//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: Problem Child 
// Story: Rosa 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

"You'd like to what?" the woman asked, staring at Rosa strangely with a glass of water in her hand.

"Um, I'd like to help with the chrysanthemums, Mrs. Boone," the mare repeated herself.

"What about them?"

Rosa gulped and tried to put on her best smile. "I thought they looked lovely. I'd like to try my hand at gardening."

Jennifer Boone raised her eyebrow a little quizzically, then took a sip from her glass. Rosa had come to ask her while the husband was putting the children in his car to take them to school. The lady gestured with the glass in her hand. "You don't have hands."

Rosa very nearly rolled her eyes. Didn't the woman know a figure of speech when she heard one?! "It was, um, just an expression, Mrs. Boone."

She had finished her water, so Mrs. Boone put the glass down on the counter and strode away. Rosa's ears folded down in disappointment. She had been so sure it would work! The footsteps paused and Rosa glanced up in sudden hope.

"You can weed the flowerbeds in the back, by the fence. That way no one will see if you mess it up," Jennifer told her.

Rosa's smile was back instantly. "Thank you, Mrs. Boone! You won't be disappointed, I promise!"

She just shrugged and left, leaving the mare alone with the dishes.

Today, Rosa decided, she would use the dishwasher, which would give her extra time. Doing it by hoof wasn't impressing the Boones anyway, so there wasn't much point. She listened to the cars driving away as she began stacking the silverware into the machine. There was no food left for her, but Mr. Boone had shown Rosa where they kept cereals and there was some milk in the fridge, so she knew she would be fine. The task was soon finished and the machine started whirring away. Rosa didn't know how long it would take, but two hours should be plenty, she decided. She would check on it later. In the meantime, there was sweeping to finish and laundry to put in the washer... and that was about it.

Yep, it certainly was the easy life...





Working with flowers was fun! Sure, it left her sweaty, hot and muddy up to her knees, but there was something subtly rewarding about it. Rosa hadn't known exactly what weeds looked like, so she did her best to guess. Anything with a flower or a bud on it stayed and the green shoots which didn't seem to serve any other purpose came out. The refuse ended up in a small pile because she didn't know what to do with it.

Presently she spat the last mouthful on top and inspected her work with a critical eye. It was kind of nice. The flowers still had enough green leaves so the bed didn't seem too barren, but the petals were much more prominent. Rosa still needed Mrs. Boone's verdict, but hopefully she would agree that the mare had done a decent job. Perhaps she would let her tend to her other flowers as well. Maybe she would even smile and say she had done a good job. A head pat was probably wishful thinking, but Rosa indulged in a brief fantasy. If she won over the lady of the house and then Benjamin, she would have made herself a nice, pleasant little home for a couple of years.

It was exciting stuff.

For the moment, though, it was nearly time for the Boone family to come from school, which meant Rosa needed to get her hooves washed right away! She glanced down and noticed, with some dismay, that there was some mud and green stains on her white apron as well. That was less good. She would have to wash the uniform, which probably meant getting into her nightgown a little earlier than usual. Rosa was not sure if she was allowed to wear that downstairs and decided to ask Mr. Boone at the earliest opportunity.

Speaking of the man, Rosa's ears caught a faint noise and she turned them, triangulating. A car was coming up the driveway! She put some hustle in her step and hurried inside so she could be sitting in the middle of the living room floor as the people came home. The mud on her hooves and the dress would just have to wait. Hopefully Mr. Boone would understand.

Lillian was first through the door and rushed Rosa for a hug. The pony did her best to keep her school dress from getting stained. "Easy, sweetie! I've been working in the garden and I don't want to get you dirty," she cautioned.

The child looked her over, then giggled. "You got mud all over you, Rosa!"

"Yeah, I hope you haven't been rolling around on the ground," Mr. Boone added from behind his daughter.

Rosa saw his grin and relaxed. "Oh, of course not, Mr. Boone! I have weeded Mrs. Boone's flowers for her. I'll go wash up directly!"

The man seemed a little thoughtful as he paused while shrugging out of his vest. "We'll have to get you another dress, so you have one to wear while you're washing the other. You can use the nightclothes for now."

Rosa knew her eyes had grown big and pleading, but she couldn't stop it. "Um, c-could I get, uh s-something with..." she swallowed and licked her lips to get them to work. "Something with a bit more color, sir?"

