It was only thanks to Brin that none of us missed breakfast.

We were all sleeping like logs, and only she woke up, somehow refreshed and, as usual, without a hair out of place.

It took a team effort to wake up me and Flynn. We were especially tired after the night incident and hadn't moved at all since we had fallen back asleep.

The girls were raising their eyebrows at us, but Archer looked worried. He took Flynn aside and whispered fiercely for a while before releasing him. I supposed that Archer would know about the nightmares and just wanted to know what had happened.

We dressed quickly and bolted out the room, luckily not running into anyone. The 'socialising' day was today, which I wasn't really looking forward to since I was so tired. Maybe I would make some new friends, though. And I still needed to talk to Cass again.

The dining hall was packed, but our usual table luckily wasn't taken. Everyone seemed to stake out their spots on the first day and stick to them. Fine by me.

"So," Marcy said, "You guys ready for some fun mingling?"

"You put that really weirdly," I grumbled. "And no, I'd rather sleep for a week, to be honest." I collected a plate and piled my usual fruit and pastries onto it, digging in hungrily as soon as I sat down. May as well get my energy up for the day ahead, right?

I saw Varsity walking past and gave her an angelic smile. She scowled at me and her hand twitched, as if she wanted to flip me off. What a charming girl.

Suddenly a spoon was clanged against a glass and everyone fell silent. A woman I had never seen before stepped onto a small stool and cleared her throat.

"Hello students," she said in a warm voice that I instantly liked. "For those of you who haven't yet met me, I am Miss Rosewood, your headmistress. I would like to formally welcome you to Crescent Bay Riding Academy, and introduce the first event of this term.

"I hope you and your horses have settled in well, and made several new friendships which you will uphold beyond Crescent Bay into later life. We value strong bonds between students and take pride in our community at the school.

"This brings me to the first event. Each year we hold a social event which gives students an opportunity to meet their fellow boarders and get their horses used to both the environment and the other horses also staying with us." She paused as a groom hurried up to her and whispered something. She nodded.

"I've just been informed that everything is set up and ready to go so, without further ado, you may tack up your horses and await further instructions outside their stalls." With that, she stepped down and gave one last smile before sweeping from the dining hall in a clicking of heels. She didn't exactly wait around.

We looked at each other. Marcy grinned. "Let the fun begin."

***

We tacked up quickly. The yard was a hive of activity and Robin was looking at everything nervously, her eyes out on stalks. She blew furiously through her nostrils at Diamond as Marcy led him out of his stable and he stretched out his neck to snuff at her delicately.

The grooms, mounted on academy horses who hadn't been assigned to any students, called everyone to attention. The yard fell silent.

"If you would please follow us," one of them said. They began to move off towards the forest, and we all fell into line behind them. I wondered if this was more than just socialising with other students - all the staff seemed to be making a big deal out of it, with their proper language and eagerness to get going.

I turned round to look at Marcy. "What actually happens during this 'socialising event'?"

She shrugged. "It's pretty self-explanatory - you socialise. It's also an opportunity to show off to everyone else since they have an arena for dressage and courses for showjumping and cross-country. It's fun, but people can get a bit... competitive." Her face darkened for a moment before she reached down to give Diamond a pat. For the first time I noticed a long, white scar running over his shoulder.

"Marcy..." I said hesitantly, "What exactly do you mean by competitive?"

"Oh, you know, dirty tricks, cutting in front of you, spooking the horses, sabotage..." Her voice was sour and she seemed to be remembering something. I decided to drop the subject.

What had happened to her and Diamond last year? I briefly wondered if Varsity had something to do with it, but realised I was jumping to conclusions just because I didn't like her. Even so, I wasn't looking forward to this event if it meant that me or Robin could get hurt.

The day was warm, but I still shivered.

Eventually we rode off the little woodland track and emerged onto an enormous grassy field, ringed all around by the trees with glimpses of a cross-country course in the leafy depths. On the far side of the field was a showjumping course and an area inside a post-and-rail fence which I presumed was the dressage arena. In the middle of the field was a long table with refreshments for both students and horses, with the headmistress and several teachers chatting beside it.

My friends rode up beside me and Flynn gave me a challenging stare. "Hey, that cross-country course looks pretty good. I can't wait to beat you round it."

Archer, too, was grinning confidently. "Not before I destroy her at showjumping."

"Now, children," Brin laughed as we all started boasting about past achievements. Easy for her to say - she was the only one who did dressage.

