Once I made it back to the dorm, I peeled off my sweaty riding clothes and dumped them into my laundry hamper. One shower later, I was sitting with my hair tied back in a bun and in a loose green tank top and a pair of black joggers, bearing the logo from my old school. I picked up my copy of Wuthering Heights and tried to immerse myself in Brönte's writing, but my mind was everywhere as I fretted over Avery's lesson. I hoped she stood out in the right ways, but there was Kennedy and Jenny, not to mention anyone else in that arena, to contend with.
Eventually, I picked my head up at the sound of the door opening. Avery filed in with Isabelle and Bianca close behind. She wasn't in tears, but she was definitely had a light of battle going about her.
"Well?" I prodded gently. Avery held up the one minute finger as she got her stuff for a shower. She shut the door and I heard the shower going. I turned to Isabelle and cocked a brow up in question. She just shrugged and sat down on my bed. She'd changed into a pair of light wash denim shorts and an elbow-length sleeved white shirt. Bianca was wearing leggings and a wraparound ballet sweater, so I assumed she was either going to (or coming from) the dance studio.
Eventually, Avery strode out of the bathroom freshly showered and with purpose. Her hair was dripping around her shoulders and onto her white cropped tank top. She flopped on her bed next to Bianca.
"Alright! Heeeeeere is the scoop!" she said. "As fickle and mean as Kennedy is going to seem, she is on a mission. I can't say the same for Jenny".
"A mission...for what, exactly?" I furrowed my brows. It was somewhat obvious (to be on the best team), but there wasn't much to truly go on. I didn't know how the teams worked at Silver Hawk Ridge. I assumed it was like any other high school team, but obviously equestrian isn't the norm.
"So here's how the teams work here" Avery started. "You have C team, JV, Varsity, and National, aka, the semi-typical set up. A little extra caveat though, is that those teams can be fluid throughout the year. You can find yourself moved from one team to another without warning if they deem it necessary. Another extra is that National and even a few select Varsity people are eligible for The Elite squad. That interchanges too, but it's still huge. You have the opportunity to compete around not just the US, but Canada, and even Europe! It's highly coveted. And—"
"I THINK she gets it Avery. Give her a moment to take it all in" Bianca said, clamping her hand over Avery's mouth. Suddenly her eyes widened and she quickly retracted her hand.
"Did you just LICK me?!" Bianca said, pointedly. Avery just grinned evilly and spring off the bed. Bianca leapt after her and chased her around the room. Our eyes darted back and forth between them. Isabelle looked at me, then gazed at the ceiling, subtly sticking her foot out. Avery caught it just right and tripped onto her bed, and Bianca caught up in her flailing legs soon after and tumbled on top of her.
"Okay, okay! I give! UNCLE" Avery said, sticking her hands up in surrender. Bianca rolled off and sat on the floor. We all regained our composure (sort of, anyways).
"So Kennedy's aiming for nothing less than Varsity?" I asked. Avery and Isabelle shook their heads.
"Kennedy's aiming for nothing less than getting into The Elite squad in the first go. And she'll stop at nothing to get there" Avery said gravely. "ANYWAYS you still have to do your best on YOUR tryouts. You're new, EVERYONE's going to have their eyes on you to see what you do. Which means you need to look and be the part of a fierce competitor. We'll polish anything Watts and Bishop said to work on and accentuate what they complement. Isabelle, we'll peruse all our clothes and-"
"Whoa whoa whoa! What do you have up your sleeve? Shouldn't you be just as invested in your OWN auditions, much less MINE?" I questioned, stepping back. Avery leaned forward and squeezed both my hands in hers.
"We can do that too, but we want to help you in any way we can. You deserve to get a good spot, and I'd like more than anything to knock Jenny and Kennedy down a peg or two. And besides, we're all family now, and family sticks together". I wrapped an arm around Avery and Isabelle each and squeeze them tight, with Bianca coming behind all three of us and resting her chin on my head.
"Thanks you guys. This means so much". We pulled away and I realized there was still one thing I didn't know.
"So the first day I was working down at the barn, I heard Mr. Watts telling Kennedy not to work her horse down too close to tryouts 'like last year'. What's that about? Also, why is Kennedy...you know, the way that she is?"
My roommates got back into storytelling position.
"Freshman year, Kennedy was first placed on JV, which was considerably decent for any freshman. But she immediately was able to be bumped up to varsity. She didn't let this go to her head, but you can imagine some of the older riders weren't pleased about that, especially the ones she beat out. They absolutely berated her and made her time on the team torture. Kennedy was already somewhat cold BEFORE any of this, but since then, she's been the way she is now and seems to make it her mission to give anyone the same treatment SHE got." Wow...that had to be tough. I had some newfound respect for Kennedy, but that still didn't change the fact that I found her haughty and condescending.
"Which brings us to 'last year'," Isabelle said, picking up where Avery left off. "Having snagged Varsity her freshman year, our class was absolutely positive she'd make it to the National team sophomore year. Mr. Watts and the other trainers felt she needed to mature as a rider first and take some time to grow before going onto the fast track. You can imagine how much she loathed THAT notion. She rode and did as told that year, but she was always brooding and nasty to everyone. I was new at this point, so I hadn't heard about the previous year yet. All I knew was that she was acting like this and everyone was afraid of her, save for Jenny. At the start of junior year, she always worked her horse...and I don't mean just some pace work. She spent time drilling until they both got everything right, making sure everything was perfect come tryouts. Once tryouts rolled around however, her horse was too tired, but of course she tried to push him on anyway. For the first time any of us could recall seeing, he pinned his ears and threw her off (not enough to injure her, just toss her into dirt flat on her butt). Between that and proving that she, once again, needed growing room still by the trainers' standards, she was put onto Varsity again, thus finding herself utterly humiliated. Now that it's our senior year, there's little doubt that she's out for blood".
I just sat in silence for a moment. It all made sense now. I also found power within myself to make this happen. I could do this.
"Let's do this guys. If there's any chance Kennedy takes herself out, I'm not just going to sit and gawk. I want it, we all want it, so let's take it". And the plan was therefore set.
"Aaaaaand LUNCHTIME!" Avery announced. We all tossed our heads back and laughed, but we were hungry, so we slipped on our shoes and headed to lunch.
I thought the pic seemed fitting for the chapter. Anyways, enjoy☺️😜
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Silver Hawk Ridge: Taking Flight
Roman pour Adolescents"Rewards hard earned are never easily kept" Savannah Bell has earned a coveted position at Silver Hawk Ridge, a prestigious equestrian academy. Upon arrival, she discovers it is not the end of her trials. It's hard enough being a teenage girl...