"Aw, don't look so sad, Rosa," Lillian commented and pulled her ears back up with her fingers.

For some reason that made her father chuckle. "Sure, I'll take you to the store on the weekend, okay?"

As he walked past her, Mr. Boone let his hand fall down and brushed it lightly through Rosa's mane.

She held her breath and her heart almost stopped. That had been a pat! She was certain of it! Yes!

Instructor Martha's voice came back from the depths of her memory: "Head pats are ze most important tool in a pony's repertoire of social bonding."

She had even told the ponies some of the psychology underlying that observation. Rosa didn't remember it exactly in that instant, but it boiled down to most humans liking soft, fluffy things to pat and hug.

"Here, put your bag on my back," Rosa told Lillian, unwilling to take it herself with her muddy hooves. She glanced around and saw that there were hoofprints on the floor. It would need another sweeping before Mrs. Boone came home, but Rosa had a few minutes to take the girl up and get clean herself.

"It's heavy," Lillian complained.

Rosa easily took the weight and the girl put her hand on her withers as the two walked up the stairs. Although Rosa didn't remember seeing him, she guessed Benjamin had slipped past while she was explaining herself to Mr. Boone. She picked up faint sounds of his game from his room.

"It's not too heavy. Us ponies are pretty strong," she explained.

Rosa soon had Lillian in her room, but she didn't go in herself. "I'll go wash my hooves first!"

The girl nodded at the explanation and helpfully lifted her backpack from the mare. Then Rosa made her way to the bathroom, but paused in the door and inspected the damage behind her. The upstairs carpet would need a quick vacuum, she decided with a sigh. Stupid, stupid. Next time she would have to leave herself enough time to wash in the downstairs bathroom after working with flowers. Of course, it was easier for humans, since they didn't need their hands for walking.

Rosa still liked working with plants, though.





The dress had to stay on because Rosa didn't have any replacement, but at least it proved to Mrs. Boone that she had actually done some work. She had told the lady about her progress before lunch and the Mrs. had said she would go inspect it later on. Rosa was both nervous and excited about the verdict. She knew she had done a good job!

Too bad Mrs. Boone seemed to have forgotten about it. Rosa wasn't going to remind her, at least not that day, no matter how much her curiosity burned. It would be too pushy of her, she judged.

That meant there was nothing for Rosa to do in the afternoon except for the dishes, but the machine was taking care of those so she was mostly free. It was a good opportunity to spend some quality time with her book. She would have preferred chatting with Lillian, or helping her with homework, but her mother had taken her to the town to buy some clothes and school supplies.

Mr. Boone was watching TV and Rosa didn't yet feel comfortable enough around him to try and join that, even though she was curious about movies. That left either the book or trying to get Benjamin to like her. Rosa had cowardly picked the former. There would be time for Benjamin, she told herself. The boy needed his space.

It was a peaceful enough afternoon, all in all. Every now and then Rosa heard a louder noise or an exclamation from the boy's room. She guessed he was either winning or losing at his game. There was also the faint sound of the television from downstairs. It was mostly people talking, with occasional scenes of exciting music and gunfire. Those parts made her ears flatten whenever she became aware of them. Rosa knew humans didn't have as good a hearing as ponies and sometimes she was a bit envious.

She was focusing on her book when Rosa heard Mr. Boone's phone ring. It had nothing to do with her, of course, but she lifted her head and unfocused her eyes in concentration. Curiosity wasn't a sin, after all.

Mr. Boone stopped his movie and answered his mobile. "Yes?"

It was too far for Rosa to hear the other side, but that didn't stop her from straining her ears and trying.

"Uh-huh," the man said. "I see."

There was more silence and then: "Yes, I'll have a word with him. Thank you for letting me know."

Rosa heard the tap as Mr. Boone put his phone on the coffee table, but he didn't resume his movie. Instead, the man got off the couch and walked to the front door. Maybe it was something about his job. It sounded like he had to leave suddenly, so Rosa closed her book and slipped off her bed. If he was going to be away for a while, maybe he would want her to give Mrs. Boone a message.

She was out of her room when Rosa heard Boone coming upstairs, so she paused and waited for him. As he emerged up the stairs, the Mr. glanced at her, but didn't say anything. Instead he just went into Benjamin's room. Very strange.