Suddenly Varsity and her clique rode out behind us, laughing loudly. I saw Cass near the front, looking uncomfortable but trying to fit in. I felt sorry for her.

"Hey, cheapskates," Varsity sneered as she passed on her flashy palomino. Once again, I grew angry. There was just something about this girl that made me want to punch something. I forced the feeling down.

"Hey, mummy's girl," I shot back, seeing the looks of surprise on the other girls' faces.

"Don't worry, she's just jealous of us," Varsity laughed, and my blood boiled at the lie. Before I could murder her with insults she trotted off, with the other girls following obediently behind.

"You need to stop getting so angry with her," Marcy said sternly and I glanced at her in disbelief. "What? Are you immune to her or something? Every time she opens her mouth I want to knock her teeth out."

"Look at this little fighter!" Flynn leaned over to mess my hair but I slapped his hand away. "Look, but don't touch."

The others laughed and Archer winked at his roommate. "One day, Flynn. One day."

"All of you disgust me." I scratched Robin's wither as I peered at Miss Rosewood. She was getting her glass and spoon ready again, and the loud chime rang through the air as she brought the two together. Silence fell.

"Now that you are all here," the headmistress began, "You have some time to yourself while we review the cross-country course to make sure it is safe. There are refreshments on this table for both you and your horses, so feel free to grab something at any time." She didn't seem to be saying anything more, so we rode over to the edge of the arena and stopped under some trees. The horses flicked their tails and half-closed their eyes, enjoying the warm day.

Varsity and her group were hovering near the table and I watched Cass quietly slip away. Once she was a safe distance from them, she spurred her chestnut into a canter towards us.

"Hey," I said warmly as she slowed to a halt. She stuttered a nervous hello to the others before moving a little closer to me. I could see she was bursting to say something but the group was intimidating her.

"Guys, we're just going to talk for a bit. We'll be back in a minute." I trotted a little distance away from the others, and waited for Cass to join me. I made sure we were shielded from Varsity's view by a bunch of boys laughing about something.

"Help me," Cass said as soon as she came near. "I'm in a bit of a situation and I don't know what to do." She looked pretty desperate, and I wasn't at all surprised by her words.

"It's about Varsity, isn't it?" I asked and she nodded miserably. "She was really nice to me, and everyone else was friendly too. But now she expects me to laugh when she bullies other people, and do all the work for her too. I'm worried that if I leave, she'll do something to Sunny." She broke off to lean forward and scratch between her horse's ears.

"Is Sunny your horse?"

Cass nodded. "She's a quarter horse called Sundance. I really don't want Varsity to hurt her, but I feel like that's the sort of thing she'd do." I could see tears welling up in Cass's eyes and guided Robin closer so I could hug her. She gave a shaky laugh at the grumpy expression on Sunny's face and dashed a hand across her eyes.

"To be honest, I don't think Varsity would dare to do anything," I reassured her. "She might be mean, but she's a coward." At that moment, I glanced up and saw a pretty palomino horse trotting towards us, carrying someone with a face like thunder.

"Speak of the devil," I muttered as Varsity narrowed her eyes. Before she got too close, I told Cass to follow me and launched straight into a canter. I wouldn't normally run away, but Cass was not in the right state of mind.

Out the corner of my eye I saw a boy break away from the group we had hidden behind and follow us. Varsity seemed to be dropping back, clearly not willing to chase us round the field in full view of everyone.

We slowed to a stop next to my friends, who looked at us curiously. I quickly explained what had happened.

Marcy burst out laughing. "That bitch won't lay a finger on your horse! She doesn't have the guts."

"I think you should stay with us, at least for a while," Brin said with concern and Cass nodded. "Oh, can my boyfriend stay with me?" she asked nervously, indicating the chocolate-haired boy who had followed us. "It's just that Varsity won't leave him alone and doesn't seem to get that he's already in a relationship."

The boy nodded. "She's the most annoying person I've ever met. Oh, I'm Logan, by the way, and this is my horse Raindance." He patted the blue roan dancing underneath him.

"Raindance and Sundance," I chuckled. "Good combination."

Both horses chose that time to snort simultaneously, and we all grinned. Cass caught my eye and her smile grew wider. I suspected that was the happiest she'd been in a while.

_________________________

Hey guys!

Next update already! (RIP update schedule).

I'm not very good at speeches, so Miss Rosewood's moment of glory was a little disappointing but oh well.

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

Until next time,

Chloe :)