Out of the Ashes

Amber Ridge Academy sat beside the Hudson River. Surrounded by immaculate green lawns, lush pastures, and woods full of riding trails the view was breathtaking. A tree lined drive lead up to the large stone buildings that made up the school.

The parking lot and lawns were crowded with students and boxes when Alexa’s Limousine parked in front of the school. She still wasn’t happy she couldn’t stay at Grandessa, but she had to admit the place was beautiful. She sighed in resignation as the driver opened her door.

“I’ll unload your things while you check in and pick up your welcome packet,” Jason suggested. She nodded silently and walked through the front door of the dorm building and approached one of the tables.

“Hi welcome to Amber Ridge Academy. I’m Alyssa what year are you and what’s your name?” she asked.

“Alexa King and I’ll be a sophomore,” she answered.

“Nice to meet you Alexa, your residential mom is Brooke Taylor. She is also the equestrian director so she is usually in the barn during move in day. If you need anything though she is pretty easy find and she’ll be at the floor party tonight. Here is your packet and your key and I hope you have a great year,” the girl said with a smile. Alexa smiled back before heading back outside.

It didn’t take long to get all of her things moved into her new room. It was really spacious and nothing like what she had expected. For one thing she had a full size bed and plenty of storage space. In the brochures the rooms had twin size beds and were more like college dorms.

“I hope you will be comfortable Lexie. Since you will be living here year round I wanted to make sure you had the best of everything. I am so sorry honey about everything you have been through. I’ll send you a monthly allowance. If you need more money or something in particular let me know and I can make sure you get it okay?” he asked.

“Sure. Send Emily my love and thank her for letting me stay with you guys this summer,” Alexa replied softly.

“I will. Think about what you want to do with your father’s remaining horses. I know you said you wanted to keep them, but I will call in a few weeks and make sure that is what you still want. Sound good?” he asked.

“Yeah sure,” she replied softly. Jason wrapped her in a bear hug before leaving. When he was gone Lexie sat down on her unmade bed and let go of the tears she could no longer keep at bay. Sometimes life really sucked.

A little while later as she was unpacking another young girl walked into her room. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She directed a man to place her bags on the empty bed across from her and handed him a wad of cash.

“Have a wonderful year Miss Grant,” he said wrapping her in a hug. She brushed away a few tears after he left and then turned to face Lexie.

“Pretty sad when you cry over saying goodbye to the help huh?” she asked. “He’s been my family’s butler for years. In fact he pretty much raised me. Andrea Grant, but everybody calls me Andie,” she said introducing herself.

“Alexa King, but mostly people call me Lexie,” Alexa replied.

“So what are your parents like? “ Andie asked as she started to unpack.

“My dad is great, was great. He died a few months ago and mom has been MIA pretty much my whole life. I guess she was too young to want a kid,” Lexie explained shrugging her shoulders.

“That sucks. My parents are so obsessed with each other and their acting careers I barely exist. I mean I guess they care about me in their own way, but I rarely see them.”

“I’m sorry,” Lexie replied.

“Don’t be. I’m used to it. It’s their loss. So since this is the first time we’ve met I imagine you are new here.”

“You would be right. I guess when you are rich and orphaned instead of foster care you get boarding school,” Lexie stated as she put the finishing touches on her side of the room.

“Do you ride horses?” Andie asked.

“I used to. My dad had race horses and I helped exercise them every morning before school. I haven’t been on a horse since he died,” she replied.

“This is Cooper. Brooke helped me find him last year after my old horse couldn’t jump anymore. I wanted to keep her, but my parents were total snobs and informed me I had to get rid of her to get a new horse. Luckily Brooke talked them into donating her to the school. She is an excellent dressage horse and I still get to see her.”

Lexie looked at the picture of the big Chestnut thoroughbred with a heart on his forehead. He was stunning, but he reminded her too much of the horses she’d lost in the fire.

“He is gorgeous,” she replied. She thought of the picture of her own horse Calypso buried in a box under her bed. She hoped one day she could look at it without crying. She had loved the chestnut filly with all her heart. She had raised her from a foal and with her father’s help trained her to race. She’d been amazing and she might have had a shot at the Triple Crown if she hadn’t died in the fire. Her father had been trying to save her when he had died and in some ways Lexie had blamed herself.

“Hey are you okay?” her roommate asked concerned.

“Yeah I just got stuck in the past for a minute. So Brooke is our house mother, but you talk like the two of you are very close.”

“Brooke is kind of like a mom to all of us, but more so to some of us on the riding team. We spend a lot of time with her and she is especially tough on us. You’ll like her she is really great, just don’t piss her off. Have you seen any of the guys yet?” Andie asked.

“Maybe a few in passing, but I haven’t really had a chance to leave the room,” Lexie replied.

“They are one of the best things about this place. Hot guys and horses I can’t imagine anything better,” she said laughing. Lexie smiled collapsing on her bed finally finished packing.

“I want to make sure Cooper is settled in. Do you want to come with me? I can introduce you to some of the girls and you can see the barns.”

“I guess,” Lexie answered not really wanting to be left alone in her thoughts.