Evelyn's POV:

I giggled to myself as another 'wow' left Ash's mouth as I showed her around the campus of AMPS.

The beautiful school was an artistic combination of classical and modern architecture and boasted features for both students that excelled physically and mentally. A gym on each floor, tennis courts, an outdoor and indoor heated pool for the sport-savvy students and multiple science labs, a huge library, state of the art classrooms filled with new technology and an orchestra auditorium for the students that favored the arts and knowledge. To most people, the school may seem over-the-top, but to the students that attended, it was a paradise.

If only they had an equestrian program...maybe in the future...

" And finally " I spoke as I linked my arm through Ash's. " We come to our lockers " I pulled her to the side of the hallway, where her locker-lined up right beside my own.

" I'm guessing your mom pulled some strings to make sure we were beside each other? " Ash smiled.

" You guessed right, perks of being an honorary Holloway! " We giggled as we started putting our bags away and gathering our books for our first two classes.

" Ahh! Eve! "

I gasped as I was suddenly pulled into a bear hug. I smiled as I recognized the familiar sun bleached blonde/brown hair.

" Leah! " I squealed as I hugged back the first member of the AMPS Equestrian Crew, Leah Johanson. " How have you been? How was Australia? "

She pulled away from me, beaming. " Ohmigod! I can't even begin to describe it! The history, the culture, and the boys! " she squealed. " I have so much to talk about " she wiggled her eyebrows at me, making me laugh. " But it seems like you had an equally amazing summer! I saw the article in Horse & Rider this morning! Congrats! "

I smiled as I pulled Ash to my side. " That reminds me, Leah, this is Ashleigh. Ash, this is Leah, the student representative for our grade and vice president of the student council "

Ash smiled as she and Leah shook hands. " Very nice to meet you "

" Likewise! " Leah spoke in her faint British accent. Leah and her family had moved to Canada from England freshmen year. Her father bred and sold halter and carriage trained horses, specializing in Friesians and other carriage bred horses such as Hackneys and Standardbreds. Leah didn't ride, but she was active in keeping up in all things equestrian, especially the fashion, as she strived to be clothing designer like her mother when she graduated high school.

Leah grabbed our hands, leading us away from our lockers just as we closed them. " Come on! Everyone's waiting in the garden! "

" Garden? " Ash spoke up. " Wow, this school really does have everything! "

I giggled as I nodded, letting Leah lead us outside, where the rest of the AMPS Crew was sitting in a circle.

" Look who I found! " Leah singsonged.

I smiled as everyone chorused hellos and congrats as Ash and I took a seat.

" Everyone, this is Ashleigh. Ash, this is Caroline, Alex, Edwin and you already met Leah and know Jake "

" Who is running late of course " Leah teased as she shook her head.

Ash smiled but still looked a bit nervous as her cheeks were flushed pink. " It's so nice to meet you all... "

I cleared my throat. " Why don't you all tell Ash a bit about yourselves? "

Edwin spoke up first. He was the definition of a hipster nerd, his curly dark brown hair stuck up with too much hair gel and his green eyes concealed by big black rimmed glasses.

" Well, I'm Edwin Wynne-Jones and... " He chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. " I'm not sure what else to say "

We all giggled, including Ash, who seemed to relax more and more.

" Edwin is the smartest guy in our grade " Leah continued for Edwin. " Straight A student and the guy that you go to if you want to know anything about any horse... "

" Come on Ed! " Alex spoke up. " Show her what you're made of! "

Edwin blushed. " Alright Alright... "

I smiled as I looked at Ash. " tell him which Holloway horse you ride "

Ash raised a brow. " Um...Okay...I ride Beauty... "

Edwin pushed his glasses up. " Beauty, otherwise known as New Moon. Black gelding with a faint star marking. Oldenburg thoroughbred cross training and competing in intermediate eventing as of the end of this summer. Good lineage, his sire was a model stallion and his dam a past eventing Olympic mount. His show-jumping is his strongest phase and while he's a calm and collected mount, he is a bit on the lazy side... " he looked up at Ash. " Although, that could easily have changed given your impressive show record with him this summer " he smiled. " Does that sound about right? "

Ash smiled as she clapped along with the rest of us. " Wow! That was spot on! How do you know all of that? "

" I used to compete in eventing as well, but... " He lifted up his black dress pant on his right leg, showing her his prosthetic leg. " I got in a bad car accident when I was 10. I stopped riding, but devoted my time to studying all things horse "

Ash bit her lip. " Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, that must've been hard... "

Edwin shrugged. " Don't feel bad, I have to say the accident was a blessing in disguise. Before I was a failing student, guess it took losing my leg to unlock my hidden brain power " he chuckled lightly.

