The red compact car driving to Corner Meadow Farm was eerily quiet. In the front seat were two adults, a man and woman, who shared concerned looks between each other and the boy seated in the back of the car. The boy was facing the window, avoiding any eye contact with the adults in the front, his face in a stubborn scowl. He let his shaggy, dirty blonde hair hide his face from the rearview mirror, and held his arms firmly across his chest. He knew his destination, and he did not like it.
“Luke,” The woman spoke up after another quiet moment. “Your parents mean well by sending you here. And your uncle and I both ride here on the weekends, and we enjoy it.” She shared a smile with her husband before looking back at Luke. The reaction was not an improvement.
Luke Dvorak snorted. That’s you, Aunt Jen. Not me. You and Uncle Harry can enjoy it all you want, but I have better things I could be doing. He thought. Besides, he was being forced to come to this stupid stable, all because of one mistake. He didn’t want to be here, and besides, Choteau, Montana was in the middle of nowhere. After the big city of Houston, it might as well have been Nothingsville, Nowhereton. He wouldn’t know anyone, and the other kids were probably all obsessed with horses and wouldn’t know about anything cool.
“Luke, you have to at least give it a try. You might like it. And if you don’t, it’s only until Christmas break. It’ll be good for you to try something new for awhile.” Uncle Harry spoke up, his voice a little terse. He was less patient than his wife, who put a hand on his shoulder to make sure he kept his eyes on the road.
“More like forever.” Luke grumbled under his breath. This decision of his parents to send him to live with his aunt and uncle was the worst idea he’d heard of. He hated it. Christmas break was months away, and his friends back home in Houston were probably doing something cooler, like playing soccer. He wondered briefly if anyone here liked to play soccer, then decided he wouldn’t want to play with them anyway. They all liked horses, so they probably didn’t care about things that weren’t horse related.
All of this was because of one mistake. He would admit it had been a big mistake, and he did regret it, but still -- it wasn’t his fault the cops had showed up. They hadn’t any other night that he and his friends had gone to a party and there had been alcohol. He had been mad at his parents, and so had thought that having a drink or two would help calm him down. But then the cops had shown up, and everything had gone crazy.
Since it was his first offence, and he was only fourteen (and thus had a chance to “turn around” according to the judge), Luke got off with a fine of $150, which his parents had to pay. They were less than pleased. Luke had never seen his father so angry, but in the end, they decided that the best punishment would be to introduce him to something new, and send him to where he wouldn’t be near “bad company” for a while. At least it wasn’t permanent – they said he could come back by Christmas if he improved in his attitude and promised not to do anything like that again. But Christmas still felt far away, while the stable was coming closer and closer by the minute.
Left with his gloomy thoughts, and little to look forward to other than horses for the next six months, he looked out the window at the dry, dusty landscape. There were some trees, but not many – it was mostly grassland, a staple in eastern Texas. As he watched the scene fly by, the car drove past three riders galloping on horses, laughing and calling to each other. It looked like they were racing each other. They looked so…
Stupid, he finally decided. What was so fun about running around on a horse? Luke couldn’t understand it. He was distracted, however, by the appearance of a sign that read “Corner Meadow Farm” and showed silhouettes of horses jumping fences and walls, and one apparently posing (Aunt Jen had tried to explain that it was called dressage – when he heard about it, it had made horseback riding sound even more girly and lame, so he didn’t pay much attention to it).
“Here we are, Luke.” Aunt Jen tried to make eye contact with him as they parked, turning in her seat, but he Luke was gone. Once out of the car, his aunt and uncle looked around at the sights of the stables, clearly pleased, but Luke just stepped out of the car, looking down at the ground. He wasn’t interested in his surroundings; he was interested in going home.
“I'll go find your instructor. Jen, why don't you and Luke take a look around?” Uncle Harry offered, and Luke shrugged. It was certainly bustling with activity, even for this early in the day. Kids and adults of all ages were walking back and forth, chatting or with arms laden with horse equipment Luke couldn't hope to name. Some were even leading horses - some without saddles and bridles, some ready to ride. He had to admit there was something impressive about how such massive creatures moved so gracefully. But his scowl only lightened up slightly. He was still here against his will. Still not cool.
Jen lead him toward the rings, where students were practicing trotting in circles, leaving puffs of sand behind them. She tried explaining this was where he would start, getting used to getting up on a horse and how to tell it where to go and posture and so on. The more she talked, the more his dread intensified. He'd have to go in circles and get his posture fixed the whole time?
