Heads or Tails - Prolouge & Chapter One

Guys this is the first chapter. Review it, Read it, Tell me your opinion. I will endevour to comment on someone else's tomorrow (its just my bed time now and I've gotta work tomorrow ;) ), but if there is one especially you want me to look at, just tell me the name of it and I'll get right on it :)

  Prologue

   I’d always thought if I was faced with death I’d go running, screaming my face off. Tail between my legs, heading straight for home and a hug from Mum hoping I’d never meet the grim reaper again. I never thought I would be running towards death. But here I am. Holding my head up and running full fledge towards it.

   It makes me remember when everyone loyally says they’d take a bullet for a loved one, yes of course. They’d definitely fight to save the loved one’s life, but that’s in the safety of safeness not tinged by death. What if you were actually faced with the choice? To possibly endanger your own life for that of a loved one.

   And then that makes me remember the other saying “kill or be killed”.

Chapter One

   Friday last period always sucks. It especially sucks when you have English and would rather be out in the paddock with your horse.  

   ‘Um, sorry can you repeat the question?’ I asked hoping my teacher wouldn’t get too annoyed.

    I’ll admit I was staring out the window day dreaming, but seriously. English last period on a Friday?

   ‘I want you to read page 287 in the text book,’ the teacher exhaled in frustration. Oops… not a question.

   ‘Oh! Right,’ I quickly located the paragraph, ‘everybody’s poems are different. Every artist is different, creating new words and pictures…’

   The bell rang saving us all and we ran out of the classroom keen for home. Someone pulled on my hoodie and I turned around about to glare at them when I discovered it was the new kid. I decided to cut him some slack.

   ‘Um... hi?’ I said unsure what he wanted.

   ‘Claire, it’s me,’ his voice was familiar, but I couldn’t put a name to the face.

   I frowned and he began to explain, ‘I met you three years ago and then went to boarding school. We emailed…every now and then. It’s Lei Rossi.’

   I looked him up and down. Surely this couldn’t be Lei. Three years ago I was the only one who would talk to the tall, gangly boy. Yet now, the words lanky or gangly no longer came to mind when I saw him. He may even have a small six pack under that well fitting school uniform of his. His black hair was styled in spikes and he had no pimples what so ever. I had to admit Lei looked pretty cute.

   To be blunt when I first met Lei in year eight he was a geeky nerd with no friends. He was a really nice boy, just wasn’t all that popular. I was our school’s equivalent of a tour guide for him and we became friends.

   He was here for a year and then before I knew it he was shipped off to boarding school somewhere in Italy. We emailed occasionally… Now three years later I guess he’s back.

   ‘Lei is it really you? You look so different,’ I commented trying not to sound surprised so I didn’t offend him.

   ‘Yeah, I feel different too, better.’ His voice had changed also. It was huskier than I remember, but I still recognised it as his, minus the young boyish high pitch.

   I noticed the other kids milling past us and I realised I still had a bus to catch.

   ‘I better go, our driver doesn’t wait for anyone, but we have to catch up soon! We didn’t even email much while you were gone.’

   ‘Problem solved. I’m invited to your BBQ tonight. I have to go home first, but I’ll see you later,’ Lei laid a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

   My twenty-three year old sister Rachel was visiting from her flat in the city to attend too. I didn’t even know Lei was invited. I suppose that’s what you get with next to no contact for three years.

   ‘Ok,’ I replied, stepping away from his hand and pushing into the crowd, ‘bye!’ I called out as I started to run to my bus.

   I made it in time and sat one seat from the back. It didn’t matter how late I got on the bus I always had a seat and considering I’m in year eleven the younger kids know their place.

   I stared out the window still puzzling over Lei’s surprise return. He didn’t even send me an email saying he was coming back and a phone call would have been nice. I knew I didn’t really have a reason to be upset. I hadn’t made a massive effort to stay in touch either. I could have called him once a week, or at least once a month.

   I sat patiently in my seat, but was fidgeting waiting for Harley’s stop to come. Harley is my closest guy friend. We don’t go to the same school and he’s in the year above anyway. Our families meet up every couple of weeks and MySpace helps me keep in contact with him.

