.36 Hours and Counting.

[Andrew Harrison]

36 Hours and Counting
Andrew Harrison
senior.17.male.single

The cool summer rain pelted down as Andrew walked toward the main area of the student living area. His plane had landed early that morning, and Andrew was looking forward to sitting down for once. Once Jazz was settled in her new stall for the school year he had hurried to unpack. Arriving at the dorms he found not only was the dorm hall named ‘Andrew Dorms’ but his roommate was indeed also an Andrew. Andrew left the boxes and bags unpacked, preferring instead to go to the main lounge to relax for a little, unpacking could wait.

Walking toward the building, he felt the rainfall consistently on the red windbreaker. It was taking him a while to get used to the cooler weather. The Palm Beach native shivered slightly before reaching the door. He sighed inwardly as he was reminded of the warmth back home. He shook the coat out after removing it. Andrew was dressed casually, dark jeans and a loose grey t-shirt. Walking into the lounge area, he noticed it was fairly quiet on the rainy afternoon.

He walked up to the coffee area, grabbing the warm drink and finding a seat. He sat down thinking about his day so far… He had left his house in Palm Beach around 2:30 am to catch the 4 am plane to Newark, New Jersey the day before. From there he caught a plane to Denver, Colorado at 6:30 am. After reaching Denver he was at the Denver airport for 2 hours before leaving on the 3 pm flight to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The last plane ride was quick and he landed in Jackson Hole around 4:30 pm. The airport was tiny with two terminals and he collected his baggage that had not been sent to the school already quickly. This included his most prized possession after Jazz, his Hermes Brasilia; he had had the saddle for a while now. It was then he took a taxi to the town of Jackson Hole, to finally meet up with his horse, which had hit Jackson Hole that morning. Jazz had left Miracle Farms in Florida the day before Andrew had left. She had stayed one night in Alabama before heading to Jackson Hole where she had waited patiently for Andrew.

Why would a horse take so long to travel? Why did it take Andrew two days to get to school? The answer was simple. Jazz was a beautiful mare, bred for the jumpers and trained well. To endanger the horse by subjecting it to a long trailer ride would be wrong. Especially when they had an open schedule to cater to her needs. Jazz could of made the long trip in one ride, but Andrew and his family decided it was better to take a long time, especially with the high-strung nature of the mare.

Andrew had walked into the stable and was immediately greeted with a whinny from the far stall. “Oh Jazz, calm down.” He laughed slightly walking down the aisle. The mare had poked her head out of the stall and was watching him walk toward the stall. He checked her, making sure she didn’t have any what his father called, ‘travel scars’. He was pleased to notice the young mare didn’t look hurt in any way and was eating. 15 minutes later he got in the taxi and headed to the small hotel for the night. He was asleep almost as soon as he turned off the lights and flipped the TV. Onto the news channel that was currently warning viewers about the horrors of the neighborhood vandals.

Andrew sighed. His trip had been long. From Jackson Hole that morning he had headed to Helena, Montana riding in the truck of the trailer where Jazz was wrapped and loaded. It was about a 7 hours drive from Jackson Hole, through Yellowstone Park and into Helena. Arriving at about 10 am he had unloaded the mare into the stables on the school ground and registered himself. Finding his dorm was a challenge but finally he had gotten there, only to be surprised that he was the earliest of his roommates. Or roommate as it stood right now. Andrew hadn’t met the other Andrew but he was sure it was going to come in time. Now at about 2:30 pm he realized that he had been traveling for 36 hours and was beat.

After taking another sip of the hot liquid he laid his head back on the couch cushion and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. He was too wired to take a nap now, the last 36 hours had been a blur and he grabbed a magazine, it was the kind of magazine you get when you go some place as a tourist. This one was aptly named ‘Helena, Welcome to the Heart of the West.’ Andrew opened it and started reading about the gold rush. His brain barely taking in the information that he was reading.

[Kristina Richards]

OOC// Can't resist a thread, first guy one I have found!

Kristina had been here for a night; a long one at that. Having finally found a school that would cater her needs, she had been excited to leave her family behind and find a life among competition and other riders; hopefully none too competitive in her division. Finding friends in a new place was tough but here it would be a nightmare; although she had already met Brittany and Renee, juniors, or so Kristina could remember. No guys so far, Kristina smirked; she was always a big flirt but so far without guys she was just the sweet, nice girl. When it came to guys and competition, Kris was a pregnant dog! If one of her close guy friends was dating a girl she didn’t think worthy, well that girl should run and hide. Although Kristina wasn’t controlling she just was like a big sister who wanted best. Kristina sighed as she thought of her social life going down the drain so far; she hadn’t been in a serious relationship for a while, but she was looking forward to at least meeting a guy, even if he was just a friend!

