A Suckish Surrogate

Harley wanted a little sibling. Simple as that. Perhaps people would say she was just trying to fill the gap of her actual little brother, or maybe even she just wanted someone to spend time with since her and Ryan hadn't hung around that much anymore. Nonetheless, she wanted a sibling in the school to be a sister to, even if she was about to graduate.

As much as wanted a substitute sibling, it was easy to admit that she would probably be the shittiest sister ever. What could she do? Help them with homework? God, she couldn't even take them to lunch or something cheesy and dumb like that because she was so broke.

"Ugh," she groaned, angrily taking combing the brush around the pegasi's hide. It whinnied in retort to her lack of gentleness and she quickly apologized. "God, I suck!"

When she heard the sound of a twig snapping behind her, it startled her so much she dropped the brush, causing the horse to rear back and flap its wings. Hot air fanned her face so she reached her hands up to calm the winged horse before turning to face the person. "What?" she snapped.

Kayla hadn't set out to wander into the stables. Since Greg was out practicing Quidditch a lot, she found herself on the grounds often, getting a glimpse and waving at him. She did most of her homework outside with a few kids from her classes, but that day was homework-free and beautiful. She had tried to spend more time with Cameron, but he and Wolfgang were practically stuck together. Of course, she was happy for him, meeting his long-lost best friend. She just wanted to create fun times together. After all, he was family now. And just like the rest of her family, she felt distant to him. 

Kayla had never ventured into the stables before. She wasn't a huge animal person. But at least, it was away from the crowds and would provide shade. She did have final exams to study for, so she brought her book bag. Entering the stable, she tripped over some broken branches and her book bag spilled. "Ow," she groaned, stooping to pick up the books before looking up at the girl who had snapped at her. She was definitely older, about seventh year and blonde. She looked quite frustrated. 

"I'm sorry," Kayla apologized as she scrambled to gather the rest of her books. She straightened up and looked from the girl to the horses. She rummaged in her bag for food and found a sugar cube, feeding it to the horse. How she had a sugar cube in her book bag, she wasn't sure. "I'll help," she offered to the girl.

Harley nearly groaned out loud. She hadn't even known the girl for two minutes and she;d already snapped at her. "Sorry for, uh, yelling at you. Yeah. Yeah, you can help. I guess you can help me brush him right now." She grabbed a brush from the metal bucket next to her and handed it the the younger girl. A first-year maybe. "I'm Harley by the way." Oh my god, she could not have ever been more awkward than she was right then.

After ridding the beautiful horse's mane of stray dust and and loose hairs, she eventually coaxed him to spread his wings so she could groom them. Well? Say something!she thought to herself. Then she did what was probably the most mortifyingly stupid thing she had ever done, and she had done quite a few of those.

She tried to crack a joke.

"So, uh. What did the pony say when he had a sore throat?" She nervously forced out. As soon as she said it, she wished she could take it back. It was a well kept secret that Harley found stupid, corny jokes ridiculously funny. Possibly one of the reasons she never told anyone was also because when she laughed, she snorted, and that was never attractive. In a moment that felt like years, she waited for the girl to respond.

"It's fine," Kayla replied as she accepted the brush from the girl. She figured she was probably just having a bad day and let a rude outburst slip. She couldn't be completely horrible if she was taking care of the horses. The horse really was beautiful and there wasn't much dirt to clean off. Kayla lightly brushed its mane. "Harley. That's a cool name," she commented. "I'm Kayla." Silence took over for a long while, with only the sound of the horses and brushing. She hoped she was grooming the horse right. "Do you come here often?" she asked Harley. 

Kayla was horrible with guessing jokes. "I don't know. Neigh? Ring-ding-ding-ding?" she tried to guess, shrugging. Nevertheless she was a sucker for a good joke.