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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Jan 30, 2024 19:40:13 GMT -5
Melanie raised her hand. "What do you about food allergies?" she asked. "Like, if someone is severely allergic, and even having their food prepared in the same kitchen is enough to cause a reaction?" She herself wasn't that sensitive to the foods she was allergic to, thankfully, but she didn't know if anyone else in the house would be. However, just touching the items she was allergic to was enough to give her hives, and eating any of it would result in needing to use her EpiPen. Which, as she thought about it, she went ahead and made a note of that on the paper provided so Mary would be aware of it.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Jan 31, 2024 22:17:44 GMT -5
Saylor followed last. As she reached the foyer, an older gentleman came in the front door. He appeared to be about Mary’s age, with the tanned and wrinkled skin of someone who spent the majority of his time outdoors, squinting in the sun.
“Everyone,” Mary said, “this is my husband, George, and your second house guardian.”
George nodded. “Pleased to meet you all. Excuse me if I don’t jump right into trying to learn all your names. That part of this job has never been my strong suit.”
Mary placed a hand on George’s arm. “Shay, David, Justin, why don’t you follow George up to the boys wing? He’ll give you the tour, and you can each pick a bedroom. Girls, you can follow me.”
Saylor crossed the room to grab her things as the menfolk started up the left hand staircase. Mary went up the staircase on the right, followed by the other girls. Saylor brought up the rear.
Upstairs, the hallway stretched to the left and right. To the right was the front of the house, and this half was much shorter than the hall leading toward the back of the house. There were three doors on the right, two on one side of the hall and one on the other. All three doors were closed.
Mary was leading the way to the left. “This is the bathroom,” she told them, opening the door closest to the stairs on the left. A peek within showed a bathroom that looked more like a school restroom: a line of three toilet stalls on one side, three sinks on the other, and three shower stalls on the back wall.
“Not ideal for a house full of teenage girls,” Mary admitted, closing the door most of the way. “But we had to make do. There is also the bathroom downstairs, and one in the basement. You can use those for everything but showering.”
She continued down the hallway. ”A closed door means the room is already taken,” she told them. “Each room is exactly the same, with any differences coming from the personal touches of the students, since whichever room you choose, you’ll use for the next four years. In that time, you can make any changes to the room you want, including shifting the furniture around. You cannot, however, replace any of the furniture, or bring any additional furniture in. The rooms simply aren’t large enough.”
As they walked, they passed seven more closed doors, four on the right, starting directly across from the bathroom, and three on the left. When they reached the back of the house, the hall continued to the left. An eighth closed bedroom door ended the right side of the hallway.
“As there tends to be a four to six student ratio - four girls to two boys — each year, the girl’s wing of the house is larger than the boy’s side.” Mary stopped and waved a hand at the short hallway. Five more rooms lined it, three on the right and two on the left. Only the first door on the right was closed; the other four were open.
Mary stopped in the hall between the first two open doors. “These are the last available rooms. It’s almost good that one of the students from the fourth-year class got cut, or we wouldn't have enough space for all four of you.”
For some reason, Saylor felt a pang of guilt at that, as if her being there was somehow the reason the fourth-year girl had been cut.
Mary pointed to the doors on the right. “These two have windows that look out on the backyard. The one on the left, at the end, looks out on the side yard. And this one—” She pointed to the bedroom directly beside her on the left. “—has a skylight instead of a window, as all the bedrooms along the center of the house do.”
Mary turned to face the girls. “Who would like a bedroom with a window overlooking the backyard?”
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 1, 2024 18:04:27 GMT -5
Not being a picky person, Lori raised her hand to question of who would like the first choice of bedroom. Backyard, side yard, it made no different to her. She was just eager to get settled and make her room her own.