As the rain poured, Kristina walked the sidewalk with a hoodie on, she was staying under the awnings and running in the gaps between the few dry spots. Her life was interesting right now, having a two hour flight straight from home to here wasn’t bad but it made her stressed a bit, at least she had slept in a dry spot, it had been raining since she arrived. She smiled feeling a bit sad for herself, she had slept in an empty dorm but she was transferring to an apartment since the occupants of the dorm arrived today; now the trouble was finding a roommate. The expense of an apartment was too much for her to achieve on her own, too bad she couldn’t go to her boyish days when she could share one with a guy and not be called a hoe or very *friendly* person for once. The auburn haired girl ducked into the school building; her hoodie was splattered with rain and her hair damp.

Kristina figured she’d chill in the lounge for a few hours until she got bored, although she already was. Walking down the hall she found the door and pushed it open. She was looking down at the floor but as she walked in she saw two feet; they came with jeaned legs and a red slicker…These were attached to an actual male human, and he wasn’t a teacher, at least he didn’t look like it. Kristina took in a sharp breath and raised her eyes to the face of the teenager; immediately she thought of first impressions and how she looked…A damp girl who was probably pathetic looking, how lovely. Krisitna let out her breath in a silent huff. She licked her lips in habit and then made her entrance. “Hi, I’m Kristina.”
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[Andrew Harrison]

Andrew placed the magazine down onto the table; his eyes glazed over, and took another sip of coffee. Leaning his head back he sighed. Andrew had never been more bored. Although he’d never tell you, Andrew was homesick. He was the kind of guy that got homesick when he didn’t have anything occupying his mind or when conditions were so different than home. In this case both reasons were true. Andrew missed Palm Beach. He missed the hot summer days, the hot girls, the beach, his family, and the horses back home. Looking out of one of the windows in the lounge he chuckled slightly. Here it was raining. For the first time in a very long time he was comfortably wearing jeans and a t-shirt and even a jacket in some cases – all during summer! Back home the shirt would have been shed already to ease the heat during hard work at the barn. Andrew was pretty much convinced that if he took off his shirt in this weather his body would freeze and he’d die. Very manly, Andrew, very manly.

The idea of hot girls on the beach got him thinking. He hadn’t really been in a relationship for a while. Sure he had friends that were girls, and sure he had crushes but nothing so extreme that he felt like acting on them. Much to many a girl’s chagrin. Andrew prided himself in being the kind of guy that really had no problems talking to girls. He just wasn’t the type to jump the gun. He knew fun from commitment quite well. He smiled to himself thinking of the girls back home. Most of them rode horses, some even at his parents’ stables. But that was a lesson that was hard learned; don’t mix work and romance. It wasn’t hard to fall for the shirtless rider who just happened to have muscles and be the owner’s youngest son. And it wasn’t hard for Andrew or his other two brothers to fall for the lean, beautiful, wealthy teenage girls that often boarded their horses there. Luckily, for Andrew, he didn’t go to the high-end private school back home. He had down to earth girlfriends that might have a horse or two.

Andrew took another sip of coffee and realizing the cup was empty stood up. He stretched, making his tall 6’2” frame look even bigger. He walked to the trashcan and threw out the paper cup before heading back to the couch. Getting there he closed his eyes, maybe the ghost town would stay like that. It was then he noticed someone walk in, finally, the lounge felt like a ghost town.

She was wet from the rain, her hair damp as was the hood of her sweatshirt. She seemed to not notice him sitting there until she was basically on-top of his outstretched legs. He grunted quietly when awakened from what he hoped would be a fruitful nap. Guess not.

He opened his eyes and looked straight at her. “Hi Kristina. I’m Andrew.” He looked at her before shaking his head, “Sorry where are my manners.” Andrew proceeded to stand up and motion at the chairs around him and the couch. “Take a seat, I’ll be right back. I’m getting you some coffee, you look cold.” There Andrew went again. Andrew sometimes seemed to exist only to make others around him happy. He claimed that seeing others taken care of made him happy. He smiled at the girl. This was normal for Andrew. But a tiny part of him just wanted to take a nap.

[Kristina Richards]

Embarrassed. That was something Kristina hardly felt; she was always had the confidence around guys because she could talk to them in their underwear and not bat and eye. She was rarely lost for words as well; kind of funny that she couldn’t remember the last time she couldn’t speak or blushed, it was kind of sad too. Kristina sighed inwardly, she was tired of this feeling…she felt so blah! Her mind was abuzz and her heart racing at the entrance, it had gone whacked, amazing the first guy here and she was already screwing up her impressions. Maybe even though she was messy now, she could clean things up and at least be this Andrew’s friend.

Heat crept up Kristina’s face; her mouth ran dry, and her face was utter surprise. “I…I am so sorry! I wasn’t paying any attention…” Her voice trailed off as the guy stood and said words that she never had heard unless they were from a boyfriend… Surprise kept her stuttering and tongue tied. She felt horribly embarrassed that she had almost walked on him. “No, no it’s really okay, Andrew.” She knew she had just interrupted something he probably would have rather been doing than catering to a girl he hardly knew; although Kristina was mildly grateful.

