Tompkin's School (For The Extraordinarily Talented Book 1) Read Free Page B

eyes as I turned to Lee, "What? You got something to say, Lee?”
    “Nope,” he replied, on the verge of another episode of laughter, “just, uh, wondering if you need any help.”
    I narrowed my eyes and made a face at him. He was enjoying this way too much for his own good.
    “Okay,” I said, “so you caught me. How do you make this thing walk?”
    “Gently tap Cherry with your stirrups,“ he winked, "but make sure you’re holding onto the reins. We don‘t want you falling off the backside, now.”
    “Very funny," I replied, as I prodded the horse to move forward.
    It worked and soon we were out of the barns and in the fields, where Kain was waiting for us.
    “There you guys are,” he replied, riding up to let his horse walk at my pace.
    “We’re gonna take the trail up there through the woods,” Lee told us, pointing in the direction that we would be heading.
    “Is that a purebred?” Kain asked Lee.
    “Yeah, this is Lennon,” he replied.
    “ Nice ,” Kain commented.
    “We used to have his parents,” Lee said, “but we had to sell them. Come on let’s go!”
    We then took off and as we rode deeper into the woods I decided to visit more with Lee.
    “So, what’s the school like?” I asked.
    “It’s pretty awesome,” Lee replied, “I mean, there are some great public schools around here, but nothing compared to the Academy.”
    “How so?” I asked.
    “Well,” he replied, “we do have the best basketball team in the state, not that I’m biased at all by being the team captain. But, you’ll see, the people are great. Not to mention we have some great parties.”
    “ Really? ” I asked skeptically, “so you’re the partying type?”
    “No, not really,” he laughed, “but I do enjoy having a good time once in awhile.”
    “Ahh, I see," I replied.
    “So, what’s your story, miss city girl,” he began, “did your mommy kick you out or what?”
    “It wasn’t my mom,” I snapped, followed by an awkward pause, “...our mom died.”
    “Oh, wow...sorry,” Lee apologized, “I had no idea.”
    “It’s fine,” I said, “you couldn’t have known.”
    “That and leaving right before your Sophomore year,” Lee replied, “that’s gotta be tough.”
    “Yeah,” I agreed, “and I was going to be the president of the drama club back home.”
    “So, that’s it!” He laughed, “You’re a drama geek.”
    “Haha, I’m not a geek,” I laughed.
    “Sure you aren’t,” Lee winked.
    We both rode on in laughter and soon the trail ended so we headed back to the house. Kain and Lee decided to go shoot some hoops, but I needed some down time. I went to the guest room and sat on the bed, staring out the window.
    I wondered what tomorrow would bring as we headed to our new home. I hoped that the Academy had a drama club, even though it wouldn’t be the same. I knew everything was going to change from this moment on. I wouldn’t be Izzy the popular soon-to-be president. I would be Izzy the new girl from New York. But I wouldn’t let this ruin my time. I was going to have a great school year and I was going to make a lot of friends. It was kind of thrilling to be starting from scratch! It gave me a chance to remake myself and I promised myself that I would enjoy every moment of this new life.
     
     

 
Chapter 2: The Academy
     
    Knowing that we would be heading out for the Academy, I woke up early the next morning. I wanted to make a good first impression so I straightened my naturally black hair until it draped silkily over my shoulders. I did my makeup as usual and put on an emerald green halter, some cute dangly gold earrings, my favorite dark skinny jeans and matching sandals. When I was finished I checked my reflection in the mirror and then quickly left to find the others.
    I entered the living room and I decided to join the guys on the couches, waiting for breakfast.
    “So, my bags are all packed," I said, sitting on the couch next to Kain.
    I saw Lee’s eyes shift ever