Rolling Hills Academy

The Cursed Seal

My second day of classes went by just as fast of the first. It was a constant whirlwind of activity; dancing from class to class, gathering loads of homework, and repeating the cycle until I finally reached my dorm room and unloaded all of my books onto my bed. I grimaced at the stack of homework that awaited me. It would have to wait until after my trail ride with Julia. I'd finished most of my math questions during lunch, but I still had a long way to go.

While I waited for Violet to return from her art class, I pulled on a pair of army green breeches and a simple black t-shirt. I walked over to my bed and pulled out my phone. I had a few notifications from Instagram; zach_attack, ana.bertrand, and 4 others have requested to follow you.

Huh, that's weird, I thought. The names all seemed familiar from classes that I shared with them. I just didn't expect them to follow me so fast. I heard the door unlocked and looked up as Violet walked in the door. She had blue paint stains on her hands.

"Um, since when were you a smurf?" I laughed. Violet stuck her tongue out at me and threw her book bag onto her bed.

"Ha ha, very funny." She said. "We were using oil paints to create a finger painting today. Needless to say, my teacher should've warned everybody to wear gloves. Not all of us listen to her hour long speeches." She rolled her eyes.

I laughed and got up off my bed. "I was actually wondering if maybe you wanted to walk with me to the stable?" I asked, looking at her. "I think Casper would like to meet you, and you can help me groom him too if you'd like."

Violet smiled brightly. "I'd love that Harps! Thankfully I own a pair of paddock boots since my brother made me go to the stable with him every other day during the summer." She walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of paddock boots. Her black skinny jeans and cherry red shirt completed the look. "Ready?" She asked. I nodded and we headed down the hall.

"Hey Harper, Hey Violet!" Two girls from our dorm waved at us as they walked by.

"Hi Ana, hey Charlie." Violet said. I smiled at the girls as I passed and they smiled back. Violet and I continued out way out of our dorm and headed towards the stable.

"You know, for being the new girl, you seem pretty composed. My first week here I practically crapped my pants every time someone looked at me!" She laughed. I chuckled and continued walking.

"I used to be really shy. Any time anyone talked to me, even if I knew them well, I'd always turn beet red and stutter. It led to some pretty bad anxiety problems. I always worried what people thought of me and that my every move was being watched. Then about 7th grade, I finally realised that if I didn't get my act together, then I'd have no one when it came to high school." We passed a group of students headed towards the library and they all cheerily waved at us. We waved back. "I finally started coming out of my shell and making friends. I learned that they didn't judge me for who I was, so I had no reason to be shy around them." Violet nodded.

"Well, I'm very proud of you for it. You've definitely come a long way. Dealing with something like that isn't easy, but you over came it. That's not something that people often do."

"Thanks Vi. I'm glad I have you as a roommate. I know we haven't been friends very long but I'm glad I could share something like that with you."

"No problem. I'm always here for you sweetie pie." She said with a thick accent. I gave her a weird look. She started laughing.

"Sorry. When I finish a deep convo with someone I always ruin the vibe with an accent. It's just part of-" She cut off as she stumbled over a raised sidewalk and tripped. She stumbled a few steps before landing on her hands and knees on a sidewalk piece with a green seal and silver lettering. It was the one I had seen the other girl running away from a couple days ago. I rushed over to her.