Chapter 8: Connections
****
The chestnut colt pranced excitedly towards the track for his morning workout. He knew he would get to gallop today and was raring to go. His handler, a tall, dark-haired teen, laid a settling hand on the colt's neck as they walked.
"Easy Intrepid, you're almost there." Tye's voice soothed. The colt settled almost immediately.
"Tye!" A singsong voice called, "you forgot Intrepid's badge."
"Thanks Ali." Tye smiled as he took the badge from the pretty brunette and clipped it to the colt's bridle. Intrepid snorted at the badge, but let Tye clip it on anyway. What the colt didn't like was the piece of lone newspaper that floated by. It was a bit much; the colt jumped suddenly sideways. Tye put one hand on the horse's shoulder, and the other arm instinctively pushed Aliana behind him. A few little tugs on the colt's bridle and Intrepid was once again settled and paying attention to Tye. Aliana gave Tye a playful punch on the shoulder.
"You goof, I don't need protecting from a spooking horse, I've been around them longer then you have!" Aliana had a playful smile on her face, but she had a point.
"Come on, just 'coz you've got five years on me doesn't mean much." Tye played back.
"Yeah, but the first five years of a child's life are when some of the most crucial things are learned." Aliana put on her best 'top that!' look. Tye just smiled and shook his head.
"Aliana!" Tom, the head trainer called, "Leave that boy alone so he can get that colt to his rider. I've got a workout to finish."
"Okay Dad!" Aliana called over her shoulder. "Gotta go." She said to Tye.
"Catch ya later." Tye said with a smile. A butterfly flapped its wings in Aliana's stomach, as it always did when Tye's emerald green eyes connected with hers, but as usual, she shook it off.
Tye watched Aliana until she turned the corner to go back to the barn then turned to the colt.
"Come on boy, you've got a workout to do."
****
"Okay Sally, one more time. If side A is proportional to side C and we know angle B then we can find side B. See?" Teli indicated to the Geometry book. It was the last study hall of the year and Teli had agreed to tutor Sally for her final exam. It wasn't going so well; Sally was getting frustrated.
"But how with angle B? I don't get this. Why do I even care what side B is?!" Sally complained. Teli glanced down at side B, which was 7.8 cm.
"Alright Sally, we'll stop there for now. Go take a brake and get some water or something, okay?" Sally's relieved smile was all the answer Teli needed.
"Thank you! I'll be back in a minute!" Sally said as she dashed off. Teli leaned back in her chair and sighed. Sometimes it was hard to explain things that just came naturally for her. And something else was bothering Teli: she just couldn't seem to shake the prickle in the back of her mind that seemed to say someone was watching her.
"Teli?" A newly familiar voice asked. Teli looked up, Shane was walking up to her, a smile on his face.
"Hey." Teli could hardly keep the grin from taking over her whole face. "I didn't even realize you went to this school!" A little chuckle escaped Shane's lips.
"Well, after this week, I won't!"
"Lucky." Teli replied. Shane smiled and nodded, but didn't continue in that line of the conversation. Teli felt a now familiar shiver as he caught her eye; she knew what he would say next.
"So, I was thinking, maybe we could hang out on Friday night, you know, go to dinner or something?" Teli could see the confidence in his eyes, but she wasn't about to disappoint.
"Yeah, that'd be great, I'd love to." She said with a grin.
"Okay then, pick you up at 7?"
"Sounds good."
"Alright then." With a charming smile and a nod, Shane turned and walked away. Teli followed him with her eyes until he rounded a corner, then sighed, not realizing until that moment she had been holding her breath. 'Maybe he was why I had that being-watched feeling. I can handle that.' Teli thought with a smile.
Sally came back, seeming refreshed. Teli set to the task of tutoring with a new enthusiasm. Until, that is, she got the prickly feeling in the back of her mind again.
****
Dear Angel,
Sometimes I'm able to forget my worries, the mystery of my past, what I don't understand about me. Sometimes. But then days like today happen and these tiny little incidents bring it all back. You see, I was tutoring Sally and I kept getting this funny prickly in the back of my mind - I swear I was being watched. But see, why wouldn't I sense this some other time earlier? And it wasn't just that 'oh, maybe someone is looking at me' it was 'warning: under surveillance.' For a moment I thought it was Shane but it kept happening after he left. It was just... creepy.
On a happier note, I have a date on Friday. That should be fun. And Friday is the last day of school. Just have to get through these final exams. Not that I'll have to study or anything, a perfect photographic memory does come in handy. Night.
