*/ hey soul sister! ; open.

[maddi bb !]

hey soul sister!

[/font]
ain't that mister mister
on the radio, stereo
the way you move ain't fair you know

It wasn't hard to remember how difficult it had been to get here. As Liza gaped at the sight of the place - Windsor Academy, one of the most prestigious equestrian schools in the entire country, possibly in the whole entire world - she couldn't help her mind wander to all the troubles it had taken to get her there. Money was tight at home, and it took a lot of that to get her there. The equestrian lifestyle wasn't exactly a cheap one, but Liza seemed to be getting along fine. The restaurant was doing surprisingly well, and so they had a little extra to spare. Honestly, Liza had done most of the work herself, earning the extra dough excersize riding or mucking or any odd jobs anywhere, really. Then all the entrance fees, fees for Miles, basically anything you could possibly pay for needed to be paid for.

It had been a difficult process, bye as she looked down the marked pathway leading to the barn, the stables neatly tucked in the centre of academic halls and dorms and the cafeteria, she could see that it was all worth it. She looked over at her old, worn dad who was quietly looking at her. Liza, baby, you were day dreaming again. Her dad cooed softly, placing a hand on her head. Are you ready to go in? He asked quietly, his eyes soft like butter. She could tell he was pained on the inside, thinking of Liza leaving home for good. She was the baby in the family, and she and her dad had such a good bond. He had already lost Miriam when she got married at 18, so keeping Liza around was like a priority. All that had changed, though.

Liza gazed down at the barn already, watching the other new students to flood the campus. Yeah, I'm ready.[/b] She had already unloaded her stuff in the dorm, and now it was time for Miles to settle into his new home. The dark gray pickup hauled the puny two horse trailer onto the campus, using the route that lead straight to the barn. They had been given directions upon arrival of where to go, where to drop off Miles. They proceeded to the barn, unloading the beast, and exchanging quick, teary goodbyes. Once Miles was settled into his stall, James Cody left Liza at her new home, Windsor Academy.

She took a seat on her tack box, an old one found in a used tack store serving as a large bargan. It was a rough old thing, but her father had gotten it engraved with her name on the side of it in elegant gold print. She liked it. It didn't quite fit in. She found herself exhausted from the travelling, the trip filled with stops to water and check up on Miles, assuring he had sufficient hay. She tossed her red-orange locks aside. Today, she looked somewhat ordinary, which was rather strange for her. She wore a pair of acid wash skinny jeans that looked like they had been dropped in a paper shredder, a pair of Blundstones (which were her least favourite pair of shoes but comfortable nonetheless), and a bright v-neck top with an intricate yellow pattern embroidered on the shoulder. She took a deep breath, glancing up at the large, dapple grey Oldenburg. He munched happily on hay, seemingly unphased by the commotion and the new atmosphere.

The first thing she could think was: what the hell do I do now?

status open
notes this is a horrid intro post, so sorry![/size][/blockquote]

[/justie]

---

The plane ride had been long enough for Olivia Wood. She just hoped that Never Ending Sorrow did alright on his plane as well. After picking him up in the designated area she met up with the man who was to trailer him to Windsor Academy. Olivia felt a bit uncomfortable around him, as he looked very rough around the edges and seemed like he would be a crazy driver or upset Sorry when he was loaded. Once the man grasped Sorry's lead, Olivia let out a little sigh of relief as he calmly and gently coaxed Sorry into the well worn out (translation: practically a rattle-trap) trailer. She climbed into the passenger seat and they set of for Windsor Academy.

She sort of wished that her mother could've been there to help her settle in a little, but she wasn't. She had been to her room quickly to dump off her belongings that weren't horse-related before returning to the trailer to unload Sorry. She paid the trailering fee to the man and once Sorry and his belongings were out of the truck, the man left as quickly as they had arrived. His absence put Olivia at even more ease, which helped keep Sorry calm. Although he wasn't too bothered by anything and seemed quite curious of his new surroundings. Sorry whuffled through the nearby grass and watched every going-on there was to watch around the stables. Okay. So let's put you in your stall and then I can bring all this junk in. she said to him, patting him on the neck.

