It's a New Day - Part 1

by Sparkles
(Virginia :D)

I walked in the house and let the back door slam behind me. "FREEDOM!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. My Mom came pounding down the stairs. "Honey, what's wrong?" She asked me.

"Nothing, Mom. I'm just so excited for this summer. I can't believe school is over!" I replied. "I already have half of my summer planned out. I am going on a shopping spree *every week* with Jessie and Karly!" I jumped up and down in front of my Mom. She rolled her eyes and then gave a big sigh.

"Now, Honey, you shouldn't make plans like that without talking to me first. You should know that by now, you're almost fourteen." I pouted and stomped my foot before rushing up to my room to call Jess and Karly. I opened the door to see Cracker, our dog, lying on my new carpet.

"Cracker! Get out of my room!" I screeched. Cracker bolted out of my room and I shut the door behind him. When I was about to lie on my bed, I saw a letter from my Aunt Sam. I tore it open slowly and pulled out the paper to read.

"Honey, time for dinner!" Mom called from the kitchen. I quietly walked down the stairs and sat down without looking at her. She passed the potatoes to me.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. "When were you going to tell me about Aunt Sam? I don't even want to!" Mom slowly put down the potatoes. "It wasn't my choice, Honey. I got a job offer in a different state, and I can't take you with me. You'll just have to go to Aunt Sam's place in Connecticut for a while. And you can meet your cousins." Mom smiled.

"How can you smile? This is a crisis!" I yelled before racing up the stairs.


This is the letter

Dear Ms. Honey Johnson,

I am sure you are already aware your mother has taken a high expectations job out of state and can not care for you while she is working. She has asked me to take care of you for the time being. Enclosed is a one way ticket to my house in Connecticut and fifty dollars for a cab. I am so very excited to meet you and so are your cousins.

Please bring a wide variety of clothes, the weather up here changes fast. When you arrive, we will go over the rules about our house, which I'm sure you will accept.

As arranged, you will stay here for the whole summer, and possibly longer. We also expect you to be prepared to work hard, we live and run a top hunter/jumper/XC show barn here. You will work with many horses, show, and ride 24/7. By the end of the summer, you should be a extremely advanced rider. But a fair warning- It will be different from the pony rides of New York.

Live, Laugh, Love,
Aunt Sam!

It's a New Day- Part 2

by Sparkles
(Virginia :D)

The next day, I packed everything into three suitcases, chased Cracker around the house, (he stole my bra), and fired a quick email off to Jess and Karly explaining my summer crisis. As soon as I hit the send button, I heard three honks from outside. My cab was here.

I ran out the door and threw my stuff into the trunk, gave Mom a kiss, and slammed the car door without saying bye. The cab sped off, and I didn't look back. Until Cracker started chasing us. Then I had to bring him back home.

We arrived at the airport a little late, so I had to rush through security to make my flight. I was the last person to board the plane, and was escorted to a First Class Seat. (Score!!) I arranged my stuff and buckled my seatbelt. The takeoff was bumpy, and I spilled water. Everywhere.

As soon as we were in the sky, I got up to grab a towel and dry off but was tripped by a boy my age.

"Come on, loser. Grow up!" I shrieked. He snickered.

"I'll grow up when you make it to the potty on time." He pointed to my wet pants. I huffed off down the plane to get my towel. After grabbing one from the cart, I walked back to my seat, only to be stopped by that... monster kid again.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I'm a California girl. Always have been, always will be." I started to walk back to my seat when the Pilot came on the speaker.

"Welcome to Connecticut, we will be landing about... Now!"

It's official. I hate airports. People crowded around me, pushing and shoving me.

"Hello?! I'm here you know!" I yelled at one guy. He glared at me and rushed away. I saw a cab driver holding up my name so I rushed over to him.

"Hi, I'm Honey. Can we go?" I asked, way to loudly. He shrugged his shoulders. "We now wait for one more people." He said, his voice dripping with a spanish accent.

The annoying kid from the plane rushed over. The driver scaled him up and down. "You are Parker?" he asked. The kid-- Parker-- nodded. "You have GOT to be kidding. This is the other person?" I screamed. Parker smiled and nodded. I rolled my eyes, and walked to the cab.

The drive took about half an hour. The airport was small, and the city was smaller. It was all houses. No malls, anywhere. We pulled up to a big barn, with a new sign that said 'Fox Pointe Show barn.'

I hopped out of the car and leaned on the fence watching the driver get my bags. All of a sudden, something knocked me sideways. I turned around, and screamed. It was a huge, black, horse. I backed so far away I ran into Parker, who laughed.

"I see you have met Twilight, our newest hunter stallion. We are training him, he is fresh off the track." He smiled, waiting for a response. I didn't know what that meant, so I shot him a look and strutted away. I walked over to Twilight and stroked him.

"I happen to think he is cute." I said proudly. Out of nowhere, an all white mare galloped towards me. I screamed as she reared in front of my face, striking the air with her hooves. The let out a snort.

"W-w- Who is that?" I stammered. Parker frowned. "Another newbie. Her name is Misty, and she is untrainable. We are thinking about selling her." I was a bit confused after he spoke. "Who is we?" I asked quietly.

"Me and Fox Pointe. I work here for free, I love horses." He said, all to smugly. He hopped the fence and mounted Twilight, as if to make a point. He kicked Twilight, and they galloped as fast as a rocket through the hills. He stopped about half a mile away and let out a whoop.

I hopped to fence too, and mounted Misty. She reared and bucked, and I ended up clinging on her neck. She took off after Twilight, bucking every few strides.

All to soon, I fell off. Parker made bareback look easy. It wasn't, but I did good, considering I had never ridden before. Soon, Parker was by my side. "Great first impression, but I think you should start with a saddle." He smiled at me.

"I thought you were from New York, by the way. Sam always says you are." I sighed.

"No way. Never. She just says that to annoy me, 'cause I hate New York." I said, dusting myself off. I marched over to the house, walked in, and slammed the door. A tall, lean lady stood there, waiting. She didn't look very happy.

"Aunt Sam?" I asked quietly.