Kingston University for the Gifted

Chapter 7: Aesthetically Pleasing

Something soft hits my head, waking me up again.

"Matt," I groan. "Stop it, I'm trying to sleep." I roll over and pull the covers over my head.

He throws another pillow at me. "Wake up, Kyle. It's 4:00 already."

I lift my head sleepily and blink in the light of the lamp. Outside, it's still dark. "Why are we getting up at four in morning?" I yawn.

"Field trip, remember?" Matt says. "We've got to exercise the horses before we leave."

"Oh, that." I swing my legs off the bed and stumble to the bathroom. I am not a morning person.

Twenty minutes later, Matt, Neville, and I are power walking to the stables. "We should have golf carts or ATVs or something," Matt gasps. "Everything on this island is too far away."

Neville grins. "At least we have horses."

I nod in agreement and stuff the rest of my muffin in my mouth. We jog the last few steps into the barn and scatter.

I tack up Sol in record time. He's hanging his head and yawning as much as I am; even for him, this is early. He hasn't even had his grain rations yet— I'll have to do that after my ride.

Opal's already in the dressage arena when I get there. "G'morning," she says brightly. She and Whisper are already halfway through their warmup.

"How'd you sleep?" I ask. Sol trots up next to her and sends Whisper a low nicker.

She laughs. "You see, that's the funny part," Opal says. "I got less than five hours of sleep last night, because I didn't follow Kiera's advice and go to bed early, but I'm full of energy. That happens quite a bit, to be honest. I'm so hyper when I'm tired. And I tend to talk too much... like I'm doing right now..."

I smile. "It's fine. You're fine."

When Sol is properly exercised, I rush him back to his stall and quickly fix it up. He digs his face into the grain bucket and I gently shut the door behind him.

I glance at my watch. It already five thirty, meaning I have an hour to exercise Prim and shower before we leave.

Prim tosses her head like she knows what I'm thinking. I can see the mischievous look in her eyes and I know exactly what I'm in for.

************

I slide down in my seat and brush the wet hair out of my face. I barely made it to the ferry on time, and I'm still panting from the effort. Most of the others are just as out of breath as I am.

Kiera smirks at me. "What have we learned today?" she asks the boat full of gasping teenagers.

"Sleep is for the weak if you're on Kiera's team," Matt mutters. A few muted laughs ring through the cabin.

I catch my breath and sit up. Opal straightens beside me and leans forward to talk to Kiera.

"Ms. Benjamin, where are we going today? You never told us," she asks.

Kiera raises an eyebrow. "I didn't? Hmm. We're going to a few different three day events, all at different stages. One of them is on dressage day, another on cross country, and the last on stadium jumping."

"What level eventing?" Justin asks. I'm surprised he was able to look up from his conversation with Maggie for a few moments to actually participate.

"All three are different, but they're all high level shows. I'll expect all of you to be working on and exceeding that level by next fall," Kiera says. The whistle blows, signaling we've arrived at the docks.