My RA Ch. 05

At dinner time Daisy asked, "Miss April, why did you put 'Chief' in the DIY area and not the main stable?"

Instead, April said, "Can I see a show of hand of everyone who thinks I made a good decision?"

All hands were raised.

Miss Sarah said, "The answer is, everyone who boards their horse here is because they know our workers take such loving care their horses.

Daisy didn't understand.

Miss April said, "I heard there was a real responsible person that takes care of the DIY area, and that is why I put 'Chief' there."

Daisy said, "You want me to take care of 'Chief'?"

April said, "Well, do you take care of the other horses there? Daisy, are you saying you are not responsible enough to take care of 'Chief'?"

Daisy felt hurt, "I sure am responsible."

Miss Sarah said, "Daisy, we are giving you more and more jobs and harder jobs because we know you can do them. I will sit down with you after supper and we can revise your schedule. You just should remember that you have to do your old jobs and your new jobs."

April and Dawn rode to the NFU administration building to talk to the President of NFU. 'The Dean' met them there.

April said, "Mr. 'President', we are here today to talk about our upcoming graduation. Miss Zoe and I are both in Miss Dawn's classes; we are both subs. During the beginning of the first semester Miss Dawn came to everyone's dorm to check up on them and to get to know them. When she visited Miss Zoe's dorm she found out that her roommate was a party girl and was hardly ever there. Miss Dawn called 'The Dean' and many student swapped roommates.

"This is where I come in. Miss Dawn selected me to be Zoe's roommate. You see Miss Zoe just lost both of her parents in a car crash, she could only be here due to the inheritance. She was very fragile and withdrawn back then. Miss Dawn wanted me to be her Mistress and confidant.

"During her visit, Miss Dawn saw an eight inch by ten-inch picture of her parents and she was to kiss them good morning and good night so she would never forget them. For her birthday, it was deemed that picture was too small so we got a life-sized poster of her parents.

"I want to ask a favor of you. Could you put our diplomas together so we can be on the stage together? We plan on bringing that life-sized poster on the stage with us. Could her parents get some sort of honorary degree?"

'The President' said, "Well, there is no official rule we have to go in alphabetical order, we can tie them together, Universities give honorary degrees all the time. Seeing you are her Mistress, it seems right to be together. Your request is not unreasonable, I think we can work something out."

April said, "Thank you Sir, Zoe graduating with her parents will help her to now end."

Unbeknownst to our trio, 'The President', already had several meetings with other members of the graduating class stating that they want April and Zoe to go first so they can get a standing ovation. They also wanted to invite the kids from town. During the ovation, the kids can sneak out to get back home. Many students sacrificed a ticket for a loved one to get all the kids and Zoe's out of town friends to go to graduation.

In addition, the student said, "Here is a petition from the students to omit all speeches, acknowledgements and other presentations. The students are just there to collect their diplomas."

'The President' consulted with several high-ranking members, "They did go through proper channels and almost every name in the class is on the list. To tell you the truth, I do think our ceremony lasts too long. If you decide to go ahead with unwanted speeches we will have to mail all the diplomas."

'The President' loved the limelight, the students had a plan if 'The President' went against their wishes.

On the day of graduation, 'The President' decided to go against the wishes of the students. The students were over-prepared for this eventuality. As 'The President' started to speak, the mic was turned off. April grabbed Zoe's wrist and dragged her to the stage steps. From the back of the stadium the next two students in line came down the aisle carrying the life-sized poster of Zoe's parents and a plaque dedicated to Zoe's parents from the senior class.

Miss April got in 'Mistress' mode and grabbed the mic off the podium and tapped it, the mic was turned back on. "Thank you 'Mr. President', for that rousing speech," 'The President' stormed off the stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, our senior class decided to skip all presentations, speeches and acknowledgements except for one person."

The next two people in line brought up the poster and gave it to Zoe and the plaque to April, then retreated to the steps of the stage.

April said, "Zoe, Miss Dawn explicitly said, 'You were to bring a picture of your parents to your graduation'. We know they are here with us, so please accept this plaque from the senior class, in honor to them."

'The Prevost' mounted the stage, having been given the authority to give out the empty binders to the students, started to read the names off the list.

