Do I have a… Roommate? (Cortney)

[daine5]

Ashleigh sighed as she lugged the last of her bags up the stairs and towards her dorm-room, where she'd been stacking her things outside the door to her assigned room. She mentally cursed her brother, as he had simply piled his things in his room before dragging her out to explore before his 'appointment' with one of the barn managers… leaving her to carry all of her things by herself. The girl dropped the last of her bags with a huff and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes before fumbling around in her pocked for the key to her room.

She smiled slightly as she unlocked and opened the door and stepped inside, leaving the door wide open so she could get her things inside the room more easily, though she stopped dead upon seeing the double-beds, double… everything. The room was huge, and apparently a shared room. Not what she'd been expecting. The girl smiled brightly, though, when, after looking around, she was able to surmise that there was already one occupant of the room. Ash hoped her new roommate was nice and friendly, as she would rather be friends than be enemies…

With that thought in mind, the teen began bringing her bags in, one by one, and unpacking them, setting everything up very neatly on her side of the large room. She giggled as she worked, thinking about her brother. He was her opposite, much messier than her, as he didn't care about keeping his things too nice.. Ash left the door open, so that if and when her roomie came up, she'd know that someone else had been assigned the room.

[Cortney Smit]

Cortney came back to the Yellow House, Isa tucked in the crook of her arm sound asleep. The girl had just taken the Teacup puppy down to the gardens for a walk and the tiny animal had worn herself out by chasing her shadow.

At the bottom of the steps she scooped up two boxes that had been delivered to her just as she was leaving the House. One was from her parents and the other was from the site she ordered the dry erase boards she put on the door of her dorm. She then headed up the stairs and down the hall to her room.

A frown crossed the girl's face when she saw that the door was open, she knew that she had locked it when she had left. Arching an eyebrow, she placed the puppy and boxes on the floor, picking up the box that had the board in it and opened it as she stepped up to the open door. Either someone had been in the room that shouldn't have been there, or she had a new roommate - and Cort was praying that it would be the later. She pulled the new dry-erase board out of the box and stood in the doorway. "Hi." She said in a friendly tone to the girl who was in the room. "I'm Cortney. Welcome to C, oh, three." She hung the board up on the hook on the door.

She looked around the room, thanking God that she had just removed the last of the Halloween decorations from around the room that very morning. The only sign of the holiday that was left was the bowl of orange and black jellybeans on the low table below the window.

Walking back to where she had left the other box and puppy, she scooped both of them up, walked into the room and placed them both onto her neatly made bed. She loved the fact that the room was tidy and hoped above anything else that this new girl wasn't a slob, or else Cortney would be asking to have one of them moved.

[daine5]

Ashleigh was slowly working her way through her bags. She'd lined them up in a row along her bed and was going through them one at a time. The one she'd completely unpacked so far was folded neatly like it was supposed to be and placed under her bed, in the far corner. Ash was a bit on a neat-freak, but she wasn't bossy about it. She just liked things, her things, to be in place where they were easily found if she needed them.

The girl was in the middle of putting up her clothes, short sleeves, half-sleeves, then long-sleeves followed by shorts, then capri's, then pants, then skirts, followed by skorts, and finally the few dresses she'd brought along, when the voice from the doorway startled her into dropping the light pink and black shirt that she was holding onto the floor. Ash glanced over her shoulder, then spun around, bending down to pick up the shirt as she moved, a smile on her face, though she was a bit nervous at meeting her roomie.

She gave the girl a once over and watched as she hung up a dry-erase board before her smile cracked open into a wide grin. "Hello. I'm Ashleigh. I guess we're, uh… roomies. Um, you're welcome to call me 'Ash', if you want. Most people do." She said, laughing a little, nervously, though it was gone soon enough as she adapted very quickly, a trait she shared with her brother. Ash turned back to her clothes and quickly put up a few more shirts before looking to her roommate again, spotting the puppy now on the other girl's bed. "Ohhh! It's so cute!" She cooed, looking between the dog and her roomie. "What's it's name? Is it a girl or boy? I'm a huge animal lover!" She explained, giving Cortney a sheepish smile as she fell silent, thinking that she may have overwhelmed the other girl. She did that pretty often, as she was very outgoing and outspoken... another trait she shared with her brother.

[Cortney Smit]

Cortney smiled at the other girl's words. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ash. And please, call me Cort."

She left Ashleigh in peace to continue putting her belongings away. As pleased as she was to no longer have the large room to herself, she was glad that she was only just getting company, as it had probably taken until the last week or so for the girl to come to accept her solitude, accept the fact that she was now a singular being rather than being half of a whole.

She busied herself with opening the other box and gave a delighted squeal as she pulled out the parts to Isa's new bed. She had spoken to her parents about how much trouble the puppy was having in getting on and off the girl's bed, so she had asked her parents if they could get her one. However, she hadn't expected to find what was in the box.

