Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 3

"So...how do you really like it here?" I ask Indigo after we've waved goodbye to our parents as they drove away.

"It's not terrible," she admits as we walk up the sidewalk toward the lecture hall, "there are a couple of girls that can be mean, but other than that, just focus on learning."

"Oh," I murmur as I feel a rush of disappointment.

I had almost hoped that maybe the bullying had stopped, that maybe there was a chance that she was accepted at the academy instead of shunned.

I could always hope though.

A few other students are walking past as they lug their bags along behind them. Like me, they have roller bags, but unlike me, they don't have a sibling that knows enough magic to make the bags follow them.

The thought brings me a tiny swell of pride and I stand taller as we walk through the archway under the bell tower into an immaculate courtyard. There is a bronze statue of a stag in the center of the cobblestone courtyard and beneath it is a stone plaque. All around us are the wings of the lecture halls, which have windows that give a view into the courtyard.

I can see the pale faces of a few students looking down at us, there's no doubt that they're watching the parade of new students entering the academy. My heart begins to beat faster as I realize that I've never ventured further than the bell tower before as we walk through the other archway that leads out of the courtyard.

A wide grass lawn stretches out before us and is bordered by a row of neatly trimmed hedges on either side of the cobblestone sidewalk. On one side, there's a track that has tall stadium seating that surrounds it on either side in the form of gleaming, silver bleachers. From here, I can scarcely see the bobbing of students running on the track while a couple of other students kick a soccer ball around on the field.

On the opposing side of the sidewalk there are several students on horseback who are riding on a large, open field, their steeds glimmering like that of a familiar as their riders wield mallets and hit a white ball between them.

They're playing polo, I realize as I can't help but stop and watch them for a moment.

A few of the riders among them are on actual horses and tucked behind the field, I can see that there's a small barn where someone has a horse tied outside as they bathe it. I'm not the only one watching the polo riders as the horses thunder by and snort excitedly as they fly past a row of low benches where other students are sitting.

"You can join the polo team if you want, I know how much you love horses," Indigo says in a low voice.

"I'll think about it," I murmur as I can't help but stare as a gorgeous, gray filly gallops past.

"You'll have to get up early though, if you join the team, you're responsible for taking care of the horse," she warns me.

I smile, "Yeah, but it might be worth it, can we go look at the barn?"

"Sure," she says as starts walking for a pathway that branches off and heads lengthwise along the polo field toward the stables.

"Indi!" a voice calls from one of the benches and my sister looks up in the direction of the voice as I follow her gaze.

A girl with shortly cropped, dark hair lifts a hand from where she's seated on a bench along the polo field as she gives us a lazy wave and beckons to us. Seated next to her on either side are girls around her age, one of them having black hair while the other is a redhead. They look at us over sets of dark sunglasses and grin as Indigo leads me over to them.

"Who's this?" the girl with shortly cropped hair asks as she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and squints at me.

"My sister, Kara," Indigo replies, her response clipped and wary.

She knows these girls, I realize, and I wonder then if they're some of her bullies.

One of the horses out on the polo field, a real one, squeals suddenly as it rears and throws its rider as the attention briefly turns away from us and the girls look away in unison. I copy them as I wonder for a moment if the rider is okay as they lie in a crumpled heap on the field for a moment. They stir as a couple of students run over to them and help them sit up before I hear the low sound of laughter from across the field as the fallen rider waves them off and stands.

The girls look back to me, their attention returning to us as the lead girl gives me a sly smile.

"So what's your familiar going to be? A mouse?" the girl grins, "You may have enough members to start your own coven, Indi, Of Mice and Men perhaps?"

"Very funny, Ava," Indigo mutters, "we have places to go."

With that said, she spins on her heel and starts to walk away.

"Just be careful, I heard that they have mousetraps set up in some areas of the lecture halls," Ava calls in a taunting voice.

"Ignore them," Indigo murmurs as she tugs me along behind her, "she doesn't mean it."

"Why do you let her say things like that?" I ask as I trail after her.

She shakes her head, "Sometimes, it's just better to let them say what they feel they need to say and walk away, saying anything back will only let them know that their words hurt."

"You can't let them treat you like that," I protest.

"Look, she comes from a powerful family, she's popular, I can't touch her without having the wrath of her whole clique rain down on me," Indigo mutters as she side-eyes me. "They're idiots and they hardly know any magic for themselves."

"It's still not right," I mutter as we walk through the breezeway into the barn.

I let the topic drop as I take in the immaculate stable then, finding solace in the much needed distraction. Light-colored cobblestones make up the floor and wrought-iron framed, wood board panels make up the walls of the stalls and are rimmed in bars on the tops of the panels. Several students in casual clothes mill about as they either haul plastic buckets or lead horses in or out of the barn as they go about their business.

I breathe in the scent of hay and horses as I try to forget about everything else and attempt to look at the bright side of things. A chestnut horse pokes its head over a nearby stall door and I walk over to pet it as it whickers at me and flicks up its ears. Its fur is silky under my hand as a voice suddenly shouts my name from somewhere near the entrance.

"Kara!"

I whirl around at the sound of the voice as I recognize its familiarity. Sure enough, a sable-skinned, short statured girl with dark eyes is walking towards me from not too far away. She's in clean, white riding clothes and has a black riding helmet firmly strapped onto her head.

"Tessa!"

She grins at her name being called as she jogs toward me with a black horse trotting along behind her as its hooves click on the cobblestones. She and I embrace quickly as she laughs into my ear.

"Finally getting to go to the same school again, eh?" she inquires as she pulls away from the hug.

"At last," I agree.

We had gone to the same school several miles away from here, Tessa having been a year ahead of me as I had to attend my freshman year at the school alone when she got to come to Greenwood for her sophomore year.

"Luke's going to be happy to see you, he's been lonely since he hasn't had anyone to talk about video games with," she says as she tosses a lock of her frizzy hair out of her face.

"Where is he?" I ask, suddenly anxious to see my other friend.

"He's probably in the alchemy lab, he's been studying really hard," she informs me, "we'll head that way soon." She glances over at my bags that are sitting not too far away, "Let's get you settled in, but first, I need to put up Kashmir."

The black horse nickers as she leads him into the stall next to the chestnut horse before she slides off his bridle and pats him. His saddle has already been removed as she slips past him to roll the door shut behind her and hangs the bridle on a hook mounted on the outside of the stall.

"We can head for the dorms now," Tessa says as she turns around and giddily skips off, "come on!"