chocolate. Dinner time wasn't until a few hours, and we didn't exactly have homework on the first day, so we figured we should stay for a while in our room.

We all sat in a circle. Luna and Vale sat on Mai's bed. Clara and Faiza sat on my bed, and Mai sat on the brown tiny couch behind a glass coffee table. I sat across Mai and the coffee table on one the blue stools. We all sat in silence.

"Well this is awkward..." Valentina said, breaking the silence.

"Well we don't exactly know each other, do we Valentina?" Clara snapped suddenly. We all just stared at her, surprised.

"Right, I'm sorry." Vale said sarcastically. "Anyway, let's break this tension. I'm Valentina Rosales. I'm a Venezuelan singer who does not tolerate anyone's horrible and mean attitude. I'll always stand next to my friends when they need me. Other than that, I'm a pretty normal girl. I love music and dancing with my family and friends, but the best thing ever is food. Especially las arepas."

We sat in silence. We understood what Vale was trying to do, but we were pretty shy about it. "Alright then," Clara said. "I'm Clara Wilson. I'm a British rider who is strong in the real way. I won't let anyone push me around, and that also means doing the same thing for those I care about. I love shopping, and I my favorite thing in the world is my horse."

I decided that I would go next. "I'm Grace De Rege. My family is from Italy and I'm a ballerina." Nice introduction, Grace.

"Ooh, my turn! I'm Maiko Yukimura, I was born in Tokyo, but left after a few years to New York. I started with Kabuki, but I learned ballet and I absolutely love it! My biggest goal is to open a Kabuki class here at HCSA."

"That's incredible!" Luna said, making Mai smile. "I guess it's my turn. I'm Luna Carter, I'm a violinist. My family's from New York, and I guess that's it".

We all look expectantly at Faiza. She lowers her head, takes a deep breath and opens her mouth. "You all know my name, Faiza Sabzwai. I'm from Pakistan, and I'm a fashion designer...." she paused, played with her locket, and smiled.

~~~
A/N

Hi everybody! I'd just like to introduce myself. Helloooo I'm the author of this book (no way, right?). Now that you're 100% sure I'm the author, I'd like to thank you for reading my first book on Wattpad! It's been a few months since I started writing this story, and I figured this was the perfect time to officially say hello (just like the girls) to you, my dear readers (I've always wanted to say that!). So you'll see more of me and my silliness at the end of most chapters from here on. Until next time....