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Pfft dont worry about it, it's not always easy to write in descriptions about side characters LOL) - Matt was only brought away from his thoughts and back to reality when Hailey started poking his chest, a frustrated look on her face. "Are you listeneing?" She asked. It was evident she was somewhat hurt, and Matt did his best to soften his expression, swallowing hard. "What? Sorry, Hailey, just...a migraine." He lied pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll come and find you in the Equine Managemnt class-" But his sentence was cut off. Hailey shoved past him and down the hall of the barn, giving him no time to comprehened or really say a word. Unlike the majority of the Utopia riders, Hailey was fairly sweet towards anyone she saw, usually getting on with most people. As she left, she passed the same girl from yesterday's interaction, shooting her a small smile before slipping through the barn entrance. Matt watched her, letting out a long, frustrated sigh. Whatever, he'd deal with it later. - Deciding mulling around and feeling sorry for himself so early in the morning was a bad move, he picked up his mood, making his way towards Falcon's stall, peering over the stall door. The gelding was stood at the back, clearly resting peacefully. He nickered softly at the sight of Matt, plodding over and shoving his still hay covered muzzle into his arm. Matt smiled and slipped into the stall, getting to checking him over and grooming him lightly, before leading him out. He was set to be turned out for the morning at least, and he was only praying Falcon would get on with the other horses in the pasture. Usually he did, but who knows if Hollowhearts would turn their horses out into the wrong pasture or what. Falcon wasn't the easiest going when it came to horses he didnt know. - Eventually finishing, Matt turned Falcon out, clipped the gate shut and made his way up to the barn lounge to grab a drink. The barn lounge was a small building just off the barn itself, sort of a...socialising area. It had some sofas and chairs in, a big wide screen TV up on the wall, floor-to-ceiling windows and a kitchen area. Riders usually used it in the mornings or evenings, and there were never many people in there. Matt had about an hou r before the first class started, and there wasn't really much left to do. Dylan would no doubt sleep in, Hailey was pissed off, his other friends were probably just getting up, and Facon had been turned out. So all he really had to do, was...sit around. He didnt mind though, he liked the peace. - Matt made his way into the barn lounge, grateful there was no one else in there, and made his way to the kitchen area. He made himself a drnk and grabbed some fruit, mulling around with a hazy, almost unconscious gaze, the only sounds being the soft hum of the constantly playing TV, and whatever activity Matt was doing. |
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Weird. That was weird. Eleanor enter the barn just in time to see the girl, Hailey he called her, shove past him and out. She had a sudden sense of deja vu and smiled slightly to herself. The girl gave Eleanor a smile and that's what confused her most. Why did... She smile at her? Maybe she was one of those few friendly Utopia riders. Maybe. She shoved those thoughts out of her mind and lead Dutchess to her stall. "I'll be back for you in a little bit for practice and stuff, okay girl? Be good." She patted the mare's neck before scratching it, making the horse nicker and tilt her head. She chuckled before finally leaving the stall and locking it once more. She looked to the side and saw that boy was gone too. He probably already went back to the Academy. Good, she didn't have the need to trade words with him right now. •~• Eleanor made her way to two other stalls that held Sunny and Checkers, the former being all happy to get some more attention and the latter... Tolerated it. She fed them both a few sugar cubs, telling them not to tell their riders or Dutchess. Her phone dinged, and she check the message from the group chat, sent by Lisa. "Ellie we'll meet up in class instead. Ran into a group of Utopia riders. Had to get out of there before something started. Also ran into Kathrine! She's with us." Eleanor paused for a moment before sending a reply. "Alright meet you guys later. Gonna hang out at the barn for a bit longer then. Don't cause any fights." All she got was a thumbs up from both Samuel and Kathrine. She rolled her eyes with a chuckle before she said goodbye to the two horses and moved to sit down on a hale bale. •~• Eleanor pulled her sketchbook out once more, flipping it open to near the middle to a half drawn picture of a horse- Dutchess- Galloping through a field. It was one of her older ones, one she never really finished, but finally started again. She drawed for a bit before she stood up to take a break. She stretched her arms above her head before she walked around the barn, before out. Her eyes caught a horse currently out- After a second glance she recognized it as that boy's. She contemplated for a moment before she walked over to the fence, resting a foot on the bottom rail while she tested her arms on the top. She didn't say anything, didn't try and get the horse to come over, just watched. He was a pretty horse, she admitted mentally. Well cared for, from the looks of it. At least seemed to be enjoying itself. |