"Joy." He commented, unaware of anyone else approaching them at the fence as he wallowed in his fate.
“Luke,” The woman spoke up after another quiet moment. “Your parents mean well by sending you here. And your uncle and I both ride here on the weekends, and we enjoy it.” She shared a smile with her husband before looking back at Luke. The reaction was not an improvement.
Luke Dvorak snorted. That’s you, Aunt Jen. Not me. You and Uncle Harry can enjoy it all you want, but I have better things I could be doing. He thought. Besides, he was being forced to come to this stupid stable, all because of one mistake. He didn’t want to be here, and besides, Choteau, Montana was in the middle of nowhere. After the big city of Houston, it might as well have been Nothingsville, Nowhereton. He wouldn’t know anyone, and the other kids were probably all obsessed with horses and wouldn’t know about anything cool.
“Luke, you have to at least give it a try. You might like it. And if you don’t, it’s only until Christmas break. It’ll be good for you to try something new for awhile.” Uncle Harry spoke up, his voice a little terse. He was less patient than his wife, who put a hand on his shoulder to make sure he kept his eyes on the road.
“More like forever.” Luke grumbled under his breath. This decision of his parents to send him to live with his aunt and uncle was the worst idea he’d heard of. He hated it. Christmas break was months away, and his friends back home in Houston were probably doing something cooler, like playing soccer. He wondered briefly if anyone here liked to play soccer, then decided he wouldn’t want to play with them anyway. They all liked horses, so they probably didn’t care about things that weren’t horse related.
All of this was because of one mistake. He would admit it had been a big mistake, and he did regret it, but still -- it wasn’t his fault the cops had showed up. They hadn’t any other night that he and his friends had gone to a party and there had been alcohol. He had been mad at his parents, and so had thought that having a drink or two would help calm him down. But then the cops had shown up, and everything had gone crazy.
Since it was his first offence, and he was only fourteen (and thus had a chance to “turn around” according to the judge), Luke got off with a fine of $150, which his parents had to pay. They were less than pleased. Luke had never seen his father so angry, but in the end, they decided that the best punishment would be to introduce him to something new, and send him to where he wouldn’t be near “bad company” for a while. At least it wasn’t permanent – they said he could come back by Christmas if he improved in his attitude and promised not to do anything like that again. But Christmas still felt far away, while the stable was coming closer and closer by the minute.
Left with his gloomy thoughts, and little to look forward to other than horses for the next six months, he looked out the window at the dry, dusty landscape. There were some trees, but not many – it was mostly grassland, a staple in eastern Texas. As he watched the scene fly by, the car drove past three riders galloping on horses, laughing and calling to each other. It looked like they were racing each other. They looked so…
Stupid, he finally decided. What was so fun about running around on a horse? Luke couldn’t understand it. He was distracted, however, by the appearance of a sign that read “Corner Meadow Farm” and showed silhouettes of horses jumping fences and walls, and one apparently posing (Aunt Jen had tried to explain that it was called dressage – when he heard about it, it had made horseback riding sound even more girly and lame, so he didn’t pay much attention to it).
“Here we are, Luke.” Aunt Jen tried to make eye contact with him as they parked, turning in her seat, but he Luke was gone. Once out of the car, his aunt and uncle looked around at the sights of the stables, clearly pleased, but Luke just stepped out of the car, looking down at the ground. He wasn’t interested in his surroundings; he was interested in going home.
“I'll go find your instructor. Jen, why don't you and Luke take a look around?” Uncle Harry offered, and Luke shrugged. It was certainly bustling with activity, even for this early in the day. Kids and adults of all ages were walking back and forth, chatting or with arms laden with horse equipment Luke couldn't hope to name. Some were even leading horses - some without saddles and bridles, some ready to ride. He had to admit there was something impressive about how such massive creatures moved so gracefully. But his scowl only lightened up slightly. He was still here against his will. Still not cool.
Jen lead him toward the rings, where students were practicing trotting in circles, leaving puffs of sand behind them. She tried explaining this was where he would start, getting used to getting up on a horse and how to tell it where to go and posture and so on. The more she talked, the more his dread intensified. He'd have to go in circles and get his posture fixed the whole time?
"Joy." He commented, unaware of anyone else approaching them at the fence as he wallowed in his fate.