April stepped aside as Zoe collected her diploma, a standing ovation ensued. No one was louder than the kids.

The students knew that the loss of both parents almost broke Zoe. Thankfully, there was much support at NFU. Miss Dawn's classes gave her life structure so Zoe could stabilize herself.

There was a ten-minute pause as the children filed out.

The ceremony went quickly after that.

The next day, the two secretaries placed two boxes on the desk of the vice-president.

"What is this?"

Secretary one said, "This box is the petition by the senior class to not have speeches or presentations. Almost every student of the senior class had meetings with him and he assured them that their wishes would be carried out. The summary concludes by saying, if 'The President' complies with the wishes of the students the recall petition would be null and void."

"If 'The President' does not comply with the students wishes, after giving the students assurances that he would comply, the recall petition would be enforced. They feel they should have an honest person running the helm of the university."

Normally, such an infraction would be overlooked. Because of the overwhelming support of the petition it could not be ignored. The students seemed to know 'The President' would break his word and had several layers of action to stop him.

The vice president called every member of the board to have an emergency meeting. At the meeting, there were male and female spokespeople for the senior class, 'The Dean', the board members and the vice president and 'The President'. As most of the board members were at the graduation it seemed straight forward. Each summary was read for the record. The numbers were astounding.

'The President' was asked to comment on the situation.

"Yes, I did have meetings with many students and I did give them my assurances, but I felt it incumbent on me to give a speech."

The male spokesperson said, "Sirs, it would seem fairly easy if you had a spokesperson for the class, to tell you what kind of graduation they want after the second semester mid-terms. I am glad we didn't have all those extra items. The main reason for the ceremony is to get our diplomas. Should we not be able to give our input as to how we want our ceremony, as long as it is a respectable situation?"

"I move to ratify petition number one, the students' wishes for graduation."

"Seconded."

"All for?" all hands raised.

"Any against?" no hands were raised.

"Petition number one passes unanimously."

"Now, according to the petition number one summary, if 'The President' did not comply with the wishes it would call for a vote for recall, any motions?"

"I move, because 'The President' did violate the students wishes even though his own testimony says he gave assurances that he would comply, suggests he intentionally meant to go against the students' wishes."

"Seconded."

"All for?" all hands raised.

"All against?" no hands were raised.

"The recall petition passes unanimously."

"Mr. Vice President, would you be interested in filling our vacancy at our President's office?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I move for the promotion of our vice-president to the president's position."

"Seconded."

"All for?" all hands raised.

'All against?" no hands raised.

'The motion passes unanimously, congratulations 'Mr. President'."

Back at the ranch, Sarah got a telephone call and was excited about it. "Thank you for the information, you are welcome to join us up here. I just have one condition, you can't yell at Molly. . . period, I am her guardian and I will not put up with it."

Two days later was time for the celebration, everyone was going to be there. Daisy was confused when she saw her parent's car in the driveway.

Daisy's blue eyes glowed when she saw the entrée being brought in, "Miss Sarah, this is my favorite!", then came the extra large homemade vanilla milkshake. "Miss Sarah this is my favorite!"

Daisy did not understand why everything was her favorite tonight until Miss April put the cake right down in front of her with a '9' candle. Daisy had been working so hard, she forgot it was her birthday.

Daisy deeply appreciated every gift she received; she was worried because she had not received Molly's gift yet. Soon, all the presents were unwrapped, no present from Molly. Daisy started to cry and was headed out of the room.

Molly shouted "Daisy!" Molly shook a small box wrapped in gold foil.

Daisy sniffled, "You really got me a present Molly?"

Molly said, "Well of course I did, you silly goose."; the Canadian Goose was Daisy's favorite bird.

Daisy carefully unwrapped Molly's gift. Daisy just did not know what to say once she opened it up.

Molly said, "It is a friendship bracelet." It was made of tiny glass beads, most of them were yellow, but there were also diamond shapes inside of diamond shapes of assorted colors around the bracelet. The beads were so small it looked almost three dimensional with the yellow in the background and the diamond shapes were in the foreground. Molly tied the bracelet around Daisy's wrist.

Molly said, "I got the idea from Miss April's book. I got the small beads so it would lay flat. The lady who helped me was very nice. She said, 'she never worked with these tiny beads before, but because it came out so well she was going to make lots of friendship bracelets with them'."