She pulled the lead and he followed her into the stables where they passed another girl who also seemed to have just arrived. Olivia gave her a warm smile as they passed, focused on putting Sorry into his stall when he decided he would stop and say hello to her as well. He looked at her for a moment with his head turned sideways before whinnying at her and sticking his nose into her shoulder. Now Sorry, you shouldn't be doing that. Not everyone is used to your friendliness. she said, tugging on the lead to get his attention. She found his stall, which was across the aisle and one down from where the girl's horse was. She put him into the stall and closed the door before quickly turning to the other girl. Sorry about him. He's overly friendly. she apoligised to her with a bit of a light chuckle. She stood there for a moment unsure whether to say anything next until she remembered what else she needed to do. Oh yeah! I still have stuff to bring in. Duh, me. I'll be right back. she said to the girl as she dashed out of the barn to collect her things.

Olivia returned to the barn - a stuffed bookbag on her back, another full shoulder bag over her shoulder, and her tack trunk with a small first aid kit balanced on top of it as she waddled back to the barn. She heaved the trunk down next to Sorry's stall door and stood over it for a minute to catch herself. Sorry took this as a perfect opportunity to stick his head over the door and lip at Olivia's shoulder bag. No treats yet. But here's some more hay. she said to him as she pulled a smallish haynet from the tack trunk. The wooden box was actually once very prestigious looking, but with all the years of showing, much of the blue paint had worn off, and Olivia and Sorry's names needed repainted on the front.

Olivia set the rest of her bags down around her and sat down on her trunk and looked over at the girl again with a smile. I'm Olivia wood. I'm from Maine, if you happen to know where it is..This is Sorry. she introduced, gesturing to herself and then to her horse. She looked at the other girl's dappled horse and smiled at him. He was pretty. Olivia looked down at her torn up jeans and picked at some caked mud. Olivia wasn't really dressed for meeting new people, although she found first impressions were almost entirely wrong. She wore a pair of jeans, well worn brown cowboy boots (with clinky spurs), and a sweatshirt, her hair pulled back in the worst ponytail of the year.



/end.

[maddi bb !]

hey soul sister!

[/font]
ain't that mister mister
on the radio, stereo
the way you move ain't fair you know

Liza was not exactly dressed for the barn. Her attire was that of school, or of going out to a club, but it was not barn material. However, she thought nothing of it. The shirt she would wear to any barn normally - a simply offwhite v-neck with wings stretching across her shoulder blades. She had sewn it herself in navy and yellow thread, the accents on the feathers the product of hours of meticulous work. She was patient when she designed her clothes. The jeans, though, were not at all acceptable for the barn. They were a well worn, acid washed, ripped jeans that most riders would laugh at her for riding in. She wasn't planning on riding quite yet. Before she rode, she would change into a pair of comfy jeans or johdpurs.

The moment of relaxation was refreshing and much needed. To move her entire life to a dorm room, and organize and transport all her riding and horse-related things had taken a lot of time and effort, and now Liza was spent. She had never moved in her entire life - it was centered around her father's restaurant, which was a concrete thing and never moved. Moving her whole family would take much too much time. She leaned against the stall door, happy and tired at the exact same time.

When Liza looked up, instead of seeing the prim and neat inside of Windsor's stable, she saw a horse. This wouldn't have been unusual if the horse's nose wasn't happily poking at Liza's fiery red hair. She looked up at the beast, he looked back at her. "Hi, pretty boy,"[/color] she cooed gently, reaching her hand to pat him gently. A tan girl apologized for her horse's behavior, nothing unusual. Liza looked up at her, giving a small smile. She looked pretty and nice, but people generally did when you haven't met them yet. She wore cowboy boots, which hinted at a Western discipline, but Liza was not quick to make assumptions.

The girl returned and Liza blinked. She introduced herself. "Greetings,"[/color] Liza said slightly awkwardly. She was never good with the first meeting. Only when she knew the person better did conversation come easily. Her name was Olivia Wood, and her horse was a beautiful creature. "Hi Olivia,"[/color] she said evenly, scratching the back of her head. "I'm Liza Cody. And yeah, Maine is in America, right?"[/color] A far way to travel for a horse and rider. But then again, Windsor was worth the distance. She hoped that the awkwardness Liza originally gave off would not stop Olivia from speaking with her. She did need to make friends. "I'm sorry, I'm out of it."[/color] Liza apologized, smiling wider.

status open
notes bleck![/size][/blockquote]

[/justie]

---

Olivia smiled when the girl replied to her. She seemed very likeable. She nodded when Liza stated Maine was in America. Olivia looked down at the toe of her boot, trying to think of something clever to say. Or anything to say. She looked up at the horse in the stall behind Liza and took a small step closer to look at him. Where did you find such a beautiful horse? I've never seen a dappled colour quite like his. she asked, tilting her head to one side, in a puzzled sort of fashion.

