*MAIN CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:
SARAH MYERS: Brunette with grey-green eyes, owns Future, a 17hh bay Thoroughbred, on the advanced team, love interest is Callum Soyer, roommates with Raquelle Birkley
RAQUELLE BIRKLEY: Half-Mexican, owns Chestnut Dutch Warmblood named Justice, on the advanced team, roommates with Sarah Myers, love interest is Cameron Martins
CALLUM SOYER: Light brown hair, blue eyes, dating Sarah Myers, enrolled at Bay View High School
BRIT PEIRSONS: Blond, blue eyes, on the advanced team, owns grey Andalusian named Journey, roommates with Carlie Mitchell
CARLIE MITCHELL: Curly brunette, on the intermediate team, owns Ebony, a black Arabian, dating Noah Bailey
MIA EVANS: Straight light brown hair, brown eyes, on the intermediate team, owns white Thoroughbred stallion Pheonix, roommates with Paeyton Westfield, love interest is Josh Peirsons (Brit's brother)
PAEYTEON WESTFIELD: Blond, green-grey eyes, on the intermediate team, owns a tall palomino Westphalian mare named Autumn, roommates with Mia Evans, dating William Johansson
EMMA BIRK: Strawberry blond, green-blue eyes, on the intermediate team, owns Blaze, a Cleveland Bay mare, roommates with Maddie Douglas
HALEY TOWERS: Dark-haired, light blue eyes, roommates with Emily
AYLA JACOBSEN: Short, cheery red hair, freckles, green eyes, in the drama club
NOAH BAILEY: Curly, dark hair, on the intermediate team, love interest is Carlie Mitchell
ANIKA WILLIAMS: Wavy, blond hair, blue eyes, stylish, owns a tall, jet-black gelding named Alchetres, on the advanced team, love interest is Liam Smith
CAMILA RODRIQUEZ: Curly, dark hair, on the girls' varsity volleyball team, roommates with Ailiyah, brother is Diego Rodriquez
CLARE JADES: Dark, straight hair, blue eyes, goes to Bay View High School, on the track team, dating Trevor Fisher, best friends with Sarah Myers
LIAM SMITH: Curly dark hair and eyes, owns Trix, a sleek dark bay mare, on the advanced team, love interest is Anika Williams
SAM KEILINS: Tall, blond, owns Destiny, a tall and muscular black gelding, on the advanced team
LIENNE CHANG: Asian, polite, owns Dakota, a buckskin mare, on the advanced team
ALEXIS LOPEZ & LAURA RICHARDS: Two bitter rivals on the advanced team at Wellington Prep, Alexis rides a steely grey gelding, Rising Waters, and Laura rides a tall bay named Sky High
"Raquelle!" Sarah Myers screeched, laughing.
The two girls sprinted across campus, heading for the media centre.
"Slow down!" Sarah shrieked, breathless.
Raquelle Birkley, her roommate and best friend at their equestrian boarding school, Canterwood Crest Academy, finally slowed to a walk. She peeled her black hair from her face.
"Omigod!" Raquelle panted.
"Yeah! When you asked if I wanted to study at the media centre, we didn't have to run all the way here!" Sarah laughed.
Raquelle grinned, but her eyes had a half mysterious, you don't-know-what-I'm-thinking look to them.
Raquelle opened the double-doors and they both walked in.
Before Sarah could ask what the look was about, a familiar figure stepped in front of them.
Cameron Martins, the guy Raquelle was crushing on at the moment, stood in front of them, sorting through DVDs.
He looked up at them. "Oh! Hey, guys!"
Raquelle's grin was obvious. "Hi, Cameron," Raquelle replied. She cleared her throat after staring at him for a second too long. "Uh, what – what are you doing here?"
Cameron gestured to two guys near him. "We got assigned sorting through DVDs for the afternoon. Sooo fun," he grinned. "But it goes towards volunteer hours, so I agreed." He shrugged.
