Cedar Wood Riding Academy by Alaina Fornal (electronic book reader .txt) 📕

Now it was time to look at all the horses. Mrs. Archin had guided us all through all the barns, and just as Ally and I had expected, the main horses in the saddle seat barn were Arabians, Saddlebreds, and one Friesian in there.

            “Oh my gosh! I hope I get him assigned to me,” Ally exclaimed, staring at a black tobiano paint gelding in the western barn.

            “He’s beautiful,” I said, admiring the paint. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get him. When will you know?”

            “I think she said tomorrow before breakfast,” Ally said. She had a huge grin on her face, and her eyes were fixed on him.

            “Come on, they are leaving,” I said, and took her arm, pulling her with me to the hunter jumper barn. I smiled when we walked in, looking at all the nameplates of the horses.

            My eye caught on one horse in particular. She was a big paint colored warm blood. She looked to be about 17.3 hands, maybe more, maybe less. I watched her as she moved around her stall, watching everybody, but then going to stand in the back corner of her stall. Her ears were back against her head. She snorted and stood there, intently watching everyone that happened to pass by.

            “You want her, don’t you,” Ally asked me. I nodded. Was it that obvious?

            “Yes I do, more than anything. Look at her butt! Its big, round . . . she looks like she has a powerful jump,” I said, and my eyes scanned over her. She was stunning. Perfect coat color, perfect haunches, perfect legs for a jumper…

            “And now, ladies and gentleman, we are finished with the barn tour. Now you guys are free to go do whatever until it’s time to be back in the dorm rooms. Being here, there is a curfew. If you are caught outside of the dorm rooms without a parent or reasonable explanation, there will be severe consequences,” Mrs. Archin said. “Also, you will need to be in your room at the latest by eleven pm.”

            “Well, with that, what do you want to do,” I asked her.

            Ally shrugged. “I don’t know, but I haven’t finished unpacking. I have to go finish that. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast?”

            I nodded. “Yeah, alright. And okay, I will meet you tomorrow morning in front of the cafeteria.”

            With that, we both parted ways. I walked to the dorm rooms, and into the front door. I walked up and down the hallways, looking at all the things going on around me. Girls had friends in the dorms. One girl even had her boyfriend in there. I knew because they were in there sucking faces. I rolled my eyes and came up to my door. I unlocked it, walking in. When I did, there was a girl on her bed, kissing a guy, and they were all over each other.

            “Hey, either you two get a different room or both of you get out,” I said, sitting on the bed. “This is my room.”

            “And mine. So, maybe you need to get out. This room is occupied,” the girl said, sitting up.

            I rolled my eyes. Who did she think she was? She had no right to be in here.

            “Carson, honey, why don’t you leave now,” She said to him. “I’ll call you later. I love you.”

            I nearly gagged, and watched as he nodded and got up, adjusting his shirt. He tossed me a look, and I couldn’t lie, he was very good looking. He walked out of the dorm, and closed the door.

            “Now, who the hell are you,” the random girl asked.

            “Aleah. Your turn,” I stated.

            “Katarina,” She said. “Oh, and I noticed you had an eye on that warm blood in the hunter jumper barn...just to let you know, don’t get your hopes up. He will be assigned to me. I could handle his type better than…” She eyed me, looking me up and down.  “…whatever you are trying to be.”

            I growled. That was it. “Okay, bitch, look. I don’t like you, you don’t like me. Obviously, there is going to be some problems. But I don’t know who the hell you think you are to tell me what horse I can and can’t handle,” I snapped at her.

            Kat looked pissed. I called her out on it. “Whatever. I’m going to Carson’s.”

            I mumbled as she left the dorm. Already, I couldn’t stand her. And she had the audacity to tell ME that I wasn’t able to handle that warm blood? What the hell?

            I lay on the bed, and stretched out. I was pissed off now. I reached over, grabbing my phone, and unlocked it. Fourteen unread text messages. My heart leapt to my throat.

            My foster father had sent them all.

I groaned when my alarm clock went off. Five thirty in the morning. I sighed and sat up, turning on my beside lamp. I looked over to see if Kat was up already or not. She wasn’t. I contemplated waking her up and letting her go eat, or letting her sleep in and have her get in a heap of trouble. But, knowing her, she would somehow turn this around on me and get me in trouble. So I decided that maybe I should wake her up. I stood up from the bed, and walked over to the other side of the room.

            “Katarina. Get up,” I said.

