Disclaimer: Don't own it. Any of it. I own me. Does that count? I own the story line, and the basic order of how things happen. The rest belongs to someone else.
Chapter 11: At the Barn
Tuesday Morning
Breakfast was over, and Trail's End was headed off toward the Barn. Everyone had time off, except of course for Blink and Gryffin. It always happened like that. Mornings that Gryffin had off, they never decided to stay up late. But on mornings that she had to work and then had the rest of the day off, they had usually been up late the last night. Yep. Just her life. As Trail's End walked past the pool (Maddie and Cassie leading the Moose song, one standing on either side of Kid Blink) Nike waved for Gryffin to join the small group of staff on the pool deck. Vash sat a few feet away on his milk crate, reading one of Eeyore's smut novels.
"It's a bit BREEZY out here," Nike said, much louder than she needed to. Harmony, Eeyore, Artemis and Snitch collapsed into giggles. Gryffin looked at them questioningly.
"Look at Vash," Harmony whispered. Gryffin almost puked, for the second time that day. Vash sat, his ugly, hairy back exposed. His red swim trunks were falling down, showing everyone who walked behind him his crack. It was much more than anyone wanted to see.
"Oh GOD! Yuck!" The group giggled again. Nike called to Jem, who was guarding in the shallow.
"Hey Jem! JEM! Did you see the CRACK on the pool deck?" The staff almost died with laughter. Try as they might, none of them could hold it in. Somehow, Nike wasn't laughing at her own joke. She merely smiled, that sarcastic look on her face. Davey stood by, his hands in his pockets, trying hard not to have fun at the other guy's expense. He knew what it was like to be the outcast. Gryffin gave him credit. She couldn't have kept a straight face if it were worth a million dollars.
"You're so mean," Gryffin said, slapping Nike on the back. "But its frickin' hilarious. I gotta go." Vash was resolutely ignoring them.
"Got its cold! Does anyone else feel that BREEZE?"
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When Gryffin got to the Barn, Angel already had her group on their horses in the Ring. Storm and Boots were showing their group how to muck out the stalls. Luna, the Riding Director, sat watching Jack and Aussie go over the many different parts of a horse.
"If you need me, I'll be in the hay room," Gryffin whispered to Luna as she walked into the Barn. Kid Blink was already stretched out over a few bales of hay, his had pulled over his face. Gryffin laid down next to him with her head on his chest and promptly fell asleep. Boy, wasn't being staff such hard work?
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"Jack," Luna whispered into the Cowboy's ear. He looked really bored with the lesson. He was actually beginning to fall asleep. He also looked really, really good… Luan always had a thing for country boys. And he could sing… Luna cleared the thoughts from her head. "Come on Jack, come ride trail with me."
Jack looked up. His eyes were tired, and he was almost asking if she were nuts with his expression. Luna smiled one of her overly large, goofy smiles and grabbed his hand on her way to the ring.
"Have you ever been on a horse before?"
"Yeah."
"You any good at riding?"
"I's good 'nuff."
"Okay then. There are only a few horses left that aren't going out. You did say you knew what you were doing. You can ride Ace. Brooke wanted to come for a ride to. She's riding Cisco, because he's just a pony and he's really tame. I'm going to ride Mystery and lead. You can follow me, and Brooke, you ride after Jack. Angel, take the back, okay?"
Angel nodded as she jumped up onto her horse, Boo. "Watch Brooke, she's real scared still. I don't know why she gets like this every time she rides, but she comes anyway." Luna rolled her eyes and mounted Mystery. They led the trail out of the barn and onto the path. These campers weren't terrible, but they were no Western Fun and Games, either. Damn, did Jack look good on that horse! Luna almost had to fight herself to look forward at the path instead of behind her to the cowboy.
Nothing that interesting happened. It rarely did. Luna could let the reins go completely slack, and Mystery would walk along the right trails at the right pace. For all that she loved to be around horses, after so many years of riding the same trails, they got a bit boring. Luna nearly jumped out of her saddle when she heard the scream.
Brooke and Cisco had both screamed at the same time. Cisco turned on the path and bolted, as fast as he could, back toward camp.
"Jump off!" Angel yelled. Brooke was clinging to Cisco's mane, screaming as loud as she could. The horse was only getting more frightened.
