Blue Ridge is a fictional town located deep in the heart of Kentucky. It is home to one of the most well known equestrian academies in the United States. Students and staff from all over the world join the academy for what it has to offer. Do you have what it takes to join us and learn from the Academy?
Smilys were made by Sapphire Heaven of LiveJournal.
The mini-profile hover follows a tutorial by Kagney of Adoxography.
Photos in the skin used under CC from Flickr.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Jan 31, 2017 19:43:41 GMT -8
Jessa frowned as she looked at the word problem included in her geometry homework. It wasn't difficult, the wording was just slightly strange. With a longing glance at the door she'd left propped open, hoping for somebody to stop in and chat with, she turned back to the work - It just had to be done, after all.
Once she figured it out, she pulled her quad-lined notebook closer and started scribbling away at the problem, doing her work there first. Once she was happy with the answer, she copied the relevant work onto the homework sheet, and then wrote out the final answer in a nice sentence.
On to the next one. She read over it, grumbling to herself, "Who needs a triangular pasture anyway?"
Post by Esmeralda Fittz on Feb 1, 2017 16:01:35 GMT -8
Esme made her way across the campus in an almost awkward fashion as struggled to keep the strap from the duffle bag from falling off her shoulder while also pulling another suitcase behind it, with wheels so worn she may as well have been dragging it across the ground. She paused for a moment and silently cursed at the weight of her luggage before taking a short stop to admire the academy. Her blue eyes sparkled as she took it all in. Incredible.., she thought. For Esme, this place was a haven. No parents, no staring eyes, and no knowing glances her direction. She took a deep breath, her excitement giving her renewed strength to haul her luggage. Why her mother had decided not to help was obvious to Esme. As her mother had said, it was time for Esme to do it on her own. While they'd pay for her schooling, Esme had to fend for herself for the most part.
Finally arriving at the correct house, she paused to take a moment and orient herself in order to figure out where she was headed. Once she'd found the room, it's door propped open just slightly, she reached for the handle. She heard a girl mumble something from inside and couldn't help but giggle as she pushed the door open. "Sorry to just barge in." She said in a huff as she dropped her things to the floor. "I'm Esme Fittz. It looks like we've been roomed together." She said with a grin plastered across her fair face. She crinkled her nose at the geometry homework spread out before the brunette. "I take geometry, too. Ick." She said as she mock shuddered.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 1, 2017 16:07:39 GMT -8
Jessa looked up as somebody pushed the door open, her mind racing as she tried to figure out if she'd seen this girl before, but she was a newcomer to the house. Judging by the bags, this would be her new roommate.
"Don't worry about it!" She shoved the papers away, "Any reason to hold off on my homework is a good one. It's nice to meet you, Esme." She chuckled as the girl said that she was taking the class too, "At least we can share the misery and do homework together? Mr. Faulkner isn't that bad, to be honest, but it's just in the nature of homework to be boring." She turned in her chair, facing the girl, "I'm Jessa, by the way. And the ferrets in the corner are Kirra and Pan." She bounced up, "They're friendly, hopefully they won't bother you!" They were in the space between her bed, the wall, and her desk, so they shouldn't interfere with Esme's space too much, but all the same, Jessa hoped the girl wouldn't mind.
Post by Esmeralda Fittz on Feb 1, 2017 16:37:11 GMT -8
Esme chuckled in agreement at the girl's statement about putting off homework. "Math buddies are good buddies." She said with a chuckle. "But I guess if the teachers aren't so bad, it will ease the stress of math class." While Esme was a smart girl, she also tried to be good at well.. everything! Math was once of those places where she struggled and was the class that usually stressed her the most. Not because of teachers or the hard work or how boring it was, but simply because Esme had a hard time understanding math.
When the girl turned to face Esme and introduce herself, Esme smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Jessa!" She exclaimed excitedly, promptly pushing her things across the room to where another bed was made with plain sheets. When the girl mentioned the ferrets, Esme's eyes fell on their enclosure in surprise. She hadn't even noticed them when she walked in. "You have ferrets?!" She asked, her blue eyes widening in excitement as she crossed the room to look at them more closely. Esme had never seen a ferret, but like she was with horses, Esme loved animals of all types. With the exception of bugs (although there are a few exceptions to that exception). They were smaller than she'd imagined them to be, but just as cute as pictures on the internet had shown. Ferrets were among her list of small animals that were simply too cute not to love. Rabbits and guinea pigs shared the list.
"Can I hold one?" Esme blurted before smiling apologetically at Jessa. Perhaps it wasn't polite to ask to hold their pet so suddenly. Then again, Esme's outgoing nature meant she could handle a 'no' and still feel confident asking again on much better terms. "Are they allowed to run around inside the room? It would be so adorable to watch them scuttle around. That's what I call a good reason to put off homework!" She exclaimed, laughing.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 2, 2017 16:17:35 GMT -8
Jessa nodded in agreement with the other girl - her new roommate. That was a strange thought. "He really isn't. He's also the swim coach, so I get to see him there too." She shrugged, "Not that I'm much of a swimmer competitively, but I enjoy it."