   Usually I would sit with my best friend Rivar on the bus, but this morning we had the Harley-coming-over conversation detailing her latest excuse as to why she wouldn’t be on the bus. Wow I sound like a bad friend. I do trust her ‘excuse’. It’s just very strange every time Harley comes over there is always some reason she isn’t on the bus or at Oakies.

   I brushed the thought aside as I stared out the window dreaming of my mount Fruit Cake. I rode him daily at the riding school just down the road, Oak Stables.

   I glanced around the bus and saw Harley sit next to me. My friend. My good friend was here to stay at my house. Without thinking I threw my arms around his neck and was hugging him. He was hugging me back too.

   When I pulled out of the hug Harley held on for second longer before letting go. Was I imagining it, or did Harley not want to let go?

   ‘So Claire, what have you been up to lately?’ Harley asked.

   My thoughts went to the Jericho one day event and I gestured to the sheets, ‘I’m entering the Jericho one day event.’

   My riding instructor Vanessa had suggested it to me the afternoon before. A one day event comprised of dressage, cross country and showjumping.

   Fruit Cake and I had entered a few minor one day events held by Oakies and other pony club’s in our region, but we hadn’t been to anything as big as Jericho. I was excited and nervous.

    Harley looked down at my sheets and grabbed the next one, ‘Pas de deux,’ his face crinkled in concentration as he attempted to pronounce the word, ‘are you entering this?’

   Pas de deux was the new event our show society was trying. On the sheet in the brackets it read dressage. I had looked up it up last night, confused by the term like Harley. Each grade performs a test, sort of like a dressage one, which their partner mirrors. Under the heading it was noted “required for FS”, whatever that meant.

   ‘I wish, it would be so fun, but a partner is required. I’ve told you Rivar won’t show because of her dad’s riding accident.’ Her father, Davron died in a freak riding accident. Whilst riding an A grade level show jumping course his horse’s fore legs clipped the front pole causing the horse to summersault on top of him. Rivar has never competed since.

 ‘You’ll meet her this time…finally,’ I teased, my thoughts lighter about the subject than they had been a moment ago.

   Rivar did reassure me she would be at the BBQ. I was kind of nervous. I wanted my two closest friends to get on, but at the same time I knew if they weren’t compatible, they would still be nice to each other for me.

   ‘Not that I’m the greatest rider,’ Harley joked, ‘but I’ll enter with you.’

   ‘Really? That would be awesome!’ I exclaimed happily.

   I grinned and slapped my hand against his when he silently asked for a hi-5.

   ‘One, two, three, go team!’ Harley called out loud enough that half the bus could hear.

   I laughed at his words, loving the fact that Harley could act like a total dork and still pull it off. 

 I felt a rush of air blow across my face as it ruffled my light brown hair. My school bus pulled onto the road and departed from my stop.

   I heard a whinny. I turned my head to the left and saw Rivar’s bay gelding Danny trot to the fence to greet us. I gave him a quick pat before pushing Harley and bolting to my house. I glanced back at Harley and grinned as he raced after me.

   We chucked our bags in the lounge room, not giving a second thought about school and changed quickly into our riding gear. We raced out of the door and I was about to continue our race up the driveway when Harley called me back.

   ‘Claire, haven’t you thought about riding a motor bike to Oakies?’

   I turned around to see Harley standing by the shed. I frowned. Rachel had two bikes, but she rarely used them anymore. I hadn’t learnt. I didn’t even know Harley could ride a motor bike. Then again he does have five brothers.

   ‘No, I don’t know how to.’ I stated.

   ‘But you have two great bikes in your shed,’ Harley pursed. Since when has he checked them out to know they are “great”?

   ‘Rachel hardly rides anymore and I never learnt.’

   ‘Well come on let’s ride to Oakies,’ he pushed.

   ‘Haven’t you been listening? I don’t know how to,’ so I pushed back.

   ‘I’ll teach you,’ Harley looked keen.

   Maybe he was more mechanical than I thought. Hopefully I won’t lose his horse side to engines.

   ‘We don’t have time. It’ll be dark soon.’ It was just an excuse, a plausible one, but really I was just scared.

   ‘I’ll teach you later and give you a lift today,’ he continued to push his point.

