[open] New Girl in Town

[confuzzled]

The morning sun glowed through the open window in the teenagers dorm room as she dressed for a day at the stable. It was around nine in the morning as she stood up off her bed. Clothed in jeans, tank top and runners, she was ready to go to the stable. It was her third day at Darlington. So far it had been fine. She hadn't met anyone yet. Not even her dormates. Maybe she hadn't seen them cause she didn't want to. No that couldn't be it. The girl was normally social. Not one to hide in her room away from people. Jessica grabbed her helmet and jacket before walkign out of her bedroom. Her long red hair tied up in a ponytail, which bobbed as she walked. It was a great day. Sunny and clear. The sky was a vibrant blue. Not a cloud in sight.

As Jess walked out of the dormroom she spotted someone sitting and watching the news. She waved but didn't get a reply. Jess sighed and opened the door before steppign out into the sunshine. She smiled as she wandered down the walkway. Enjoying the view of the place as she made her way to the stable. Before anythign else she needed to check on Bear. JT looked up into the sky as a bird soared overhead. On getting to the stable she noticed that on the roof were bird nests. Swallows to be exact. She whistled to them, getting tweets in return. JT laughed as she walked through the big double doors which were open to the morning sun. She walked upto Bear's stall. Rubbing his nose and lowering the top half of the door. He had the right to stick his head out too. "Hey babe, good sleep?" she asked, kissing his muzzle. Jess walked on, into the tack room where she grabbed a movie she had with her saddle. Leaving her helmet there Jess made her way to the lounge. She plugged the movie into the DVD palyer and grabbed a bottle of water before sitting down. Jess swung her legs up onto the coffee table as she watched the first riding go into the cross-country course. she was watchign the eventing trials from 2007. Now if only somwone could come and talk to her.

[Will O'Connor]

<sup>Will had never been a good one for sitting still. Even when he was younger, he would start something and if it envolved waiting, he could never be bothered. It was one reason he had always been a rubbish cook. If he had to leave something, he's always forget and go onto something else and completely forget about it. He had the patience, just rarely used it. He could sit still, but only when forced to. Generally he day dreamed. Actually, he always daydreamed. He'd mastered the art of sleeping with his eyes open long time before. The young Irish lad ran a hand through his short, dark hair. He never bothered brushing it, there was no point it never got any neater. He'd just gotten out of the shower and it was still wet. He knew he needed to get going if he was going to loan one of the horses from the stables. He also needed a job in order to feed it. He didn't exactly come from money and wasn't likely to come by any in the future. No, he came from a long line or hard workers and he wasn't going to stop the trend.

Will took the long route around to the stable. He was always one for a good stroll, he'd always had a dog when he was home in Fair Haven and was usually the one up in the morning to walk it. He'd never been good at sleeping in either. Will had his hands firmly in the pockets of his blue jeans as he entered the stable yard. A few of the horses pricked their ears at him, wondering if he was going to give them their breakfast. He smiled his traditional cheerful smile and walked over to a happy looking paint with a handsome blaze. He put out a hand and the Paint sniffed it, nudging it to see if there was a treat there. Will smiled and patted the Paint on the neck, letting him continue to nudge him and explore his pockets. He was a handsome boy with white markings that looked very attractive under the dappled light from the window behind him.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention, as it did of the Paint's. Will looked around, but couldn't see anyone. The Paint nudged his shoulder and stepped away from the door, finding more interest in his haynet. Will smiled and dusted off his hands, walking across the stone yard to the door which was slightly ajar. He took his time to have a look around, walking slowly along the corridors, following the sound of a commentator over the speakers of a television. He looked into the room where a couch faced the television screen. The head of another rider was visible above the sofa. His dark eyes switched over to the television screen where a pretty Chestnut horse was making its way through the water jump.
"It looks like she's holding the horse back a little too much, doesn't it." He commented as the Chestnut continued to fight the rider by throwing his head around and not paying attention to the jump until it was almost on top of him. The horse tried to put in a shorter stride but swerved out at the last moment, throwing the rider off balance.
"Will O'Connor." He introduced himself to the girl, holding out a hand.</sup>

[confuzzled]

Jess was usually not one to sit still. sHe needed to be up and around. riding horses or cleaning stalls. It took her days at a time to clean what tack she had. Due to the fact that she could not sit still long enough to clean much tack. Her attention would stray, then she would hear a horse calling another and need to run off and play with them. One of her many problems. But then when she was with her horses she was happy. There were a few things Jess could sit around and do. One of them being to play the guitar. When she ahd one in hand her fingers flew over it and she could drift into the music. Sitting for what seemed like hours and strumming away at the strings.Life was so difficult. It was fun though. The other thing she could stand still for was to listen to people talk of horses or to watch them. she coudl sit for hours in a pasture watching the horses graze and play. She could watch a horse show for hours. Just getting up to get food.

Jess swore as one of the riders fell off the horse. He flew head over heels into the water. The horse runnign off in the opposite direction. The horse and rider were a horrible pair. Parker Landon and Eqyption Cotton. Jess's parents had bred Eqyption Cotton using the best warmbloods. sHe was going to waste being ridden by Parker. Jess stood up and walked into the kitchen part. She tossed the can in the recycle bin before jogging to the tack room to grab her bridles. They needed cleaning. sHe set to work on them as she watche dmore of the riders go. There were so pretty amazing pairs. She noticed a few of them with ehr family's lines int hem. Bred using there stalliosn or mares. Jess sighed. Rubbing the oil into the leather. Making it clean and supple. She smiled when Melissa Nelson appeared on the screen riding Warhawk. It soon turned out not to be happy. Melissa was holding War back to much. Not letting him jump. Jess spooked when she heard a voice behind her. "Yeah, War never likes that," she said and stood up. Holding out a calloused hand to shake. sHe strongly shook Will's hand. "Jessica Dalton, you knew?"