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For the time that Matt spent in the barn lounuge, he pretty much just sat and scrolled through social media, occaionally answering a few messages sent through, though it was quiet with it being somehwat early. Time stretched on, bringing people more and more people out the dorms and down to the yard area. Not too many of course, seeing as not everyone had morning classes, and some still weren't even back to lessons, but enough for it to bring a soft hum of constant speaking, and a soft familiar atmosphere outside. As time started to close in on Matt, he finished his drink, chucked the glass into the dishwasher and threw the remains of the fruit into the bin, before slipping out of the barn lounge. The building for the classes was attached to the ain academy buildng, just behind it. He set off in that direction, calling Dylan as he did so. The boy very likely wasn't awake yet, so all Matt could do was try. He didn't pick up, shockingly. As Matt attempted to call him again, his gaze caught onto someone leaning on the fence of the paddock. He didnt think much of it though, only being able to see the back of her head. He looked away again and started off up the hill, his feet crunching on the gravel path with every step. - Soon enough, Matt arrived at the classes building. The Equine Management class was the first door after you walked in, so there wasnt much rushing to do even if you were late. He pushed open the door, scanning the classroom. The majority of student were already sat down, in the usual seats they'd had - and of course, some taken over by the Hollowhearts riders. Another thing they'd messed up, of course. Seeing his usual seat was taken, Matt sighed and sat down at a desk right at the back, with no one else currently sat there. As he sorted his notepad out, his gaze caught Hailey, who was sat near the front with a friend he didnt yet know. The girl looked away immediately, turning to talk to her friend instead. Well, evidently she was hurt by...whatever she was talking about. He'd apologised later, though, after lunch. After all, theyd be spending the whole afternoon together on the planning. It was just a question of whether she would actually listen. - Matt hadn't arrived that early, given the fact he had taken his time to head up there in the first place, and the majority of seats were taken. However, the lack of teacher would have you thinking they'd all arrived an hour early. The classroom stayed in a sort of soft hum as they all waited, people talking to their desk partners. It was surprisingly calm, for a small room shared by two rival academies, ones that despised each other. As he didnt have a desk partner, Matt took the time to bring his phone out and start scrolling through various posts or articles, doing his best to pass the time. It didn;t help that his parents seemed to be awake and yapping about the new week in the family groupchat. And of course, talking about him as if he wasnt even there. |
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(I shall cause problems, mwhaha.) . She finally stopped watching the other horse and checked her phone- Oh. Oh! How long did she spend watching that horse? She didn't think it was that long! She hurried back up the path to the dorms first, heading to the girls and taking the stairs two at a time to the second floor. She ran down the hall and unlocked her door, fumbling with the keycard slightly. She took care of her sketchbook, not having wanted to bring it to class and carry it around all day nor just leave it at the barn. Then grabbed her bag. She left her room, shoving both her phone and keycard into her hoodie pockets as she hurried back down the hall and stairs. She would've changed into her usual clothes she wore for school but she was already running out of time, she'd have to deal with it. She speed walked for the building she believed was for classes, trying not to lose her way in the growing crowd of students. Most entering, some leaving to kill time before their own classes. •~• She was really hoping she had the layout memorized correctly. Even in this place she didn't want