Jack took off after her. Hoof beats pounded the ground. Ace whinnied as Jack pushed him harder. Luna swore under her breath and turned Mystery around.
"Angel, stay with the girls!" she shouted. Mystery's long legs worked to her advantage, and Luna quickly caught up to Jack. "Stop pushing Ace that much! He's going to start getting bitchy and not cooperating."
"Relax,
goirl, I gots it!"
"No, Cowboy, I'm serious. Stop the damn horse or I'll have two staff members to save. Stop messing around, I have to catch Brooke."
Luna pulled away from Jack, who completely ignored her. Luna was pissed. Nobody ignored the Riding Director. She would worry about him later. Brooke was a bigger problem right now.
Mystery caught up with Cisco. Luna pulled the other horse's reins back sharply, and both horses slowed down. Brooke was rubbing her left arm where a tree branch had whacked her.
"Are you okay?" Luna asked, annoyed.
"Oh God, get me off of here." Brooke leaned down and pulled her stuck boot out of the stirrup. She slid off the horse and backed away, as far as she could get from the horse. Cisco stood, patiently pawing the ground. Jack arrived next to them, his shirt torn and covered in mud.
"I told you to stop, idiot," Luna spat. "I don't even want to know what happened. Get off of that horse, now! Take Cisco with you and walk them back to the barn. Take his saddle off and put him out. We're not using him again."
Jack stood, listening to his good judgment and remaining quiet. Luna turned and went back to the trail. Jack took the reins of both horses and walked back toward the barn, humming Santa Fe under his breath.
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Storm saw Jack bring the two horses back to the barn. He looked extremely pissed.
"Wha's wrong wid yous?" Boots asked.
"Awe, stuff yerself." Jack let Cisco out into the field.
"What's his problem?" Storm asked, filling someone the water buckets.
"I dunno," Boots replied. He poured the shovel full of horse dung into the wheelbarrow. "It's so hot out here today."
Storm smiled to herself. She put her thumb over the nozzle of the hose and pointed it at Boots.
"Hey!" he shouted. His shirt was dripping down the front. "Dat ain't fair!"
"So what. What are you going to do about it?"
Storm smiled broadly, turning the hose back to its business. Boots jumped over the stall and into the barn. He grabbed the bucket of water that Storm had just filled and emptied it over her head.
"BOOTS!"
The boy took off, tearing onto the road and toward camp. Storm ran after him, and she wasn't far behind. The girls at the barn looked on questioningly, and went on with their chores.
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Snitch was nervous. Really nervous. He knew that he shouldn't be thinking the thoughts that filled his head, but here he was, all the same. He had never thought of this before… it was all so new and so strange.
"Artemis, I need to talk ta yas."
"Sure Snitch," she said, shutting her notebook. "What about?"
"Wanna take a walk?"
"Okay."
They walked out of Mary Lodge toward Outback. Snitch wandered around, not really sure of where he was going or what exactly he was doing. He started down the horse path into the pine trees. Artemis strolled along beside him, not rushing, but simply waiting.
"It's about last night." Artemis stopped where she stood. There had been too many painful conversations that had started that way.
"What about last night?" She tried to keep her voice calm. She tried to hide the fear of what Snitch might say.
"It's just that… I nevah thought a dis before…" he gulped loudly. "Artemis, I tink I might… I might be gay. I tink I might have a ting for Skittery." He looked up, as if a child asking for approval from their parents. Artemis met his gaze, completely confused. This was not what she had been expecting. Her hazel eyes were moist with tears. A tense moment passed in silence. Snitch fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well?"
"You want Skittery over me?" It was all she could say without risking letting her voice break.
"No… I don' know what I want. I jus' knows dat I shouldn' ta liked dat kiss from my best friend so much. I'm confused, Artemis."
"I don't have your answer. You'll have to talk to him about that."
"But I don't want to be wid 'im. I wants ta be wid you. I jus' can' look at it as simple as dat anymore. In differen' ways, I wants both a yas."
"That's something you can't have. You have to pick one way or the other. But don't be surprised if you get your heart broken chasing after boys. Not all of them are like that."
