Marcy and I had an hour before everyone met for lunch, so she decided to find the rest of her friends and introduce them to me. I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to meet more people so soon but it didn't look like I had a choice.

"Ooh! There they are!" Marcy ran across the driveway to one of the cherry trees, where a group of four was sitting in the shade.

"Guys, this is Autumn. She's my new roommate. Autumn, this is the gang." Marcy's eyes were shining with excitement just at introducing me. Sadly, I didn't feel the same way.

"It's, uh... nice to meet you." Stop staring at me! I looked nervously at the four pairs of eyes all inspecting me as if I was a horse up for sale. I shifted uncomfortably.

Finally a girl with nut-brown hair and big brown eyes introduced herself as Brin, and a boy with jet-black hair and curious hazel eyes told me his name was Archer. I had never met anyone with either of their names.

The other boy, with floppy dark blonde hair and warm brown eyes, was called Flynn and the black-haired girl next to him was Mika. Her eyes, like dark pools, held so much wisdom it almost scared me.

Marcy was still fizzing beside me. "This is so exciting!" she squealed. "We finally have a new addition to our friend group!" I laughed as she patted my back vigorously and welcomed me to the gang. "You could at least have made it less embarrassing, Marce," I groaned. "My hair is already red, I don't need my face looking like a tomato too."

"You'll get used to her eventually," Archer assured me but I wasn't convinced.

"Hey, do you guys smell that?" Brin was inhaling deeply with a puzzled look on her face. "Something smells... smoky."

Flynn jumped up and peered at the people beginning to gather at the side of the manor. "It's a barbecue!" he yelled in excitement and before any of us could stop him he was racing off across the manicured lawn to join the queue of students.

Everyone shook their heads. "Food over friends, apparently."

I laughed with them and sat on the grass, leaning back to savour the sun on my face. Most days we had cloudy weather, so this was rare for us. I just wished that Robin could be out in a field.

Brin seemed to have read my thoughts. "Hey, if it's like this tomorrow do you guys want to go on a bareback hack?"

The others all voiced their agreement loudly, even shy Mika. Nobody wanted to stay away from the trails in weather like this.

Flynn's blonde head came bobbing back through the crowd. He was carrying a plate of steak straight off the grill and trying desperately to stop himself from demolishing it before he sat down. It didn't work.

"Gessum!" he said round a mouthful of steak and gestured to the barbecue.

"Come again?" Marcy was as puzzled as the rest of us.

"Get some," Flynn managed to say before he took another enormous bite. "Ish good."

"You have no shame." Archer ruffled Flynn's hair playfully, earning himself a half-slap, half-punch on the arm, as well as a glare for good measure.

"Now girls, play nice," Marcy joked before darting off to get some food in case Flynn went after her too.

***

"I swear I've gained about ten pounds," I groaned as we staggered back to the dorms after an hour of sitting on the grass eating. "My food baby is bigger than ever."

Marcy made a show of putting her hand on my stomach and saying, "Oh, I think I felt it kicking! You must be at least 8 months pregnant with that size of stomach!"

"Thanks for that self-esteem boost, Marce," I joked as I fell through the door into our room. "Is it just me or is this floor really soft?"

Marcy smiled and shook her head. "Is this collapsing-in-the-doorway thing normal for you or...?"

I heaved myself up and shook my head. "No, but it's fun."

"Whatever you say." The others filed in after us and lounged back on the sofas, sighing happily.

"Hey, you guys want to take a photo?" I offered, holding up the Polaroid camera. "To remember this first day."

We ended up taking six photos, one for each of us. We all managed to look somewhat photogenic, which was a surprise.

Archer suddenly sat bolt upright. A sly smile was playing on his lips. "Let's play Never Have I Ever: Equine Edition," he grinned. "The loser has to groom everyone else's horse before the ride tomorrow."

"Sure," we replied casually, but each of us groaned internally. Nobody wanted to groom six horses while carrying the burden of defeat.

"I'll start." Archer thought for a moment. "Never have I ever put my saddle on backwards."

Marcy put one finger down and we all stared at her. "I was young, okay!" she protested. "Don't judge me."

Mika was next. "Um... never have I ever been kicked by a horse."

Archer and Flynn both put one finger down. I wasn't really surprised.

"Never have I ever ridden on a beach," I said and everyone openly gasped. "You've never ridden on a beach?" Brin gasped and I nodded. "I've always been far away from the sea. We can do it tomorrow, though."

Brin recovered enough to remember it was her turn. "Never have I ever put my bridle together wrong." We all laughed and put one finger down. It took a lot of practice to put a bridle back together correctly after cleaning it.

Marcy took a while to think of hers. "Hmm... never have I ever got less than full marks on a dressage test." We all had to put a finger down for this, despite suspecting that Marcy had never scored full marks either.

Flynn knew what he wanted to say already. "Never have I ever fallen off at a water jump." He looked smug as Marcy, Archer and Mika put one finger down.

When we had finally finished the game, Marcy was the loser. She took it bravely but I could see her cringing at the prospect of having to get up extra early to groom the winners' horses. "Don't worry, I'll help you," I whispered and she gave me a grateful look.

"Hey, do you guys want to go to dinner?" Brin asked and we all looked at each other.

"I'm still kinda full..." Flynn said. I nodded in agreement. "We should probably feed the horses, though." The academy had three grooms who looked after the school ponies, expecting the students to take care of their own horses. As a result there was limited homework in order to let students give their equines the necessary care. To me, this sounded great. All I needed to do now was get into a regular routine and make sure that Robin was feeling sufficiently comfortable in her new environment to eat.

"Eat it, you old nag!" I growled as I thrust the feed bucket under my mare's nose for the tenth time. She obligingly began to eat but, as I hooked the bucket onto the stall door, she stepped away from it and nudged me.

I blew out a frustrated breath, but my face softened when she ruffled my hair with a long sigh.

"I know girl, I'm sorry," I said as I pushed her forelock out of her eyes. "I'm feeling a little disorientated too." I unhooked the bucket again and watched as she started eating. This time I didn't move.

"Hey, you coming?" Marcy asked as she stopped outside the door. I shook my head. "I'll be back in a bit. Robin hasn't finished eating yet." Marcy didn't question why I was holding the bucket, only nodded and motioned for the others to follow.

My arms hurt by the time Robin swallowed her final mouthful and moved her head away. As usual, she thrust her head over the stable door and looked out into the night. Her ears swivelled to catch sounds I couldn't hear. I couldn't wait to take her out on a ride tomorrow.

I quickly rinsed out the bucket at the wash bay and shouldered my way back into the stable, putting the bucket in the tack room and locking the door.

Robin was still staring into the darkness. Her sweet horsey smell relaxed me as I put my arm around her neck and looked out with her. "What do you see, girl?" I murmured. Our hair blew back in a soft breeze. "Just think, Robin. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and what we do at this academy could change them forever. Who knows what could happen?" Tiny fireflies winked above us. The question didn't leave me. Who knows what could happen?

We stayed there for a long time.

-----------------------------------

Hey guys! I've finally published the first few parts to this book!

I'm not quite sure where this story is going to go but I'll just roll with it. It's like exploring a new trail on horseback without telling anyone - it's probably a bad idea but let's see what happens :D

Also, I've decided to make an actual upload schedule! It's probably a terrible idea since my first exam is on Tuesday (it's Saturday right now for me) and I also need time for riding. Oh well.

So a new chapter will (hopefully) be uploaded every Saturday between midday and midnight UK time. Let's see how long this lasts XD

Anyway, please vote, comment and tell me what you think!

Until next time,

Chloe :)