The sound of Ashleigh's voice reached her as she was putting the bed together. "Thanks." She said, smiling as she lifted Isa off the bed and on to the floor so she could go over to the other girl. "Her name is Isa." She replied, answering both questions at once. "Do you have any pets?" Due to the size of Isa, she hoped the answer was no, but she wouldn't say so as she also loved all animals and wouldn't want to make Ashleigh feel uncomfortable.

She had finished putting the bed/house together and set it on the floor by wall beside her closet

[daine5]

Upon finishing up with the belongings of her second bag, Ash folded it neatly in the middle and set it under her bed, beside the other bag. She straightened back up and looked at the three bags she had let to unpack, mentally reviewing what was in each one and choosing to open the one that held her riding clothes and shoes and boots, which would go in the dresser and under the dresser, respectively.

She once again abandoned the process of putting away things when Cortney set her dog on the ground, and Ashe kneeled down to pet the little adorable creature when it came close to her. "Aww… She's adorable. I don't have any pets, well, not a 'house-pet', at least. My brother's afraid of dogs, so it was a no-go there… He was attacked by one when he was seven or eight… and dad doesn't like cats, and mom is allergic to just about every animal there is. Even after they got divorced, we never got a pet." She said, still petting the little dog.

Ash stood up a few minutes later, as she knew she needed to finish unpacking before it was time for bed, and she was so meticulous about where her things went that it would take her a while yet. "So, I'll call you Cort and you'll call me Ash, right?" She asked, her friendly smile contagious. "Do you have any other pets? I'm kinda playing with the idea of looking for an animal at the shelter, but I dunno… maybe later, after everything is settled in here. This is the first time my bro and I have ever attended a boarding-type school… and I wouldn't want to get a pet that could possibly injure your dog, she's so small… you were here first, afterall."

Ashleigh smiled again upon seeing the cute little dog-house/bed, thinking it fit the puppy quite well.

[Cortney Smit]

Cortney nodded to the girl's explination to having no house pets. The funny thing was that none of the Smit family were allergic to them and they were all animal lovers, yet she had never had a small pet until she got Isa. Her life had just been so involved with her ponies and her sister... but now wasn't the time to go into that, in fact she didn't think there would ever be a time to go into that.

"I'm sorry that your brother was attacked by a dog. The poor animal must have had horrid owners." She knew that dogs were destroyed after attacking people, but often that was a blessed released for the animal as not even an animals breeding could cause enough rage to attack another for the sake of it, only humans did that.

She gave the girl a comforting smile. "This is my first time at boarding school too. And if you wanted to get a pet, I wouldn't stop you. Yes, Isa is little, but it also means she can get into hiding places that bigger animals can't follow her into. There's a really nice shelter in the Blue Ridge township."

[daine5]

Ash nodded absently, frowning at a pair of jeans she'd just picked up. She did not remember packing the ratty looking things, but shrugged and hung them up anyway. I bet daddy added them in... She thought before glancing back to Cort. "Yeah, it was a Lab and Pitt mix, from what I remember. Bro has scars around his wrist and arm from its teeth. I don't know about what kind of owners it had, but it was put down by animal control, or something like that." She gazed out the window thoughtfully, enjoying the view the room had.

"If I got a pet, I would probably get something like a kitten. Bro would never forgive me if I got a dog." She said, giggling slightly. It was obvious that she and her brother were very close, unlike a lot of siblings she had met throughout her life. "We live with dad, and he's not allergic to animals like mom is... well, I guess technically, we live here now... Oh, did I mention that my brother is attending here as well?" She thought she had just a few minutes ago, when talking about possibly getting a pet, but she may have just thought she had. "You'll have to meet him sometime. He's... something else." She hesitated slightly, not sure if she wanted to get into her brother's wild side and potentially scare off her new friend. "I may look at the shelter sometime after I get settled in here."

[Cortney Smit]

Cort winced in sympathy for the other girl's brother. "Sometimes it's better for the dog's to get put down." She commented.

She smiled as she listened to Ash talk about her brother, they sounded like they were close and she was tempted to ask if they were twins. She nodded as the girl mentioned having been living with her father. Cort supposed she was lucky that her parents were still together and very much in love. "I lived with my parents and grandparents before I came to Blur Ridge." She looked out the window. "Before that we lived in the Netherlands." She gave a sad smile.

"A kitten would be sooo cute!" She barrelled back to the original topic, pushing her emotions aside as right now was not a good time to feel sorry for herself. She forced herself not to look at the photo of her and Myriam with their ponies that held centre spot on the shelf above her bed, with tall pillar candles either side of the photo. "And I so want to meet your bro at some point, he sounds awesome!" She sat down on her bed and cuddled a pillow to her chest. "What classes are you taking?"

[daine5]

Ash nodded slowly, mean, it was good that that one was, but it was still horrible..."ed, finally getting the last of her things put up and folding her duffel bags and setting them under her bed. [coor=pink]I are from Washington. Not the capital, the state." She said, "You really lived in the Netherlands? That's amazing!"[/color]

Ashleigh sat cross-legged on her bed after inspecting it. She knew she'd get used to it as time went on, but she hoped she didn't roll off of it in the night. She moved a lot in her sleep and was used to a king sized bed, not a double/twin bed. I now, right? I mean, I'll hve to do research on how to care for a kitten properly, but I think it would be so nice to have a pet of my own besides my gelding... I mean, July isn't really a 'pet', in those terms."