Daisy walked around the room showing everyone. When she got to Molly, Daisy gave Molly a big hug.

Daisy's Mom said, "Molly, I think that is the best piece of jewelry I have ever seen, including my wedding ring. It is all handmade, so it is a special gift."

Molly said, "The hard part was making all the knots, each bead is tied off so it won't go flying all over the place if the bracelet breaks."

Miss Sarah said, "Molly, did you know that is how the real expensive jewelry and rugs are made?"

Molly shook her head.

After the party, the two girls raced upstairs to say prayers before Molly had to go home.

Molly was having a restful time riding home. It was a good party and she was using her very bright flashlight so people knew she was there.

All the sudden, two cars came speeding down the road, much faster than Mommy or Daddy ever drove. Molly had been practicing jumping over logs and small creeks, just for fun. Molly had no choice, she had to go off road. 'Spirit' found a safe landing area, just as both cars ran over Molly's flashlight.

Molly called the ranch. Miss Dawn answered, "Miss Dawn, I almost got run over by two cars, 'Spirit' saved my life. Can you please come get me and take me home? I am really scared."

Dawn said, "I will be right there Molly." Dawn dashed out the door, grabbing the keys as she went.

Dawn was about half way to Molly when she saw one of the cars wrapped around a tree.

Dawn stopped the trailer and checked out the car.

Dawn called '911', "Hello, this is Miss Dawn. I would like to report a car accident, it must have been one of the two cars that almost ran over Molly. No survivors, two victims, I am going to take Molly home."

When Dawn found Molly, she had tears streaming down her face. Dawn saw the splintered flashlight in the road.

Dawn said, "Get in the truck Molly, I will load 'Spirit'."

Dawn said to 'Spirit', "Good girl 'Spirit'. You saved Molly tonight, let's get you home."

Dawn dropped Molly off at her home.

"Mommy, I almost got run over tonight, 'Spirit' saved me."

Dawn shook her head in silence.

Dawn put 'Spirit' next to 'Peaceful' and 'Courage' to calm her down. She parked the trailer and walked over to Michelle's apartment.

"Hi Michelle, can I crash on your couch tonight? Two cars almost ran over Molly tonight. I found one of the cars that hit that big oak tree. They had to be going fast, long, dark skid marks.

"It will take hours to clear the area."

"MOLLY! Is she OK."

Dawn said, "She will be, some warm milk and honey to steady her nerves and straight to bed."

Michelle thought that was a good idea, so she made some warm milk and honey for Dawn and herself. Michelle just talked to Dawn so she could relax. Michelle let Dawn use her sleep mask so she could get to sleep.

Michelle was awakened at 3:00 AM because the kitchen light was on. She thought she just forgot to turn it off. When she got there, she saw Dawn making pencil sketches.

"What are you doing Dawn?"

"We got lucky tonight. Molly had been jumping logs and creeks with 'Spirit' for fun.

"Sarah has some unused land out back. I am going to make two jumping rings. I don't think 'Angel' can do a three rail yet so we need an easy and hard.

"I am going to need to go to a horse show to find out how they make jumps and the sizes of everything.

Michelle said, "Can I come with you? Some sketches may make it easier."

The next day, the police chief brought the news to Mr. Mayor.

He was incensed, "THEY WERE GOING HOW FAST?! Is Molly OK?"

"We estimate the car that crashed was going 110 miles per hour; we think that was the tail car, so the other one was going faster. Molly is OK. Miss Dawn called the accident in on the way to pick up Molly. There was absolutely nothing Molly could do."

Daisy came down late for breakfast, tears flowing, she had just been on Skype praying with Molly. She raced into Miss Sarah's arms, "Miss Sarah, she almost died."

"Daisy, God has a job for her to do. It is not her time to go yet; the Holy Spirit protected her. Mr. Mayor is going to do something about it."

Mr. Mayor and a crew of engineers did a walkthrough of the road from town all the way to the ranch and also to the church.

"Mr. Mayor, look over there!" the worker sprinted down the hill, the rest of the crew followed. At the base of the hill, lay the other car resting on the passenger side in the creek.

