Moonlit Mayhem [COMPLETED]

Chapter 2: Emie

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Emie slammed their hand down on the snooze button of her alarm and staggered to their feet. Sure, getting up at 6:30 in the morning wasn't great, but Kayleigh was counting on her! Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, they staggered to the washroom and turned on the shower. Part of her knew that there was no point in it since they were going to have to shower when they got home, but she also knew that it was the best thing to wake them up in the morning. After a quick shower, Emie brushed out her hair and tried unsuccessfully to pull it back into a ponytail.

Not yet. She thought. Soon it'll be long enough. Soon I won't have this stupid masculine cut.

Shrugging off the approaching dysphoria, they grabbed their gear and after grabbing a quick bite to eat, hopped into their dark blue Dodge truck. Having the barn only ten minutes away made it so that there was no particular rush in the morning. Even though it was a short drive, Emie still found the drive to be soothing and allowed them to relax before what would inevitably be stressful beyond belief.

Pulling into the dusty parking lot, Emie parked her car in their usual parking space, noticing that Becky hadn't arrived yet. Unlocking the doors and switching off the radio—which had been playing Miranda Lambert—Emie took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet country air. Despite the fact that she lived on a farm with their family, Emie still found joy working at Moonlit Pastures, especially with the children. At times, she considered continuing training children to ride when they got older and moved out.

Walking into the barn, Emie prepared for the long day ahead. Even though she enjoyed the work, they knew that it would be an exhausting day nonetheless. After dropping her keys on the benchtop, Emie walked out to the many pastures behind the Olympic-style barn. It was protocol to keep as many lead shanks on the gates of each pasture for every horse that was in them. In case of an emergency, anyone would be able to help staff with the horses, and it made turning in the horses that much easier. Emie grabbed two lead shanks and unchained the gate. They slipped inside and looped the chain back over the fence post. Sure, it wasn't locked, but it should deter any of the horses that might dash through an open gate.

Clucking softly as she approached the herd, Emie tried their best to call over the top mare. If she could get the top mare and her second in command, the rest of the herd would more likely follow. Finally reaching the head mare, Emie clipped the lead shank to her halter along with that of the mare who was second in command and walked back toward the gate.

After latching it behind them, Emie led the horses into the barn and set each of them into their stalls. After returning to the mares' field five more times, Becky sauntered into the barn, chewing her pink bubble gum obnoxiously. She was dressed as she usually was—a white t-shirt, black riding pants and boots, and her hair in a perfect show bun—with an expression of pure annoyance and boredom plastered on her face. Emie took that moment to check the time on her watch.

8:15.

"Becky!" Emie couldn't help but shout accusingly. They knew that it wasn't fair to shout at the girl, but at that point, she was too angry to care. "We still have to bring in all the geldings and stallions. Why on earth are you forty-five minutes late?"

Becky grumbled but didn't respond. She simply marched past Emie towards the pastures behind the barn without saying a word. Emie followed, knowing that they had to bring in the rest of the horses so that they could give them a flake or two of hay—well, really it was timothy but it was usually referred to as hay—before the students arrived. Between the two of them, they managed to bring in all the geldings and stallions in only about three trips. Becky continued to give Emie the silent treatment, though Emie wasn't sure as to why.

Moving on to hay, each horse was given at least a flake with some of the thinner horses receiving two flakes. The sweet smell of hay was one of Emie's favorite smells if they were honest. It reminded her of caring for her own horse—Falcon—before he was moved to Moonlit Pastures. With time slowly creeping by and the threat of arriving students hanging in the air, Emie and Becky rushed to finish grabbing the students' tack from the locked cupboards in the tack room and setting them up on their designated racks in the common area.

Part of the benefit of doing this meant that none of the students knew where the key was kept, and therefore kept the tack even safer than a simple padlock. While it did take longer than letting the students get their tack themselves, to Emie, it was a necessary procedure. Especially with the premium students' tack on the line as well. Rushing to finish setting things out in time for the students' arrival, Becky reached for a saddle, despite the fact that she already held one, to begin with. Emie had just put down her single saddle and noticed Becky struggling. They hurried into the tack room and tried to grab the saddle from Becky.

"I'll get it!" Emie declared. "It's the last one anyway. Just give it to me!"

"I've got it!" Becky retorted, speaking to Emie for the first time that morning. "Give. It. Back!"

With that statement, she pulled roughly on the saddle, successfully seizing it from Emie. Unfortunately, it did result in her stumbling back several steps in surprise and excess energy. She ended up backing up right into one of the five-drawer organizers, on which all the leather treating products were placed. After hitting the organizer, Becky had just enough time to look behind her before a bottle of saddle soap fell to the floor. Apparently whoever had used it last had not put the cap on correctly, as the cap exploded off the bottle the moment it hit the floor.

Emie and Becky stood in silence for a moment while they contemplated their next actions. Reacting quickly, Emie rushed out of the room to grab a rag while Becky dropped the saddles and popped the cap back on the saddle soap. After five full minutes of cleaning up the mess, Emie could hear the telltale sound of gravel crunching under rubber tires. Becky, taking her job very seriously, walked to the main door and held it open with a bright smile and seemingly joyful attitude. Leading the first student inside—a six-year-old blond boy named Colin—Emie felt the stress that had been building inside them dissipate. Today was going to be a good day, she could just sense it.

And that's the second chapter! What do you guys think of this one! Another huge thank you to Imagining_My_Life for co-writing this with me. If it wasn't for you, I most certainly wouldn't have written any of this. Hope you guys are enjoying this so far. I really enjoyed writing this and might look into writing more stories like this in the future. Thank you again Imagining_My_Life!

~Alley