Cowboys and Mustangs

First Day of School- Chayni

The song "Down Here" by Turnpike Troubadours wakes me out of my much needed sleep. I reach across my bed to find my phone and turn off my alarm. I sigh as I grab my covers and throw them to the other side and get out of bed. I walk down the hall to my bathroom and shut my eyes when I turn on the bright lights and start my daily routine.

Today is my first day of senior year at a new high school since my family and I moved here from Alabama at the begging of summer. The reason we moved here was to be closer to my grandma Sara. Grandma has traveled around the whole country and said that Wyoming was her favorite place of all the states and she decided to move here.

After six months of her being away, my mom wanted to be closer to her. And being the loving and supportive husband my dad is, he happily agreed and we packed up our things. After doing more research, Wyoming has more ideal farming and ranching land than Alabama.

Of course, I'll miss my other grandma, Jolene, but she said she didn't want to leave her home with the memories of her late husband. And I'll miss my friends down there, especially my best friend Ronnie. Ronnie is the daughter of my Godmother, Missy, who is my mom's best friend.

But I really like it here. I love the wide open spaces, the weather, the people, and the mountains. I've made a few friends from working at the auction barn and from the community. Blake, Sawyer, and Hadley are my close friends, but Codi is my best friend.

I met Codi at a Cowboy Mounted Shooting competition even before moving to Wyoming, and we've ran into each other at other competitions and hung out. She is a few years older than me, but we really connect with each other. We have the same hobbies, likes, dislikes, taste of clothes, wild spirit, but different personalities. Codi is really outgoing and I'm really shy, but it works well with each other.

I looked at myself in my mirror. I was wearing one of my favorite tee shirts. It was a Junk Gypsy gray tee shirt that said, "Do no harm but take no bull" with a longhorn in the middle. Then I was wearing a pair of dark blue Ariat boot cut jeans, with some Hey Dude shoes on. I straightened my hair and put on mascara. I was satisfied with how I looked.

I went downstairs to my kitchen to find my brother sitting at the counter, waiting for me. My dad and mom were also there enjoying coffee with each other. "Luke, don't you think Chayni should take AP English?" My mother says purposely to my dad, acting like she didn't know I was there.

"Why yes, Jams. I do think she should take that." My father plays along as he drinks his coffee.

"I told you guys, I don't think I'm ready-"

"Oh but honey! You're so good at writing!" My mother begs me as I take a yogurt from the fridge and grab my back pack.

"C'mon Mikey, we're gonna be late." I avoid the AP conversation with my parents by playing the "late" card.

Micheal and I, or Mikey, as I call him jog to my 2013 Chevy Silverado in out front yard. Mikey is only in the sixth grade so I have to drop him off at school which I don't mind. He loves going to school, but sometimes he has trouble with it. Micheal has Asperger Syndrome, which is a milder type of autism. People with Asperger have less social challenges/unusual behaviors and interests than normal autism. And they typically don't have problems with language or intellectual disability. He might act out some times, especially if he doesn't understand something.

I park in front of Mikey's school and lock it after we get out and I walk him into his school. "Are you excited Mikey?" I ask him as we walk through the doors.

"What if no one likes me?" He says softly making me pull him to a stop.

"Why wouldn't anyone like you?" I ask him with a gentle voice.