Raquelle nodded. "That sounds fun – not." They both smiled at each other before she gestured to Sarah. "Sarah and I are here to study. Maybe once you're done that . . . or if you need any help . . . text us."
Cameron grinned. "If you guys are still here when we're done, maybe I'll join you. But I'll save you from the despair of helping us stack and sort DVDs." He flashed them one more grin.
"'Kay," Raquelle smiled slowly. "See you later."
Together, Raquelle and Sarah walked away from them. Sarah waited till they were a couple steps down the hallway before she rolled her eyes.
"Now I know why you wanted to come." She stuck her tongue out at Raquelle, who still looked dreamy.
Raquelle snapped out of it. "Right. Like I knew he'd be here."
They both giggled as they opened one of the media centre room'sdoors. It was a decent size with red, cushioned seats arranged in a sort of circle. There was a flat-screen TV, mini-fridge, and a Catan board.
Sarah dumped her army green messenger bag and settled onto one of the plush, velvet chairs.
"Soda?" Raquelle asked, holding a ginger ale can.
"Sure. Thanks!" Sarah said.
Raquelle tossed her a Sprite and sat down in one of the cushioned seats across from her.
They pulled out their books and just as Sarah leaned down to pick up a pen, her phone buzzed.
She pulled it out. There was a new BBM from her and Raquelle's friend, Anika.
Anika Williams:
What r u guys doing 2day?
Sarah Myers:
Studying media centre. U?
Anika Williams:
Fun! Liam asked me 2 workout w/him 2 prepare 4 next wk's show! :)
Liam Smith, one of the guys on their advanced equestrian team, had been dating Anika for almost two months. They'd eased into their relationship, taking it really slowly, so their dating was still fairly new.
Sarah Myers:
OMG! So exciting! Text me after and tell me how it goes. :D I've got TONS of hmwk, so I gotta go, but let's talk ltr. :)
Anika Williams:
K, sure! Sounds good!
Sarah pocketed her phone. "That was Anika. She's working out with Liam today to prepare for the show next week."
Raquelle smiled as she scribbled things down on a paper. "Mmm," she said, her eyes on the page. "That sounds fun! It'll be good for her."
Sarah nodded. "I was thinking, you and I should probably find some time to train soon. Maybe you, me, and a couple of the other girls on the advanced team could get together."
"Sure!" Raquelle nodded, looking focused. "That'd be good. Justice and I need some work too . . ." Raquelle trailed off as she scribbled down an answer to one of the History questions she was working on.
Sarah smiled to herself, thinking about an idea for a training hangout she could set up.
Ever since she and Raquelle had made the advanced team in January, things had been beyond hectic. Even if they'd (semi) settled down in the social department, they had shows almost every weekend at different grounds and schools and were training twenty-four seven.
Their team was split, half ninth grade, half tenth-grade. The ninth-grade riders consisted of Anika, Raquelle, Sarah, and another girl, Brit Peirsons.
When Sarah had first come to Canterwood, she'd made the intermediate team, joining Brit, Raquelle, Noah Bailey, Carlie Mitchell, Paeyton Westfield, and Mia Evans. Then, two weeks before advanced team testing in January, Anika Williams, a mid-season transfer, had shown up and joined their intermediate team.
They'd worked hard and, half a month later, all tested. Brit, Raquelle, Anika, and Sarah had made the advanced team, pooling with three tenth graders (Sam Keilin, Liam Smith, and Lienne Chang) that had made it too.
"Omigod!" Raquelle's voice cut through her thoughts. She groaned, rubbing her temples. "I might actually die if I have to solve one more math problem!"
Sarah grinned. "I know. I've had a bajillion more Math problems assigned in my class than usual."
Raquelle leaned her head back on the cushioned seat. "We should protest to Student Rights, so our brains don't malfunction from an overload." She joked.
Sarah laughed, flipping to the next page of her creative writing assignment. So far, she was loving the extra class.