"I knows." Snitch walked closer to Artemis and took her hands. "But I just gotta see where dis goes. I gotta know Artemis."
She dropped his hands, but stayed standing by his side. "I think I have to go. I need to go lie down for a little while. I'll be in my tent." Artemis turned to go. Snitch stood, lost in his own thoughts, alone in the woods.
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Boots came upon Snitch and Artemis in the woods behind Mary Lodge. They had seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. Boots quickly grabbed Snitch by the waist, and turned so that the older boy was between him and Storm.
"Help me, Snitch!"
"Waddar ya doin? Get off me!" Snitch wasn't in a good mood.
"She's gonna kill me."
"Boots? What did you do?" Artemis asked, exasperated at having to stop what she knew would be a lonely trek to her tent, but glad for the interruption of the awkward parting she and Snitch were having.
"I didn't do nothin'. It was all her!"
Artemis looked questioningly at him over the top of her glasses.
"Okay, but she started it! I poured a bucket of water on her, but only because she sprayed me with the hose."
"Come here!" Storm yelled and took a flying leap at Boots. Snitch moved just in time and Boots tumbled to the ground with Storm on top of him. Instead of hitting him though, she started tickling him. Artemis gave a half hearted smile at their antics and headed back to her tent alone. Snitch watched her walk off and sat down at the base of a tree, trying to think.
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'This day sucks,' Luna thought to herself as she led Mystery back into the barn. Boots and Storm randomly running off, Cisco's freaking out on trail, Jack trying to be a big shot. That's what bothered her most. She tried so much just to ignore the fact that any of the Newsies existed, but she was failing miserably. Luna didn't like to fail.
"Jack, Boots, Storm and Tink. You guys need to go out in the pasture with me and we're going to muck out the hay boxes out there. It has been raining a lot lately, and they are a mess. The rest of the barn staff is going to stay with the campers and do lessons. We aren't having any more trails today. There's just too much random crap going on to manage it."
The other barn staff members nodded. They got a few brushes and the hose and headed out to the boxes. The sun beat down on them. It was already hot out, much too hot for eleven o'clock in the morning. Jack pulled a few buttons loose on his shirt. No matter what he did, Luna ignored him. He was getting sick of it. In New York he could have any girl he wanted, but here… here it was different. He wanted her because he could not have her.
"That's not how you scrub, Storm," Luna said, lowering herself into the mud from her perch on the fence. She had been supervising the operation rather than participating herself. There was always work to be done at the barn, and nobody every got a break. Her mind overflowed with random jobs and chores that needed to be done, and she wondered where she would ever get the people or time to do it all. She took the brush from Storm and attacked a corner of the hay box with it. Wet hay stuck to the brush, and the dirt underneath was freed. "There. Do it like that."
"It's soooo hot!" Boots whined. "Man! I don't think its evah dis hot in New York."
"Quit complaining and work." Tink said bluntly. She was hot and sweaty too, and none of them wanted to be standing ankle-deep in mud, scrubbing out the saliva-filled hay from the dirty box.
Jack threw down his brush, disgusted. "Dis is foul." Luna looked at him, a piercing stare, daring him to actually quit working. He stared back, defiant, and pulled off his shirt. The sweat glistened on his back as he bent down to pick up the brush again. "Boots, if yas gonna complain, jus' take off ya shirt. It's a lot coolah."
Boots made a face at his brush, as if deciding weather it would be proper to listen to Jack or not. Jack was his leader though, so if he said it was alright, it was. Boots sighed and tossed his shirt onto the fence as well.
The work took a while and it was hard, but they made the best of it.
"Boots?" Storm asked, fingering some of the mud. "Can I draw on you?"
"What?"
"Can I draw on you?"
"Oh, what the hell. Whatever." He sprayed water in the box, rinsing out the last of the crud. Storm smiled at Luna and started painting on Boots' back. In five minutes time, there was a complete picture of a thunderstorm and lightening over a forest somewhere. The mud dried almost as quickly as she put it on.
"Scrub that harder, Cowboy. Your section is by far the worst." Luna told him, inspecting the tubs.
"I's doin da best dat I can. Dis one is dirtier dan dem."
