Disclaimer- I still don't own any of the 7th Heaven Characters. I just own the plot and the characters not related to the show.
A/N: YAY! I'm back…hopefully this chapter makes you guys happy. I want to thank the reviewer Faith for kinda making me pissed off at myself and pushing myself to get it done! J Ok, on with the chapter!
Ruthie paced back and fourth, a cloud of dirt was slowly rising around her feet as she cursed and muttered under her breath. Victoria was already pushing her buttons, and the summer had just begun. She stole a glance at the girl, risking that she might not like what she saw. But the Goth was merrily sitting there, glaring coldly at the ground. All around her, the other kids were alive with excitement and purpose. But the other just sat there. Like she was praying that she could just melt and disappear from the stable. Disappear from the world. Suddenly, Ruthie felt a pang of remorse for the girl. She turned and walked over the Jen, who was talking to an eager bunch of younger riders who were elated with the very thought of being on top of a horse.
"Jen, I think it's time we split up the groups and give out the horses." Ruthie said, motioning to Stephanie to join them. Jen nodded. "I take it I'll be teaching the younger kids?" she asked eyeing the group of little ones. Ruthie nodded and turned to Jen, who gave her an accepting look. "I know, I know. I teach the intermediate group." She sighed, cutting off Ruthie before she could speak. The Ruthie smiled. "I will take the advanced group. Along with Victoria." When she received great looks of relief, Ruthie added, "but that does not mean that I won't be asking you to watch over her every once in a while. Got that?" She asked, looking at both girls sternly. They nodded. "Good. Ok, you guys know what to do. See you later." With that, Ruthie hollered over the surprisingly loud racket coming from the campers. "Ok everybody, it's time to get riding!" the mass of kids let out a thunderous cheer. "Now, I know most of you here can guess what groups you'll be put into, but just to make sure, we'll tell you all now." She pulled out a rather long piece of paper, and began to rattle off names. Soon, the big group of children that had been sitting in front of her had melted away to only four girls. All of which were in her riding group.
Ruthie smiled at them slightly. She turned away from them to watch as Jen and Stephanie arranged their kids with their horses and herded them into the cool of the barn. She turned back to face her small but never the less challenging cluster of kids. It consisted of three of the wealthiest children in the town, all of whom were self absorbed brats who, much to Ruthie's dismay, could ride quite well. The fourth, of course, was Victoria. She stood out like a sore thumb between their perfectly groomed hair and expensive hand tailored pants. Ruthie cleared her throat, and pulled out her list of horses. Eight pairs of eyes focused on her. "Ok. This is who's riding who. Suzie Grimes, you'll being riding your horse. Jackie Burns, you'll be riding your horse. Lauren Denn, you'll be riding your horse." She told them needlessly. She turned to Victoria. "And Victoria, you'll be riding Ace. He's the huge black Thoroughbred in the first stall on the right." She explained, pointing over to the massive barn where the horses were located.
The girls all moved suddenly towards the barn, not wanting to waste anymore time dillydallying. Ruthie watched the three wealthy girls saunter ahead of Victoria, making it obvious that they wanted little or no contact with her what so ever. The other didn't seem to notice. 'She must be used to this kind of behavior' Ruthie thought to herself as she also began to walk towards the barn. She knew that none of the kids at the camp were going to accept her, just because that's they way they were. If someone wasn't like them, or they looked different, they were instantaneously thought of as a class A weirdo and would forever be ignored. But the fact that Victoria brought if upon herself eased a bit of the sympathy she had felt for the girl moments ago. 'If she wanted to make friends here, she wouldn't have said all those threats to the other kids.' She told herself as she made her way into the barn.
After a rather rough half hour in which the campers got their horses ready to ride, Ruthie had made the painful discovery that Victoria did indeed know how to ride and take care of a horse. "I don't need your help. Why don't you go help one of those prissy rich girls who can't do anything for themselves?" Was her bitter reply to Ruthie's innocent offer to assist her in taking up. Not only was the Goth correct that she didn't need any help, but almost all of the wealthy girls had needed assistance because they didn't want to dirty their hands. But now that her little group was outside in the vast arena, she was ready to get started. "Right. Spread out and walk your horses out to warm them up!" she began, feeling just a bit revived. The girls nudged their horses, and moved out on to the rail. She could just make out the expression on Victoria's face, and it was one of surprising pleasure. Ruthie had never expected to see such a look on her face. But then again, being on the back of a horse could do many things to a person.
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A/n: so, what do you think? Was it worth the wait? Review please!!!!! Thanks so much for waiting for me to finish! J J
-Camouflaged.
