Some People Change (Currently Editing)

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mindy had fallen hard. I knew she had gone headfirst into the barrels and, so far, there was no signs of consciousness in her body. Wes hadn’t moved an inch, but Mindy’s mom was shortly on scene, as were the paramedics that had been standing by in case a serious fall did happen.

Thankfully, after about another minute, Mindy woke up. She had only blacked out for about five minutes, but I couldn’t help ponder what would’ve happened if Mindy had never woken up.

It reminded me of the somber fact that Death was always near. Always watching us. Always waiting for Life to leave us. Death had taken Freddy and Billy, and I found as I remembered them, it seemed to be lurking somewhere close to me.

People cheered as Mindy got back up on her feet and took Midnight’s reins into her hands. Mindy’s mother hugged her close and I’m guessing she had never felt so relieved in her life.

I glanced over at Amy and it was no surprise that she was staring back at me. She had become my mother now, and I guess I had become her daughter.

Mindy had decided not to participate an any further events. I didn’t blame her, but now, Wes paced back and forth up in his tower. He looked furious.

“You son of a bitch,” I mouthed silently.

The gymkhana commenced once again. It simply went on like nothing had happened. However, because of Mindy’s fall, Wes had pronounced that there was no winner of the flag race. But by doing so, he had just nearly guaranteed that I had won the gymkhana. I had won three out of the six events, and now minus the flag race that put me at three out of five.

Mr. Charles’s voice came through then. He sounded ever so delighted as he spoke, and I soon found out why.

“Because the flag race event was not counted, I’ve come up with the perfect solution! After barrels, there will be a special wild card event! What does that mean, you might ask. 

“Well, in my cowboy hat I have these strips of paper with some national-level gymkhana events, and after the barrel race, I will pick one of those papers.”

“Shit,” Ed and I said at the same time, only I was one who got the glare for cursing.

“What kind of events is he talking about, Ed?”

“Events that we didn’t practice.”

Luckily, Ed and I weren’t the only ones who were frustrated and upset over this decision. People around us wore frowns on their faces and most of the trainers began to pace back and forth. 

In the gymkhanas in the past that I had attended, I had seen one rider fall off in the barrel race. They were disqualified, but that didn’t stop anyone from winning that event.

“Anyway, now we’ll take a twenty minute break while the lovely Ms. Lola Fallens draws the keyhole in the arena,” Mr. Charles said.

“Let’s head back to the trailer, sweetie,” Ed murmured to me.

We walked side by side back to Ed’s truck and I slid off Zaltana to give her back a little break.

“What is Wes doing?”

“I don’t know, Kayla.”

“Nothing much we can do about it.”

“Nope.”

Jason, Amy, Emma, and Taylor made their way over to us. Amy’s arms found their way around me and she hugged me close.

“Sometimes I forget how dangerous riding can be. Mindy’s alright, though. I saw her walking back to her trailer with her mom.” Amy said.