Fern Creek Academy Book 1

Character List

Main Characters:

Hilary

Age: 12

Lives: Just out of Stanby, Aussie country, NSW

Likes, dislikes: Loves horses, food, friends, family and vaulting. Hates, snakes, spiders, arachnids, mean people.

Kate Grey

Age: 48

Lives: Just out of Stanby, Aussie country, NSW

Likes or dislikes: N/A

Sam Grey

Age: 55

Lives: Same

Likes, dislikes: N/A

Emma

Age: 12

Lives: Maitland, NSW

Likes, dislikes: Likes Everything to do with horses

Amanda

Age:13

Lives: Just out of Maitland, NSW

Likes, dislikes: Likes, fashion, hair salons, nail polish, boys, gossiping with friends, showing off, dislikes Hilary, people who make her feel weak, people who interfere, anything that's not clean.

Chapter 1: Boredom

Hilary Grey was bored, her maths teacher, Miss Wilton, was being exceedingly dull today, droning on about square roots and algorithms, Hilary pushed back her dark hair, frustrated, she was counting the seconds till the bell would ring, "10......,9....,8....,7...,6...,5...,4...." Suddenly Hilary was jolted out of her reverie

"Hilary," Miss Wilton said ", I need your attention, what did I just say?"

Hilary didn't have a clue, "Ummm......". her brain rushed through everything Miss Wilton would have said, she was saved from explanation when the bell rang and Miss Wilton dismissed the class.

Hilary rushed out of the classroom, grabbing her bag on the way and was pushed along by the small crowd of kids getting ready to go home. She lived in the sleepy village of Waterfall Gully and attended Gully Public School.

Hilary was horse mad. She had been so since the age of 5 when she'd taken a pony ride at a fair and fallen in love with horses. Hilary already had a horse of her own, his name was Rilby and had previously been a champion hack horse but had been rescued from abuse by the local rescue society and bought by Hilary and her parents.

But such expenses came with their fair share of work, and in turn for Rilby, Hilary was expected to care for him and pitch in with work around the house.

Hilary was an only child and often felt lonely, her parents had told her to try to make some friends but all the girls her age that lived around were more interested in nail polish and boys than horses, so Hilary was stuck in Waterfall Gully with no friends and no plans for the future.

She didn't know just what the future would hold for her.

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Hillary arrived at the family's old colonial home to the smell of steak and onions

"Wow Mum, that smells amazing," said Hilary.

Kate Grey grinned, "Hello Hilary, go have a wash then give Rilby his dinner."

Hilary dashed upstairs to her small bedroom and had a shower and got changed, she then got a biscuit of hay and some pellets from the barn before walking over the grassy knoll to Rilby's paddock. The shadows were lengthening and the smells of the evening were on the air as Hilary rugged Rilby and left him munching his hay.

The warm kitchen that branched off the Victorian homestead was filled with the smells and laughter of dinner as Hilary and her parents sat down to dinner.

The next day at school passed just as slowly as the day before, Hilary longed for some adventure and change to her slow lifestyle. Hilary had been living in and near Waterfall Gully since she was born her family had grown up there. They lived in a large property with paddocks and bush land out the back. Hilary knew the area like the back of her hand. There were a few trails that she rode Rilby on sometimes, but aside from that there was no local pony club or riding school. The nearest town was 2 hours away, so Hilary was nearly isolated from the outside world.

-By the way, the picture at the top is of Hilary's classroom-