Aubrey Garcia's Journey home.

Chapter Eighteen.

"Are you excited?"

Aubrey, Eliana, and James all sat in the corner of the coffee shop they visited almost every morning. Aubrey smiled as she sipped her hot cocoa, the foam gathering on her lips.

"Hey ya'll I have a mustache." James laughed, but Eliana pursed her lips looking unamused.

"Seriously guys! We have school in a week!" Eliana chidded. 

James grinned and focused her attention on Aubrey. "So, how are you liking the weather?" He asked, as Eliana flailed her hands to get their attention.

"Oh, it's simply stunning outside today." She said returning the grin, as the rain softly hit the roof of the store. Plunk. Plunk. Eliana huffed angrily and opened her mouth to continue, but Aubrey cut her off before she could utter a word.

"So, what's up with you these days?"

"Eh, nothing much. Fell down the stairs this morning." He shifted his hair out of his face to reveal a bruise on his upper left forehead.

"Ouch, are you okay?" She asked, forgetting about annoying Eliana for a moment.

He looked away and said, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. How are you?"

"Oh I am so steller right now!"

"Did you know we have school in two weeks?"

"Oh really? No one told me."

Eliana slammed her chair back and stormed off to the restroom. They cracked up, laughing with each other for a moment. James' smile faded for a moment and he looked her in the eyes. 

"Are you actually excited for school?" Aubrey shrugged but the truth of it was that she was honestly nervous.

"If you ever want someone to talk to, let me know." James said with a smile. Aubrey felt a warm feeling in her chest and she nodded and said,

"Okay." They stared at each other for a moment too long. She tilted her head.

"I better go check on Eliana. Make sure she didn't break anything." James chuckled and nodded, Aubrey got up to walk to the restroom feeling a little flutter in her stomach. Aubrey walked in the bathroom, spotting Eliana washing her hands.

"Hey, sorry about James." She said with a grin. "He can really take it too far sometimes." Eliana laughed, and shook her head.

"And you're some kind of saint?" Eliana asked.

"Yep!" She responded.

"Hey, Eliana?" Aubrey said after a moment of silence. She looked up from washing her hands.

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to hang out at your house today? I haven't seen it before."

For a split second Eliana's face paled, and she dropped the soap in her hand. Before Aubrey could think about it again, Eliana went back to smiling.

"Eh, not today. I haven't cleaned my room."

Aubrey puzzled at her for a moment longer, before dismissing it. Eliana dried off her hands and they walked out the restroom together. James waved at them as they walked over. "Is she gonna kill us?" James asked.

"Nah, only you." Aubrey said with a grin.

James opened his mouth in mock outrage and shouted, "Betrayal!" Aubrey and Eliana laughed, before fading into a more serious mood.

"Have you gotten your schedule yet?" Eliana asked. They all shook their heads.

"Do you know when we're getting them?" James asked.

Aubrey and Eliana shook their heads again. They slipped into a comfortable silence, as Aubrey finished off her hot cocoa.

----

At the barn they all worked hard, shoveling (you know what), and cleaning riding materials. Sometimes they all chatted together, other times they worked with some music in the background.

"Will you stop putting on musicals?" James asked Eliana.

She laughed and held the speaker out of his reach. "Never!" She shouted, making the horse in the stable next to her turn towards her. "Why do you like broadway so much?" James asked Eliana. "I think the real question is, why don't you like broadway this much." Aubrey chimed in. James shook his head and muttered, "You guys are weird." They laughed and put on another musical.

After about an hour of music and banter, they finished cleaning and got ready to head to their respective houses. Just as Aubrey got ready to say goodbye to them James frowned. "What?" Asked Eliana.

"You know what I just realized?"

"What?"

"Aubrey's never ridden the horses." Aubrey flinched and looked up at them, both of whom were already giving her wicked grins.

"Oh look at the time," Aubrey said miming looking at a watch "It's time to go!"

"We still have time." James reasoned.

"Oh... I uh... think I left my oven on!"

She turned around to walk to the door, but James grabbed her shoulders and whirled her around.

"Oh no you don't! You're learning how to ride a horse!" It wasn't that Aubrey didn't want to or was scared, (okay maybe a little scared) but she didn't want to make a fool of herself. She suddenly realized that James was only about a foot away from her. She tried to take a step back, but his grip was strong.

"I'm not budging until you agree to ride with us." James said matter of factly. Aubrey shot Eliana a 'SOS' look but she just grinned right back at her. Aubrey huffed, feeling the heat slowly rise to her cheeks.

"Fine, let me go." He immediately stepped back, his hands dropping to his sides. He looked waaaaay more pleased than Aubrey thought necessary.

"Good. Eliana go get Aubrey a horse."

Eliana saluted and ran over to one of the stables. She came back with a beautiful white horse trailing behind her. The horse was already all saddled up and ready. James passed her a helmet and led her out the field.

"Okay, do you know how to get on?" She shook her head.

"Okay, just swing your leg over like this" he said, demonstrating. It only took her about a half hour to get on, and another before she was comfortable walking slowly. Even though the process was long, it didn't feel so bad with friends at her side.