The Artificial Girl

chapter 8

I skip out of my room and out the fire door to the garden. Dustin and Aiden are already waiting, sitting on the swinging chair in the garden. Dustin looks annoyed and bored. Aiden smiles when he sees me and waves me over. I open the gate and stand awkwardly to the side, as there is no room for me on the swing.

Dustin stands up. “I’m bored. What d’you want to do?”

I bite my nail, a habit I used to have often. The stupid fake nails don’t offer the same satisfaction. Aiden stands up scratching the back of his neck.

“Horses?” I say. I’ve only ridden the horses once since I got here.

“Ok,” Dustin says, breaking into a wonderful smile.

The three of us walk towards the stables and I search for the horse I took last time. The shiny black one called Darla. A stable girl with a cowboy’s hat waves at me. Her name is Harriet.

She studies Dustin and Aiden and directs them to a horse. Dustin gets a brown one with a beautiful blonde mane. Aiden gets a pure snow white one.

“I’m guessing you want Darla the darling?” Harriet smiles.

I nod, grinning like a lunatic. I practically jump onto Darla, bareback, holding her rough black mane. We canter out of the stables and down a winding gravel road to an orchard. The apples look good enough to eat. I grab one from a branch, sitting up on Darla. I bounce the apple in my hand then aim it at the back of Aiden’s head. I throw it hard. It misses the target and hits him on the shoulder.

“Ow,” He turns around, rubbing his shoulder.

I laugh hysterically.

“What’s going on?” says Dustin, turning round on his horse.

Aiden grabs an apple and throws it at me. It bounces off my thigh and onto the ground. My horse spots it and leans forward so far I fall off, landing with a plop on the ground. This causes Dustin to laugh. Dustin and Aiden both point and snicker at me.

I roll my eyes and get up, rubbing my sore back. The pain fades quickly and I get back onto my horse again, who is oblivious of what just happened, still crunching on the apple.