Something to Prove

Chapter 1: A New Start

I yanked my earbuds from me ears, cutting off the music mid-song, and stared out the window of the car. I felt my stomach churn in the way that was all too familiar from the past few weeks since my acceptance into Canterwood Crest Academy. Our car was just rolling through Canterwood's front gates. I looked up and caught my dad's eye in the rearview mirror.

"Nervous, kiddo?' he asked. I tried not to roll my eyes at his calling me "kiddo", and decided to be honest.

"I'm terrified," I said in a small voice. At this, my mom turned in her seat to face me.

"You'll be fine, Aspen. What are you so scared about?" she said soothingly.

"Hmm, let's see, I'm going to boarding school for the first time in my life, where I don't know anybody, I'll be riding in a new barn, and I'll be taking classes that are known across the country for being insanely hard," I said sarcastically. "So there's nothing to be worried about, right?" I pulled the end on my long light brown braid over my shoulder and started tugging on the end. It was a nervous habit I'd picked up before starting highschool last year. But back then, I was going to a normal school, and even though neither of my two best friends were going to West Gardens Collegiate with me, I would at least know people there. This was a whole new level of stress. I still wasn't sure if I was ready for Canterwood.

Dad shook his head. "You'll make friends before too long, you've got Fallon to ride all year, and you'll figure out your classes in no time at all. Besides," he glanced back at me. "You're here on a riding scholarship, so that proves that you're a good enough rider to do just fine here." I chewed this over for a moment. It was true, I was only attending the elite boarding school because I'd been offered a full scholarship. I thought back to when I first heard that I was being considered for the scholarship; I was at a local show with Splash, the little mare I'd been part-boarding for almost two years. We were flying over the jump courses and doing well in the undersaddle classes as well, and I couldn't have been more proud of Splash. A school representative had approached my parents and my coach and told them about the scholarship. When I found out, I'd felt nothing but excitement. I mean, someone was telling me that I was a good enough rider to qualify for a full-ride scholarship! But late that night I thought about it more and began to feel mixed emotions. It was an honour to even be considered, but there wasn't any chance that I would actually get if I did, I would get to go to one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country, and that would look really good on a vet school application. Then my thoughts turned darker, and I realized that I would not only have to leave home and all my friends, but I wouldn't be able to take Splash with me. I would be bringing Fallon, the ex-Grand Prix jumper that I'd been working with all summer. That would be amazing, since then I would get to ride her every day, but we still had a lot of issues to work through.

Mom's voice snapped me out of my memories. "We're here," she sang in her sometimes-annoying mom voice. "Here" turned out to be the parking lot outside the stable. I jumped out of the car and took in my surroundings. I'd been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't paid any attention to how gorgeous the campus was. The grass was uber-green and looked like it had just been cut, and the trees that lined the cobblestone walkways were turning the beautiful golds and reds of fall. I barely noticed any of this though, because right in front of me was the most impressive stable yard I'd ever seen. The stable itself was an imacculate white with stark black trim. I caught myself before I did the whole open-mouthed, wide-eyed gawk. Turning around, I saw mom and dad smiling at me.

"Are we just going to leave Fallon in the trailer, then?" dad said jokingly. The trailer that had carried Fallon and the three horses that the Canterwood riding program had bought from my old barn had just pulled up. I jogged over to it to unload Fallon. I squinted into the gloom of the trailer and went over to the pretty buckskin at the far end of the four-horse trailer. Putting my hand on Fallon's pale neck, I took a deep breathe. "This is it, girl. The first step of moving into Canterwood, and our new life here." She turned her head and her chocolate brown forelock fell over her eye. I kissed her pink muzzle and prepared to lead her out into the unknown that was to be my new home.