Her damp hair clung to her face, the waves almost out of control, her blue eyes took in the guy’s details, she couldn’t help but to look him over and while he passed her. She smiled faintly, suddenly tired and fatigued but she couldn’t just let him comfort her, it wasn’t right. While her mind still tried to unclutter, Kristina took a seat, off to the side of where the boy had been sitting, at least so he could resume his seat. Her eyes were glued to his face and she silently pleaded him to not be this nice, she just couldn’t let him be a servant to her, how did that make her look? He already looked fine, Kristina grinned inwardly, her hormones still went psycho, even with a foggy mind.

“Really, Andrew, you don’t have to get me a cup of coffee.” We just met…. She didn’t add that because, it sounded weird to her, and surely it would to him. What?! So he can get me coffee when we know each other better?! She was so un happy with her actions and words, how stupid she must seem…Wow, big surprise that he would even return, maybe he would leave and not come back…Although it would hurt Kristina, girls were fun to talk to but guys were more fun, because she just was so relaxed, even with an acquaintance. Kristina chewed her lip in failure; win the ride with Ven, lose the social life with a new guy.

[Andrew Harrison]

Andrew heard the girl protest at first. "No really, don't worry about it. Sit." The last word was a command yet it was soft, as if he was trying to get her to settle, as he would talk to a horse. He walked over to the coffee, getting her a cup and refilling his own he brought it back to the couch. Noticing that she had kept his seat open he smiled. Andrew had accepted by now that he would not be getting back to sleep anytime soon, unfortunatly. But on the plus side, this girl was one of the first people he had met on campus, and she seemed nice.

"Here you go." he handed the cup to her with a smile. Before Andrew's mother had died she had made him learn great manners. Sasha Harrison had been the sweetheart of Palm Beach. Always with a smile on her face she catered to everyone's needs before her own. Andrew had taken after her mother in that respect. If he found no reason to hate you he would bend over backwards to make sure you were comfortable.

He sat down calmly next to the girl and noticed that she was quite embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I'm putting you on the spot." He smiled warmly. He hated the feeling of embarrasment, Andrew was not a big fan of people bowing over for him.

Trying to start conversation he smiled in her direction, "So, is it just me or is it freaking cold outside?" He chuckled slightly, his eyes lighting up and his smile widening. "So where you from? I'm from Palm Beach myself." He looked towards her again. HE figured this was a good ice breaker. It wasn't so personal that it made people uncomfortable but at the same time it wasn't a generalization like a standard weather question.

Andrew was quite calm this whole time and wished Kristina would calm down too. She was still acting very embarrassed and this in turn made Andrew quite uncomfortable. Andrew was sure she'd be easier to talk too once the usual awkwardness of meeting a new person wore off. Andrew was a pretty outgoing person, expecially around girls. However he was tired today and wasn't making the exceptional attept at trying to befriend her. He felt kind of bad and hoped his quite demenor wasn't being interpreted by the girl as being rude.

Taking another sip of his coffee he awaited her response and placed the cup back on the table.

[Kristina Richards]

Kristina smiled back warmly at the guy; he was one of the sweetest she had met, completely in her life, if not the sweetest of all. Catering to her needs was something that Kristina was used to doing herself unless she was sick, usually very sick. She grasped the coffee with both hands and let the warmth rise through her fingertips and liven up her hands. She took a sip and relished the searing warmth that spread throughout her body and made her feel less chilled form the dampness of the weather. She moved over a little more to give the boy more room, that way she didn’t seem to be trying to invade his space. She smiled still and shook her head; this was absolutely too much for an acquaintance to do for her.

“Thanks so much, you really shouldn’t have…” She looked into her coffee in spite of herself. Those blushes that just crept into you cheeks had invaded her more than necessary. She listened to his questions and chewed her bottom lip passively. He was outgoing, almost as much as her, but she was a little shy right now; he had just tended to her and she wasn’t really used to that…

“Um… Yea, that rain really ruins the summer. Yesterday it was pretty outside…” She smiled and looked up form the steaming, Styrofoam cup. She gave a small, shy smile but gave into the ice breakers. She traced the open-faced cup with her forefinger and nodded. “Wow…Palm beach…I’m from North Dakota*.” She said with a little down note. She had been on many vacations to Florida, once to Palm Beach, and also had been to Jamaica and Key West. She loved it there but hadn’t really spent more than three weeks in any vacation spot.

“Palm beach is a while away, and much warmer than here… How in the world can you adjust? Every time we went to Florida or Key West, I could never get over how much cooler it was in the north.” Kristina grinned and her talkative side kicked back up. She was get more relaxed and careless about how exactly she looked. Although, she was still a little aware of the fact she looked like a tornado hit her, she let her friendly side peek out, and then jump into the room. She thought about shredding her damp hoodie, her shirt beneath was an old school shirt, from her previous high school, and beneath that was a beater. She twitched her nose in thought and waited to let the room gain a warmer temperature between the two students before she looked like she was stripping…

OOC:// I am not fully sure if I have said where she is from, it escapes me but I will correct this is I made a mistake.

