Kingston University for the Gifted

Chapter 2: Horse Ballet

I hate alarm clocks.

After mine went off at 5:30 this morning, I showered, changed into riding clothes, and woke Matt up sometime between then. Apparently Matt hates alarm clocks even more than I do; we were late getting out of the dorm.

Now I'm standing in the line for breakfast, marveling at all the food. So many choices! Egg sandwich or breakfast burrito? Pancakes or waffles? Orange juice or soda? Maybe I should just eat ice cream.

Even more intimidating than the choices is the cafeteria full of people I step into afterword. "Where do you want to sit?" Matt asks, scanning the room. We both have heaping plates of food.

I point to an empty table by the window. "How about there?" Hopefully it's far enough away from the center that we won't be singled out and close enough to the door that we don't have to push through the whole student body to get to the stables.

We plop down and dig in. I know I probably look like a pig, but honestly I don't care; I'm famished.

"Can we sit here?" a voice asks. I look up from my food and nod, gesturing to the empty seats beside us. A girl with flaming red hair sits down next to Matt and starts nibbling a cinnamon roll. The other girl, a petite brunette, sits next to me and digs in. Her plate's almost as full as mine is. I'm impressed.

Matt clears his throat and swallows his food. He puts on a white-toothed smile and leans on the table. "Hey. I'm Matt, and this is Kyle," he says. The ginger flashes him a small smile.

I wave and wait to finish chewing. "We're both riders," I explain. "Matt's on the jumping team and I'm on the eventing team."

The brunette smiles and takes a bite of her pancakes. "I'm Opal. I'm the on dressage team. This is Carmela, she's a gymnast."

I take another bite. "Nice to meet you! Excited for today?" I ask Opal, turning so I can talk to her face-to-face.

She laughs. "Yes! Why wouldn't I be? I can't wait to ride," she exclaims. "I hear they shipped in the best prospects from all over the world for us."

"You guys are so lucky. I actually have to go to classes today," Carmela groans. "Unfortunately, gym equipment doesn't need picking out."

Matt finishes and leisurely glances down at his watch. He gives it a second glance and his eyes widen. "Oh, crap, we have ten minutes until Kiera starts!" He bolts up and jogs across the floor to the door.

Carmela looks at us in amusement while Opal and I gobble down the last bits left on our plates and sprint out of the cafeteria after Matt. We skid into the barn and speed-walk down the aisle to Kiera's office. We make it just in time. The other nine riders are already there.

"Glad to see you could join us," Kiera says dryly. This is not the smiling, older-sister persona I met yesterday. This Kiera means business. I sit up straighter; do I have syrup on my face?

"Now, as I was saying, all three teams will ride together today. Just this once, the stablehand so have tacked your horses up for you. Let me say this again, for the people who didn't show up early: the horses you're riding this morning are not the mounts you'll be working with these next four years. I'll judge your riding style based on your rides and choose your horses accordingly. Your assignments are already chosen; I have them here."

She pins a packet of paper onto the bulletin board by the door. Most of us crowd around it. I reach up and trace my finger from my name to my mount. I'm assigned to a mare named 'Spring Outing.' I can recognize all three from previous shows. One of the horses, Heaven's Breath, competed in the last Olympics.