Rural

Chapter 30: For Once, I'm Not Confident. Is This What Being Normal Feels Like?

Chapter 30: For Once, I'm Not Confident. Is This What Being Normal Feels Like?

       Sawyer wanted to run the jumping course on the farm at least once before his family saw him showjumping again so that included waking up a lot earlier than they normally did, and since they lived on a farm, they woke up pretty early.

       As much as I didn't want to wake up early, I actually didn't mind it today. There was just something so calming and peaceful about being outside during sunrise.

       I was sitting on the edge of the fence as Sawyer circled around the course on Raven, either trying to get a feel of it or he was a bit hesitant to get started.

       "You know, in order to clear the jumps, you have to jump over them," I said. "Circling around them doesn't count."

       Sawyer sighed, stopping Raven and keeping him in place. "The jumps are higher than I remember..."

       "If you're not ready, we can always head back to the secret make out spot," I said.

       "You mean the secret training spot?"

       "Yeah, that's what I said."

       Sawyer hesitated for a bit, looking at all the jumps. "Maybe I should just lower them..."

       "Hey, if that will help, then that's what you should do," I said. "As long as you don't push yourself. Need any help lowering the jumps?"

       Sawyer nodded so I hopped off the fence and lowered all the jumps at the height Sawyer wanted them to be at. Once they were done, I sat down back on the fence as Sawyer, once again, circled around the jumps.

       "Sawyer, if you're really not ready, we can just go to the other one," I said.

       "No, I need to do this," Sawyer said. "Especially with the fair being so soon. Training on just the jumps in the forest isn't going to help at all. I just... Need a few more moments to prepare."

       About a minute or so passed before Sawyer said he was going to give it a shot. "Do you want me to time it?" I asked.

       Sawyer shook his head. "Not this time. I have a feeling I'm going to miss some of the jumps so it would be best if I just focus on making them and getting used to it. And I think I could do without the pressure of trying to get the best time right now."

       "Fair enough," I said. "Just for the record, you're going to do great."

       Sawyer gave me a small smile before going to the starting point of the jumps. He took a deep breath before starting the jumping course. Even though these jumps were quite low, they were still a bit higher than the make-do one in the forest, so Raven did hit a few of the jumps.

       Actually, he hit more than a few.

       Raven hit all but one of the jumps.

       Sawyer sighed heavily when he finished the course. "Maybe I'm way too over my head to do this. I only cleared one jump, Jamie. Just one."

       "You haven't done this course in a long time," I said. "It's totally fine that you missed some."

       "I didn't just miss some," Sawyer said. "I missed all of them. I can't do this." He hopped off of Raven and started leading him outside of the jumping course.

       "It was your first run on this course," I said. "You can't give up just like this."

       "I don't want to give up," Sawyer said. "But there's no way I'm going to be ready in time for the fair."