A Weekend Meal

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It was a Saturday, and Forrest had spent his free morning grooming and grazing Autumn before turning her out in one of the pastures for the day. Since he had spent the past few years of his life doing all of the morning barn chores, including feeding and picking Autumn’s stall, his internal clock was still set to get him up at 6am. Finding himself unable to go back to sleep, he had enjoyed the relaxing extra hour he spent in bed before getting dressed and starting his day. Once Autumn was in a field, he had taken time to call his parents and sister whom he missed dearly. While he was enjoying school, he had never been so far away from his family for so long, and as he hadn’t made any friends at school yet, homesickness was beginning to creep in.

Still, Forrest was upbeat as ever as he walked into the cafeteria for lunch. He washed his hands, as all of the dirt and dust that was on Autumn seemed to settle on him instead as he groomed her, and made himself a ham and cheese sandwich, complete with a side of fruit and a glass of water. He took his meal to an empty table toward the edge of the cafeteria. He was not self conscious of sitting alone like some might be, and his warm smile and confident posture never ceased.

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy finished mucking out Tommy's stall, having relined it with bedding, then glanced down at Wolf, "Ready for lunch?" She didn't feed the dog, but he had been following her faithfully for the whole time, laying next to the barrow as she worked, and she was planning on letting him run for a bit after lunch. Leaving the emptied barrow and pitchfork in the closet where they were kept, she stopped by the bathroom in the barn to wash her hands, then headed towards the cafeteria, Wolf's lead in hand.

After moving through the line to pick up a tuna sandwich and a cup of hot tea, she glanced around at the tables, which had begun filling up. Her usual table was still the emptiest, although there was a boy sitting there. With a glance down at Wolf, she headed in that direction, biting her lip as she approached, but when she was within speaking distance, she timidly asked, "Do you mind if I sit down?" The boy that she was speaking to seemed about her age, and he was alone, which was a good sign, right? She desperately hoped that her table wasn't going to be turned into a jostling mess, but if it was, she might be better off, going and eating in the field to give Wolf some time to be a dog.

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Forrest, after just having taken his first bite into his sandwich, glanced up to see a girl walking toward him. She looked nervous to him, as if she thought Forrest would rather eat alone than welcome her to a seat at the otherwise empty table. With a bulge in his cheek from his bite of the sandwich, he flashed a warm smile that lit up his chocolate eyes, chewing as he did so. The dog walking beside her, recognizably a service dog from his attire, then took his attention, and he brightened up more. While the girl’s dog was different than Forrest’s sister’s golden retriever, the image of his sister protected by her service dog flashed to his mind. Without even knowing her, he instantly took a liking to the girl who was approaching.

”Of course!” Forrest said warmly, his voice a bit muffled as he had not yet completely swallowed the bite of the sandwich from before. He motioned to the empty seats placed around the table. ”I think we can squeeze you in,” he joked. He then turned his attention back to the dog. ”He’s cute. What’s his name? …or her name?” Forrest said, pulling his eyebrows together to reflect his lack of knowledge on the fluffy dog’s gender. He hoped the light subject of the girl’s dog would be inviting, but as he knew that service dogs could also be very personal companions, he hoped she wouldn’t shy away.

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy gave the boy a shy smile as she waited for his answer, and once it came, she sat down, leaving a space between them, "Thank you." Her eyes sparkled a little at his joke, although her face remained mainly impassive as she regarded him.

A quiet word sent Wolf against the wall, laying down, and she pulled his water bowl and bottle out, knowing that she would be able to give him a break to relieve himself after class, so it was a good time to water him. Just before she was , she heard the boy's question. A small smile graced her face as she looked at the dog fondly, "Thank you. His name is Wolf." She filled the water bowl for the shepherd, then set it down behind her, before she turned to her sandwich, unwrapping it, but then setting it down on the table in front of her as she looked at her lunch companion, "You're in Beginner English, right?" She hadn't really paid attention to her fellow classmates, having focused more on the teacher and the saddle, which she was still getting to know, but he looked vaguely familiar from somewhere, and she didn't know where else he could come from.

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Forrest quietly watched the girl settle her dog before settling herself as he continued eating his lunch. He lit up at the dog’s name. ”He must be a pretty awesome dog then, if that’s his name,” he said with a lopsided grin. Realizing that the girl wouldn’t understand his humor, he quickly added, ”We share a name – I’m Forrest Wolf.” He offered her a smile as he absentmindedly flipped his relatively long brunette locks out of his face.  He took another large bite out of his sandwich, eating like a typical young teenage boy.

Forrest was just washing down his food with a sip of water when the girl spoke again. ”Yup, I sure am,” he replied, realizing now that he had seen the girl before. A little embarrassed, he admitted, ”I should have recognized you earlier. But I do now!” He thought back to their last class. Wanting to get the most out of it, he had paid close attention to the lesson, and not as much attention to the people around him, and while a dog in class is hard to miss, Forrest had not taken much notice to the well-behaved worker who had stayed out of the way.  He thought about being a beginner on such an impressive campus.  "I don't have much riding experience," he admitted matter-of-factly with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

[Amelia DeFoe]

Amy glanced over at the boy as he commented on Wolf's name, unsure of what he was reaching at, but as he introduced himself, it made sense, and she smiled, "That's an interesting name. Is it spelled like the trees, forest, or like in that movie?" She remembered watching that movie with her family, back when she had had a family, but she couldn't remember the title, it had included Forrest, though. Now, that kind of relaxed movie time would never happen again, what with... But no. Amy pulled herself away from those thoughts and took a bite of her sandwich, chewing and swallowing before she spoke, "I'm Amy. Amelia DeFoe, but Amy."

Having guessed correctly, Amy shrugged, "I wasn't paying attention to my classmates either." She knew that she stood out, and sometimes cursed Wolf for it, but for every inconvenience, he helped her threefold, so there was no option of reconsidering. As Forrest mentioned that he didn't have too much riding experience, Amy nodded, "I'd never ridden English before coming to the academy, but it was one of a few mounted class options, since I'm not really into any big competitive pursuits but am too far advanced for Beginner Western."