Olivia really hadn't seen a dapple quite like Liza's before. One of the girls from school had a dapple grey horse at the stable nearby, but he didn't look like this one at all. The girl's was a dark dapple that sometimes looked like a thundercloud. He was rather dull looking. But Liza's horse, he looked quite grand. Of course, Olivia always thought Oldenburgs were grand looking. But this one was much different. His dappled coat gleamed in the sunlight and you couldn't help but smile when it caught the light. Which was what Olivia was doing now - smiling like an idiot. She toned down her smile so she didn't look like a creeper and just looked at how beautiful Liza's horse was.



/end crap post.

[maddi bb !]

hey soul sister!

[/font]
ain't that mister mister
on the radio, stereo
the way you move ain't fair you know

There was a slight lull in conversation, and in that hesitant moments where the exchange of information stopped, Liza contemplated her future at Windsor. Really, she had never been a popular kid. She never tried to be anything or anyone but herself, and that wasn't easy for other children in her other schools to accept. She knew that if she tried to be someone else now, she could fit in easier. She could get herself invited to all the parties and really liked at this school. But she knew, in turn, she would hate herself. She decided to see how the year would work out. Her personality was something she couldn't escape, but she knew that she could try to be liked much more.

Once Olivia asked about Miles, however, Liza's contemplation about how the year in Windsor would go. There was one soft spot Liza had that seemed to melt any weirdness she portrayed when she spoke to anyone. Her horse. Miles was special to her. To anyone else, he was just any old horse. To ride, he was nothing spectacular either. He had his obvious flaws, but Liza really loved him. They didn't have one of those "Hollywood bonds", and honestly, Miles probably knew Liza as the lady that occasionally brought him carrots but most of the time made him work hard. However, Liza loved Miles and couldn't bear the thought of not having him. So when Olivia asked about her geldinng, she responded with a wide smile. After that, conversation came naturally again.

"Well, I always call him my 'diamond in the rough', so to speak. His name is Miles." She began happily, her gazing trailing up from Olivia's face to the dapple grey moving about his stall in a quiet fashion. Miles' story was a little uncanny. He wasn't really abused, but he wasn't loved either. His nature was unwelcome to his past owners and they dumped him a few times, which broke Liza's heart to think about. "He wasn't much when I found him. He came from a small auction, and his personality made him one of the least bidded on horses. He's a nice horse, and has nice lineage, but he didn't turn out into what the past owners wanted and he developed a bunch of vices that made him unfavourable." Liza explained sadly. "But he's great. What about your horse? He's gorgeous." She commented.

status open
notes (:[/blockquote]

[/justie]

---

Once Liza got to talk about Miles, Olivia could tell that she felt more at ease. And who woulndn't, talking about their horse? Olivia always enjoys hearing about those special 'diamond in the rough' horses that always turn out to be the best of friends. Olivia wished she had a sort of story like that, but she didn't. Sorry's background was just sort of dull and normal for a horse. When Liza asked about Sorry, Olivia looked back at her horse for a moment, his head sticking out over the stall door, as if he could engage in their conversation.

Olivia looked back at Liza and gave her a small smile and shrugged. His show name is Never Ending Sorrows. she paused, trying to remember exactly how she had aquired him, but she couldn't remember all of it. And, well..Sorry isn't much of a rags to riches horse or anything. My dad was working at this stable down the road, training some horses. I first had a pony named Reckless, but when I outgrew her Dad bought me Sorry from someone at the stable. she was pretty sure that was how it went about. She thought about it again for a minute and decided that that was how it went down. He's just one of those overly friendly horses that aim to please. He can barrel race and show jump. What about Miles? To Olivia, Miles looked like a jumper, but there was always the possibility that she could be wrong.