-Teli
****
The chestnut colt pranced excitedly towards the track for his morning workout. He knew he would get to gallop today and was raring to go. His handler, a tall, dark-haired teen, laid a settling hand on the colt's neck as they walked.
"Easy Intrepid, you're almost there." Tye's voice soothed. The colt settled almost immediately.
"Tye!" A singsong voice called, "you forgot Intrepid's badge."
"Thanks Ali." Tye smiled as he took the badge from the pretty brunette and clipped it to the colt's bridle. Intrepid snorted at the badge, but let Tye clip it on anyway. What the colt didn't like was the piece of lone newspaper that floated by. It was a bit much; the colt jumped suddenly sideways. Tye put one hand on the horse's shoulder, and the other arm instinctively pushed Aliana behind him. A few little tugs on the colt's bridle and Intrepid was once again settled and paying attention to Tye. Aliana gave Tye a playful punch on the shoulder.
"You goof, I don't need protecting from a spooking horse, I've been around them longer then you have!" Aliana had a playful smile on her face, but she had a point.
"Come on, just 'coz you've got five years on me doesn't mean much." Tye played back.
"Yeah, but the first five years of a child's life are when some of the most crucial things are learned." Aliana put on her best 'top that!' look. Tye just smiled and shook his head.
"Aliana!" Tom, the head trainer called, "Leave that boy alone so he can get that colt to his rider. I've got a workout to finish."
"Okay Dad!" Aliana called over her shoulder. "Gotta go." She said to Tye.
"Catch ya later." Tye said with a smile. A butterfly flapped its wings in Aliana's stomach, as it always did when Tye's emerald green eyes connected with hers, but as usual, she shook it off.
Tye watched Aliana until she turned the corner to go back to the barn then turned to the colt.
"Come on boy, you've got a workout to do."
****
"Okay Sally, one more time. If side A is proportional to side C and we know angle B then we can find side B. See?" Teli indicated to the Geometry book. It was the last study hall of the year and Teli had agreed to tutor Sally for her final exam. It wasn't going so well; Sally was getting frustrated.
"But how with angle B? I don't get this. Why do I even care what side B is?!" Sally complained. Teli glanced down at side B, which was 7.8 cm.
"Alright Sally, we'll stop there for now. Go take a brake and get some water or something, okay?" Sally's relieved smile was all the answer Teli needed.
"Thank you! I'll be back in a minute!" Sally said as she dashed off. Teli leaned back in her chair and sighed. Sometimes it was hard to explain things that just came naturally for her. And something else was bothering Teli: she just couldn't seem to shake the prickle in the back of her mind that seemed to say someone was watching her.
"Teli?" A newly familiar voice asked. Teli looked up, Shane was walking up to her, a smile on his face.
"Hey." Teli could hardly keep the grin from taking over her whole face. "I didn't even realize you went to this school!" A little chuckle escaped Shane's lips.
"Well, after this week, I won't!"
"Lucky." Teli replied. Shane smiled and nodded, but didn't continue in that line of the conversation. Teli felt a now familiar shiver as he caught her eye; she knew what he would say next.
"So, I was thinking, maybe we could hang out on Friday night, you know, go to dinner or something?" Teli could see the confidence in his eyes, but she wasn't about to disappoint.
"Yeah, that'd be great, I'd love to." She said with a grin.
"Okay then, pick you up at 7?"
"Sounds good."
"Alright then." With a charming smile and a nod, Shane turned and walked away. Teli followed him with her eyes until he rounded a corner, then sighed, not realizing until that moment she had been holding her breath. 'Maybe he was why I had that being-watched feeling. I can handle that.' Teli thought with a smile.
Sally came back, seeming refreshed. Teli set to the task of tutoring with a new enthusiasm. Until, that is, she got the prickly feeling in the back of her mind again.
****
Dear Angel,
Sometimes I'm able to forget my worries, the mystery of my past, what I don't understand about me. Sometimes. But then days like today happen and these tiny little incidents bring it all back. You see, I was tutoring Sally and I kept getting this funny prickly in the back of my mind - I swear I was being watched. But see, why wouldn't I sense this some other time earlier? And it wasn't just that 'oh, maybe someone is looking at me' it was 'warning: under surveillance.' For a moment I thought it was Shane but it kept happening after he left. It was just... creepy.
On a happier note, I have a date on Friday. That should be fun. And Friday is the last day of school. Just have to get through these final exams. Not that I'll have to study or anything, a perfect photographic memory does come in handy. Night.
-Teli