Horse Lovers Paradise

Horse Lovers Paradise (19)

Chapter 19

Junior Co-Captain 

I could hear the commotion in the hallway before I even registered what was happening. I felt my body stir awake and I glance over at Sarah, who wasn't alone on her bed, with Clare sitting closely beside her. I blinked a few times and glanced at my alarm clock and realised that it was a little before 4 in the morning. It took me a second to realise the voice outside the room in the hallway was Shannon, and I could hear multiple adults voices which I couldn't recognise. I quickly picked up my phone and turned it back on, realising that Tracy had actually texted me to check up on me. I put my phone back and looked up at Sarah, she gave me a soft smile and opened her arms. I quickly moved from my bed to hers and wrapped myself in her arms, eventually resting myself betweeen Sarah and Clare with Sarah gently playing with my hair. I watched Clare slowly, suddenly realising how much this was going to effect her also. She looked out the room with a distant look as her old roommate and friend was being kicked out of the school. I slowly reached for her hand and gently squeezed it with mine.

"Are you okay? I asked, realising how much Shannon's betrayal hurt many people, not just me.

"Yeah, just in shock. She was suppose to be one of my best friends, you know? To think she is capable of physically hurting someone is crazy. I mean everything that happened to you, that's because of her..." Clare's voice trailed off and I nodded my head in understanding. I knew exactly what she meant. The three of us remained in the same position until the yelling from outside the door eventually started to die down until the only audible sound was our soft breaths filling the room.

Just less than an hour had passed until I began feeling restless, there was so much happening in my life that I didn't want ot sit still and just think about it. I wanted to avoid thinking about everything until the AYET tryouts were over. They were my focus, not Shannon drama or ex-boyfriend drama, just horses. I slowly pushed myself off Sarah and quickly told them that I was going to head down to the barn, both of the girls got off the bed and we decided that we would head down to the barn together. We walked there in a comfortable silence, each of us consumed in our own thoughts. The more I thought about Shannon the more anxious I felt about going to class and seeing everyone after all of the rumours that would have circulated around the school. The walk to the barn was somewhat peaceful, with the lights on the path guiding us as the sun still hadn't risen. The closer we got to the barn, the more relaxed I felt. There was something calming about being in a horses presence, it helped me to ignore everything else and simply enjoy being with the magnificent creatures. Once we got to the barn I could hear Kelly walking around in the tack room, talking herself through jobs that needed to be completed for the day. Her voice went silent when she heard our footsteps, and her body appeared leaning on the doorway of the room.

"How are you doing?" She asked noticing it was me, I gave her a small smile to which she responded and shrugged. I told her that I would be fine, and I didn't really want to think about any of it. That I just wanted to focus on the competition the was quickly approaching. She nodded her head in understanding before disappearing behind the door again. I parted from Clare and Sarah, quickly making my way towards Casper's stable. He was facing away from the door and eating the hay in his bag, I lightly called out to him and he turned his head and pricked his ears. He quickly turned his body and faced me, resting his head on my chest. I gently pressed my lips against his head, whispering to my horse how much I loved him and how grateful I was for him. He gently blew out a breath, tickling my fingers. I took another deep breath and slowly stepped away from him, and made my way into the feed room and made up his usual morning feed.

I ignored the multiple looks I received throughout the day, trying my hardest to get on with my day and avoid all of the questions and unwanted attention about the Jasmine situation. I made it through most of my classes with my friends by my side, none of them asking questoins. When the final bell rang I packed up my stuff, shoved it into my bags and left the room before ducking my head and making my way back towards my room. Once I got there, Sarah was no where in sight so I took advantage of the silence and pulled my homework out of my bag and started working on finishing up on my final assigments or making more study notes for my upcoming exams. I would usually go to the library and work there because most of my friends would be there and we would use eachother for help, but I couldn't be bothered being around people right now.