Status: ***ed up Rammstein feelage, ahoy.
Die Jagd
Two
Carol
“Carol!” My blond friend’s desperate call sounded out through our tiny studio apartment. “Caaaarrooooool!!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming! Just calm your tits, woman,” I said as I made my way to our living room.
Our apartment wasn’t anything too fancy. I mean, what college kid can really afford anything super fancy? The light in the bathroom gave off an odd yellow glow, sometimes flickering, and if your shoes were sticky enough, you could rip the broken tiles in our entry way right off the floor. But we couldn’t complain about the negatives. The apartment did have two bedrooms, one bathroom (with a working bathtub), a workable kitchen, a decent sized living room and was within walking distance of campus. The living room even came furnished with a couch that was such an unpleasant shade of orange it almost hurt to look at it. But no matter how ugly that damn thing was, it sure was comfy.
Danni whimpered, laying on the couch in a blanket burrito and continuing to call out to me until I appeared in the doorway. Seeing her like this you would have never guessed that the night before she was acting like a crazed animal during her rugby game. The expressions of the players on the opposing team were priceless as they watched the only girl on the entire team practically attack one of their best players.
“Here ya go, my dear.” I sinisterly said and put the icepack on the coffee table, right out of reach.
I was met with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed expression, but, being the kind roommate I am, pushed the coffee table closer to her with a smirk.
“I swear, sometimes you are a real pain in the butt.” Danni muttered at me while grabbing the ice pack to carefully place on her past torn ACL.
“But I’m your favorite pain in the butt?” I asked as I also pulled the remote over to her and plopped down a bag of pretzels and a glass of water.
Her mouth slowly curled into a smile as she tried to hold it back. “Yes, you are my favorite.”
Naturally, Danni was the type of person that gave off a tough vibe. Even though she didn’t necessarily have a tough appearance, the resting bitch face expression she carried with her always came in handy during awkward situations. However, being her best friend and roommate, I did know how to make her smile, even when she was in pain after she tried to take down a full grown man almost three times her size during a bruising rugby match.
I just smiled at her last comment. “Is there anything else you need before I go?” I asked as I grabbed my backpack and flung it over my shoulders.
“Nah, I think I’m good….where are you off to?? A boyfriend I don’t know about?? Bitch you’re supposed to tell me these things ASAP.” She said in a demanding yet interested tone, struggling to get situated to a sitting position on the couch.
“Oh, don’t worry. You know this one; you've met Henry before.” I remarked.
Henry was not actually my boyfriend. I can’t remember the last decent boyfriend I had that was honestly worth mentioning. Apparently I gave off the vibe that I wasn’t the long term type, or maybe I just disappointed men when they found out that I was more stubborn than the average girl when it came to trying to get in my pants.
Danni nodded in understanding when she realized I was talking about the cherry bay gelding at the stable I picked up a part time job at. Working and going to school in a foreign country seemed impossible at first, but honestly working at a stable was the best idea ever. I get to be around my favorite animal, I get to ride whenever I want when I’m not working (for free), and I can be secluded from society and get paid for not having to talk to a lot of people. Besides, when we decided to lease a car for the year we didn’t realize how much it would cost.
The crisp autumn air hit my face once I exited the apartment and started towards the street our car was parked on. Germans were terrifying drivers, but I haven’t been in an accident the entire two months we have been here so I guess my terrifying driving actions transition well with the natives terrifying driving. The drive to the stables was actually quite calm and pleasant aside from the few darker clouds littering the sky here and there.
Just like Danni found her sanity by using her pent up anger on the poor, helpless rugby players, I found my sanity through horseback riding. Of course this was not my only way of getting rid of the pent up stress I gained form my frustrations in life, there was the intense running and crazy driving skills of mine, which sometimes made me question how I was still alive in this world.
But horseback riding was one of the more calming hobbies of mine. As I rode down one of the trail paths I listened to the breeze causing the branches to sway slowly from side to side, felt my hair dance slightly around me, and listened to the rhythmic stepping of Henry’s hooves as we went farther into the woods. Nature was always the best kind of therapy for me whenever I needed to just get away from society and think. Horses didn’t ask stupid questions nor did they bother you with endless chatter; they just listened.
This previous week hadn’t been very good to me nor Danni. One of the most snobbish human beings we had ever encountered—our Professor, unfortunately—not only called us out, but he humiliated us by gawking over our latest failure in front of his assistant and some other faculty members of the university. It was as if he was trying to shape our future reputation into something that it wasn’t. I was just glad it was the weekend.
As if bringing me back to reality and away from my thoughts, Henry suddenly stopped on the path, his body tensing with anticipation. Looking up I glanced around and was surprised by the sudden change in my surroundings. The trees, that were swaying only a short while ago, were now like still statues being surrounded by a fog that was slowly starting to creep in. The only sound that I could hear, besides Henry’s heavy breathing and snorting, was the far off sound of the occasional Jake Brake from a diesel truck on the highway.
“C’mon, bud. You’re fine, there’s nothing there.” I insisted, nudging his sides with my heels, but he still did not move. It was as if I wasn’t even there.
This sent a funny feeling down my spine, Henry was the calmest horse at the stable and wasn’t easily startled over something mundane as a squirrel or rabbit hiding in the bushes. Suddenly the path ahead of us didn’t look so inviting and started to put off an eerie vibe. Before I was dumped off and left in the dust, I spun Henry around and rode back the other way, there was no sense in finding out if anything really was out there or if it was just our imaginations taking us on a wild ride.
