The Pressure's On (open)

[Becca Walsh]

    Becca inhaled sharply as she stepped into her room after her riding classes to find all of the stacks of homework and college applications that she had to complete. The stress she was under was completely unbearable, and she would be thrilled with the college choosing process was finished. For now however, she was forever juggling school, horses, and application. Throwing her breeches and slobbered-on long sleeve shirt into her hamper, she took a short, very hot shower, and slipped into a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. Towel drying her hair, she twisted it into a bun and slipped on a pair of moccasins. 

    She needed to get out of her room, where she was smothered in papers and stress. She would, of course, still have to do the work, but at least she could do it somewhere a little different. Piling her laptop, planner, and a few folders into a tote bag, she made her way down to the common room where she put some water on to boil, and tucked herself into the corner of the coziest couch she could find.

    Opening her MacBook Pro, she turned it on and waited, rather impatiently, for it to start. Once logged in, she opened her spreadsheet of things to do for college applications, her Naviance account, and her email. Looking through her list of supplements, she started from the top and opened a Word document, ready to start in on it. 

clothes

[Deleted]

Erica literally let her body fall on top of her bed, her nice and comfy bed. She felt like she could just fall asleep right there, right now, even if she was in, becoming uncomfortable, riding outfit from her last riding class of the day. She let out an inward groan which became muffled against the sheets as things have been quite stressful. This was her last year at Blue Ridge, still cannot believe it, and she knew she needed to start with applying for colleges. She was trying to organize her already busy schedule which consisted of school and equestrian, and she could already feel the stress building on.

After about five minutes of just laying on the bed like a motionless potato, she finally pushed herself up and stripped of her current outfit for something much more comfortable. She took a warm shower, which helped a lot, and wore some black skinny legging sweatpants, an owl sweater, and a pair of UGG slippers. She decided to blow dry her hair until it was damp and left the rest to air dry. She loosely tied her blonde hair into a side fishtail braid and wrapped it in a brown elastic.

Letting out a sigh of relief in her now much comfortable state, she looked over her desk filled with a few school work and brochures of colleges her parents have sent as suggestions for her to apply for. She stacked those in a pile and placed them off to the side. She decided to worry about that a little later and grabbed the current school work she needed to complete. Even after just fifteen minutes, she could feel the stuffiness in her room, and she knew she needed to go out of her room for once. Taking her backpack that she usually used for school, she grabbed the papers and items from her desk and transferred them into the bag. She loosely zipped it up and just swung it over one shoulder as she looked around for anything else she might need. She glanced over and grabbed a book that caught her eye, Wuthering Heights. She remembered all the comments about the book and decided to finally give it a try.

She was reading the book on the way down to the first floor as she made her way to the common room. She always liked the area because it felt more open than being stuffed in her room. Not to mention she didn't have a roommate as neither does anyone else in Blue Ribbon. At times it was just too lonely and antisocial feeling. Her eyes were busy finishing up the page as she entered slowly into her destination. She didn't already notice someone was in here until she finally pried her eyes out from under the book and took a good glance around the room. She was already halfway in and her eyes fell on a red haired girl who already seemed focused and occupied at her laptop. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't notice someone was already here..." She spoke, her tone firm, yet sincere, not much of a shy encounter. She learned to not act so sheepish nowadays. "I hope you don't mind another studying company." She asked, her voice having a soft side to it. As she waited for a response, hoping she wouldn't mind, Erica seemed to remember her from somewhere. It was probably from a few classes, but they haven't really gotten together.