to be late for a class, especially the first one after the week. Even if it did make her both nervous and irritated at sitting in the same room with a bunch of Utopia students and new teachers. She shoved past a chattering group with a muttered apology though not feeling very sorry. She finally reached the room, slowing to a normal walking speed at she blew out a breath upon not seeing the teacher there yet. Apparently they weren't as on the dot as her other teachers were. She scanned the seats till she caught sight of a dark tan skin girl with bright blue eyes and medium length wavy almost curly hair that was dyed a faded purple who was waving excitedly. Katherine. •~• She walked over and saw Lisa and Samuel in seat to her left, in that order chatting away after giving her their own waves. "Hey Kat. When did you three get here?" She said. "Eh, about fifteen minutes ago. What, thought you were missing something?" Kathrine teased. Eleanor gave her a look but gave a shrug. She then pointed at the seat to her right. "Taken?" Kathrine made a face. A face she knew meant Kat didn't particularly like something. So she figured she knew the answer already. "Yeah, some Utopia wouldn't move when I said I was keeping it for someone." Kat answered. "It's okay Kat, I can find somewhere else to sit. Don't bug Lisa too much for answers." She teased herself, pointedly ignoring the words she shor back. •~• There wasn't many seats left open, and she didn't look anywhere but at the empty seats. She found the closest one, pulling the chair out and sitting down with a huff before pulling her needed things out of her bag then finally looking to her side-. The universe hated her. Or her eyes, one or the other. "Of course. Of course! Just had to be you, didn't it." She stared at the boy. He didn't start anything, she wouldn't. Probably. She turned her eyes to look around the room. Any seats still opened? |
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Of course LOL) - Obviously, given the fact Matt was entirely used to this system, and this teacher being particularly late , he didn't look up or really even budge when someone sat down next to him. He stayed staring at his phone, scrolliing through various posts about an artist he liked, and some rather intense controversy they'd gotten into. He was heavily into music, and it more often than not had him engrossed. If he could memorise his classes the way he memorised album names, he would be the top of every single possible class. Althouh he hadn't paid much attention, he could just about feel a pair of eyes burning into his side, realising the body beside him had gone somewhat...still. Either they had passed out, or he wasn't what they were expecting. He put his phone down, screen still on, tearing his gaze away and to whoever was sat there. Of course. - Matt was unsure on whether to, at that point, just stand up and leave, not bother with the stupid class anyway. It was the same stuff he'd heard multiple times, he was passing it with flying colours. But he wasnt too set on the detentions they handed out. "Do you have a staring problem or?" Matt asked, shooting a gaze at the girl. Gosh he was irritated, and the actual day had literally just started. Sure, all the Hollowhearts riders annoyed him to some extent, they had been Utopia's rivals for ages. Same talent level, same goals, same attitudes. So why did this particular girl piss me off so much? What was it about her that got under his skin even without her directing insults his way? - He looked away as the teacher finally walked in, a tired, angry looking old woman, who set her bag down with a little too much force. She immediately started talking about the two academies, and how she didnt want to hear any arguments from the two, especially from a bunch of adults. Matt had zoned ot from her yapping pretty early on, sat tensely in his seat. "You can't go and sit with your friends huh?" He muttered, taking his phone back off the desk, going back to scrolling as the teache r yapped. Dylan, who was sat two rows in front, turned around to throw something at Matt as per usual, only to hit Matt's desk partner seemingly by accident. A small smile played on Matt's lips at the sight, though it was wiped fairly quickly when it was evident Dylan wouldnt let up with the teasing later about having to be seated next to this girl. And when the teacher caught on, angrily telling both of them to focus. - "Matt, Dylan, focus. And you, girl. Whats your name..." The teachers voice trailed off as she scanned her computer. "Eleanor. Focus." She repeated, before turning back to the board, to carry on her sketch. |