Mr. Mayor called '911' and told them they found the other car; they need the 'Jaws of life'. Mr. Mayor ran down the hill to help right the car. He called Sarah as well, "Sarah we found the other car in the creek. Can we get several of the bigger horses down here if the 'Jaws of life could not make the grade?"

Soon the horses arrived and using several ropes they up righted the car to stop the water from flowing in. Two hands picked up a split rail fence rail they brought with them and smashed the back window. The seat belt was soon cut but the passenger still could not move.

A hand crawled in to position himself in the front seat, "Mr. Mayor, can you hold the door handle open please? 1...2... 3..." and with a two legged kick the door flew open.

Mr. Mayor said, "Those are some nice boots, scrawny legs, but nice boots."

Sarah covered her body in a blanket, "Do you have anywhere to go?" she shook her head.

"Mr. Mayor, "She's coming home with us. I think she had enough of riding in fast cars for a while."

"What is your name? I am Sarah, this is 'Beauty'."

"Hi Sarah, my name is Penny."

"What size shirt and pant are you? Penny whispered the answer and Sarah relayed the information on her phone. Start with April's clothes."

When they got home, Sarah shooed Penny to the showers. April gave Penny a bundle of clothing including both boots and sneakers.

"April, why did you give me boots and sneakers?"

"Penny, this is a horse ranch, sneakers are inside shoes, boots are outside shoes, and watch where you walk around here. We never care to look any more, it's part of the job."

Penny said, "Zoe is that you?" Zoe nodded her head, "You look great. I am sorry I was such a crappy roommate. All I wanted to do was to party."

Daisy piped up, "Miss Penny, remember God put you in that car for a reason and kept you alive for a reason, just like Molly."

Penny said, "Oh my God, was she riding a white horse?"

Dawn said, "Sarah, what should I do?"

Penny said, "What's going on?"

Sarah said, "Penny, Dawn is part of staff at NFU, she has an obligation to report you. However, the semester is almost over, we can try to let you finish the semester if you don't come back to NFU.

"While you are here, think if you would want to live and work here to change your environment and bad ways. No alcohol here, we need to keep a clear head around here. Some of this stuff is downright dangerous."

"Miss Dawn, do you think you can get NFU to let me finish the semester? We just have finals left."

Dawn said, "I will speak to 'The Dean', but not mention your name. That is the best I can do."

"Think hard about Miss Sarah's offer; you have put me in an awkward position, even more so for her."

"Miss Sarah, what would be involved with me working here?"

"Well first I will have Zoe teach you how to ride a horse. That should also fix any issues you two may have. Then I will team you up and give you jobs that bounce you all over my 150 acres. You will ride your butt off."

"Then from there, you will be just like everyone else. I hope you accept my offer, you seem now to be at a turning point in your life. The question is, which way will you turn?"

The next day, Dawn talked to 'The Dean' about Penny's problem.

'The Dean' said, "I see your dilemma Dawn. On the one hand, she should get expelled, but she is almost finished classes. I have to interview her."

Dawn said, "Can we do it at the ranch, neutral territory?"

The next day, 'The Dean' was grilling Penny for an hour, with no solution in sight.

Zoe asked, "Ma'am, would you be the person who expels people and also sets the date for that expulsion?"

"Yes, I am Zoe."

Zoe said, "Let me get the chain of command right. Miss Dawn finds out Penny qualifies for expulsion and reports it to you. You decide to interview Penny and decide she should be expelled. Why can't you set the expulsion date say, one week after the semester ends? Then you would stop her from taking any more classes at NFU.

'The Dean' said, "The whole point of the expulsion would be to stop her from taking any more classes at NFU. No one would question my judgement as to the timing of it. Even if it says somewhere it has to be immediate, I can overrule it. I think we found a solution."

"You know we should have expelled you a few weeks into freshman year, but we could not prove anything. I hope you have learned something from this tragedy. Please consider Miss Sarah's offer, a lot of lives have changed for the better out here."

After supper, Penny pulled Daisy aside. "Daisy, I have a problem. It would not be fair to me or Miss Sarah if I don't know how to do jobs around here. I can't do all the stuff the others can. Do you think you could teach me things that you do? Then we can do more jobs."

Daisy liked that idea, she agreed, then she ran upstairs as she was late.

Soon Molly heard the Skype alert for an incoming call.