Alone In The Big Leagues

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

      I look down at my foot and frantically try to get it back into the stirrup. I hold the reins tightly and lean down to my foot to try and get the stirrup and get my foot back in it.

       "Jewel, sit up and stop Zane," My riding instructor tells me with an easy tone.

       I peek up at her then I feel my other foot slip out of the stirrup and down I go. Zane jumps a bit when I land at his feet. He keeps trotting along before finally processing that I was no longer on his back. The instructor starts to walk over to me. I'm a little slump in the dust. My feet are spralled out and my shoulders slumped. Zane walks over to me and nudges my back. I look back at him and he shoves his nose into my hands. I quickly stroke his cheekbone and the velvet part of his nose. When my instructor gets closer, his head shoots up and he lays his ears back. She stops where she is and he bends his head back down to me. My instructor laughs. "Come on, Jewel. Climb back on that horse and let's do it again!"

       I laugh and give Zane one last pat before getting up and dusting myself off. I grab the rains and swing into the saddle. "Come on, big boy. Let's do this!"

       That was the first time I had ever fallen off of a horse. Yeah, it hurt a lot, but a least I didn't break anything. He almost stepped on me but I still got back in the saddle. We are a team and teams stick together.

~@~

     

  There is so much to take in. From the gleaming gold sink, toilet, shower, and towel racks to the hot tub. Yes, they have a hot tub in the guest bathroom! The shower is a walk in shower that has crystal clear doors. The inside is beautiful, dark stone that looks really smooth.

       My eyes take in all of it. I'm overwhelmed by the sight of it all. I slowly pull myself away from the trance I'm in. I set my bag down and pull out my riding shirt. The sight pains me as I remember what I had. But no matter. I pull off the ichy shirt my mother forced me to wear. I pull the soft shirt over my head and over my body. I grab my riding pants and pull them on. I then grab socks, slip them on and then shove my feet into my boots. I throw my hair up into a pony tail and look at myself in the full legth mirror that they have in there. I straighten my black riding shirt and look over my tan riding pants and black boots.

       I walk out of the bathroom and go back down the hall. I look out the windows and see big feilds with nice looking white fences surrounding them. Inside the fences are tons and tons of horses. The windows come to an end and it shocks me out of my day dream. I walk by the dining room where we had tea and peek in. My mother and Lottie's mother are no longer there. The room looks great. The table have been cleared of all the tea cups, the tea pots, and everything else that we had on the table. I keep walking and step out of the door. I wait there just like Lottie told me to do. I wait and wait and wait until I've been waiting there for a good ten minutes by then I have just sat down on the stone steps. Another five minutes pass by and I hear someone walking behind me. I turn and my eyes land on Lottie's little brother. He has a frown on his face and his eyes don't have a shinning light in them like most kids have.

       "Your still waiting? Of course you are. You're waiting for Lottie." He sighs and shakes his head. "Here, I'll show you to the stables."

       I get up and follow after the boy. He leads me to a large building. It's a nice light brown color with a black trim all around it. The X's on the doors are also black. We walk inside and are surrounded by two lines of stalls on both sides of us. The rows are long, probably has at least fifteen stalls on each side. Each stall has the light colored brown door and black trim. The top was a black door with bars. The stalls were nice and roomy for the horses. Most were out in the pasture now because of the time of day. The floor was well swept without a scrap of anything on it.

       "What do you guys do with all of these horses? How do you ride all of them?" I look at him with big eyes.

       He shrugs. "We don't, after my sister," A hard look covers his face, "is done with the horse she is riding, she gets a new one and forgets all about the old one. Each horse has a rider and groom that one person takes care of that horse. They pretty much own it."

       "And you?" I eye him.

       He snorts "Me? I ride but I only ride one." He walks over to a stall and clicks his tongue. A black horse apears out of the stall shoving his nose into his hands. He laughs. "This is Black As Night, but I just call him Night." The horse snorts and shifts his weight. "What about your horse? I've heard of him. He's great!"

       I look at him sadly. "Zane? Thanks, he was a great horse, huh?" I give a sad chuckle.

       "Was?" The boy asks.

       "Yeah, he died in the last show I did." I turn and look down the line of stalls.

       He frowns. "Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that. He was a great horse. I wish I could be as good as you two were."

       I give him a small smile. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."

       He nods. "Come on, I'll show you what horse you'll be riding." He gives Night one last pat and starts to walk down the row of stalls. I wait a few seconds before I finally follow after him.