Royal Academy, here I come!
Mum had driven me down from the country to the Academy. It was an eight-hour drive and we’d packed the car full of all my gear. Dad was going to drive down the next day with Honey in the horse trailer. As Mum and I walked through the school grounds, it was eerily quiet. There was no school on that day for regular students as it was ‘Boarders’ Travelling Day’. They gave the boarders a whole day to commute to the school and settle back into the dorms after the school holidays. Regular school hours would start the next day. That was a whole other thing to be nervous about.
I pulled my suitcase along and Mum carried some of my other belongings. We followed the signs down to the boarding houses, realising too late that we’d parked our car miles away from where we needed to be. This school was massive. We wandered past the tennis courts and down past the athletics track. The track was amazing – it looked like it belonged in the Olympics! The running track circled around bright grass where there was a long jump pit. Down the path we saw a huge building labelled ‘Aquatic Centre’. Peeking through the foggy windows, we could see the Olympic-sized pool along with water polo nets and high diving boards. I shuddered. Swimming definitely was not the sport for me. I hated the water. Give me a wild stallion over a swimming pool any day.
As we approached a sign that read ‘Boarding Houses’, we could see the large building that was going to be my home during term time for the next six years. I breathed deeply. The building was more of a house than a school block. The Academy prided itself on providing a homely feel for the girls who were boarders. The house was beautiful – it looked like a mansion. To each side of the main house were smaller houses – like little cottages. I wondered who lived there. We entered through the grand front door and immediately to our left was a small office with the word ‘Housemistress’ printed neatly on a plaque on the door.
Mum knocked gently on the door as I stood nervously behind her. A portly woman in her fifties answered. She had small round glasses on her plump face and a kind, beaming smile.
‘You must be Chloe!’ she sang cheerfully, as she extended her hand to me. ‘We are so excited to have you at the Academy. I know you are going to just love it here in our little home.’
The butterflies in my stomach settled down just a little.
‘My name is Mrs Buckley and I am the housemistress for the junior boarding house. In this house we have girls boarding from Years 7–9, all from different sports, so you’ll make lots of new friends. Once you reach Year 10, you get to move into the cottages, which you may have seen on your walk down here.’ Mrs Buckley turned to Mum. ‘We like to give the older girls more independence and privacy,’ she said as Mum nodded.
Mrs Buckley gestured towards a grand staircase that curled up three levels.
‘Upstairs are the sleeping quarters. But straight through here,’ she said, pointing down the hallway on the ground level, ‘are the lounges and studies. That’s where the girls can relax, watch a bit of television and do their homework if they need a computer.’
Mrs Buckley turned towards the stairs. ‘But let’s go and find your room so we can put those heavy bags down.’ She winked.
We followed Mrs Buckley up two flights of twisting wooden stairs with a gleaming banister. We then followed her up the hallway, passing several rooms on the way. I glanced into one room and saw a girl lying on her stomach on her bed, flicking through a magazine. She glanced up as I walked past and smiled. Mrs Buckley waved to the girl and gestured for me and Mum to keep walking down the hall. I followed the hallway around a sharp corner and suddenly found myself bumping straight into someone, knocking them to the ground.
‘Ow!’ a girl yelled.
‘Oh, Sasha darling, are you okay?’ another voice exclaimed. A tall woman stooped down to help up the girl on the floor.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I said, scrambling to help as well.
‘You need to watch where you’re going,’ the girl scolded angrily.
‘There, there, Sasha, I’m sure you are just fine,’ said Mrs Buckley. Sasha stood up and dusted herself off, glaring at me. She was tall with short dark hair, cut into a neat bob. The woman had a matching haircut.
‘Come on, Mother,’ Sasha said briskly as she gestured for the woman to follow.
Suddenly, Sasha’s mother came to a halt. She frowned as she locked eyes with my mum, as if thinking deeply.
‘Well, good afternoon,’ my mum said coolly.