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Just great, the teacher walked in when Eleanor was contemplating moving to a different seat, even if she had to wrestle a fellow Hollowheart out of it. But one look at the woman who came in and she found herself unfortunately glued to her seat. She had a sneaking feeling she shouldn't moved, or annoy this teacher in anyway. So she sucked in a breath and focused on her notes. "Do you?" Eleanor hissed back, but didn't look at him again. She can have problems with him after this class, with a less tired and threatening looking teacher. She couldn't get over the fact she just had to pick the seat besides him. She would've even tolerated being in a seat surrounded by Utopia riders, more than been besides this particular one. She didn't know why. 'Maybe it was the way he spoke, his words, his looks, his school- Snap out of it Brook, now he's messing with your head!' She yelled at herself mentally. "No, I can't. Sad I know. Trust me, I don't want to be anywhere near you and your attitude one bit." Eleanor bit out, before turning back to her things. Just keep her eyes on the paper, eyes on the paper. •~• She felt something smack her head and she stiffened. First looking besides her, but he couldn't have thrown it, it came from directly in front. Though she had a sudden urge to wipe that smile off his face, no matter how small. She looked in front of her only to see another boy, who she sent a glare at. Friends with the one besides her no doubt, just as annoying. But before she could say or do anything, though not knowing what to say, the teacher spoke. Making her jump slightly. Matt. That's who was besides her. So she was right when she heard that Destiny girl say a name that started with a M. And Dylan, that was the other one. Finally names she could put on a list, this Matt's in big bold red letters, definitely. Though did the teacher really need to toss her name in there? She didn't do anything. But not wanting to be pointed out again, she turned her gaze forward to what was being taught. •~• Though out of the corner of her eyes she saw Katherine three rows down make a fist motion then a tilt of her head. She let out a small, quiet laugh but shook her head at her friends silent question. No, she didn't need Kat beating up some Utopia riders. Samuel besides her caught the silent conversation and shared something with Kat before shooting her a thumbs up before both turned back around. This class will pass quickly, at least quicker then it was feeling. Which was feeling like hours hearing things she already knew. Once or twice she just doodled on her notes more then anything. Once, Once she kicked Matt's leg with her's. Just a accident, mhm. Just a accident. |
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The interfering from the teacher was much to Matt's dislike, as amusing as it was to hear her also mention the girl next to him. Eleanor. So now he could at least put a name to her face, which was...something. Not that he cared at all. The time in the class seemed to drag on so very slowly, ten minutes passing feeling like an hour. Matt kept his head down for the most part, sort of just, tracing invisible patterns on the notepad, or occasionally bringing out his phone. He wasn't like this in every class at all, but he had heard every single thing in Equine management before, h knew exatly what he was doing. Contrary to many beliefs, he was surprisingly smart. - As the class dragged on, Matt's gaze caught Dylan's every now and then as the boy turned around, seemingly very uninterested in what was going on. Unlike Matt, he...wasn't so smart. He hated general classes, had zero interest in them or the fact he was dropping grades like flies. No one except Matt knew that Dylan's parents had paid his way into this academy. With that being said though, he had insane talent in the saddle, heavy on cross country. So there was that. - Just as Matt zoned out again, the drab monotone of the teachers voice finally falling out of his head, replaced with various flashbacks of riding shows, hacks, Falcon...He felt a kick. It was quick, not very hard at all, but it was very evidently on purpose. He grit his teeth together and shot a look at Eleanor, breathing out silently. "Seriously dude do you have an issue? Piss off." He hissed, his brows furrowed slightly. He kept his voice low, doing his best not to catch the attention of the teacher again. He didnt enjoy getting called out i front of everyone, especially not by such a drab, robotic voice. Plus, this teacher had a tendecy to really, really hold grudges. He wanted to shoot her an insult, an actual one, but he held back. It just wasnt worth it, not in the middle of the clas. Plus, if he wanted someone to actually go off on her, he'd speak to Destiny. Although that would mean...speaking to Destiny. Yeah, nevermind. - As the class was finally coming to a close - sort of, there were still twenty minutes left, - the teacher dropped what could only be described as the worst possible news of the current term, or so Matt thought. "As Hollowhearts are new, and I see a few mixed up students from there and Utopia, you'll be assigned these desk partners for the rest of term." Matt's gaze shot forward. Not only did that mean he was stuck next to Eleanor, but he knew from experience here, desk partners meant more than that. Project partners, riding partners. Well, brilliant. |
