WildHearts2

Lance had been walking to school ever since he could remember. It was a route he knew by heart, and it only took him thirty minutes on a good day. However, being the smart kid that he was, Lance had figured out a detour that would allow him to get to school in twenty minutes, *and* he could visit the horses.

Lance turned right at the fork in the road, where most kids went straight
ahead. He ran all the way to the fenced in area where the horses and cows grazed, dropping his backpack at the gate and climbing over the fence. He immediately caught sight of his favorite horse, Toby, grazing by the side. He walked over to the beautiful brown creature, and stroked its nose carefully.

"Hey there boy," he cooed, "how ya been?"

Toby whinnied loudly and Lance laughed, hopping up on the horse's back like an expert.

"Hey Bass!"

Lance groaned and looked towards the gate where Justin Timberlake and his gang where all gathered around. They were always picking on Lance, calling him a girl and saying he wasn't a real rider. Today was no different.

"Tell me pretty boy," grinned Justin, his golden curls falling into his eyes
a little and his blue eyes sparkling with mischief, "why do you even bother gettin' on that old goat anyway? It's about two steps from kicking the bucket, and besides, it's not like *you're* a real rider like your old man was anyway."

Lance flushed as the boys laughed, his eyes narrowing at Justin.

"Toby is not old," he shot back, "and I am too a rider!"

Justin laughed evilly. "That's the biggest pile of horse shit I ever heard!
And trust me, living on a farm and all, I've seen a *lot* of horse shit!" He grinned and nodded towards the gate in the distance. "I bet you twenty bucks you can't jump that fence."

Lance bit his lip as he looked at the fence. It was about as tall as he was, and he wasn't sure Toby was up to it.

"See, I told ya he was chicken!" laughed Justin. "What a girl!"

That set Lance off, and before he knew it, he had kicked his heels into
Toby's sides and was off like a rocket towards the fence. Justin's eyes went wide, as did the other kids' that were gathered around, as they watched Lance ride off.

"He'll never make it," whispered Justin, not really sure he believed himself.

Lance looked behind him, grinning widely as he saw the look of awe on
everyone's faces and the look of disappointment on Justin's face. He was so busy gloating that he failed to see the large log that sat in front of the gate he was about to jump. Toby neighed loudly in fright, trying to stop but unable to. Lance whipped around, but it was too late. Toby tripped over the log, crashing into the fence. Lance fell to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He sat up slowly, and watched in horror as the herd of frightened cattle ran out of the new hole in the fence.

"Oh no!" he yelled, standing up. "Come back! Please, come back!"

It was no use though. The cattle were long gone. Lance sighed and dropped his head, grabbing Toby and bringing him back into the gate. In the distance, he could hear Justin and the other kids rolling with laughter.

"Face it Bass! " yelled Justin. "You ain't never gonna be a rider!"

Lance swallowed hard, willing the tears to go away as he grabbed his backpack and limped towards school.

~*~
Lance peeked his head into the open school house, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that the teacher's back was to him. He tiptoed to his seat, blushing at all of the giggles and whispers about his new hair. He was about to sit down when a booming voice came from the front of the room.

"Late again Bass?"

Lance sighed and sat down in his seat, turning to look sheepishly at his
teacher.

"I'm sorry Mr. Pearlman," he said, "it won't happen again."

"I *know* it won't," bellowed the large man, "because five tardies means three days of suspension. Leave!"

Lance's mouth dropped open and he stood up.

"No! You can't do that! I just-"

"Oh, I can't can I?" retorted Mr. Pearlman. "I think I just did Mr. Bass.
Leave now, or I'll make it an entire week!"

Lance hung his head in defeat. He grabbed his backpack and trudged slowly out of the room. Justin, who sat by the door, grinned at him as he left.

"Face it girly boy," he whispered, "in what world could someone like *you* ever make something of themselves?"

Lance pretended to ignore him, but the words still stung at his heart. He
sighed as he headed home, wondering just how badly his mother was going to react.