Melanie also wasn't too picky, however, the mention of a skylight had her interest peaked. She loved the stars. Every summer, she would try to stay out late and watch them as often as she could. For her twelfth birthday, her parents had even given her a telescope. So, she was hoping that the detail of the room might have gone unnoticed by the others. The only one she was worried about taking the room too was Khloe. She seemed like the kind to hear “skylight” and want it just because it sounded high-class and fancy.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 8, 2024 17:34:57 GMT -5
( Alright, "enemies" might be a strong word right now, but this will definitely make it hard for them to be friends. xD )
Saylor wavered. What she said was sound, and with Mary waiting and watching, she really didn’t want to drag out this debate any longer. And yet...
She shook her head and straightened her shoulders. "Thank you, but your parents are paying your way here, mine isn't, and I don't want to make a enemy of them by taking the larger room. So, it's yours. I'll take the small one."
And without waiting for a response, she stepped into the closer room and shut the door.
( I can't remember if you made Melanie the scholarship student or not, but either way, Saylor has no idea who the other is, so that still works. xD )
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 8, 2024 19:13:48 GMT -5
(Nah, I'm keeping Lori the scholarship student, and will have her ask Melanie for help later on. Which, if she and Saylor start off and stay on the wrong foot, will mean Melanie will do so gladly if only to inconvenience Saylor. XD)
This b.... Melanie watched in disbelief as Saylor strolled into the room and closed the door before anything else could be said. From the way she acted this morning, she didn't think the girl would be blatantly petty. Was she petty? Had that been deliberate? Or had she simply meant to just give confirmation that the choice had been made?
Either way, she was out of her skylight. Had Melanie known this was how the other girl would have acted, she wouldn't have thought twice about claiming the room for herself. Now, all because she had been trying to be polite, her plans backfired. It took everything in her to take in a steady, deep breath and release it instead of beating down the door. "I guess that's that," she muttered instead.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 9, 2024 10:08:18 GMT -5
( Got it. I like this plan. xD )
Mary tutted. "If it makes you feel better, dear, I've only heard students complain about the skylight bedrooms, never praise them. Now. Off with you." She raised her voice so the girls in the bedrooms could hear. "You ladies only have five minutes before you need to be back downstairs, or you'll be late. So save your unpacking for later." She gave Melanie a brief smile amd then left.
In her new bedroom, Saylor let out a breath. She'd only come in far enough to close the door, and then she'd leaned back against it and placed a hand over her pounding heart. She felt like a jerk, but also that she'd done the right thing. It wasn't fair for a paying student to get the smallest room, no matter how chill they were. Just because the student was chill did not mean the parents would be if they found out.
Letting out a final, calming breath, Saylor dragged her suitcase farther into the skylight room. She saw immediately why it had sounded so unappealing: unlike windows, you couldn’t put curtains over a skylight. So there would be nothing stopping the dawn sunlight from streaming in each morning.
Ah well, she thought, squinting up into the noonday sun. It’ll be early starts every day anyway.
The room wasn’t large, as Mary had warned. There was a double-sized bed against one wall; a bedside table with a single drawer and an alarm clock on top; a dresser with a mirror on the wall above it stood on the opposite wall; beside the door was a small writing desk and chair, a single wall shelf above it; a wastebasket sat in one corner, and a small laundry basket in the opposite corner. The floor was covered in a dark green carpet, the walls painted a simple pale blue. Saylor could see nails in the wall around the bed, likely from where the last occupant had hung pictures or posters. The bed had a simple blue bedspread, the comforter patterned with golden horseshoes. Two matching pillows sat at the head. There was a lamp on the desk but no overhead light. The skylight probably negated any reason for one.
Saylor rolled her suitcase to the dresser for later, and dropped her backpack on the bed. She pulled the pen and paper Mary had given her for her food list out of one pocket, and her phone out of the other. She placed both on the bedside table. She wasn’t sure when the “no electronics” rule became effective, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to play it safe. The food she would worry about before bed.
On a whim, she unpacked a single item from her backpack: the framed picture of her and her mother. She was sitting on Pnut, the bay Standardbred gelding she had first learned to ride on, while her mother stood proudly beside her. Ten-year-old Saylor was smiling wide, so happy with herself after her very first riding lesson. In that one day, she had become obsessed: with horses, with riding. This was the moment that had led Saylor to where she was now.
