i was desperate to fill every waking second with something to keep my thoughts from wandering to that night nearly six months back , and since my academic aptitude had taken an extended vacation , i 'd signed up for three intramural teams with varying degrees of a ball and racket , an outreach program for disadvantaged children at a local elementary school , chess club ( i did n't know how to play and was the only female , but the guys at least did n't treat me like i was a mutated form of the bubonic plague ) , and i mucked out stalls twice a week at a local horse rescue shelter .