            She groaned in response.

            I gritted my teeth. “Get your lazy ass up!”

            I walked away after that, and grabbed my riding breeches, a short sleeved riding shirt, and socks. I lay them on the bed, and stripped out of my pajamas. I pulled the shirt on, and then the breeches. I fixed the breeches around my legs, and then slid my tall socks over them. I walked to the bathroom, taking my toothbrush and brushing my teeth. I put on my deodorant, and then brushed my hair, pulling it into a ponytail. I walked out of the bathroom only to nearly run into Kat.

            “Ugh, watch it, you creep,” She said, and shut the door to the bathroom.

            I rolled my eyes, and walked to the closet. I grabbed my paddock boots, pulling them on, and my half chaps. I pulled them on, zipping them up on the sides. I picked up my helmet and room key, and put the key in my pocket. I walked out the door, making my way to the cafeteria to meet Ally for breakfast.

            When I got to the cafeteria, sure enough, Ally was waiting for me. She looked as pissed as I did.

            “What? Don’t like your roommate either,” I asked her, and tightened my pony tail.

            “No! She’s the most annoying person ever! She’s way too happy! She was constantly saying how grateful she was I was her roommate, and how I was her new best friend here. Then she won’t shut up,” She said.

            I laughed. “Well, I’d rather have her than the girl I’m roomed with. What’s her name?”

            “Who do you have? And her name is Courtney.”

            “Oh. I’m with a girl named Katarina. She’s the biggest bitch you’ll ever meet. I walked into the room last night after going to meet the horses, and she was in there making out with her boyfriend, Carson, or something. I am not going to lie, he’s hot.”

            She laughed. “Okay then, well, let’s go eat, and we can rant together until it’s time to go see what horses we were assigned.”

            I nodded in agreement and walked to the tables with her. I set my stuff down, and we walked to the line for the breakfast buffet. We stood there for a while, and finally when we got to the front, I grabbed us both a plate. I piled mine with pancakes, eggs, a sausage burrito, and biscuits and gravy.

            I went with her to the table. She looked at me with fire in her eyes.

            “Look what just walked in the door,” She said.

            My eyes shifted to see what she was talking about. Not a what, more like a who. A thin framed girl walked in, with long red hair. She looked like she would be the one to be annoying.

            “It’s Courtney,” Ally said, and a grim look came across her face. “Quick, hide.”

            I laughed. “Oh, come on. She can’t be that bad!”

            “Oh my gosh, there’s my favorite roommate in the world,” Courtney said enthusiastically.

            “Hey…Courtney,” Ally said, looking at her food. “I thought you weren’t coming to breakfast…”

            “I decided I want to. Any room for me,” she asked, looking at us both.

            “I think s—“ I was cut off instantly by Ally.

            “Sorry, don’t think so. But you know what? Why don’t you just take our seats… we got to go out to see what horses we were assigned,” Ally said. I couldn’t help but smile.

            “Yeah, sorry, Courtney. Maybe some other time,” I said, and got up, throwing away all my trash. I walked to the door, waiting for Ally.

            When Ally caught up with me, we walked to the barns together. I cast glances at her.

            “You were right… she is really peppy…more so than any human should be,” I said to her, my boots clicking against the ground.

            “Told you. I’m surprised she got accepted… yeah, she may be a good rider, but by the time school starts here, she seems like she’s ditsy as hell.”

            I laughed at that. “She does come off that way, doesn’t she?”

            “Yeah, she does. So, on a better note, what barn do you want to go to first? Hunter Jumper or Western,” Ally asked me.

            “Let’s go to Western first. I know your dying to see what horse you were assigned,” I said with a smile.

            “Alright,” She said happily and we walked to the western barn.

            When we got there, she ran over to the tack room, seeing the list up on the clipboard. While I waited for screams of happiness, or wails of disappointment, I stood next to a horse’s stall, seeing what he wanted to munch on.

            “Oh my gosh!! I got him! I got him,” She exclaimed.

            I smiled. “Well good. I know you wanted him. Who did Courtney get?”

            “… a horse named JoJo,” She said, smiling.

            “Awe. Sounds cute. Come on, I’m dying to see what horse I have! Since Katarina wanted the same horse as me,” I said, and made my way quickly to the hunter jumper barn.

            When we got there, I went over to the clipboard hanging on the wall. My eyes scanned over it.

            Aleah Chettle --- Verona

            “I got her,”