   I sighed knowing I wasn’t going to win, ‘Ok.’

   We walked inside the dusty interior of the shed. Two bikes were standing in the corner. Harley bent down looking at them, running his hands over them. A quick warm tingle flashed in my stomach as I imagined Harley as a mechanic, playing around with engines. Mechanics are hot.

   ‘A Honda and a Harley. Can I use the Harley?’

   ‘Yea sure,’ I laughed, ‘a Harley for Harley.’

   He wheeled the Harley out and grabbed two bike helmets off the shelf. He handed me the helmet and I put it on, wondering how it looked with my riding gear. Jods and a bike helmet...great mix!

   We both mounted like we would on a horse, from the left. I wrapped my arms around his waist. Was I imagining his content sigh? What could that be about? Harley and I were just friends. We had always been just friends and that’s how it was going to stay. Right?

   My thoughts got interrupted when Harley kick started the bike. I blinked and suddenly we were speeding along. It felt like flying except my butt never left the bike. My stomach started churning, but not in a bad way. There was so much adrenalin. Fruit Cake was fast, but he had nothing on this.

   I couldn’t think properly, I didn’t have time to. It was like a flash, one moment we were leaving home, the next we were out the front of Oakies.

   ‘There you go, quicker than walking,’ Harley turned his head and poked his tongue out at me. I shot him an evil eye and quickly dismounted, but was dizzy from the ride and tumbled onto the grass.

   ‘Claire, are you ok?’ Harley asked with concern potent in his voice.

   ‘Um, yeah, I just got dizzy,’ I shook my head and tried to get up, but fell back down.

   Harley laughed at the dazed expression on my face and held out his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up, surprising me by how much strength he had. He pulled me up with one hand, while still balancing the bike between his legs, all without straining.

   ‘Can you walk, or do you need me as a crutch?’ He said laughing again.

   I didn’t doubt he could hold me up or carry me. I pretended to glare, but ended up failing, grinning like an idiot at him, ‘I’m good.’

   We walked into the stable together. Phoenix’s stall was one of the first in the stable. He’s Harley’s regular lesson horse, named Phoenix for his golden palomino coat.      

   Once Harley was in front of the stall he wrapped his arms around the gelding. I stood by Phoenix’s stall waiting, pretending to be impatient.

   ‘All done?’ I used my best tone of impatient arrogance and put my hands on my hips.

   Harley laughed and pulled me by the hand, past the rest of the stalls to the tack room. Inside it smelt like leather. Heaven…and Harley seemed to agree, with the content look on his face as he inhaled the smells.

   I walked to Fruit Cake’s tack, picked it up along with a grooming kit and walked out the door with Harley following with Phoenix’s tack.

   I entered Fruit Cake’s stall and secured him to a piece of bailing twine on a metal ring on the wall. Fruit Cake being a thoroughbred is a tall horse, standing at sixteen hands high. He is a six year old mahogany bay gelding with one white sock on his right hind leg.  

   After a quick, but thorough grooming, Fruit Cake easily accepted the bit and after pulling the bridle over his ears, I buckled the throat latch and noseband.

   I placed the saddle blanket smoothly on his back, following with the saddle. I was once again grateful he wasn’t a horse who kicked or bit when I did up the girth. Fruit Cake did sometimes puff out his stomach, but that could be easily fixed with a short walk or by stretching his legs out.

   Harley was ready when I led Fruit Cake out of the stall. I admired how good he looked on Phoenix. After all his hard work in riding lessons Harley looked like he belonged up on the Palomino.

   I opened my right rein and pressed my left leg into Fruit Cake’s side just behind his girth. He slowly began to move across so we were in line with everyone else minus the gap we had before. I gave him a pat and praised the gelding. He was still slow at side passing having just recently learnt it, but he was getting there.

   The head riding instructor and manager of Oakies, Vanessa was standing in front of our line. Harley was to the left of me. We were in line with the other riders.

   ‘Amanda!’ Vanessa called to the girl at the head of the line, ‘you ride the course first.’

   We had walked the course as part of our warm up. I quickly went through it again in my head, matching the numbers to the colours of the fences.  