"No it isn't. You just can't scrub as well." Jack mimicked her as soon as she said it, making awkward faces into the hay box. Luna jumped back down into the mud again. She was dangerously close to him. "What was that, Jack?"
"Nothing, your Barnness. Sorry dat I can' scrub as well as ya'd like me to. Maybes if I'd get down on my hands and knees an' worship yous, den I wouldn' get in troubles."
Luna took a swing at Jack's head. He ducked, which she didn't expect. Her swing took her balance, and she fell sideways into the mud. The others laughed. Jack smiled, but repressed the laughter as he offered her a hand up. She took it grudgingly and punched him in the arm as soon as she was back on her feet.
"I have better things to do than watch you guys. Do it right, or do it again later. Your choice." She stalked away to the barn where the campers were lining up to leave. Gryffin and Blink had been woken up, though they still had hay on some of their clothes.
"This. Day. Sucks." She said to herself as she picked up a clipboard that had the Daily form on it and plopped down in a chair, cherishing the moment by herself.
End Eleven
A/N: Sorry it was so slow guys, but I've been swamped with school work. It is super test week here or something. I had to study and write 2 English papers. I also have my desk covered in post-it notes of ideas for this story and others. I'm looking for an idea for a more serious story. (Well, at least with more of a plotline. Mine are just sort of random and they only entertain. I want to write a Newsie fic with substance, so if anyone has any ideas that they'd like to share, I'd be happy to have them. You would of course, get credit for the idea.)
Yeah, the chapter's a little forced, but I really did the best I could. Sorry if ya don't like it, but if anyone has any ideas for it, please include them! Okay, please REVIEW! ^_^ byez!
Shoutouts!
Maddie: *blink* *blink blink* Wow… um… yeah. I have nothing to say to that. (congratulations, for the first time in her life, you've rendered Gryffin speechless!) Oh, and by the way, if you want to get a hold of me, just email me. You really don't need to leave me about 4 reviews for any one chapter.
Artemis: YAY FOR REVIEWER # 50!!!!! YOU GET A COMPLETE SET OF NEWSIE COOKIES, EACH OF WITCH ARE COVERED IN A DIFFERENT TOPPING, INCLUDING SPRINKLES, CHOCOLATE, WHIPPED CREAM, STRAWBERRIES, AND MANY, MANY MORE!!!!! Okay, now that that's over… There was reason to Orchard waking up. It will be explained, like all other mysteries of the universe. I know there are a lot of people in camp, and I'm really trying to include them all, but I don't know if I'll succeed. I suppose that we'll find out. *I suppose that I should have another chapter that is nothing but the boys sometime soon…*
Kristan: Yes, there was a lack of you last chapter, and there is a complete lack of you this chapter too. Sorry, but that's the way it works. I love you, and you have your own chapter coming up soon. ^_^
Moon: You're welcome for the mush. (no pun intended) You might want to read my new story, Night. It is completely mush, nothing else. No plot, no story, just a chapter of descriptive mush.
Cassie: Sorry that I had to include Vash, Willow made me! (well, not really, but that's another story) Glad you enjoyed!
Christine: I'm glad you liked you and Mush. I thought you'd enjoy it. I don't know when, but I know I'll mention you two again. You're just so effing cute together! Maybe I will write Dave in some day this week… and Taylor is getting a Newsie, I just haven't spent much time on her yet. Thanks for the ideas and enjoy! ^_^
Jessie: Always glad for a new reader. How're things going with Joey? Sorry that Joe kept pushing that sore spot about Joey's sexuality… but he didn't know that it was a sore spot, since Joey didn't say anything. He really didn't mean to hurt anyone.
Alyssa: Thanks, and about Friday, call me sometime and we'll talk about it. Sorry, but I thought that the plans Joe and I had would be a little uncomfortable with another person around. ^_~ You're right… Poor Eeyore!
Luna: Finally, it is your chapter. Super Luna! The Riding Director of Camp Redwing! Hehe… use your imagination here, and I'm sorry for anything that wouldn't really go on at the barn. I really did sleep through the few times that I got to be there this summer!
Storm: Here's for you and Boots! I'm really tryin' here, but I don't know that much about barn staff! If you guys have any ideas or anything that went on this summer or in summers past that you'd like put into the story, I'd be happy to incorporate it if I can.