Lyneham Academy

~Chapter 4~

A/N: I was going to put a photo of Mae and Bear at the top but the file is an unsupported format 

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Inside McCormick hall, Evie and her mum were greeted by a large airy hall with sofas and a TV. A reception area stood to the side where a woman sat.

"Hello, I'm Maisy. Are you looking for your dormitory?" The woman greeted.

"Hi. I'm Evie Cooke. I was told I was in this hall, room 325 on the third floor."

"Ah, yes. Here we go." Maisy produced a sheet of paper and a key card, "This is a list of rules we expect you to follow whilst in McCormick, along with mealtimes, and your room key. I think your roommate, Lily-Mae Holland, will be arriving later today. Hope you enjoy."

"Thank you." Evie took the paper and card from Maisy and headed towards her mum who was waiting for the lift, "I've got the key for the room so let's do this!" The lift arrived and the two climbed in, pulling the trolley with them. Evie pressed the button for the third floor, and they were rising. The lift doors opened to reveal an open corridor with doors all the way along. Evie could see sofas and beanbags in the centre of the floor, separating the two ends of the corridor.

"What room are we looking for Eve?" Her mum asked.

"325." Evie looked to the left whilst her mum looked to the left until they found the room, "this is it." Evie used her card to open the door, revealing a large room with two single beds on either side of the room, two large wardrobes, two desks, and a TV located on a chest of drawers, "woah. This is A-MA-ZING! I'm gonna have this bed." Evie dragged the trolley to the bed furthest from the door, with a window overlooking the fields. Her mum helped to unpack all her things while Evie placed them where she wanted them to go. She discovered the en-suite bathroom for the room – which was also huge, with a bath, shower, toilet, and two sinks.

Once they had finished unpacking, the two collapsed on Evie's bed.

"I'm going to have to leave you now honey otherwise Cinder and the cats will be going crazy. I'm gonna miss you my little Evester." Katie Cooke enveloped her daughter in a tight hug, crying.

"I'm gonna miss you too mum." Evie returned the hug, tears threatening to spill, "say hi to Cinder, Zippy, and Biscuit for me please." Evie's mum let go, saying she would say hi to the animals for her before leaving. Evie sat down and cried for a little bit. She pulled out the sheet of paper and read the rules aloud to herself:

1) No boys to be present in the girls' dormitories after 9.30pm and vice versa

2) All school uniform to be kept clean and tidy at all times

3) Keep bedrooms and bathrooms clean – there will be weekly inspections carried out by the dormitory heads

4) Quiet time is from 10pm to 7am to allow other students to sleep and concentrate on work

5) All shared common areas to be kept tidy and rubbish put in the bins provided

6) No anti-social behaviour allowed otherwise there will be serious punishments

7) No smoking or taking drugs

8) No gambling

9) Report any damage to the dormitory monitors

10) Make sure all homework is completed on time

11) If you lose your key, report it to your dormitory monitors who will provide you with a new one

- Mealtimes and locations: Breakfast – 7am to 9am in house common rooms

Lunch – 12.55pm to 1.55pm in the school café, dining hall, or common rooms

Dinner – 5.30pm to 7pm in the dining hall

"Heya. You must be Evie. I'm Lily-Mae Holland, but call me Mae, nice to meet you."

"Hi. I hope you're alright with that bed. Do you ride?"

"Yeah. I have a beast of a horse, a 17hh chestnut Hanoverian. He's called Bare Necessities, or Bear for short. I'm hoping to get onto the International team this year although there's tough competition. How about you?"

"My horse is Elixir's Embrace, Ellie for short, She's a dark brown, 16.1hh Swedish Warmblood. I don't know much about the teams yet, I'm just gonna be happy if I even manage to get on one!" Evie could tell her and Mae would become good friends, "were you here last year?"

"Yeah been here since nursery, it's nice to have a few new faces in the Sixth Form. Gets a bit boring living with the same people day in day out for 12 years!"

"Do you know anyone called Abraxas? His horses are beautiful."

"Yup," Mae said, popping the p, "he's the richest kid in the school by a long way. Arrived here at Lyneham in year 9 after flitting about from school to school. He even had a stint at Eton, although he says he didn't enjoy it, too stuffy apparently. No-one knows much about his past though." Mae stopped for a bit, thinking, "his horses are some of the best in the world. The grey – Bestthorpe Sanguinem XI, or Flame – has got him a preliminary place at Burghley for when he's 18 so that's next year, and the chestnut – Blackjack Blossom or Jack for short – has competed at Badminton with his father, Rylan Cowles."

"Wait... THE Rylan Cowles? The one who's won Kentucky multiple times?"

"Yeah. How'd you meet him?"

"He showed me the way to the barn as me and my mum got a bit lost." The pair sat in silence as Mae helped her parents unpack her things.

"You two had better be heading off to dinner, me and your father will finish up here then we'll be off." Mae's mum said.

"Cheers mum." Mae dragged Evie out of the roomand showed her the way to the dining room.