They fell back into quiet work with the odd chatting for the next forty-five minutes.
Finally, Raquelle stood up. "Grabbing candy," she said. "I'm gonna go crazy if I do another ounce of homework."
Sarah tucked her burgundy binder into her messenger bag, half-smiling, half-rolling her eyes. Raquelle had suggested they come in the first place, but it was getting more and more clear that it'd be only for one reason that started with a C.
"Here we go!" Raquelle set down a chocolate-brown tray, holding a bowl of chips, two self-serving containers of salsa, an assortment of candy, and dark and light chocolate.
"Thanks!" Sarah said, taking two blue Sour Patch Kids. "I'm done with homework too, if you are."
Raquelle nodded. "Sounds good! So, what'd you wanna do with the rest of our night? We could ask Anika if she wants to meet at the stable, although I think you told me she and Liam were already working out today."
Sarah nodded. "Yeah, she might be too tired or wanting to keep hanging out with Liam, but there are always Brit and those guys . . ." Sarah sat up a little in her seat. "Or, of course, we could invite Haley, Camila, or Ayla over for a movie night."
Raquelle's eyes perked. "That sounds really fun! Who should we invite? All of them or just one?"
Sarah shrugged, picking up a Tostito chip and dipping it in the mild salsa. "It might be a little last minute, so maybe let's invite one tonight, and make a plan to do a big sleepover with all of them and Ems soon."
Emma, on the intermediate team, was also Raquelle's friend. They'd had a slight falling out in September, but things between them were good now. Camila Rodriquez, Haley Towers, and Ayla Jacobsen were all friends with them too. None of them were riders, but they hungout in classes and outside of school.
"That sounds good," Raquelle said, smiling. "I just remembered that Ayla texted me something about an extra theatre practice for Moana."
Ayla was huge into theatre and her drama club was performing Moana currently.
"Okay. So not her . . ." Sarah tapped her pen on her leg. "Would you rather Haley or Camila tonight?"
"Let's text both of them and see who's free. It's a Wednesday, so it's sort of unlikely that they'll both be free. I'll text Hales if you get Camila."
Sarah nodded, pulling out her phone. "Sounds good."
She typed a message to Camila, proofread it, and sent it off.
Sarah Myers:
Hey, C! How's it going? If u aren't busy 2nite, want 2 come over 2 R & I's 4 a movie nite? LMK! :)
Sarah pocketed her phone and looked up at Raquelle who was still texting back and forth with Haley.
"Hales has indoor soccer try-outs tonight, she said." Raquelle told her. She typed something else before closing her BlackBerry and dumping it in her bag. "Camila?"
Sarah shook her head. "No response,"
Raquelle made a face as they picked at the remaining food on the tray. Finally, a few minutes later, Raquelle sighed. "Whatever," she shrugged. "We can just do an in night. Let's go back to our room."
They picked up their stuff and started for the door when Sarah's phone buzzed. She pulled it out. "Ooh! It's Camila! She's in! She'll be there at six."
Raquelle grinned at her. "Yay! C'mon, let's go!"
Linking arms, they headed out of the room. Cameron and his friends were gone, and the media centre's lines were beginning to crank up for evening shows.
They dodged people and pushed open the doors, jogging out onto the steps. The late March air was crisp today and less warm than it had been the last few weeks.
"Burrr!" Raquelle shivered, pulling her knitted shawl tighter around her. Her caramel-coloured boots splashed through remaining rain puddles.
"I know! It's supposed to be spring, as of five days ago!" Sarah complained. She'd paired skinny jeans with a hip-level cut hoodie. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her makeup wasn't overly extravagant, but it entranced her features.
"I know!" Raquelle squealed, dodging a wide puddle. "I wish I could change the weather. Summer is going to be so fun!"