[Andrew Harrison]

Andrew watched the girl take a drink from her cup. He smiled finding that she looked like she appreciated the small motion of kindness. He took a drink from his own cup before looking her over. Sure her hair was windswept and plastered to her frame from the rain but that didn't really bother Andrew. Andrew had had time to dry and that was probably, he figured, the only reason why his hair was not like Kristina's if not worse. He noticed her sweatshirt was wet but left it at that. He was not going to bring attention to it and make her feel anymore uncomfortable than she already looked like she felt. He figured that she was a smart girl and would tend to her own needs and remove the offending article of clothing if the need arose. No reason for Andrew to invade her personal space. He also did not want to seem to forward. How would that be for a first meeting? Hey do you want to take you hoodie off? Yeah that would fly well.

Hearing her speak he smiled, "Hey it's no problem. No problem at all." He looked at her before showing a face of pretend shock. "It was nice here yesterday? Just figures, the day I roll into town it starts to rain and the temperature seems to drop twenty degrees." He chuckled under his breath. That would end up being just his luck. Andrew wasn't exactly showered with luck. Instead his parents had instilled in him a work ethic that made things happen for him, but not usually by luck. Andrew was barely surprised with his successes or his failures.

"It's a lot colder here." He said with a quick low laugh. "And you can probably see I'm not exactly adjusting the best. The time swap has me pretty irritated and the change in weather....whoo....I'm about ready to crawl into my dorm bed and sleep until the times are back in whack and the sun comes out for good." And he was truly ready to do that. It was too cold and too late by his internal clock. "North Dakota? That's cool. What part? This is probably the furthest west I've ever gone in the US actually." He smiled and opened his mouth again. "You've been to Palm Beach, that's neat. Did you like it there?" He kept the smile on his face and took another sip of coffee. The coldness was slowly edging away but the poor boy was still extremely cold and tired. He enviously thought of the warmth back home and the pool, he would kill to be able to go swimming outside right now. Well not right now exactly, he had just made what he hoped would be a friend or something. No need to mess that up, especially in a environment so new, he'd need all the friends he could find. But something about swimming endless meaningless laps made him feel calmer and often gave him energy.

Craning his neck back he looked at the ceiling quickly stretching his back out slightly. "Do you have any horses?" He turned and smiled at her.

[Kristina Richards]

When it all came down to it, Kristina would have rather been wearing her school shirt instead of the damp hoodie. Surprisingly it was dry and warm compared to the heavy, wet sweatshirt that threatened to suffocate her and chill her to death. She edged a away more and then moved awkwardly to retract her arms within the article of clothing; with success she pushed her arms to the bottom and out of the hoodie and removed it over her head. She sighed lightly and placed the hoodie on the other side of her. She turned slightly toward Andrew. “Sorry, my hoodie was getting really gross feeling…” She wasn’t really meaning to look like she was being forward but she wasn’t comfortable in the hoodie and it was awkward for her. She regretted choosing her almost tight fit of a school shirt; even though the beater was partially seen where the tee was coming up short between her flat stomach and jeans. It clung to her figure like a baby tee but really it had been extremely loose last year. Screen-printed on the front was a volley ball, large in the middle, and the word Charger above and High below the ball. On the back it had Kristina Richards, and in smaller print Kris – Setter. She was proud of her volleyball career but it was post-poned since she didn’t exactly see a volleyball team for the academy, and she doubted they’d have one.

She adjusted herself on the couch and continued the current conversation. She laughed at the pretend surprise note in Andrew’s voice. She really enjoyed hearing him talk, he had that aura about him that encouraged Kristina to talk and relax. “Yea, it’s almost unbelievable but completely true.” She smiled and returned her gaze to the coffee cup. She agreed about the luck thing; she was surprised it hadn’t happened to her. Dumb luck was not something to count on carrying you to your dreams or goals.

Kristina nodded affirmatively that she too wished to crawl into a bed and sleep, although she was in an apartment and had to find a roommate soon. “Well, the south eastern part, Valley City, actually[/b]” She smiled ruefully; some would call her a valley girl but really she had only lived there for four years of her life, her dad had decided to move them to North Dakota from Chicago when Kristina’s distant cousin had died. She hadn’t been close so she wasn’t affected but her dad had been a little crushed and more of her family had suffered than her immediate family. “Palm beach was my favorite, besides Jamaica. We went there twice and then moved on to explore some Key West sites and stuff… I always met some really nice people in Palm Beach and once we took a horse I used ot own and boarded it in a barn close to our Condo…it was nice. I’d love to go back, I bet you miss it.” She grinned and relished her memories of the summer love she had always encountered, of course it would turn into a very close friendship in the end; Kristina was promiscuous, just friendly and outgoing…

Kristina snapped back to earth when Andrew mentioned horses. Her love of the majestic equines had, and has, been long and bumpy. She nodded; so intensely trying to describe the mess of a horse she had now. “Yes, my four, almost five, year old gelding is the biggest baby and brat I think I have met, besides when foals grow to the extremely curious age. What about you?” Kristina was careful to be sure she included inquiries about Andrew, she didn’t want to seem rude and really was interested in knowing about his life…Considering hers bored her direly.

