I leaped to my feet and ran, jumping over the fence and never stopping as I ran toward the house. When I reached it, I opened the door, not bothering to shut it, and tiptoed upstairs and ran into my small room, plunging into my bed and burying my face in my pillow. But the images stayed.
       I saw the twisted stone that read The Devil Horse's Grave. I saw Cloud's terrified eyes as I stepped into the stall.
      I saw the mare's eyes, hateful, furious....
     And sad. I had seen that too, in the blue depths.
    I turned over onto my back and stared at the white ceiling. Who had owned this place before we even heard of it.
    Who had owned it?

   School.
   Boring.
   But I was going today, so I was more nervous than I was bored out of my skin.
   New school, new people.
   And I was late.
   I urged Cloud into a gallop. We ran down the road, bareback. I felt the energy of him beneath me. He wanted to go full run. No matter how much I agreed, I had to control him.
     I neared a huge brick building. When we reached it, I jumped off of Cloud and put him into the fenced-in playground. The teacher, Mrs. Lou, had said I could ride Cloud to school if I didn't get too dirty. I wasn't that dirty. I had a few twigs in my hair, but I had brought a brush. Quickly pulling out the twigs, I ran my brush through my thick brown hair, then ran into school.
         I quickly ran into the classroom, and everybody looked up at me.
      " Miss Anderson?" Mrs. Lou's glasses slid down her nose as she tipped her chin down at me.
     " Sorry I'm late," I blurted." I just got caught up in getting ready. After all, this is my first day. " I felt my face go hot and I looked down at the ground.
     " Miss Anderson, you are passed by," Mrs. Lou said, pushing her glasses up again," But next time you're late, I'll have to report you to your parents."
       I sighed.
     " Now everybody," Mrs. Lou ignored my sigh." This is Leah Anderson. She is new to the school, and I expect everybody to be polite. Everybody." Her eyes were specifically on a boy that was about fifteen years old.
       He smirked and said," Yes, Mrs. Lou." Something about that smirk told me he wasn't going to keep his word.
       Mrs. Lou glared at the boy for a few minutes then turned back to me.
" Go to your seat now."
       I nodded and immediately walked over to sit beside a girl who was probably about my age.
      We went over math, and English, and history and sience. Then Mrs. Lou dismissed us and we all charged toward the door. Before I could blend in and go after them, the boy approached me. Uh oh. Wish yourself luck, Leah.
       " Leah, eh?" When he reached me, a smirk appeared on his face." I'm Matthew. You can call me Matt."
         I raised an eye brow at him. No matter how intimidating he was, I wouldn't back down." And you can call me Leah."
        Matt chuckled." Your funny."
      " Thanks," I said." Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go outside now."
        Before I could turn to leave, he grabbed my arm." Now where do you think you're going, Leah?"
       I shrugged his hand off." I have to check on my horse."
     " Horse?" It was Matt's turn to raise an eyebrow.
    " Yes," I said defiantly." Mrs. Lou said I could bring him. So let me go now."
      He grabbed my arm again." You know, you're really pretty."
    " Thanks," I nodded curtly." Can I go now?" I tried walking away from him, but he kept his hand placed firmly.
   " Let go of me!" I cried, trying to push him away.
   " Matthew, cut it out!" The girl I had been sitting next to in class strode right up to Matt, shoving him away.
" Remember what Mrs. Lou said? She told us to be polite."
   " Polite, polite, polite. That's all that teacher says." Matt rolled his eyes.
  " Get out of here!" The girl shoved him again.
    He put his hands in the air." Okay, okay! Gosh, Serenity. You can be very sassy sometimes."
    As he walked off, the girl turned to me." Sorry about that. Matthew goes crazy when new people arrive; especially if they're girls."
  " What, is he one of those boys who believes in love at first sight?" I rolled my eyes.
   " Yeah," the girl laughed." By the way, I'm Serenity. You're Leah?"
   " Yes. Do you want to come meet my horse?"
   " Horse?"
     I ignored her, walking outside.
    Serenity followed, and Cloud met us at the door. Almost the whole class was petting him and scratching behind his ears. He stood still, not moving besides his swishing tail.
   " He's so pretty," a boy about thirteen, hugged Cloud's neck, and he nudged his shoulder.
  " Is he your horse?" A girl asked me.
  " Yep," I rubbed Cloud's ears and he nickered softly.
" Nice horse!" Matt called to me, a smile on his face, covering the smirk below.
" Thank you," I said curtly. As Matt approached me, Cloud sensed my uneasiness and snorted, flattening his ears at the teen.
   " Whoa," Matt doubled back." Not so nice, on second thought.
      Everybody laughed, mocking Matthew for being scared.
    " I'm not afraid," He protested.
      Oh no. A red-haired girl walked up and smiled at Matt." I don't think your afraid, Matthew."
      Matt seemed uninterested in her, his eyes directly on me. Don't even think about it, I glared back at him. Stick with that redhead.
       Serenity frowned at Matt, then turned to pet Cloud." What's his name?"
     " His name is Cloud's Ghost," I replied, shuddering at the word ghost." But you can call him Cloud. I should probably leave now."
     " Awww!" My classmates began to look depressed." Why? We want Cloud to stay!"
      I sighed." If you have it that way...."
    " Yay!" The boys and girls called.
    " Can I ride him?" The boy who spoke up before asked.
    " Okay," I agreed.
       I gave him a leg up and led him around. When he was off, everybody raised hands as if I asked who was the President of the U.S.A.
       I gave everybody a pony ride, then I hopped on myself and rode off.
      I looked at my watch. 7:00. I leaned over and hugged Cloud's neck." Let's go for a ride," I whispered. I nudged his sides with my legs, and he took off, full gallop, down the road.