Sasha’s mum opened her mouth as if to speak but then shut it quickly. She became flustered as she took her daughter’s arm and led her down the hall. My mum smiled secretively and winked at me. It was all very strange.
‘And this will be your room, Chloe,’ said Mrs Buckley as we neared the end of the corridor.
I turned into the doorway and saw my new home. It was a large room with two beds against the left and right walls. At the foot of the beds were two small desks with chairs neatly tucked underneath. On the far wall was a glorious bay window which had a beautiful window seat covered in cushions.
The bed on the left clearly already had an owner. It had a bright bedspread with rainbow polka dots all over it. At the top of the bed was a cushion with a picture of a pony on it. I looked over to the other side of the room, my side. The other bed had a simple, plain blanket on it. I frowned.
Mrs Buckley laughed cheerily. ‘Don’t worry – you can decorate your side of the room as soon as you like. You are allowed to put on your own bedspread and add cushions or cuddly toys – anything that reminds you of home.’
I nodded.
‘Your roommate, Jenna, is also an equestrian student and I’m sure you’ll get along well.’
Mum looked at her watch. I knew she would want to hit the road soon to make the long trip home before dark.
Mrs Buckley patted Mum lightly on the arm. ‘I’ll leave you two to say your goodbyes, then Chloe can get settled.’ She left the room and quietly padded away up the hall.
I turned to Mum. I didn’t want her to go yet. But I knew she had to. Her eyes were filled with tears and she extended her arms to me. I bundled into her and wrapped my arms tightly around her.
‘I’m so proud of you,’ she whispered into my hair. ‘Now, Honey will be here tomorrow,’ she reassured me. ‘Are you okay to unpack yourself?’
I nodded, wiping away some stray tears. It suddenly hit me that Mum was leaving and I was about to start living away from my parents. I’d never lived away from home – the longest I’d ever been away from them was three nights on a school camp. And here I was, getting ready to live eight hours away from them. I took a deep breath and squeezed Mum’s hand one more time.
Mum gave me another quick hug then walked out the door. ‘I love you so much, Chlo.’ She smiled.
She closed the door softly behind her. I looked at my room and realised that this was my new life. I was excited and sad all at the same time. I walked over to the window, sat on the seat and gazed out over the Academy grounds. From my room I could see the stables in the distance and the large paddocks and equestrian rings. This was the place where my future would be made. I smiled.
Suddenly, the door burst open and a tall, blonde girl came bouncing in. ‘Oh my gosh, you’re here!’ she yelled as she ran up and hugged me.
I stood up, confused. Did I know this person?
‘I’m Jenna!’ she said in an American accent. ‘Are you Chloe?’
‘Y-y-yes. That’s me,’ I stammered.
‘I’m your roommate! I’m sooooo excited you’re here. Everyone was totally jealous that I got my own room but I was actually really upset that I didn’t have a roomie! I literally cried. Actually, I didn’t literally cry, I was just sad, but you know what I mean!’ Jenna’s words tumbled out of her mouth with furious speed. I had to stop and concentrate on what she was saying.
‘So, you came here to the Academy all the way from America?’ I asked.
Jenna laughed loudly and for a long time. ‘No, I used to live in the States but my
family moved here three years ago. My dad was a Texas cowboy and then we moved out here to do cattle farming. My family still live on the farm but I board here. My sister is here too; she’s in Year 10, so she gets to live in one of the cottages.’ Jenna’s bright blue eyes sparkled and her smile was contagious. ‘I totally have to show you around!’ she said.
Jenna linked arms with me and dragged me into the hallway.
‘Knock-knock!’ she sang as she opened the door of the room next to ours. Two girls were sitting up straight on their beds. Both of them had their hair neatly pulled back into ponytails and their room was spotless. One had long dark hair and olive skin and the other had long blonde hair and pale blue eyes.
‘Alicia, Rosie, this is Chloe!’ Jenna smiled.