Sarah grinned, but her heart pained a little at the thought of going home for summer break. She'd have to leave all of her friends at Canterwood and more than that, the boarding school felt like home now. She couldn't imagine being away for two and a half months.
Then, of course, there was the major parent factor. Sarah's parents were too wrapped up in their business and their life to care about Sarah and she always felt like she didn't belong in her own house when she was home.
Of course, there was an upside too. Going home meant seeing her best friend, Clare Jades, and her boyfriend, Callum Soyer. Spending time with them over spring break had been amazing and it'd made her even more excited to bring her gelding, Future, back to her old stable for the summer.
Still, her heart squeezed at the thought of going home for so long.
"Um, yeah," Sarah managed. Raquelle knew about her home situation, but Sarah didn't feel like getting into it right now. "Let's hurry! Camila is gonna be here in a few hours!"
They simultaneously broke into jogs and the topic of summer break didn't come up again for the rest of the night.
They took the steps of Hawthorne Hall, their dorm, and slowed as they made their way towards their room.
"I think we should invite Ayla, Camila, Haley, and Emma over on Friday." Sarah suggested. "Do we have plans?"
Raquelle nodded. "I love it! Friday plans are the best! And what'd you think about inviting Anika too?"
Anika hadn't originally been part of their friend group, but they'd all become friends.
"Oh! Right!" Sarah shook her head as Raquelle unlocked their door. "I totally forgot about Anika! Yeah, let's totally invite her."
The door opened, revealing their cozy/chic room. While Sarah's side had a slightly more pastel-y colour scheme, Raquelle loved stark colours.
They had matching Pottery Barn Teen lamps from Emma – Sarah's white and Raquelle's black – positioned on their desks and twinkly, soft white lights draped around their room.
A black flat-screen TV was mounted on the wall on Raquelle's side, positioned so it faced both of their beds.
Sarah and Raquelle took of their shoes and dumped their stuff on their beds. "I'm going to shower, then get ready for Camila."
Sarah nodded. "I'll shower after you."
Raquelle smiled and shut the door to the bathroom, positioned left at the entry.
Sarah patted to her desk in ankle-socks. She pulled out her new book Clare had read and sent her in the mail – Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt – that she thought Sarah would like.
Sarah picked it up and turned to the first page.
A few hours later, there was a knock at their door. Sarah and Raquelle had both showered and changed into VS yoga pants with fold-over waistbands and hoodies.
Sarah's feet were tucked into her favourite slippers: cotton-candy coloured with rabbit ears.
"Come in!" Raquelle and Sarah chorused.
The door opened and Camila, in dark brown flare tights, an aged Short n' Sweet Sabrina Carpenter T-shirt, and a zip-up hoodie appeared. "Hi, guys!" Camila said, coming in and shutting the door behind her.
"Hi!" Sarah got up and hugged her friend, then stepped back for Raquelle and Camila to hug.
Once Camila released them, she looked around their room. "Omigod! It smells so good in here!"
Camila had been in their room a handful of times, along with most of their friends, but Raquelle had bought a new desensitizer two weeks ago.
"Thanks!" Raquelle said. "I got it online recently. Sarah and I are obsessed with it! It makes our room constantly smell like vanilla-maple candles!"
Camila laughed. "I'm gonna have to talk to Ailiyah about getting one of those for our room!" she sat on Sarah's bed. "So? Movie?"
"Oh, yeah!" Sarah sat on Raquelle's bed. "Raquelle picked out a few. She was in charge of that."
"I've got . . ." Raquelle riffled through the DVDs. "If we want coming-of-age, there's Thirteen Going On 30."
Camila nodded. "Like," she said.
"If we want a different romcom, there's How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days or . . . She's The Man. If we want a cry-me-to-sleep movie, there's -"
"She's The Man!" Camila called out before Raquelle could list the last movie. "I love that one!"
Raquelle popped the DVD in and leaned back.
The beginning credits started to role and Sarah smiled at her friends, relaxing.
Bon retour a tous!