" Ed is the guy you talk to if you wanna know anything about horses. Training, sales, a certain breed of horse, etc. He knows it all "

Ash smiled and nodded. " I definitely will! "

" I'm up next! " Alex spoke up as he smiled at Ash. " I'm Alex Richmond. My family's been training racehorses for generations and I plan to follow that trend " he winked at her and I rolled my eyes.

" Don't flirt with the poor girl on her first day Ax! " Caroline teased as she playfully punched his arm.

Alex shrugged. " Just breaking the tension " he chuckled.

I turned to Ash. " Alex can handle any horse no matter how uncontrollable they seem. He can even get Deathbringer to behave under saddle "

" That's impressive. That stallion's a scary ride " Ash commented.

Alex shrugged. " Nothing I can't handle. I wanted to be a jockey when I was a kid, but apparently, my 6-foot body had other plans, so now I want to be an exercise rider, maybe a trainer "

" That sounds like it would be...interesting " Ash replied as she giggled. " But not something I would have the guts to try "

Alex chuckled. ' Right, because cross-country doesn't require a ton of guts already " he teased. " Now that is what I call scary "

We all laughed.

" What's up? "

I smiled as Jake suddenly plopped down beside me. " We laughing at Alex? "

Alex rolled his eyes. " Nice try Markety, but I didn't lose to two girls this summer "

Jake chuckled. " Low blow Ax! " he teased. " but I consider third not too bad, especially when I won the biggest prize of them all "

I blushed as he pecked my cheek, intertwining our hands.

" Awe! " the group chorused in unison.

" Shut up! " Jake and I replied before laughing.

Leah checked her watch. " Your turn Caroline, we only have a few more minutes until the bell "

Caroline smiled sweetly as she moved a strand of her orange/red hair behind her ear. " It's so nice to meet you, Ashleigh. I'm Caroline Mayer "

Ash smiled. " Very nice to meet you as well Caroline "

Caroline played with her hair and Leah rolled her eyes playfully. " Caroline has the attention span of a cricket " she teased. " But if you ever need a herbal remedy for yourself or your horse, she's the girl to talk to "

Caroline blushed. " My family owns a herbal remedy and vegan food store chain across Canada and the USA. Our herbal remedies are used by a lot of world-famous riders to naturally better their horses' health and performance "

" Sounds...interesting " Ash replied. " I've heard of herbal remedies, but never actually used one on my horses "

" I have " I spoke up.

" Same here. Luna is always anxious during long travels. Caroline's calming syrup is a miracle remedy " Jake added.

" I'll have to try some. What else do you have? " Ash asked.

Caroline looked up at the sky. " Well, what do you think your horse needs? "

Ash tapped her chin with her finger. " Well...Venus is such a picky eater when it comes to grain. I've tried every type and flavor I can think of but she still leaves almost a full bucket and goes right for her hay net "

Caroline nodded. " ...My mom makes this amazing flavor spray that you can spray into the bucket and grain. 100% natural and safe and I think Venus will be a much more compliant eater after she tastes that....here... " she dug into her AMPS drawstring bag and handed Ash a small bottle. " That's a sample, try it out tonight and see how you like it "

Ash smiled and nodded as she put the spray in her bag. " I will, thanks! "

The bell sounded echoed and a flood of students made their way into the building.

Jake sighed. " Here we go, another year "

I giggled as I squeezed his hand. " Try to at least be fake happy about school "

He chuckled. " I will, for you... "

I blushed as we all stood. " What does everyone have? "

" Advanced bio, advanced physics, lunch, tutoring and finally Advanced English " Edwin replied.

" Gym, remedial English, lunch, mediate all-around science and mediate math functions " Alex spoke.

" Advanced English, Business class, lunch, tutoring and advanced Chemistry " Leah replied.

" Advanced English, Business class, lunch, free period and advanced chemistry, " Caroline told us.

" Gym, remedial English, lunch, mediate bio and mediate math functions " Jake replied.

I looked down at my schedule. " Advanced bio, Mediate English, lunch, Business class and Mediate Math "

" I have the same schedule as Eve " Ash spoke up.

" So we'll all meet in the usual spot for lunch? " Leah asked.

We all nodded as we entered the school, splitting up to go to our first class of the day.

The school year had officially begun...