Alicia and Rosie smiled back and waved. Before I had the chance to say a word, Jenna was already pulling me out the door and down the corridor.
‘Alicia and Rosie are dressage riders – can you tell?’ she laughed.
I nodded and smiled. I could tell they were dressage riders. Dressage riders have an air of poise about them. They are often neat and are very disciplined and polished riders.
‘We call this part of the hall “pony lane” because everyone along this stretch is in the equestrian program.’ We continued down the hall to the next room. ‘Knock-knock!’ Jenna called as she pushed open the door.
‘Do you mind?’ yelled an angry voice. The door swung open and there was Sasha – the girl I’d bumped into in the hallway. Sitting on her bed was the woman who was with her earlier – her mother.
‘I’m just introducing the new girl, Chloe,’ Jenna snapped.
Sasha was about to close the door in our faces when her mother stood up and held the door open.
‘Chloe, is it?’ she said sharply. ‘So, was that your mother here with you this morning?’
‘Um … yes, it was,’ I mumbled self-consciously.
‘Is her name Sandra?’ the woman snapped back.
‘Yes, it is – do you know her?’ I asked.
The woman’s face reddened. ‘Well, yes, not well. Our paths crossed many years ago.’
I frowned. Mum never mentioned knowing Sasha’s mother. And why didn’t they speak if they already knew each other?
Sasha looked up at her mother curiously. Her mother seemed a little flustered.
‘What’s your specialty?’ Sasha asked.
‘Showjumping,’ I chirped, trying to sound upbeat.
Sasha scoffed. ‘That’s a shame for you,’ she said, shaking her head lightly. ‘It’s pretty stiff competition in showjumping and I can tell you now – there is a lot of talent here.’
Jenna rolled her eyes and pulled me by the arm out of the room.
‘What’s up with her?’ I asked Jenna.
‘Oh, don’t mind Sasha. She can be really snobby. But the worst bit is, she’s one of the best riders in the school. She was a champion three-day eventer – she is good at dressage but her real talent is showjumping. Since joining the Academy, she has decided to specialise in showjumping and she’s amazing. I’m pretty sure she was talking about herself when she mentioned the “talent” here.’
‘Oh great,’ I huffed.
‘Sasha comes from one of the wealthiest families in the country. They are true horse royalty around here. Her mum was once a champion showjumper and her horses are all Dutch Warmbloods. She stables three horses here at the school and man, are they beautiful. Those three horses alone would cost as much as some people’s houses!’
I suddenly thought about my poor little Honey. She was an ex-racehorse that we got for a steal. She wasn’t the prettiest horse either – her face had some long scars that ran from her eyes and down her nose. Apparently she’d been in an altercation with a barbed wire fence with her previous owner. I hoped my beautiful, shabby little horse would be happy among all those fancy European breeds in the stables.
Jenna led me down the spiralling staircase and back to the ground floor. We walked along the hallway and into the lounge rooms that Mrs Buckley had pointed out earlier.
‘This is the common room,’ Jenna said, sweeping her arm in a semicircle in front of her. ‘This is where we chill out – watch movies, have hot chocolates, read books – whatever. You’re only allowed in here after study hall is finished.’
‘What’s study hall?’
‘Study hall is the time after school when we all have to be in our rooms or in the computer rooms doing homework. Once that’s finished, we usually have dinner and then we are free to hang out and do whatever until bedtime.’
‘Are they strict about bedtime?’ I asked.
‘Well, technically,’ Jenna smiled mischievously. ‘In the evening, Mrs Buckley goes across to her house and we get “sleepers” in. They are girls in their twenties who sleep here and are available at any time during the night if you have a problem. But we love playing tricks on them!’
I smiled lightly.
‘Okay, why don’t we go back up to the room and you can unpack your stuff? Then we can hang out until dinnertime at six o’clock. I’ll show you the dining hall then if you like.’ Jenna grinned.