[Andrew Harrison]

A part of Andrew was relieved when she moved to take off the hoodie. Not to be forward, but I have to admit you look more comfortable. I didn't want to say anything. That is basically my older brother's best pick-up line. 'Here let me help you' He laughed slightly. He had two older brothers, and all three of them looked alike Andrew being the tallest and the leanest however. Looking at her shirt he then looked back up at her. You play volleyball? Then thinking of the last question he had to laugh again, Sorry that was probably the stupidest question you've ever gotten. I'm good at asking those kinds of things, sadly. He took another sip of coffee.

Well next time you want nice weather just ship me away and volia you've got it. He laughed. That was the story of his life. My mother always told me that if she ever needed a drought cured, just get me to show at one of the local shows back home. It didn't happen at any other show but the little local shows, wow, boy would it rain. It was things like this that made him remeber his mother fondly. His mother, Sasha, had died when he was only 12. However Sandi had become a good replacement.

Yeah, I never really got to travel as a kid, it was mostly horseshows or polo matches all the time. My parents own Miracle Farms down there so the closest I ever got to a real vacation was when we would go to Argentina or over to Europe to look for horses. But I figure that I'm lucky. I mean, lots of our clients bring their horses to us if they come to vacation in Palm Beach so that must mean I live in a pretty nice place. He did miss it, the girls, the warmth, the horses. Everything there was important to him in some way or another.

Andrew listened to Kristina talk about her horse. He sounded like a handful but this girl looked like she could handle it. When he was asked about his horse he took a moment to respond. How do you describe an imported jumper that wasn't even supposed to be his and not supposed to be a jumper but that was just how things worked out? Her name's Jazz, she's a 7 year old imported holsteiner x thoroughbred cross. Real sweet but not that forgiving. He really didn't want to sound like he was bragging at all, this was the business his family was in, and had been, and probably would be in for the next 50 years. He loved Jazz, since she was the first horse that had been only his. She was the first horse he had trained from the age of four and the first horse that no one else rode without his permission. He usually rode the green horses in competition getting them ready to be sold or getting them ready for the owners who couldn't be bothered.

[Kristina Richards]

Kristina shifted again and was now sitting slightly on her right leg; having worn jeans, they were still a little wet but she didn’t mind too much, it was just a habit that took over when she was comfortable. She smiled at Andrew’s response to her shredding of clothing. A light chuckle came out and she grinned; showing her large white teeth that dazzled the deprived. “It’s okay… I have heard some cheesy pick-ups and well, I never fell for them unless I was sure the guy could handle me, I must admit I am a mess…” She sighed lightly and shook her head. She only had a younger brother and she advised him to do without those annoying lines some guys found cute but were utterly annoying. “Yea, I don’t take you as the kind of guy to try to hit on someone you just met… I do play, it’s not dumb, I bought a shirt that shrunk completely in my sophomore year and I gave it to my best friend, who is petite and definitely doesn’t play volleyball.” She smiled again and took a sip of coffee.

Kristina laughed a little when Andrew starting talking about the weather. She wasn’t sure if she should answer since it was more of a memory state. She listened intently and nodded. From the way he talked it seemed like his mother was gone…Kristina was afraid to ask, incase she provoked him, and she definitely didn’t want the mood to go to depression just incase he got upset. She licked her lips lightly and smiled softly. “I wouldn’t send you away just for nice weather…there’s a such thing as indoor arenas for riding and clothes for warmth.” She smiled encouragingly, she was growing to enjoy Andrew’s company and forgot about the nice bed back at the apartment.

“You beat me to Europe! Which countries did you go to? I am mainly of German decent so I have always wanted to visit there, my great grandmother lived there but she died a year ago… I didn’t get to go to the funeral because my dad couldn’t take off and mom…well she doesn’t go anywhere without my dad if it’s too far away.” She was awed at his luck of going across the world to Europe, she desperately wanted to go. “You know that barn name rings a bell but I think it wasn’t the one we ended up boarding at….sorry for the non business.” Kristina shrugged. Her dad had controlled everything the year they took the old mare; he had visited the barns a week before they actually took the vacations and he chose the one he liked, not to say Kristina hadn’t liked it but she had met girls that had boarded at Andrew’s family’s barn. Too bad she hadn’t boarded there; then she would have already met this cutie… and his brothers. She pushed back the thought in disgrace she was a naughty girl sometimes.

