A Long Night....Just sleep! {Open}

[Emily Sanders]

"Thanks for such a great time tonight you guys!" I grinned as I let my brother, sister, dad, and my dad's girlfriend into my dorm room. My sister, Katie, sat down on my bed and examined my plain white walls. My brother, Joey, stood against the wall and watched us.

"I guess you'll be wanting your present then...." Dad smiled at me. I sat down beside Katie and nodded. I was definitely interested. The whole time at Red Robin and at the mall, my family and Lucy had been bugging me about it. They kept telling me how great the present was. I was extremely curious by the time we got back to Catalpa Academy.

Lucy pulled a good sized package out of the corner of my room where it had been hiding since we'd left my dorm room earlier that evening. Joey yawned loudly and I thought I heard a little squeak from behind that yawn. It was almost like he was using his tiredness as a diversion.

"Happy Birthday to you..." They all started singing as Lucy set the package on my lap. I raised my eyebrows and carefully began to peel back the wrapping. I slid the cardboard box open and a squirmy, wriggly puppy pushed his way out of it.

"Oh my gosh!" I cried. I picked the puppy up before he could fall off my bed and get away. Joey closed the bedroom door and grinned. My 5-year-old brother could never keep a secret. Either he had no idea about my elaborate gift, or he had changed a good deal since I'd come to Catalpa.

"Do you like him?" Katie smiled at me. She stroked his fuzzy head.

"I love him! Thank you guys so much!" I couldn't hide the excitement from pouring out of my facial expressions. The little yellow lab puppy was by far the best physical present I'd received for a birthday.

"I wish we could stay honey, but I have to leave on a business trip tomorrow morning," My dad mussed my hair and kissed my forehead.

"We'll be back as soon as we can. We want to see that puppy grow up too you know!" Lucy gave me an awkward half-hug and backed away. Katie gave me a hug and told me to hurry and name the puppy and Joey wrapped himself around my legs in a death grip until my dad was able to pry him off.

"Bye guys! Thanks again!" I waved them off and then set the puppy on the floor. I laid a few warm blankets beside my bed and headed to the bathroom for a shower. I couldn't leave the poor pup out there so i threw him in the tub with me. He seemed to enjoy the water.

After we were both dry, I got my pajamas on and delivered him to his "bed". I shut the light off and switched my alarm clock on. It was already 10pm and I would have to get up at seven the next morning.

The puppy snored incredibly loud. That is, when he was asleep and not trying to get on my bed. Eventually I just threw him in with me and he snuggled into the covers. But soon he wanted to be closer to my neck and he wriggled himself up there. He was warm, I'll give him that. But his snoring was driving me insane.

2 hours later I decided that I would not be sleeping that night. At all. The puppy was long since asleep and I was laying there on my back, my eyes wide, staring at the wall while his snores droned on and on.

When the morning finally rolled around I got dressed quickly and strapped a color and leash on him. I was determined to take him to the barn with me. Susan would love him, that I didn't doubt. Plus he needed a name and what better way to come up with a name than to get to know his personality? Especially around horses!

[Sheila Unati Jestin]

I had been awake all night. However I was here for a while now, I still wasn't used to all the noises and the new bed. I hadn't slept well since the day I arrived here, but it wasn't so bad. Now I was awake soon enough to ride in the mornings when there aren't a lot of people at the stables. And Star didn't mind either. Every morning we made a long ride while the sun was rising and every time it went better. He started to respect me and to listen to me and I started to listen to him. We were becoming a team insted of to opposit players.

Today, however I hadn't slept a bit, I was up later than normal. The sun was already coming up. I got dressed as soon as I could. Star would be wondering were I was. He wasn't used to me being late and neither was I. With my boots in my hand and my riding clothes on, I walked out of my door into the hall. It was still there. No wonder since most people were still sleeping at this early hour.

My room was located in the west wing since I was just a highschool sophomore. The wing wasn't far from the stables and I was glad for that. It could be pretty cold sometimes and I wasn't fond of walking through the cold. Truth was that I wasn't fond of cold at all. But worse then cold was rain and today it was such a day. When I wanted to walk out of the door I saw the rain splashing down. It wasn't the weather to go riding outside and I had no intention to go to a manege cause those would be stuffed and there would be no place to ride quietly.

I walked to the stables, straight to Star. "Sorry, Star, today we will have to skip our ride. It's raining way to hard." I said while I looked him in the eyes. I gave him his food and water and went back to my dorm. Since I couldn't go riding I would have to put other clothes on before doing something else. I had to look after my riding clothes since I would need them a lot.