‘Thanks, Jenna,’ I said. I still had a slight sick feeling in my stomach – a combination of nerves and sadness about leaving my family. But with Jenna here to show me the ropes, I felt like I was going to be okay. I just had to remember to keep out of Sasha’s way. Not only was she really rude to me, but there was something weird between our mums too. I had the strangest feeling that Sasha spelled trouble.
I took a step back and admired the wall next to my bed. ‘Perfect.’ I smiled. I had organised a collage of photos of everything I loved from home. There were photos of my parents and me riding on the farm. There were photos of me and my old school friends, arms linked, laughing hysterically. Then there was one photo of my sweet Honey, with a shining ‘First Place’ ribbon around her neck which we’d won at the country fair last year.
‘Are you ready?’ a voice boomed.
I startled and turned around to see Jenna. I was going to have to get used to her loud voice. It was so different sharing a room, compared to my quiet little room on the farm. Back home it was just me and my parents, so I wasn’t used to having other teenagers around.
‘We don’t want to be late for dinner,’ she said, ‘otherwise you get stuck with all the leftover parts of the meal.’
We headed out of the boarding house and across the grass to the large dining hall. Inside were long communal tables lined with individual chairs. The noise was incredible. Girls chattered loudly and the kitchen was a din of banging pots and pans. A long, snaky queue had formed along the kitchen front as girls collected their meals on plastic trays.
Jenna and I lined up and she handed me a tray. We waited patiently until we made it to the front of the line where four women in white aprons were dishing out meals. I peered through the glass and watched as they scooped the food onto the plates at a fast pace.
I put my tray on the counter and read from the dinner menu on the chalkboard behind the servers.
Organic Grilled Chicken Breast
Quinoa and Feta Salad
Green Salad
Organic Sourdough Rolls
‘What on earth is quinoa?’ I whispered to Jenna, pronouncing the word exactly as it was spelt.
Jenna laughed loudly. ‘It’s pronounced keen-wah,’ she giggled. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. The Academy are really conscious about serving us healthy food. Some of it might be a bit new to you, but it’s actually pretty nice.
I slid my tray in front of one of the serving ladies and she plopped a portion of salad onto my plate.
‘Oh, I don’t really like tomato …’ I began.
‘Move along!’ she interrupted.
I slid my tray along the line and grabbed a drink of organic vegetable juice and some cutlery. I nervously followed Jenna to one of the long tables where Alicia and Rosie – the two girls in the room next door to us – were already seated.
&nbs
p; Alicia was delicately eating her chicken. She looked up with her dark brown eyes and smiled warmly at me. Next to her, Rosie, the blonde dressage rider, gave a little wave to me with her fork.
‘Come join us,’ Alicia said as Jenna plonked herself down at the table. I smiled gratefully.
My ears were ringing at the noise in the dining hall. These girls sure could talk! I suddenly missed warm nights on our farm – we’d often sit on the verandah and eat dinner to the sounds of the singing cicadas as the sun set over the fields. I looked around the dining hall and there were girls from Year 7 all the way to Year 12. Some looked like adults! Clearly, a lot of these girls were from other sporting programs too, not just equestrian.
‘So, Chloe, what’s your discipline?’ Rosie asked.
My cheeks reddened. I desperately wanted to make friends but I’m a shy person and I never like having the spotlight on me – even just in conversation.
‘I’m a showjumper,’ I said, trying to sound confident.
‘Respect!’ said Rosie, smiling warmly. ‘Jumps freak me out. I far prefer dressage – it’s much safer,’ she laughed.
‘Don’t you find all that prancing around boring, though?’ Jenna asked.
‘It’s not boring!’ cried Alicia. ‘It’s beautiful. There’s nothing like being in complete unison with your horse. We connect with each other and it’s like we are doing a beautiful ballet together. I love it!’
‘Ballet! Pfft!’ scoffed Jenna, rolling her eyes. ‘I’d much rather be soaring through the air on my horse. And each time you clear the bar – it’s so magical.’
Leap of Faith Page 2