Chestnut Hill #2: Making Strides

Malory O’Neil groaned as a buzzer sounded in the hallway outside her room. “You’ve got to be kidding,” she said, checking the clock on her bedside table. It was one minute after eight. “Come on! It’s Saturday.”

“Someone should complain to Mrs. Herson,” agreed Lani Hernandez, who shared the dorm room with Malory and Alexandra Cooper.

“You do it. You’re closer to the door,” Malory pointed out before snuggling farther under her covers. She shouted with laughter as a pillow landed squarely on her face. She loved the weekends at Chestnut Hill – and not just because normally she could sleep in. Without regular classes, she could spend as much time in the stables as she wanted. Or she could just hang out with friends. Maybe if it’s nice we could get permission to go on a trail ride, Malory thought. Suddenly her eyes flew open. Oh, no! How could I have forgotten what today is?

There was a quick knock, and the door opened. Mrs. Herson, the housemother for the underclassmen of Adams House, stepped into the room. “Didn’t you hear the first buzzer half an hour ago?”

“I guess we must have slept through that one.” Lani tried to explain. Their other dorm mate, Alexandra Cooper, was already dressed and sitting at the desk next to her bed with headphones on. Her shoulder-length hair swung around her face as she leaned over her text-book, totally engrossed.

“I need you at breakfast in five minutes sharp,” Mrs. Herson told them. She strode across the room to Alexandra and placed a hand on her shoulder. Alex looked up and quickly pulled the headphones form her ears. “Have you forgotten it’s Homecoming Weekend, and you all have responsibilities? Please hurry.” Without waiting for their reply, she left the room.

Lani and Malory raised their eyebrows at each other. “Whoa. Now we know how Mrs. Herson operates under stress,” Lani said, voicing Malory’s exact thoughts.

Under most circumstances, their housemother was always composed and fair. She didn’t give me a detention for tracking mud into the entrance hall yesterday, Malory remembered, feeling grateful that it had been the calm, collected Mrs. Herson who she had dealt with then. Not wanting to push her luck, Malory hurried out of bed and rummaged for something to wear. She pulled out some Levi’s and a green T-shirt, tugging them on before tying her dark brown hair back. She couldn’t resist sneaking a peek out of the window while she coaxed her unbrushed waves into a tidy knot. The view looked straight over the turnout paddocks on the edge of the campus. There were only a few faculty horses grazing in the early fall sunshine. The others were in the barn, waiting to be groomed for the exhibition ride later.

Malory felt a nervous tingle shoot up her spine. She had earned her place on the junior jumping team only the week before. Since then the five team members had been practicing nonstop for the Homecoming exhibition. She couldn’t believe that she’d nearly missed the tryouts altogether. She’d been in the middle of packing her bags to leave Chestnut Hill, convinced she would never fit in, when her classmate Dylan Walsh had found her and persuaded her to give the boarding school – and the other students – one more chance.