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Eleanor grinned at Matt's reaction. She gave a anything but innocent look, tilting her head the tiniest bit. "What? I didn't do anything. I think your imaging things." She answered, noticing how he was just as quiet. Huh, so he didn't want the teacher's attention either, interesting. And then all her fun came crashing down at the teacher's words. 'Excuse me? Assigned desk partners, for the rest of term?' Eleanor blinked. She had thought things couldn't have gotten worse, and they just did. Not with this guy, not with Matt. Give her literally anyone else! For the next twenty minutes that's all her mind was on. How much this could go wrong. No, how much it was going to go wrong. •~• The second the last twenty minutes passed, Eleanor grabbed her things and shot out of her seat. Quickly making her way down the rows to the floor and meeting up with the three. They asked, she answered quickly, and they left the room. Not before she shot a look over her shoulder. She didn't know why she did, but after a moment she hurried out the door. Walking besides Lisa as they followed a majority of the group towards the next class. Outside actually, thank goodness. Lisa and Katherine had a different class, while Eleanor and Samuel headed out for Jumping. They split at the dorms to get and change into their gear, though she left her jacket behind. After about ten minutes she met Sam back up before they continued walking. "Sooo... What was all that about back in class?" Sam said after a few minutes, stuffing his hands into his pockets. She groaned, rubbing her eyes. "The worst thing possible! The guy I was with, Matt, is the worst person in this whole school! First he-" And then she rambled on about Matt and everything possibly wrong, Samuel listening patiently as they walked. •~• When Eleanor finished to catch her breath, Sam grabbed her arm to stop her from knocking into rider infront of them and steered her into the barn before he released her and headed to Checkers stall. "Wow. Seems you've been paying attention huh?" He replied. She blinked at him, before undoing her braid and redoing it. "What?! No! Not because I'm trying to. He just keeps popping up everywhere, it's getting really frustrating, and irritating and-" Before she could go on a ramble about every word to describe the situation, Sam held up a hand and smiled. "Okay, okay I got it. Go get Dutchess, I'll meet you out front where everyone else is gathering. We got about thirty minutes." She huffed but nodded, waiting for another rider and horse to pass before she headed to Dutchess stall, leading her out. It was busy in the barns, so Eleanor lead Dutchess out to a pasture and tied her there before going back to get her tack. When she was heading back to Dutchess she noticed the horse again- Matt's horse. She couldn't help but wonder what it's name was. Maybe she'd look at the plate later. She turned back to tacking Dutchess up while Samuel came out with Checkers following. |
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The last twenty minutes of the class truly could not pass quickly enough. Eleanor's provoking was bad enough, but the bomb the teacher dropped on them? Ten times worse. She was insufferable, or so he told himself anyway. Once the clock struck the hour, Matt felt a rush of relief flood through his bosy. By the looks of it, Eleanor felt the exact same, slipping away very, veyr quickly. That gave Matt the time to gather his thoughts, sliding back in his chair with a groan as Dylan waltzed over, grinning. It was evident by the look on the boy's face, he was loving the news. - "Excited?" He asked with a grin, stopping just by Matt's desk. Matt shot him a glare, his gaze following the other students as they filed out the door. "Just shoot me now." He mumbled, standing up and stuffing his phone in his pocket. Dylan shoved him playfully as they started to exit the classroom, Matt's sentence cut before it started due to a rather angry glare from the teacher. Gosh she did not like him. Matt understood though, he wouldn't like himself if he had to deal with the yapping every single class. Once outside the classroom, he finally gathered his words, falling into step beside Dylan. "Literally would have taken any other Hollowhearts person over her. And perhaps her friends. I am sure they're