“She sounds lovely. Ven, my gelding, is mainly a dressage horse, he is really good for a four year old, but he jumps a little which keeps him from his best in dressage, he can be a little ADD sometimes. Wow…where was Jazz imported from?” Kristina sipped more coffee and faced Andrew; his mare sounded really nice and she couldn’t wait to see her, although confusion arose when Andrew mentioned unforgiving. “What do you mean unforgiving?” Kristina felt stupid but it was a broad statement to use unforgiving.

[Andrew Harrison]

Andrew smiled more at ease seeing that he hadn't made a total fool out of himself. That was always a good thing. His older brothers had not always been people that Andrew could look up to for advice. For the most part they liked helping their younger brother. But they also enjoyed pulling the younger brother's leg, and doing so quite often and most likely infront of a girl that Andrew found particularly appealing. That's nice that you warned your little brothers, mine didn't offer me the same courtesy. He laughed quietly before continuing, That's neat that you play. With the farm and the horses I never really got into team sports. I did really enjoyed playing hockey when I was younger though. He shrugged. Team sports had never really been his cup of tea. He got his needed exercise from working around the farm and sometimes would hit the gym if he had time. His father had often joked that Andrew had more injuries and had shed more blood through riding than he would have playing a lifetime of hockey, and Andrew agreed. He took another sip of coffee and listened to her. He was quite interested.

Noticing her pause he filled in the blank for her. My mother died when I was 12. He shrugged again. It had been a while and while he missed her dearly he had accepted the death and chose to continue being upbeat and outgoing, like she would have wanted him to be. Andrew gave a quick smile showing that this topic was not going to turn him into the depressed Andrew you would have expected. She died in a car accident, and when I was 15 my father married my step-mom, Sandi. With that he was silent. This was one of those topics where the subject closed quickly with Andrew. He would prefer not to here about how sorry she was or whatever, mourning wouldn't bring her back and that was a fact. He smiled at her next statement, That's good to know.

He laughed at the obvious excitement for Europe. Umm, well I've been to Ireland to look at jumpers, we went to England to look for some polo ponies, we went to France and Germany but there weren't any really nice hunters when we were there there were a lot of dressage and jumpers for sale, we picked up Jazz in Belgium, and we got Sandi's two hunters in Italy as strange as it would seem. He shrugged sort of embarrassed. His family wasn't overwhelmingly rich, they usually went overseas for their clients. These trips had been business not vacation.

When she mentioned the barn he laughed. My father was never good with the customers, usually he'd have my older brother or Sandi answer the phone. They never lose clients. Your family probably contacted my dad. He doesn't exactly understand that we, in essence, work for the clients. He seems to think it's the other way around. He laughed again showing off the white teeth.

Ven sounds like a horse with potential, expecially at four. Yeah, we got Jazz from Belgium for a girl looking for a horse to take her into the juniors. We brought her back and the girl decided that Jazz was too fast, which is partially true, she's very sensative which is often mistaken for her being "hot or fresh". So instead of sending her back, Sandi let me ride her in the hunters and then try her in the jumpers, which proved to be her calling. Andrew smiled. Through working at an active show barn he had learned quickly that some clients could be divas. And he dealt with it.

Hmmm, by unforgiving I mean if I make a mistake, such as tipping, going too long, or too short to the fence, she's very wary of jumping it again, or any jump for that matter. She likes her riders to be almost pin point perfect. I've hit dirt quite a lot while learning that. Andrew wasn't trying to say the Jazz was a dirty stopper but she wasn't exactly the angel you wanted her to be on course. She's only 7 so there is a slight chance she'll grow out of it. Most likely not though. He laughed.

[Kristina Richards]

Kristina smiled; hockey was a nice sport to watch, the abuse the players receive in the ring is immense, just like in horse riding, only different ways. She looked at Andrew, he was fit and she figured the barn work helped but she could have passed him as a sensitive jock, if she ever met, or even saw one! “Hockey is a cool sport, the whole ice and coldness doesn’t irk me but then again the thrill of watching the sport makes up for it.” She looked at her coffee wondering if she had made any sense; feeling stupid she drank some more coffee to shake the feeling. She didn’t exactly want this conversation to end but she knew it would come to a close soon and her insides protested with a knotting sensation.

Kristina was silent while Andrew explained his parent situation she had felt that he meant to close the subject with his last statement so she held back the sorry for his loss; had she known him better she would have hugged him or offered some sort of simple measure of comfort and knowledge that in a friendly way he was still loved, but she reminded herself she didn’t know him enough to choose this method. She simply nodded and gave her respects silently and returned to their conversation. She smiled a little at his response to her reassurance of not sending him away. She blushed slightly thinking of a million things he could possibly think about her.

