Lily Jackson sat in the back seat of the black taxi as the car pulled up to the entrance while her heart tried to escape her chest. This wasn't where she expected to be at this time in her life. No. She was supposed to be at home with her family, going to school with her friends and riding her horses all day long. She didn't expect to be deserted by her father and sent off to the other end of the country to live full time with some snobby rich kids.
"Is this your destination, miss?" asked the driver kindly.
"Umm... yes, thank you," Lily replied opening the door and stepping out onto the gravel beneath her.
Lily looked around at the building in front of her. It was very wide and lily assumed this was the school. The bricks looked old but when Lily had researched the school, apparently it was built in 1887.
"Em.. miss?" The driver had her 2 suitcases in each of his hands.
"Oh, thanks."
"No problem."
While Lily admired the school, she didn't notice the stiff, upright man struttting in her direction, a clipboard pressed towards his chest, until he was by her side.
"Lily Jackson?" he asked in a stern voice.
"Erm, yes?"
"I'm Mr Dean, deputy headteacher and racing instructor at Hallstone Equestrian School of London." The manner in which he was speaking was very pompous making Lily fight the urge to laugh.
"Oh, er, hi," responded Lily.
"Would you like to follow me please?"
Even though this was a question, the way Mr Dean had phrased it, Lily thought she didn't feel like she had any choice in the matter.
They travelled around the huge main building at the front to 4, long stable blocks that made a square in the middle. Mr Dean led her straight to the centre of it.
"This is the courtyard and these four stable blocks are where the horses are kept. Now, I understand that you have not brought a horse with you and so you'll be riding one of our school horses, Brooklyn. His stable is located in stable block C over there."
He pointed to the block to Lilys right and she nodded.
Without another word, Mr Dean led her to the right of the courtyard to 4 large arenas. Lily could see a large field with many horses grazing in it about a quatre of a mile away.
"These are the arenas," explained Mr Dean. "Now, let me talk you through how it works here."
A growing knot in Lily's tummy seemed to tighten painfully.
"Mornings start at 6am monday through saturday. You must be responsible for putting your horse out every morning. Breakfast runs for 2 hours and school lessons such as maths, english and science start at 9 and finish at half 12. After a half hournlunch break, you have 1 hour to have your horse clean and tacked up, ready for your lesson which lasts until 3:30pm. Sundays are free, however, your horse must be turned out by 8 in the morning and brought back in by 7 in the evening. I must express to you that school uniform must be worn at all times. Cream jodhpurs and a white shirt must be worn in school and your tie and hacking or show jacket must be worn while riding. Curfew is 12 on school nights and 1am on fridays and saturdays. Any questions?" He said all of this very fast and truth be known, Lily hardly took in any of it. She shook her head no.
Back at the main building, Lily gave the receptionist her name and details. The dormitories for girls was situated on the right hand side of the ground floor, the boys on the left. The woman showed Lily to her room that she would be sharing with 4 other girls. Once she'd left, Lily began to unpack. There were drawers underneath her bed and a slim, one doored wardrobe next to it (she didn't have much clothes anyway). Already in her wardrobe was her uniform. She felt like she already hated this place. Everything about it seemed snobby. Also, all of her riding stuff was branded with the name of the school. Her hat, whip chaps, shirt, gloves and even socks displayed the words 'Hallstone Equestrian'.