Rosa probably shouldn't have eavesdropped, but she stayed put in the hallway and focused her ears anyway.

"I just got a call from Mr. Peterson," the father said. His tone sent a chill down Rosa's spine and she took an involuntary step backward into her room.

The son didn't reply.

"Put that thing down and look at me!"

This time there was something between a sigh and a huff from Benjamin.

It didn't go over very well. "Don't you roll your eyes, young man!" Mr. Boone said loudly. "He said you'll fail Math if you don't get a D or higher on the final!"

At long last the boy responded: "I'll get it. Get off my back!"

"No," the word landed with some finality. "We've been 'getting off your back' since fall, Benjamin, and look where it got us!" There was no reply, so the grownup just continued: "Why haven't you studied with Rosa?!"

The son was also raising his voice in anger: "I'm not learning from a pony, dad!"

"Oh yes you are! Gimme that!"

There was a cry of outrage and Rosa guessed Mr. Boone had taken Benjamin's phone away.

"Give that back!"

"You'll get it back when your grades get better, understand?!"

By now her ears were completely flat, but she couldn't help overhearing some more. It was a small mercy that Lillian wasn't home, at least. Rosa could imagine what such angry shouting would do to her. She wondered if the girl had had to listen to it before. Probably.

"I'm not studying with a pony!"

Despite herself Rosa winced, expecting a slap at that tone, but Mr. Boone showed restraint and didn't raise his hand to his son. It was a relief. "You'll do your homework with her and you'll study for two hours every day. With Rosa, do you understand?"

"I'll run away!" the boy threatened. It sounded like he didn't mean it, even to Rosa's inexperienced ear.

"With. Rosa," the father repeated slowly and deliberately. "That's final. And I'm keeping this until you shape up!"

Mr. Boone stormed out and Rosa quickly ducked fully into her room, just as Benjamin shouted: "I hate you!"

His father didn't reply and just stomped back down the stairs. Rosa began to breathe again. She held her hoof up and saw how it was shaking. There was no way she could get back to her book after that. Her wandering gaze landed on the sleeves of her uniform and Rosa saw the stains again. Suddenly she wanted to be in the laundry room, as far away from upstairs as she could be. If Benjamin realized she had heard the whole exchange, he would hate her more than ever.

Rosa kicked her shoes off. She could step more quietly if she felt the floor right on her hooves. Naked, she thought, that was what she would be if she put her uniform in the washer. She slung the nightgown across her back, then tiptoed to the boy's room. The way down was past it. Rosa very carefully leaned her head into the open door.

The boy was sitting on the floor, facing away, shoulders shaking as he tried to muffle his sobs. Every now and then he hit a fist on the carpet. He couldn't see her, so Rosa hurried and slipped past the room, then made her cautious way down the stairs.

Mr. Boone had gone back to watching his movie, or whatever it was, and he didn't notice her as Rosa walked quietly behind him and past the kitchen. The laundry was a few doors down and she heaved a sigh of relief when she was finally there. Changing clothes there was a tiny bit risky, but Rosa didn't think anyone would come looking for her in the next few minutes. She wrestled a little with the uniform to get it off, then she slipped into the other gown. It was a lot more comfortable, too.

Then she bundled her uniform into the machine and set it to wash. She was so shaken she almost forget the powder. Once it had started turning and sloshing, Rosa sat on the floor and tried to get her head in order.

Benjamin would need extra careful handling after that episode, especially if she wanted him to retain any of the knowledge. Her best course of action was to pretend she didn't know anything had happened at all. Maybe she could start the boy thinking that the studying thing was his idea, or at least make him believe that was what she thought. It was going to be confusing, but maybe Lillian could help Rosa here. She and Benjamin rarely talked, but if Rosa mentioned it to her, the girl might say it at the table or in the car.

It was a long shot, but Rosa would take everything she could. Having Benjamin hate her would be really bad. She certainly didn't want Mr. Boone saying something like that to Instructor Martha. She would consider it a failure of her training, and rightly so!

Rosa could do this. She just had think of him as a problem child. There was a way to reach him, she would just have to find it! Soon! She wished she could consult with her friends, but she couldn't write anything because Mr. Boone might read it when he sent the letter.

"I wish you were here, Maribelle," Rosa sighed and closed her eyes.