Summing up the European trip he explained his acquiring of Jazz; Kristina thought of how they had searched for three months for Ven and simply went to the breeders and bought him, so simple and clean. “Wow… My family isn’t in to horses like myself. I am surprised I really got in as deep as I have. Are the hunters common in Italy?” Kristina hadn’t really thought much around the main jumping and dressage breeds in Europe, how blind did she seem now? She was sure she looked stupid but Andrew had the family advantage over her. She licked her lips and smiled softly, picturing herself in Europe was hard, especially since she arrived at the academy.

Kristina perked up at his compliment and description of her and his horse. She gave a soft laugh and nodded. “Ven is a handful but I am hoping he proves himself as he matures, right now he could be jumping 4’ maybe 5’ jumps but I have held him back a little… I don’t want to over stretch him at a young age.” Kristina was a little worried she was keeping him behind too much but she wanted the best for her little, big guy. As she thought this she smiled faintly on the nonsense it made with the oxymoron. “When I first started riding all I wanted was speed but I learned quickly that wasn’t exactly good. This one girl at the barn had a horse that was too hot headed for her and she almost sold him to slaughter because she didn’t want him, luckily my trainer bought him instead and retrained him to cross country, something he was almost made for…Funny how horses are so alike with humans.” Kristina merely murmured the last bit in thought. She almost hadn’t heard the explanation about Andrew’s meaning of unforgiving.

“Oh wow. Ihaven’t encountered a problem with Ven like that but I’m sure we will hit that road sometime.” Kristina smiled. “You never know, Jazz may just surprise you, although it sort of seems like it’s a reaction to a previous accident, I’m probably wrong but it’s similar to an old horse my friend had, he did the exact same thing only he really did have some accident records.” Kristina shrugged in hopeful way of helping Andrew possibly get to the bottom of the problem.

[Andrew Harrison]

Yeah, I think the major pull when I was younger was to get out of the summer sun. Work with horses, get sweaty, go to arena, cool off, rinse and repeat. Now though, I'm a big fan. It's something I do without the rest of the 'horse show crowd'. He laughed. Andrew had made a bunch of friends playing hockey. At first the other boys had seen him as the quiet loner who rode horses, which was what many of their sisters' did. However, in time Andrew had shown them that riding was more than braids and looking pretty. He had shown them the more 'masculine' side of the sport. Not to mention the cute girls were always an instant hit. These boys were still good friends, often bringing him to the rink to play some pick-up hockey and every once in a while the group of boys would load up in the car and drive to Tampa to watch the Lightning play. However, now that Andrew was at the Academy the majority of his hockey would be the stuff watched on the communal tv at the lounge and dorms. But beware, once playoff season started -- blood would be shed for that TV.

He nodded thankful that she hadn't made a big deal about his late-mother. That was the biggest problem with making new friends he found out. It seemed once he told them his mother had died they were overly cautious, not talking about family, or their mothers. This bothered Andrew. You should talk about your family, being thankful you still have all of them.

Well, hunters isn't a internationally recognized sport. Overseas they concentrate more on jumpers and dressage. The more 'classical' of disciplines. All their horses are trained extremely well, and many double as great hunters but usually you buy them as jumpers. He smiled awkwardly aware that the coversation was comming to a close. He was sort of saddened by this. Kristina was awesome. He liked her a lot and enjoyed talking to her. He actually enjoyed the fact that she was not one of the uptight divas back home, constantly reminding him that they had money, imported horses, and were totally available.

He listened to Kristina talk about her horse. He sounded like quite a horse. Well, best of luck to you with Ven, I'll have to come out and see him sometime. He smiled before continuing, For a 7 year old mare, Jazz is right on track. We just finished a year in the 3'6" jumpers so now it's onto the Level 4/5 jumpers. We're hoping she'll make a good A/o jumper. Maybe a little grand prix but we'll see. Andrew had seen some bad accidents with people pushing young horses to fast and too soon. Their joints were still developing until they were in some cases six years old.

He listened to her talk about the problem, That could be. Andrew shrugged. The mare was pretty upredictable and so any help was appricated. we've been thinking, back home, that it's just her sensitivity.

[Kristina Richards]

Kristina hated being hot and sweaty, if it was in the work way; of course one would know the fun way would be well, fun. Her thoughts screamed her opinions and she blinked to clear her mind of those ones to be embarrassed of if you just met someone. “I hated getting sweaty and dirty back home…when I worked outside. I can’t imagine living in Florida where it already is hot outside.” A faint grin showed on her face as that one thought bubbled to the top again. She was absolutely psychotic; she wondered how she even kept people form running away from her sometimes. She thought about hockey and winced form the memory of last year’s finals. The one largest accident she could remember. How sad that the one player from Anaheim Ducks got her fingers sliced off from a skate and his ankle broken; not to mention how many teeth he had probably knocked out form his fall. Maybe that was one pull of hockey, the danger and risk, just like riding.

