When I first decided to write about how I almost became a slave when my best friend betrayed me and tried to sell me into slavery I originally wrote it as a straight narrative but it seemed a bit boring so I rewrote it and added dialog instead of telling you what was said.
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My name is Katrina Grayson but my friends call me Trina. I am 4' 10" and 125 lbs. I have blonde hair and dark almost royal-blue eyes. I have an athletic appearance even though I do not participate in sports. This is me before the incident. I like my hair long so I let it grow down to my waistline and I take very good care of it. When I'm at home I let it hang free but put it up into a braid of some sort to keep the wind from blowing it around and forcing me to brush it again. My complexion is flawless but my skin is very pale. I keep it covered as much as I can. It's not that I am ashamed of my beautiful body, it's that I am protecting it from the sun.
You may think that I am overweight but I assure you it is all muscle and not fat. I exercise almost every day. I am not one to be idle, never was. I do yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi in the mornings five days a week. I take weekends off to let my body rest.
Now my best friend, Julia Taylor, could almost pass as my twin and we are always treated as sisters. You see, our parents met in college. All four have blonde hair and blue eyes. The dads are over six feet and muscular but the moms are short around five feet, I think. So, I like to think I got my muscular figure from my dad and my height and stunning good looks from my mom.
Our families are pretty wealthy. My parents had started a business as part of their MBA courses and it really took off. Since then, they had purchased other businesses and just kept the corporation growing.
Julia's parents went a different path. Her dad became a lawyer and works mostly for my parents. Her mom is also a lawyer but specializes in international law and consults for my parents when dealing with their overseas businesses.
Growing up Julia and I preferred doing different things. She has been a cheerleader since sixth grade. I liked my athletic look so I did track and lifted weights at the school. Nothing heavy I didn't want to be a huge mutant weightlifter. I just wanted to maintain my strength and muscle definition. It is the only time I showed off my body. I wore lycra shorts and cropped, skin-tight tanks with a racer back that molded themselves to my c-cup breasts. You might think c-cups are too much for my small frame, but with my muscular build, they look great on me. Julia only has b-cups, another way we differ. Enough about us on with the story.
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The incident I want to tell you about happened during the summer after our sophomore year in college. You see every summer since Kindergarten our families have taken us on a vacation - usually about two weeks. As we got older planning the vacation became almost an obsession with Julia. You would think she wanted to become a travel agent for the rich and famous.
"Hey, Trina. I found a cool place for us to go for our summer vacation," Julia said excitedly.
"Oh? And where is this wonderful and exciting new place?" I inquired.
"It's a ranch. I know you like horses so I found one that trains racing ponies. They have a hotel on-site and a pool. They teach guests how to train and care for the ponies. How to train them on a lunge line and to brush them among other things. So, what do you think? Do you want to try it? It's something we've never done," she explained enthusiastically.
I considered her idea. I did like horses. All of my stuffed animals back home are horses except one and it is a unicorn. I would need proper boots. "Okay, Julia, let's do it," I told her, getting into the excitement, as well.
It's a good thing she set this up now, we had two months left in the semester and barely made the cut-off for June's competition. If we had missed it our vacation would have been boring Julia had told me. They race their ponies every month starting in March and running until September. They also hold auctions which they said can get a bit heated. '
I am really getting into this idea. I would love to be a part of a race but I don't know how to ride. As much as I love horses my life never seemed to lead me in that direction so I never learned to ride,'
I thought while she was still talking.
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We finally arrived at the ranch and checked into our rooms. If we had missed the reservation time the hotel would have been booked by a bunch of rich people here to bet on the races, race their own entries, or buy/sell ponies. It was close to dinner so we put on nice evening dresses (required at this hotel for the rich) prettied ourselves up and headed downstairs. Meals were included with the rooms but gratuity was not.
It was okay, I guess. For the first week, we enjoyed the pool, a lot. Julia wore the smallest bikini I have ever seen while I wore a one-piece and sat in the shade. (Okay, I was a bit obsessive about protecting my skin.)
After we arrived here we learned the shocking truth the '
brochure
' never mentioned, the ponies were actually humans, ponygirls to be more specific. We were shocked at first then fascinated. Julia really took to the training. I think I was more empathetic to the girls' plight but I still picked up the training techniques. We did this all week including sulky training.
On Friday the woman working with us made us an offer.
"Girls, this is something we offer all of our female guests. Would you like to know what it's like to be a ponygirl? If you accept the offer you will live in the barn and live as one of the ponygirls including training for seven days. As a thank you, you will not be charged for the week of training and the next week will be comped, giving you three weeks of vacation instead of two. What do you girls think about the offer?" Maria asked us.
I don't know what was going through Julia's mind but I wasn't certain she was seriously considering it but I was.
"I'll do it. It sounds like a great adventure. Something to tell our children," I told her.
"You're right, Trina, it would be a great adventure," Julia said.
"Okay, you two. If you're going to do this go back to your rooms and pack all of your possessions including what you're wearing. You won't even be allowed jewelry or makeup, so pack it all in your suitcases and take them to reception. I'll call them and let them know you've opted for the ponygirl package," Maria instructed us.
We walked back to the hotel and our rooms. I stripped completely. I wear jewelry, although it was minimal for this trip, but I don't wear makeup much. I don't mind a bit of eyeliner and colored lip gloss but I never got into face paint. I think I look good enough without it. So, I packed everything and took a quick shower. I put my hair in a shower cap to keep it dry. After drying off and removing the shower cap I grabbed the room key and suitcase and left.
I was a little nervous, my keys, electronics, purse with ID and bank cards, and everything that I brought with me were now in my suitcase. I held onto a single item, the key to the suitcase lock. I didn't see Julia when I left the room so I walked to reception by myself - Julia didn't answer her door when I knocked. I guess she left already. Why didn't she wait for me?