Snippet #2358609

Once Zach had left Clara and her family, he'd made his way to the large area that had been temporarily fenced off for the horses to graze in. He stood at the fence for a long time, just watching the large animals. The circus had eight horses. Four beautiful Friesians and four elegant Lipizzaners. Zach knew each of their names and loved each horse equally. The boy spent a good thirty minutes just watching the horses before he removed himself from the fence. One by one, Zach brought each horse out of the two pens and groomed and tacked them. Once the horses were ready for the show, he motioned to a man to help him to bring the horses into the Big Top. The tent was packed and Zach's mind wandered to the family that he'd helped earlier in the day. He hoped that they'd settled in and were feeling better than when he'd last seen them. Suddenly, Zach heard the Ring Master talking about the horses. That was his cue. One by one, alternating the breeds, the boy sent the horses out into the ring. The horses ran around the ring, as if they'd done this many times before. They performed beautifully. Normally, Zach would have been out in the ring with them but he'd decided that tonight they'd only do a half performance. They needed rehearsing again before going on for very long. Everyone always loved the horses. They never seemed to care about all of the hard work that went into working with the beautiful creatures. Zach was usually with them, even if he wasn't training them. They always seemed to calm him. One by one, the horses came back to Zach. he quickly led them back out of the tent and into their fenced in areas. He groomed and untacked the beasts and made sure that they were taken care of for the night before heading to his cart.

Zach made his was slowly, taking his time. Everyone else was most likely heading to eat. Normally, Zach would have as well. Not tonight. He was tired and was still not sure about Clara and her family. He knew that she would most likely be in the tent eating with the others. He didn't want to have to face the new faces..not yet at least. As he entered into his cart, he went into his section..sitting down upon his bed. He sighed heavily. He knew that Penny and/or Alex would most likely come looking for him. It wasn't like him to skip supper. All he had to do was wait.