   We all watched Amanda trot out on her grey mare. They did a lap of canter before heading for the start pegs and the first jump. I took notice of the turns she took to see where they placed her in front of the next jump.

   She had a clear round. As she cantered through the finish pegs she turned her horse away from our line to slow him down to a halt before bringing him to the group. It taught him to not rush towards the horses just after the jump test and helped to keep him behave.

   Vanessa picked me next to jump and nervously I trotted out of the line of horses and riders. I told myself to calm down. I had done courses before. The jumps were only one pole higher, two at the most. I just needed to focus on guiding Fruit Cake around the course, not on the height of the fences.

   I squeezed Fruit Cake’s sides and he began to canter. I signalled him to circle the jump for our warm up to get the right canter required for jumping. I headed towards the first fence at a good canter. It was a smaller jump, so I was confident going over it, just squeeze, two-point seat, give and land. The confidence jumps as I called them, were the minimum height, for the grade we were jumping, C.

   The confidence jumps continued until the fourth jump. There were ten jumps in this course. It was a pole higher, but only a cross rail. As soon as we were in front of the fence I made sure my eyes were looking into the distance, not at the jump, squeezed, rose into the two-point seat, gave and landed. I didn’t look back to see if the top pole was knocked over, but I didn’t feel Fruit Cake knock it.

   I continued around the course and jumped every fence I came to with no indication I had knocked any poles down. I circled the arena coming up to the final jump. It was an ascending oxer. A single pole between two wings with another pole on wings higher behind it.

   I breathed deeply, concentrating on keeping the required canter whilst ignoring the nervous feeling in my stomach. I kept my eyes up, away into the distance focusing on the feeling of Fruit Cake’s body not the height of the fence. I felt Fruit Cake’s body shift and lifted myself out of the saddle into the two-point seat as Fruit Cake took off.     

   We landed smoothly and I briefly looked back at the course. No poles knocked over! My face erupted into a grin as I halted Fruit Cake in line with the other horses and riders. I had cleared a C grade course. The highest I’ve jumped before!

   When I first started to ride Fruit Cake eighteen months ago he was only slowly being brought back into work after rolling in the paddock and cutting open his near hind knee on a barb wire fence. Vanessa had only trail ridden him before the injury. I’m the first person he’s jumped with.

   An hour later everyone had made it around the course. Harley was one of the riders who had to repeat the course a few times to get it right, but by the conclusion of the lesson Vanessa was satisfied.

   Harley and I were walking back into the Oakies barn from the washing bay with two wet horses. Oakies was a stereotypical stable with white washed fences and a red barn. It looked like the riding schools out of the horse books I read as a kid.

   I remember being so excited to find out I was going to attend Oakies. It was actually Lei I told first, just before he left for boarding school. He came over to say goodbye just as Mum got off the phone to Vanessa. I was put on a cheeky Galloway named Alexis since I’d learnt to ride on my neighbour’s mare Maggie and had a bit of confidence.

   Maybe since I was so excited about Oakies I didn’t show enough sadness at Lei’s departure. Would that be the reason he didn’t tell me he was coming back? But he didn’t seem mad today… I shook my head, dismissing the though.

   A year later I was promoted to Fruit Cake. He was still fairly green when I first started to ride him, but it gave me the experience I will need when Speckles, my Anglo Arabian yearling, is broken in. I know it’s going to be difficult, but Vanessa will always be here to help me.

   Vanessa came striding out of the barn’s double doors, looking exactly like a riding instructor wearing blue jodhpurs, a white shirt and a navy blue vest. There was a whip in her hand, used mainly to point out faults except for the occasional stubborn pony.

   And a police officer was walking next to her. As Harley and I passed them I caught the end of our conversation.

   ‘We’ll be in touch,’ the male officer was saying to Vanessa.

   ‘I’ll call you if anymore go missing. Thank you Detective Maxien,’ Vanessa replied with a slight smile, but it was strained.

   Harley and I were inside the barn and close to our horse’s stalls. I put Fruit Cake in his stall and peered outside watching the two. Maxien shook hands with Vanessa. He walked out of my view in the direction of the car park.

   ‘I’ll be back in a second,’ I said to Harley as I quickly unclipped Fruit Cake’s lead and exited the stall.