At Esme's reaction to hearing about the ferrets, Jessa beamed. It sounded like she wouldn't have any trouble after all! "Yup." She walked over to the enclosure and grabbed Pan, "Of course! This is Pan." She held him out to the girl, "He's the friendlier of the two. Kirra is friendly, but she's smart." She picked up the female and held her in her arm, stroking the ferret's long back as she listened to Esme's question, "If you want them to, they can, yes. I've been letting them when the door is closed, but if it bothers you, they don't have to." She grinned, "Kirra's actually trained to walk on a harness and leash, too. I tried training Pan too, but he just doesn't really get the idea."
Post by Esmeralda Fittz on Feb 3, 2017 17:20:39 GMT -8
Esme crinkled her nose at the thought of swimming. "Not much of a fan of swimming."
She mumbled with a small smile. When Jessa moved over to the animals' cage, Esme clasped her hands together and hurried over to take Pan and curled him against her chest as she stroked him softly. "Pan and Kirra. What an adorable duo." She said as she held Pan out to get a look at his face. He had a mask across his eyes a few shades darker than his coat color and reminded Esme of a tiny, long bodied raccoon.
When Jessa said they could run around the room, Esme shook her head. "I don't mind at all. Really. Let them wander as they please!" She said as she placed the now squirmy Pan back inside his enclosure. She turned back to her luggage and began to put her things away in their appropriate places as she spoke. "So, how long have you been at the academy?" She pushed the duffle bag under the bed, deciding to deal with it later and sat on the edge facing Jessa.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 4, 2017 18:15:05 GMT -8
When Esme put Pan back down, Jessa let Kirra join her brother, and then sat down on her bed, facing Esme, "Alright, if you're sure!" She had no problem with letting the ferrets roam - They knew their manners. "But if they get into something, or you have anything you'd rather they didn't do, just let me know, okay?" She didn't want to alienate her roommate about something preventable.
As Esme asked how long she'd been at the school, Jessa had to think about it, "About a year now, I think. We got here over Thanksgiving break last year." She shrugged, "Missed the first few months of school because some stuff still needed to get sorted out, but it got there in the end. What year are you in?"
Post by Esmeralda Fittz on Feb 7, 2017 11:44:14 GMT -8
Esme beamed at Jessa. "I think they'll be okay. Besides, we took in some baby squirrels once and it was awful. They got into everything! Definitely taught us a valuable lesson about critters and how mischievous they are." She said with a laugh.
As Jessa answered her question and asked one in return, Esme smiled nervously. "This is only my first day at the academy, if that's what you're asking." She said. She didn't imagine that different upperclassmen and lowerclassmen would be roomed together, but she could very well be wrong. However, she decided not to say anything, just in case her pervious answer was really what Jessa had been asking. No need to embarrass herself on the first day, if you could even consider something so minor an embarrassment.
"So, you like it here then? Mom says it got a lot of positive feedback from people she knew and from what she could find online." She said with a small shrug, deciding not to mention that this hadn't been her choice. While she was excited about the academy, she would also rather be at home in her own bed with her old friends. Change didn't bother in most cases, but this place was completely different from home.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 9, 2017 10:08:29 GMT -8
Jessa chuckled at the idea of baby squirrels, "Those must have been adorable! Crazy, but adorable." She would have to ask for pictures later, once Esme had had a chance to settle in.
As the girl responded with how long she'd been at the academy, Jessa shook her head, "I had assumed that by the luggage. I meant what grade you were in?" Perhaps Esme was just from a place where they didn't refer to it as years, or she had had a long day. When Esme asked if she liked it here, Jessa nodded, "It's a nice place. Takes some getting used to at first, but the teachers are all nice, and I feel like I'm learning a lot." She grinned, "And, I mean, the afternoon classes are all horse-related. So that's a plus!"
Post by Esmeralda Fittz on Feb 10, 2017 15:18:23 GMT -8
As Jessa's comment about the squirrels, Esme chuckled. "You have no idea." She said shaking her head.
Her face flushed slightly when Jessa corrected her. "Oh.." She said in a faint voice. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "I'm a sophomore." She gave an awkward smile. When Jessa said the teachers were nice, Esme felt a little more relaxed. Plus, Jessa had a point. Afternoon classes based around horses was a huge bonus to what the academy had to offer.
"I think most new places take some getting use to. I'm just glad I can still be around the horses." She said with a smile as she fell back onto her bed, putting her hands behind her head. She laughed then. "I'm only assuming you're also a sophomore?" She asked, though it sounded like more of an assessment. Another laugh. "I feel like I'm bombarding you with questions, but do you have your own horse here or do you use one of the academy's?" She asked as she sat up on her bed to stretch.
Post by Jessamine Smith on Feb 12, 2017 9:40:45 GMT -8
Jessa nodded as she heard that Esme was a sophomore, "That's cool." She nodded at Esme's assumption, "I am too, yes."
As she was asked about horses, Jessa grinned, "Slightly both, I guess. I have my own horse here, a mustang called Zo, but because he's not really confident enough for competitions and the like, I also have an agreement with the barn manager where I exercise one of the academy horses and get to use him for showing until Zo is ready for that. His name is Fury." And if there was ever another student who needed a horse, Jessa knew Fury could still get assigned. So far, though, it hadn't happened yet. "And bombard away! What about you, horse-wise?"