Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 3

"So...how do you really like it here?" I ask Indigo after we've waved goodbye to our parents as they drove away.

"It's not terrible," she admits as we walk up the sidewalk toward the lecture hall, "there are a couple of girls that can be mean, but other than that, just focus on learning."

"Oh," I murmur as I feel a rush of disappointment.

I had almost hoped that maybe the bullying had stopped, that maybe there was a chance that she was accepted at the academy instead of shunned.

I could always hope though.

A few other students are walking past as they lug their bags along behind them. Like me, they have roller bags, but unlike me, they don't have a sibling that knows enough magic to make the bags follow them.

The thought brings me a tiny swell of pride and I stand taller as we walk through the archway under the bell tower into an immaculate courtyard. There is a bronze statue of a stag in the center of the cobblestone courtyard and beneath it is a stone plaque. All around us are the wings of the lecture halls, which have windows that give a view into the courtyard.

I can see the pale faces of a few students looking down at us, there's no doubt that they're watching the parade of new students entering the academy. My heart begins to beat faster as I realize that I've never ventured further than the bell tower before as we walk through the other archway that leads out of the courtyard.

A wide grass lawn stretches out before us and is bordered by a row of neatly trimmed hedges on either side of the cobblestone sidewalk. On one side, there's a track that has tall stadium seating that surrounds it on either side in the form of gleaming, silver bleachers. From here, I can scarcely see the bobbing of students running on the track while a couple of other students kick a soccer ball around on the field.

On the opposing side of the sidewalk there are several students on horseback who are riding on a large, open field, their steeds glimmering like that of a familiar as their riders wield mallets and hit a white ball between them.

They're playing polo, I realize as I can't help but stop and watch them for a moment.

A few of the riders among them are on actual horses and tucked behind the field, I can see that there's a small barn where someone has a horse tied outside as they bathe it. I'm not the only one watching the polo riders as the horses thunder by and snort excitedly as they fly past a row of low benches where other students are sitting.

"You can join the polo team if you want, I know how much you love horses," Indigo says in a low voice.

"I'll think about it," I murmur as I can't help but stare as a gorgeous, gray filly gallops past.

"You'll have to get up early though, if you join the team, you're responsible for taking care of the horse," she warns me.

I smile, "Yeah, but it might be worth it, can we go look at the barn?"

"Sure," she says as starts walking for a pathway that branches off and heads lengthwise along the polo field toward the stables.

"Indi!" a voice calls from one of the benches and my sister looks up in the direction of the voice as I follow her gaze.

A girl with shortly cropped, dark hair lifts a hand from where she's seated on a bench along the polo field as she gives us a lazy wave and beckons to us. Seated next to her on either side are girls around her age, one of them having black hair while the other is a redhead. They look at us over sets of dark sunglasses and grin as Indigo leads me over to them.