   I made my way over to Vanessa pondering on what the officer was here for. I opened my mouth to speak, but Vanessa spoke first.

   ‘Claire I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to teach you how I break horses anymore.’ Vanessa had bought a whole new bunch of riding stock, but they were young unbroken horses. This puzzled me, unbroken horses wouldn’t be suitable for reliable riding horses for years until the quiet down. Plus Vanessa barely had enough stalls for the horses she had, I didn’t understand why she’d buy more.

   However my questioning had been shut up when she suggested I help her work the horses to prepare me for Speckles even more. My face fell a little at her comment, I was looking forward to working with those horses.

   ‘Some of the horses have gone missing.’

   ‘So that’s why the officer was there,’ I commented, ‘Vanessa that’s terrible. Do they have any idea what happened to them?’

   ‘At the moment they are saying the horses have gotten out somehow. I’ve done perimeter checks and I can’t find a busted fence, but I’m doing daily checks. Who knows,’ Vanessa shrugged her shoulders, ‘they might be fantastic jumpers.’

   ‘I’ll help with the perimeter checks if you’d like? I know you are always busy and I can exercise some of the horses that need it,’ I offered as we began to make our way back towards Harley, ‘everyday after lessons and even when we don’t have lessons after school.’

   Vanessa rubbed her head, ‘well I guess that would be a good help, you are going to be around here enough now,’ Vanessa smiled at me.

   I frowned at her as we stopped beside Phoenix’s stall.

   ‘Hey, guess who’s going to be at Jericho,’ she teased all worries of the horses gone for the time being.

   ‘Don’t taunt us Vanessa, who?’ Harley said waiting for her to get to the point.

   ‘Representatives of the horse boarding school Free Spirit. They will be looking out for future riders to attend their summer school,’ Vanessa said waiting for our reaction.

   I stared at Vanessa. My eyes popped out of my head. Free Spirit was the best boarding school in the world. If I did well...if we did well, Harley and I could be offered a place at Free Spirit. We could get in! We’d learn so much. And if we did get in, we’d be among so many talented riders. We would be the talented riders! 

   ‘Oh. My. Gosh. Free Spirit!’ I would have started jumping up and down if I wasn’t astride Fruit Cake.

   I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’d get a chance to prove myself in front of world class riders, instructors, trainers, breeders, breakers, coaches. Wow! I just couldn’t believe it.

   ‘We could get in! We could get picked! Wait!’ My excitement froze, my stomach sinking, ‘do we even have a chance?’

   Was I kidding myself in thinking we’d have a chance? Free Spirit only accepted talented riders. I know I can ride decently, but was I that good?

   ‘I wouldn’t suggest it to you if I didn’t think you’d be capable, you and Harley.’

   This was true, Vanessa only asked of her riders what she knew they could handle, ‘but saying that, I still want you both to work hard. There is always room for improvement and everybody is going to be riding for a place in Free Spirit. Someone may very well spring up to be a great rider over the next month.’

   I nodded to Vanessa listening to her advice intently. She was an experienced horse person, who I could ask for advice on everything horse related. She was the perfect instructor, particularly the way she somehow incorporated fun with every exercise.     Even riding with no stirrups when it became boring, gruelling and painful, Vanessa somehow made it fun. Sometimes I really did not know how she did it, but I was glad. I really loved being taught by Vanessa.

   Vanessa grabbed our horses’ reins as we dismounted, ‘your parents called Claire, they want you two home, the BBQ has started.’

   Vanessa paused before going to walk away, ‘about the pas de deux, for Free Spirit to consider you it has to replace your dressage.’

   So that’s what the form meant by the words “required for FS”.

   ‘If you do well you will catch their eye, especially if you excel in everything.’

   Harley and I parted ways with Vanessa as she gave Phoenix to Sam, the second in command to untack while taking Fruit Cake herself. Usually we’d untack ourselves, but since the BBQ had started Vanessa and Sam didn’t mind.

   We went outside and hopped on the bike. With our helmets on and my hands securely around him, Harley rode the bike down the tar. Strands of my hair which had escaped the helmet and my ponytail were flying in the breeze.