MSRA ⇢ Starting New

⇢ 1 ; the arrival

My mind raced as the truck sped down the road.

How long until we get there? Will I make friends? Will Hope and I do well? What will my new trainers be like? What's the school like? Will I get in an accident like Cameron Taylor did?

"Five more minutes, Kathleen," Mom noted from the front seat. "I'd get all your stuff together."

"Thanks," I said, taking a shaky breath and wiping my palms on my jeans. I stuck my phone, charger, and earbuds back into my bag and took one final sip of my coffee. I looked back at the small grey trailer the truck towed along, imagining my precious bay mare Hope happily munching along at her hay. I smiled to myself and turned back around to my parents.

"Are you nervous?" Dad asked, turning his directional on.

"Yeah," I admitted with an anxious laugh. "I don't really know what to expect."

"You'll be fine," Mom smiled, reaching back and putting her hand on my knee. "You're the first class back in five years. I'm sure they're taking any and all precautions necessary to make you're time here perfect."

"Oh, my goodness," I said in awe, staring out the window. Along the side of the main rode were many large outdoor arenas, each side by side, on both sides of the rode. There must've been at least twenty.We pulled up to a large building, the Student Support building along with the main dining hall. Right in the middle of campus. The four academic buildings were surrounding the Student Support building, spaced out enough for trucks and trailers to pull in.

Mom and I hopped out of the truck to get my student info, while Dad stayed in the truck. As we walked into the building, I noticed how it was a brand new, updated facility. There were a few students milling around, but it wasn't nearly as full as I thought.

"Name?" the woman at the desk asked.

"Kathleen," I replied. "Whitmore."

"Here you are, Kathleen," she said, thumbing through some manila folders before handing me one with my name on it. "All your dorm, barn, and class information is in there. I recommend going to the barn first, as the ID photographer is there to get a picture of you and your horse for your ID card."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, scooping the folder up and spinning around on my heel back to the truck.

"Where to?" Dad asked as I hopped in the truck.

"Acacia barn," I said, skimming over the papers. "There should be signs pointing the way."

Sure enough, there were various temporary signed stuck in the ground, pointing to the four barns/dorms, Acacia, Rose, Indigo, and Sage. We followed them to the Acacia barn, and right across from it was the dorm building. Both buildings were a solid size, painted with a dark grey with a nice white trim. It was beautiful.

The minute I stepped out of the truck, I was welcomed by the photographer.

"Hello, Miss, I'll just need you to grab your photo ID sheet for me," he said with a smile. I dug through my folder until I found the small slip, handing it to him. "Alright, and if it's not an issue, I'm going to have you pull out your horse so you're both on the ID."

"Okay," I said, walking around back to the trailer. I stepped into the side entrance as Dad pulled the back down, and I backed Hope out into the bright sunlight. I walked her around a few moments to stretch her legs, then we headed back to the photographer for our picture.

"Okay now smile big... Perfect!" he said as the camera went off with a pop. "You'll have this by tomorrow evening. It will unlock your dorm and your tack locker, as well as your locker at school."