“Carol!” My blond friend’s desperate call sounded out through our tiny studio apartment. “Caaaarrooooool!!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming! Just calm your tits, woman,” I said as I made my way to our living room.
Our apartment wasn’t anything too fancy. I mean, what college kid can really afford anything super fancy? The light in the bathroom gave off an odd yellow glow, sometimes flickering, and if your shoes were sticky enough, you could rip the broken tiles in our entry way right off the floor. But we couldn’t complain about the negatives. The apartment did have two bedrooms, one bathroom (with a working bathtub), a workable kitchen, a decent sized living room and was within walking distance of campus. The living room even came furnished with a couch that was such an unpleasant shade of orange it almost hurt to look at it. But no matter how ugly that damn thing was, it sure was comfy.
Danni whimpered, laying on the couch in a blanket burrito and continuing to call out to me until I appeared in the doorway. Seeing her like this you would have never guessed that the night before she was acting like a crazed animal during her rugby game. The expressions of the players on the opposing team were priceless as they watched the only girl on the entire team practically attack one of their best players.
“Here ya go, my dear.” I sinisterly said and put the icepack on the coffee table, right out of reach.
I was met with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed expression, but, being the kind roommate I am, pushed the coffee table closer to her with a smirk.
“I swear, sometimes you are a real pain in the butt.” Danni muttered at me while grabbing the ice pack to carefully place on her past torn ACL.
“But I’m your favorite pain in the butt?” I asked as I also pulled the remote over to her and plopped down a bag of pretzels and a glass of water.
Her mouth slowly curled into a smile as she tried to hold it back. “Yes, you are my favorite.”
Naturally, Danni was the type of person that gave off a tough vibe. Even though she didn’t necessarily have a tough appearance, the resting bitch face expression she carried with her always came in handy during awkward situations. However, being her best friend and roommate, I did know how to make her smile, even when she was in pain after she tried to take down a full grown man almost three times her size during a bruising rugby match.
I just smiled at her last comment. “Is there anything else you need before I go?” I asked as I grabbed my backpack and flung it over my shoulders.
“Nah, I think I’m good….where are you off to?? A boyfriend I don’t know about?? Bitch you’re supposed to tell me these things ASAP.” She said in a demanding yet interested tone, struggling to get situated to a sitting position on the couch.
“Oh, don’t worry. You know this one; you've met Henry before.” I remarked.
Henry was not actually my boyfriend. I can’t remember the last decent boyfriend I had that was honestly worth mentioning. Apparently I gave off the vibe that I wasn’t the long term type, or maybe I just disappointed men when they found out that I was more stubborn than the average girl when it came to trying to get in my pants.
Danni nodded in understanding when she realized I was talking about the cherry bay gelding at the stable I picked up a part time job at. Working and going to school in a foreign country seemed impossible at first, but honestly working at a stable was the best idea ever. I get to be around my favorite animal, I get to ride whenever I want when I’m not working (for free), and I can be secluded from society and get paid for not having to talk to a lot of people. Besides, when we decided to lease a car for the year we didn’t realize how much it would cost.
The crisp autumn air hit my face once I exited the apartment and started towards the street our car was parked on. Germans were terrifying drivers, but I haven’t been in an accident the entire two months we have been here so I guess my terrifying driving actions transition well with the natives terrifying driving. The drive to the stables was actually quite calm and pleasant aside from the few darker clouds littering the sky here and there.
Just like Danni found her sanity by using her pent up anger on the poor, helpless rugby players, I found my sanity through horseback riding. Of course this was not my only way of getting rid of the pent up stress I gained form my frustrations in life, there was the intense running and crazy driving skills of mine, which sometimes made me question how I was still alive in this world.
But horseback riding was one of the more calming hobbies of mine. As I rode down one of the trail paths I listened to the breeze causing the branches to sway slowly from side to side, felt my hair dance slightly around me, and listened to the rhythmic stepping of Henry’s hooves as we went farther into the woods. Nature was always the best kind of therapy for me whenever I needed to just get away from society and think. Horses didn’t ask stupid questions nor did they bother you with endless chatter; they just listened.
This previous week hadn’t been very good to me nor Danni. One of the most snobbish human beings we had ever encountered—our Professor, unfortunately—not only called us out, but he humiliated us by gawking over our latest failure in front of his assistant and some other faculty members of the university. It was as if he was trying to shape our future reputation into something that it wasn’t. I was just glad it was the weekend.
As if bringing me back to reality and away from my thoughts, Henry suddenly stopped on the path, his body tensing with anticipation. Looking up I glanced around and was surprised by the sudden change in my surroundings. The trees, that were swaying only a short while ago, were now like still statues being surrounded by a fog that was slowly starting to creep in. The only sound that I could hear, besides Henry’s heavy breathing and snorting, was the far off sound of the occasional Jake Brake from a diesel truck on the highway.
“C’mon, bud. You’re fine, there’s nothing there.” I insisted, nudging his sides with my heels, but he still did not move. It was as if I wasn’t even there.
This sent a funny feeling down my spine, Henry was the calmest horse at the stable and wasn’t easily startled over something mundane as a squirrel or rabbit hiding in the bushes. Suddenly the path ahead of us didn’t look so inviting and started to put off an eerie vibe. Before I was dumped off and left in the dust, I spun Henry around and rode back the other way, there was no sense in finding out if anything really was out there or if it was just our imaginations taking us on a wild ride.