Fly

Chapter 4

Melanie woke up Monday morning at 5:00 and went downstairs to go eat breakfast. Melanie made cereal, toast and orange juice. After she was done eating at 5:15 she went back upstairs to get ready. Melanie picked out a pink t-shirt with a brown horse on it, jeans and her cowgirl boots. Melanie then quickly brushed her hair and teeth then went out to the car. Agetha got into the car about 5 minutes after Melanie. "You ready?" Agetha asked with a smile. Melanie nodded and stared out the window wishing she could jump instead of barrel race. They arrived at the barn at 6:25 and Melanie went inside to meet Donna by the entrance. "Good morning, Melanie. The rest of the kids are already here. You can go ahead and start on the stall. They have already started." Donna said. "Okay." Melanie replied. She went inside and greeted Maggie. Maggie pricked her ears up and cam towards the door. "Hey girl, I missed you." Melanie said. Melanie moved Maggie to another stall so she could clean her stall. Melanie went to go get a pitch fork and a wheelbarrow in the storage closet. As she was bringing her wheelbarrow out a girl with red, straight hair was behind her. Melanie accidentally ran into her. "Ouch!" The girl said from behind Melanie. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry. I didn't see you. Are you okay?" Melanie asked. "Watch where you are going next time! You made me break a nail!" The girl snapped. Then the girl went back to her horses' stall. Oh, one of those girls Melanie thought. Melanie then pushed the wheelbarrow inside of Maggie's stall then went to go get a pitch fork. Melanie found a blue pitch fork that she decided to use. Melanie went back to Maggie's stall and started cleaning it. Maggie was a pretty clean horse so her stall was severely bad. Melanie got done in about forty-five minutes then went to go get Maggie ready. Melanie put Maggie on the cross-ties then went to go get her western saddle, pink saddle pad and bridle. Melanie came back out and saw the red haired girl put her horse right across from Maggie. Melanie quickly groomed and tacked up Maggie then went outside with the rest of the kids. The red haired girl was the last one out. "Sabrina! Why are you late?" Donna asked in anger. "Sorry, my horse was being a pain when I was putting the bridle on." Sabrina replied. Donna nodded then started the lesson. "Alright girls, you are here because you all love barrel racing. Right?" Donna asked in a smile. All the girls replied with a "yes!" but Melanie just nodded. "Okay, we are going to work on sitting properly. I know it is sometimes hard to sit properly around the barrels so I will show you how." Donna explained. Donna mounted a flea-bitten grey gelding. "This is my horse, Snowflake. We will demonstrate on how to sit properly." Donna said. Donna and Snowflake were an amazing team. Donna had a really good seat around those barrels. She came around the final barrel with a smile and slowed Snowflake down. "Alright, who wants to try first?" Donna asked. The first one to raise her hand was Sabrina on her paint gelding. "Okay Sabrina. Go ahead." Donna said. Sabrina and her horse were off in a flash. She had one of the best horses at the barn. They came around the final barrel and she slowed her horse down. "That was really good, Sabrina." Donna said. "I know. I couldn't of done it without my beautiful horse, Cowboy." Sabrina bragged. Melanie rolled her eyes. "Alright, Melanie do you want to try?" Donna asked. Melanie shrugged then nodded. Melanie put Maggie at the starting point and they were off. Donna smiled as Melanie went around the barrels. "Come on Maggie." Melanie said around the final barrel. Melanie had a nice halt at the end and gave Maggie a big pat. "Great round Melanie. You and Maggie work well together. Just remember to keep those heels down and that will help your seat." Donna said with a smile. "Ha! beginner mistake." Sabrina mumbled. Melanie nodded at Donna then went back in the line. The rest of the kids went and they were all really good.  The lesson was over and the kids started dismounting. "Good job today girls. Tomorrow we are going to work on our turns." Donna said then led Snowflake back to the stable. A girl with long, wavy brown hair with pink highlights came up to Melanie. "Hey you did awesome today." The girl said. "Thanks." Melanie smiled. Melanie's heart wasn't smiling though. "What is your name?" The girl asked. "My name is Melanie. Yours?" Melanie said. "My name is Josephine. You can call me Josie for short." Josie explained. "It is nice to meet you, Josie." Melanie said. "It's nice to meet you too." Josie replied with a smile. Melanie and Josie started leading their horses back to the barn. "Your horse is gorgeous. What is her name?" Josie asked. "Her name is Maggie. She is a sweetie. What is your horses' name?" Melanie asked. "This is Smokey. He is really sweet." Josie replied. Smokey was a dark grey gelding with black stockings and a black mane and tail. "He is really pretty." Melanie said. "Thanks." Josie replied with a smile. Melanie and Josie put their horses on the cross-ties and untacked them. Melanie came back from the tack room and gave Maggie a pat for her hard work today. "Come on, girly." Melanie said as she led her back to her stall. As she led Maggie back to her stall her mom pulled up. "Goodbye girl. I love you." Melanie whispered to Maggie. Maggie nickered then started eating her afternoon hay. Melanie started walking out as Josie waved. "Bye Melanie. See you tomorrow." Josie said. "Bye Josie." Melanie replied with a smile then walked out of the barn to greet her mom. Melanie gave her mom a big hug then they climbed into the truck. "How was your day, honey?" Agetha asked. "It was good. I met a girl named Josie and she is really nice." Melanie replied. "I knew you would make more friends. How did the barrel racing go?" Agetha asked. "It was fun." Melanie lied. They arrived home and Sparky go so excited to see Melanie. "Hey Sparky." Melanie said as she walked into the door. Sparky wagged his tail really fast. After greeting Sparky, Melanie went upstairs and took a shower. She grabbed some comfortable clothes. After her shower she came downstairs to see her dad home from work. "Hey dad." Melanie said as she walked down the steps. "Hey, Mel!" Her dad replied. Melanie's dad is Brandon. She doesn't get to see him a lot because he is really busy with work and when he is home Melanie is usually at a competition. Melanie and her parents sat down in the living room and had a movie night. Melanie quickly fell asleep on the couch. Sparky slept at the foot of the couch. Melanie was worn out from today. It was a big day. She started dreaming of jumping again and smiled as she slept.