Ridgestone Riding Academy

Chapter 3

I lazily walked up the steps to my families house and stepped inside. I could smell the scent of supper in the air. It was just after 5:30 in the evening and I was already tired.

"I'm in mom," I called out when I entered the parlour. My families house is huge and sound doesn't travel well, but oh well.

I climbed the stairs to my bedroom on the next floor. When I opened the doors to it, I could tell that the cleaning staff were in here. It smelled faintly of cinnamon and lemon. I smiled and dropped some gear from the barn onto the ground.

I went into the bathroom attached to my room and took a quick shower to get the days dust and sweat off of my body. Once out, I blow dried by hair and curled it a bit for it to be presentable for dinner. I put some makeup on, having to add concealer onto one of the red dots that was on my face.

After that, I went into my closet and picked out a cream coloured sundress and added a pair of flip flops with it. When I felt sure that I was looking good, I grabbed my Ridgestone letter and put it in one of the hidden pockets in my dress.

I exited my room and walked over to the kitchen and dining room area. I checked the time, noting that I had just made it in time. My family does have a certain time that we have to have dinner at, but it's because we never want to miss out on this meal as it's the only one we get to have with each other during the day.

I went into the kitchen and helped my mom bring out a couple of plates that had food placed upon them. Finally, it was time to eat.

We all sat down and folded napkins over our lap. We talked a bit about how our day went and I mentioned the incident at the ice cream shop and dad laughed when I told him about my self defence. My twelve year old sister, Elise talked about how she was able to jump at a certain height and I also said how my beginner class that I teach was finally able to do cavaletti jumps.

About halfway through dinner I felt that it was time to bring my letter up. Conversation was dry and I truly was excited to share this life changing news with them.

"So, guys, I have something really important to share," I announced, placing the letter in the middle of the table.

My mother gasped. "Oh hun. It finally came. Just know I'm so proud of you either way."

I smiled then motioned towards the letter. Mom picked it up and dad started to read it over her shoulder. After a few seconds my mom shrieked.

"Oh my gosh! This is so amazing!" She cried while running over to hug me. I hugged her back, so excited for my new journey.

After a couple of minutes we sat back down.

"Oh there's so many things I'm going to have to do before I leave for Ridgestone," I said.

"Yes, like figuring out your dorm and horse stuff," Mom replied.

"So I was thinking that I bring both horses and I obviously room with Evelyn. Does that sound good?"

"Bring both horses? No. Having both horses is going to cut into your lesson and class time and is going to cost a significant amount extra," She said.

"It's alright. I've got everything I need and the stall fees aren't that high," I protested.

"No. You only get to bring one. And this is the end of this discussion," Mom finalized.

I pursed my lips. "Thanks for dinner," I said sharply before stalking into the kitchen, throwing my dishes in the dishwasher, and walking back up to my room.

Once inside, I locked the door and took a few deep breathes to calm myself. I knew that if I got out of control with my anger, there would be no way I'm going to Ridgestone.

I shook my head and then changed out of my dress into some casual shorts and a tee shirt. My hair was put into a messy bun, as I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop. I got logged in and put the other pieces of paper that came in the letter.

My supplies list, dorm registration, class registration, horse registration, testing dates and so much more. My homework packages were going to come in the mail in a few days that I'll have to finish before the term starts. It's a lot of stuff. Especially with my riding that I'm doing and the competitions I have coming up.

I turned on my study music and put my earphones in and brought up the Ridgestone website on my computer. I clicked around on the website for a bit before I decided to enroll in my classes.

I read through the thirty paged document on core classes and ended up picking the classes I thought I'd like best.

For the first half of the year, I'm going to be taking advanced math, advanced science, and French. In the second half, I'm going to be taking language and history as well as an apprentice class that's located in the town nearby. The apprenticeship is for a law firm that I was interested in while reading about it.

I'm also going to be taking gym and a nutrition class as well as have horse riding lessons throughout the day.

I instantly got stressed while looking through my weekly schedule. I vowed not to have it disrupt me, although there was no promise.

I got the confirmation email that Ev was going to be my roommate, and I started planning out some simple things that we'll be able to get for they dorm.

After finishing up many other tasks, I checked the clock and was surprised when it told me that it was nearly midnight. There was no way I worked for that long. Apparently I did though.

Sleep took over my body as I lazily got out of my chair and fell face first into my bed, blacked out before I even touched the sheets.