She smiled when Andrew threw in the rinse and repeat. It was amazing how funny simple quotes could be when thrown into random conversations; or maybe Kristina just laughed about too many things or too much. She downed the rest of her coffee and sighed inwardly; it was sad that her coffee was gone and her clothes pretty much dry. She had reason to leave but more reason to stay. Why should she end her nice time with Andrew? He was really the only guy she had met here and some things never changed for her. She was one of the guys back home, except she didn’t have manly tools; she was the sister, the cutie, the one they loved so much. The one that if her boyfriend was acting naughty or broke her heart, well, the boys took care of her and that guy. Her role at school was to be a matchmaker and help girls get courage to talk to guys and vice versa! She was missing the guy conversations that girls didn’t understand and she was missing her best friends that challenged her and made her who she was. Now that she found Andrew she felt almost at home; I mean who knows what kind of guys were here? She didn’t like the snotty, prep guys, but loved hanging with the jocks and partiers. Maybe she was homesick but Andrew cleared that up for now. So why leave? I’m staying.

“Wow, you know your stuff. My wish was to get an imported horse with potential for Grand Prix jumping, or Olympic jumping. Instead I got Ven. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great, but sometimes I really don’t think he has the stuff to do jumping, he’s more of a dressage boy, and boy is he good for a youngling.” Her middle statement was quick to come out after she said her first two sentences. She realized she had just sounded like a stuck up brat who was mad that they didn’t get what they wanted. Kristina had gotten what she wanted, just, in a different form. She was blessed and she knew it, she accepted it and embraced it. She was proud of her horse and she wouldn’t let anyone tear him down, not even herself.

“You know Jazz more than I do so, your probably more correct than I am. I just knew of a horse like that. I, compared to you, have an acute sense of knowledge on horses and training. Maybe sometime you could get up on Ven and jump him.” Kristina didn’t mind a knowledgeable and experienced rider trying out her horse, and it was rare she offered a ride for someone but she thought that Andrew may have some ideas about how she could further his training in jumping. All the training Kristina knew about was more of dressage maneuvers and how to train a horse through the moves. Jumping was another thing because, frankly, it was different in methods than ground work. She only thought that maybe she would slowly higher the jumps and that would help but she knew more would need to go into it.

OOC:// 700 words exactly! ^^

[Andrew Harrison]

Andrew smiled when she talked about the summer heat. You sort of get used to to down south. But on the flipside this place seems extremely cold to me. But I guess you have to pick your battles, eh? He was always one for hot weather. The hotter the better in his opinion. As long as there was a way to cool off, weather it be the discarding of clothing or a quick dip in a pool, he was satisfied. As for hockey, well Andrew liked the fact that there was one thing that he could do with the guys. Most of his time as a rider was spent at the barn surrounded by girls who were very desperate and Andrew wasn't all that interested. Sure there were hook-ups but that was about it. He prefered the girls at his local public school that were down to earth and had their heads screwed on fully.

Andrew had always been one to insert funny phrases into his speech. He had a sense of humor, which had served him well in his past 17 years. Back home he was a pretty down to earth guy. He was the kind of guy that if you were a friend and needed a prom date badly he'd step in and escort you or make sure you at least had one dance. But Andrew loved a good party. Weather it was the exhibitors party at a horse show or a party thrown at a house while someone's parents were away he was always game. He was good at making friends which in turn invited him to more events. And then there were always the higher end social events his parents dragged the whole family too. Sure Andrew did his share of drinking, but he was one of the more sober partiers you would meet in West Palm Beach. It wasn't an act of rebellion it was more of the the horses are put away for the night, the barn chores are done, so what now? type of thing. He had a friend like Kristina back home and he stood up for her. Well him and his whole group of friends. You broke Jessica's heart, you'd have to deal with them. Which was usually enough to keep any problems at bay.

Andrew understood that she wasn't a stuck up brat. He'd had his fair share of those kind of girls. They were the girls that would come into the barn and complain endlessly about how their champion horse wasn't listening. Andrew often wanted to turn to them and say, well you're not telling them anything. Andrew was genuinely interested in the fact that she did a lot of dressage with Ven. Andrew didn't exactly excel at dressage, in short, he was horrible. He often put his horses through first level and maybe second level but that was it. He didn't have that background. I know what you mean. But from what you told me about Ven today, I think he might just surprise you. Andrew knew of many horses that had just taken a little longer to learn the ropes. But once they did they were on top of the class.

Listening to her offer a ride he smiled. I'd love to. How about we make a deal, I'll give jumping Ven a shot if you hop on Jazz and try to fix the mistakes I've made with her dressage. I warn you, I'm not the best dressage rider, infact lets face facts, I'm horrible. I got Jazz through second level and decided that was all she needed to know. Maybe you could give jumping Jazz a shot. See what it's like to ride a horse that's a little further with his training. But hey this is only if you want. Totally up to you. Andrew had worked with many babies and problem horses and brought them along with their jumping. He would be honored to ride Ven, who sounded like he had great potential.