Stay-At-Home Brat

Don't Tell Anyone

Sophia's POV

Wearing my old but super comfy grey joggers, my even older and tattier trainers and my dog-hairy fleece jacket, I stroll into the stable. I meet Archie here, dressed stylishly despite working in such a dirty environment. He has another man, seemingly my age, with him today, but he doesn't seem to notice me as he is busy cleaning a horse's stable with headphones on.

Archie sees me, preparing a horse in the middle of the aisle. ''Good morning, Soph!'' he chirps.

''Hiya. I was sent here,'' I say, approaching the horse carefully. ''Bastian and Alex nerd out in the manor.''

''I can imagine.'' Archie chuckles heartily. ''Well, I'm heading down to the arena and as it is raining quite a bit, I'm not dawdling. You can join us if you'd like.''

Because he's quite nice and cheery... and handsome... I accept the invitation.

Us - turns out to be a couple of people he is the instructor to and his sister. The arena is separated into two parts, and she is riding on her own on the right side, whilst the others do their thing on the opposite side. I sit down in the centre of the stand and alternate between watching them and scrolling on my phone. I'm not super interested in horses and riding. It's mainly Archie I peek at...

''Have you ever sat on a horse, Sophia?'' the sister calls, and I shake my head. ''Come on then!'' She beckons me and dismounts. ''Oh, and by the way, I'm Gemma!'' She smiles broadly at me.

''Nice to meet you!'' I respond politely. Somewhat warily, I proceed to leave the safe stand and approach her and the horse. ''It's not going to buck me off and leave me paralysed for the rest of my life, is it?'' I run my eyes over the horse; it's taller than me, and I've never been afraid of heights, but thinking of getting up on this horse rouses nervousness. 

''No, he's calm, and I will lead you on the way back to the stable,'' she assures me.

I hesitate but take the hat she hands me and put it on, fearing for my life as she leaves me to fetch a small ladder. It stands a few metres away, but the horse could kill me if he wanted within the seconds she didn't hold him. I climb the small ladder to get up the horse, and after some ungainly attempts, I sit in the saddle. She leads us out of the arena, and I clutch onto the saddle—just in case the horse bucks or runs off. He seems very calm and doesn't freak out when the rain splatters on us and the chilly wind skims our faces.

When we are back at the stable, I slide off the saddle and let out a sigh of relief as my feet touch the ground. I survived!

''Next time, I will let you jump.'' She nods at the high fences in the outdoor arena.

''Yeah, I'd rather go home alive and unharmed.''

She chuckles. ''I need to untack him quickly and hurry to work now,'' she says, leading the horse into the stable. ''It was nice hanging out with you.''

I follow her inside. ''Yeah, you weren't as obnoxious as I've heard,'' I remark. ''By the way, what do you do for work? I ask everyone because I'm trying to figure out what I want to do.''

''I'm a vet like Mum, and I'm performing emergency surgery on a pony today,'' she replies light-heartedly.

I feel my face twist into a slightly disgusted grimace. ''Oh, that's not my vibe,'' I say, and she laughs. ''I want to work as little as possible but earn as much as possible, and I can't even cook raw meat, so surgery would never work out for me.''

''Keep looking,'' she says encouragingly. ''I have to leave now. If you want to hang out here, you can find your way to the little longue and make coffee or whatever you'd like.'' She points at the door down the aisle. ''Go into the tack room, and then it's the first door to the right. Archie will be back shortly, and our helper is a bit shy but friendly, so don't be afraid if he shows up...''

--

So... a lot has happened in the past 20 minutes. As we speak, I have two strong men fighting because of me outside the stable.

Who knew horses would be so easily spooked? I mean, they are big magnificent animals. They shouldn't be afraid of a splash of water and noises.

Let me explain, I became bored of waiting in the lounge, and as I explored the place, I found a water hose lying on the ground. I planned a silly little prank, and it all went horrifically wrong. I hid behind the corner of the stable and intended to lightly sprinkle water on Archie's face simultaneously as I blasted music through the speakers I found as well. Little did I know, he was leading a stallion inside, and the water hose was going to fail me and spurt harsh water in their faces. I dropped the hose as it wouldn't stop, and it moved like a wild snake on the ground, spouting water everywhere. A similar thing happened to the speakers, and I might've given myself and everyone tinnitus. The horse freaked out, and Archie lost grip of him. It ran to the other stallion, bound to a pole waiting to be tacked up. That horse yanked himself loose, and they attacked each other. The third horse that stood tied up as well freed itself and just fucked off. It bolted and almost ran me over. After that, Archie yelled at me to get the hell inside the stable and not dare come out until he said it was safe again. Not with those words—much politer—but that was the energy he gave off.

Eventually, he walks into the lounge, where I've settled down again, sipping my second cup of coffee. He doesn't look like his ordinary cheery, calm self anymore. He frowns at me, staying on the threshold with his arms folded. ''First of all, Sophia–" he articulates. 

''Listen, Arch,'' I cut in, feeling edgy. ''I'm sorry, but you are not allowed to tell anybody it was my fault.''

He looks at me intently, his eyes squinty and dark. ''Let's go through some basic but crucial safety rules–"

''I won't listen to any safety rules unless you promise me not to tell anybody!'' I stress. ''Please, I will do anything for you not to tell anybody I was the cause of that...''

Next: https://reamstories.com/page/lqj9i1w2uf/story/lw9ffjds1r/chapter/91ec9b22-733e-4a43-998c-226b545253e1 🤍🎀