If I thought the manor was big on the outside, nothing could have prepared me for the inside.

As soon as I stepped out of the reception room I was overwhelmed. Corridors led off to the left and right, leading to various rooms that Lauren described but I quickly forgot about. In the very middle of the back wall was a grand staircase, with a small landing halfway up which split into two smaller staircases. The left staircase led to the boys' dorms, and we took the right one to the girls' dorms.

A long line of polished mahogany doors stretched along a corridor lit by two small crystal chandeliers.

"Here it is... room thirteen. Called unlucky by some." Lauren winked as she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The room was surprisingly big. Two beds were pushed against the back wall on either side of a huge sash window with a window seat. Two small bedside tables sat next to them.

In fact, everything was symmetrical. Two desks, two wardrobes. There were even two sofas in the middle of the room, facing a large flat-screen TV next to the door. There was a large bathroom on the right with a power shower and deep, claw-footed bath. The academy certainly didn't skimp on luxury.

"This... is... amazing." I couldn't say anything more.

Lauren chuckled. "This whole place is pretty impressive. I think it's best if I leave you to get acclimatised. You can find me at the desk, and my room is the very first one in the corridor. Your roommate should be here soon, her name is Marcy." And, with that, she swept out the room and back down the stairs.

"How awesome is this place?!" I ran to the window and looked out. There was a view right across the driveway and cherry trees to the countryside beyond.

My mum, too, was in awe. "At least I know you'll be well looked after here."

I went over and hugged her. "Aw, Mum, I'll be fine. You'll see me every holiday."

"I know," she said with a tinge of sadness. I knew she would still miss me.

She held me at arm's length and smiled. "Look at you, all grown up."

"Please don't get all sentimental," I said with a shaky laugh. "Come on, let's go get everything unloaded."

***

It took less time than I thought to put all Robin's tack away. To my relief, there was a door at the back of the tack room so I didn't have to keep walking through her stable. I could still hear her scuffling about on the other side, probably wondering what was going on.

After making a quick promise to come back later, I left the stable and went to get my few belongings from the horse truck. It was here that I had to say goodbye to my mum.

"I'll keep in touch," I said, my voice muffled by her hug. "Oh, and you should get Skype so we can see each other."

"I will." My mum stepped back, sniffling. "You'll need to tell me how to use it though."

"I'll try."

"Try not to get into too much trouble, okay?" My mum gave me a last quick kiss on the forehead and slid into the truck. The engine rattled to life and she rumbled off down the driveway, leaving me standing alone with two bags and a swirl of emotions.

***

My roommate still wasn't there by the time I hauled my bags up to my room. That gave me time to unpack and put everything in its place.

Most of my clothes were for riding, which meant that I didn't have a lot of clothes since I wouldn't need to change very often. Everything fitted neatly in the wardrobe and I turned to the few other objects I had brought with me - a silver horse statue and a Polaroid camera which I put on my bedside table, a horseshoe on a ribbon which hung nicely on the edge of my bed's headboard, and a string of Polaroid photos which I pinned up on the wall beside my bed. Perfect.

On my way out of the manor to see Robin, I was surprised to hear voices behind several doors. I passed two boys laughing on their way up the stairs, and there were gleaming horseboxes parked outside. The buzz of activity seemed to have crept up on me when I wasn't looking.

Down at the stables, horses were everywhere. I slipped into Robin's stable and gave her a good groom to calm her down. All the new arrivals were making her stressed.

I watched a small blonde girl lead a gorgeous dapple grey gelding into the stall next to mine. Robin watched, too, and let out a loud whinny. Several horses answered at once and I ducked my head in embarrassment.

The blonde girl popped up in front of the door, making me jump. Robin snorted in surprise.

"Hi, I'm Marcy," the girl said brightly, flicking a strand of hair out of her deep blue eyes. "My horse is stabled next to yours."

"I noticed," I said. "He's beautiful." Suddenly something occurred to me. "Wait... I think you might be rooming with me!"

"Really?" Marcy squealed. "Oh, we're gonna get on so well together, I can tell!"

I grinned. This girl's happiness was infectious. I was glad to be sharing a room with her.

"Room thirteen, right?" she continued. "It sounds weird, but I love that number! It's unusual for someone on scholarship to get one of the window rooms, too."

Window rooms? Of course, the rooms across the corridor from ours were in the middle of the manor. I wondered what they got instead of a window. I pushed the thought away for now and focused on the conversation.

"You're here on scholarship too?" I was so glad to find someone else like me. I thought all the other people here paid to get in. I could only guess at the amount of money they had to be able to pay their way into a place like this.

"There's a bunch of us," Marcy explained. "We went here last year, and now we're all best friends. I guess it's because we feel kind of left out, you know? Since everyone else actually pays."

"They might have got in with money, but we got in with talent. That's what matters here." My voice echoed out of the tack room as I put Robin's grooming kit away.

Marcy was already walking away. "I guess, but they still try to make our lives hell."

I gave Robin a pat and left the stable. "Of course, what is high school without a clique to try and ruin it. I bet their leader is a tall girl with a cliché name."

"It is, actually. Her name's Varsity."

"Called it."

We didn't have much time to talk as we squeezed past throngs of people. The whole school must have been here by now.

"Finally." I unlocked the door to our room and collapsed inside it with a sigh. "I'm exhausted already."

"Me too. Hey, is that a Polaroid camera? I can't believe I never noticed it!" Marcy made a beeline for my cobalt blue camera and picked it up carefully. Her face was pleading.

"Fine, we can take a picture." I heaved myself up, groaning, and clicked the close-up lens into place. The light flashed and soon I was flapping a small picture, waiting for it to develop. Marcy looked over my shoulder eagerly. "Ooh! I see it!"

Our grinning faces slowly came into view. We looked so happy, and I was glad that we had captured the moment.

I found a pen inside the desk drawer, and in tiny writing wrote First day at CBRA! underneath the photo. Marcy hung it from one of the empty pegs on my string.

"Two hours and this is already turning into the best year ever."