She placed the picture on the bedside table beside the alarm clock. She lingered only a moment. Then, with a glance at her watch, she turned away and left the room.
( Saylor's room set up is essentially the same for all the bedrooms, but you can change where/how everything is placed. You can also change any colors, and think up your own bedspread ideas if you want. xD Oh, and of course, other bedrooms will have at least one window with curtains. xD )
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 9, 2024 18:52:06 GMT -5
Melanie gave a small, polite smile to Mary. It wasn't her fault she hadn't gotten the room she wanted. Melanie should have just grabbed it for herself and worried less of saving the other girl's feelings. "I'm sure they do," she agreed as she walked over to the room left for her.
Entering inside, she took a quick glance around. It was a decent size. Not much room to spread out, but enough where she didn't feel cramped. It was certainly a big change from her room she shared with her sister, but it was also kind of nice. Melanie set her backpack into the bed and left her suitcase beside it. Since they didn't have long, she wasn't going to bother with getting anything out. Instead, she took a moment to close her eyes and just breathe in.
Just one year, she told herself. Her parents paid for this year's tuition, so she might as well try to make the most of it. She would have much rather started highschool along with her friends back home, spending this first day roaming the halls with people she knew and making memories with them. But that wasn't how it was going to be. All she had to do was make it one year. Then maybe she could convince her parents to let her transfer back home. Maybe.
After a couple of deep breaths, Melanie opened her eyes. She did one more quick sweep of the room, taking in the possible space to decorate and call her own. Then she turned and left, closing the door behind her. She wasn't sure when the others would be heading downstairs, so she didn't wait. They were told where to go, so she just went ahead and made her way back to the first floor as instructed.
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*Nightwhisper
"And guilty I may be, but don't give up on me... We will still be thick as thieves."
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Post by *Nightwhisper on Feb 20, 2024 21:46:45 GMT -5
"Point taken," David replied. He liked Mary. She was nicer when responding to him, but the niceness made him not want to push her buttons like with Grace. Grace, he learned very quickly, could give back whatever he gave, and while he was toeing a very fine line there, it made it more fun to annoy her. Mary, however, would most likely get less of that.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 26, 2024 17:25:00 GMT -5
With that, Mary returned to the kitchen, and the students filed outside to wait on the porch, finding seats among the patio set off to one side.
They didn’t have to wait long. The sound of a noisy engine reached them first, and then a small green tractor appeared from the left. It drove on the gravel path that circled the barn and pastures, and with its appearance Saylor understood why the path was so wide. The tractor was towing a long wooden wagon. There was no roof, but the poles at each corner suggested that one could be added. A single bench, in a large U shape, lined the inner edges of the wagon. The back was completely open, with only a single step hanging off the rear.
“Oh, nice.” Shay commented.
The driver tipped his hat to them. “All aboard,” he called.
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Heterosexual
✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧
"You never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are."
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Post by ✧☽ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴏᴇʀ ☾✧ on Feb 29, 2024 18:26:36 GMT -5
Saylor walked to the rear of the wagon, trailing the others. It was even longer up close, and when she climbed aboard, she saw that there was enough room for at least twenty people. Or, more likely, there was room for the twenty-four students of Champion Equestrian Academy.
The tractor’s engine was too loud for conversation, so everyone sat in silence, most of them, Saylor noted, on their phones. Guess they aren’t worried about the rules yet.
As soon as everyone was seated, the tractor roared louder and then jolted forward. They were off.
It was a bumpy trip, but it shortened an almost fifteen minute walk to less than five. Before she knew it, the tractor was slowing, then coming to a stop at the intersection between the indoor arenas and the path to the barn.
Saylor and the others climbed out, and then the tractor went silent as the driver shut off the engine. He didn't get out, just conjured a magazine from Saylor didn't know where and settled in with it.
“You're late.” Grace's impatient voice pulled her attention away from the driver. Grace was marching toward them from the arenas. “I have half a mind to make good on my threat,” she said, coming to a stop before them and placing her hands on her hips.
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