as stuck up as she is." He groaned, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, staring down at the floor. Dylan chuckled, starting off on some rant about how he was paired up with, in his words, "a chick that just moved to Utopia Academy." Matt was not a fan of the terminology. - His next class was jumping. At least there was something good about the morning, he loved jumping. It had always been his favourite discipline and he had grown up around showjumpers. He was...skilled, to say the least. Matt made his way up to the dorm room to change into riding clothes, then back down to the barn. He arrived outside of Falcon's paddock, watching as the gelding cantered his way to the gate without hesitation. You'd think that was a good thing, but Matt knew this only meant the gelding was unnecessarily fresh again today. Not ideal for the fact he'd be around new horses, form the Hollowhearts riders. - With a small sigh, Matt brought Falcon in and tied him to the cross ties, talking to him quietly every now and then to keep him calm. For the most part, the gelding was exactly that, hanging his head to relax as he was checked down and groomed, though the sounds of moving horses in the barn had his head shooting up every now and then, much to Matt's irritation. "Keep your head down." He muttered, pushing his muzzle gently back downards as he scraped dried mud off his face. Then, he moved to the tack room offering small smiles to the fellow Utopia riders as he passed. He realised he was already running on strapped time, so picked the pace up. - Just as Matt went to open the door to the tack room, a familair voice stopped him, calling his name from the barn entrance. When Matt looked up at the footsteps approaching, he tensed slightly. Not his usual reaction to Hailey approaching, but he was late enough as is, and she clearly still wasnt too happy with him. "Can we talk?" She asked, stopping just short of him, stood by the tackroom door. Matt bit the inside of his cheek, running a hand through his hair frustratedly. "I...cant, Hailey. Class starts in 10 minutes and I still have to tack Falcon up. I'll find you later, okay?" Clearly, Matt's answer only pissed the girl off even more. He couldnt work out whether she was about to cry or slap him. When she instead shoved past him, muttering something unitelligable, Mtt breathed out a sigh of relief. At least it gave him space. |
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"Did you do something to the poor boy? He usually doesn't ignore you this much." Eleanor said, watching as Samuel led Checkers over to where she was with Dutchess. The Selle Français was tossing his head up and down with displeased snorts. Samuel sighed, stopping besides them and allowing Checkers to greet Dutchess. "He wanted more sugar cubes after I gave him enough of them. He's not happy I said no." He replied and she chuckled slightly, finishing tightening the saddle before working on the bridle. She finished and wiped her hands on her pants, before waiting while Samuel adjusted his stallion's saddle. "I haven't asked yet. What do you think of the place so far?" Eleanor said after a moment, running her hand absentmindedly through her mare's mane. •~• "Personally? It's not... So bad. I mean yeah it's uncomfortable being in a school with riders that were our biggest rivals. But... Well it's not like there's any other choice, y'know?" Sam answered, turning to face her after finishing with Checkers. Giving a small shrug. She gave him a look and he raised his hands in mock defense. "Don't worry! I'm no traitor. My roommate is a classic Utopia rider. We've spoken like... Once. And that was to argue about a book left on a desk." "I know I know. Just tell me if someone's giving you a hard time. I'll help you with them." She replied, grabbing Dutchess's rope. Samuel ruffled her hair in response and she slapped his hand away and he just laughed. The two then grabbed their horses and headed to were riders were beginning to group up. •~• "You should've seen Katherine's face when she heard about the assigned desk partners. I got Lisa and she got the Utopia rider on her otherside. She had the face she gets when..." Samuel continued speaking but she had zoned out. Desk partners, right. She had somehow forgotten about that. Stuck with Matt. Maybe she could convince the teachers to give her someone else? Or at least there wouldn't be many things they'd be paired up for. As she mounted Dutchess and turned her focus back to nodding along with Sam's words, she found herself looking around. Just for a moment. Just a second, before she turned back to her friend. •~• (Whew! Sorry it's shorter. I was blanking halfway through then got my mind back near the end. Next will be longer.) |
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Sunny