Her eyes lit up as Cort mentioned meeting her brother sometime and Ash smiled widely, pushing some stray strands of hair out of her face and leaning over to her side-table, where she'd placed a small tray of pony-tail holders. She pulled her hair back in a messy ponytail. "Great! He is pretty cool, when he's not terrifying me with snakes," She shuddered, "... or being a pest. I'm scared of snakes, by the way, but he likes them and thinks it's funny to chase me with them." She shrugged, as if to say 'he's a typical brother'. "Chris is just under a year older than me. He just turned sixteen. I'm fifteen, by the way. He and I are opposites, but you'd like him, I think. Oh, and I'm taking English Literature, Pre Algebra, Earth Science, and World History as my main classes, and then Drivers Education and Nutrition as my electives. I'm also doing Track and am signed up for Equine Nutrition and Health, Dressage one-oh-one, and Barrel Racing one-oh-one. What about you?"

[Cortney Smit]

She pulled at a tassel on the pillow she was holding when Ash spoke out how her gelding wasn't exactly a pet. The brown haired girl had to agree with that, her own mare hadn't ever been referred to as being a pet. Aside from Myriam, her pony was her best friend. The one other creature that Cort could tell all her deepest secrets to or go and sit with when she'd had a bad day and it was Myriam's lesson. The two girls didn't often have lessons together.

She also shuddered when Ash mentioned snakes. "Eww, I don't think I'd like them either." She said. Her eyebrows rose in excitement when her roomie went through her class-list. "That is way cool!" She gushed. "I'm in you English, maths and science class. I take geography, rather than world history. My electives are cheerleading, swimming and choir." She pressed her lips together, not sure what to say about equestrian classes. Not coming up with anything, she just let the topic drop.

Getting up from her bed, she took a bottle of water out of the cupboard under her desk and filled up Isa's porcelain bowl and also put a handful of biscuits into the matching bowl. Both of the bowls were in a metal stand so that there was no chance of the puppy being able to tip them over and spoil the deep wooden floor. "What kind of music do you like, Ash?" She walked over to the stereo and took some of the CDs out of the stand so that the other girl could store hers there as well. The cases she had removed were the ones she hardly ever listened to and only had there to fill up the space.

[daine5]

Ashleigh nodded in agreement. "Yeah, they're so nasty... I don't see how Chris can like them. I mean, he's been bitten by one before and he still thinks they're 'awesome'" She said, though she was grinning slightly as she spoke. The affection in her voice as she talked about her brother was easily heard, thouh, also was the annoyance and a bit of frustration leaked through at times as well.

The girl smiled in delight upon hearing that they had some of the same classes. "That's awesome! I'm glad I'll have one friend in some of my classes. Bro is in a few of them, because we're so close in age and all, and he failed a class or two last year... but a brother isn't the same as an actual friend in class!" She exclaimed. Ash didn't know what all classes her brother was taking, as he had refused to let her see his schedule, but she knew she'd find out soon enough.

The girl shrugged a little at the question, "I listen to a little bit of everything, but not rap or heavy-metal. I actually like a good bit of country music, and some rock... none of that screamo stuff, though. I like to be able to understand what I'm listening to. I actually didn't bring much of my music with me, only..." She trailed off and grabbed the few random CD's she'd brought with her, looking through them, "... a few Toby Keith CD's, Reba, Billy Joel, Katy Perry, and... that's it... I'll have to write home and have dad send my other music. At least I did remember to bring my iPod. I have several hundred songs on it. What about you?"

[Cortney Smit]

Cortney couldn't help the jealousy that flared up at the passion the other girl had in her voice when she spoke of her brother, it was obvious that the age-gap meant nothing to the siblings and for the way she spoke, they may as well have been twins - if the gap wasn't so long between them, she would have guessed that they were twins. She tried to push her negative feelings down as she continued looking through her CD's

"I quite like classical music, and church songs." She shrugged. "But Like you, I listen to anything. As long as it has more than four words in the song." She couldn't understand how people could create a song that only had less than a dozen different words in it, repeated over and over, and then call it a pop-song. "I found my passion for music when I joined the church choir when we first came to the States." She returned to sitting on her bed, once again cuddling the pillow to her. "I had never been to church more than twice a year before we left home, and then I became a weekly attendee."

She looked up at Ashleigh. "Please don't think I'm a bible-basher who is going to tell you that you are heading for hell if you don't worship god." She shrugged her shoulders. "In all honesty, I don't even know if I really believe in heaven and hell."

[daine5]

Ashleigh frowned slightly, getting the feeling that something was a little wrong, but when Cort started talking again, she shrugged it off, mentally scolding herself for being so anxious. She just really, really wanted to make a friend out of her roommate, and not an enemy. "I can't believe I forgot about classical music!" She groaned, feeling a bit embarassed. "I actually really enjoy classical music... as much as I like country, if not more. I can't believe I didn't bring any..." She dove back under the bed, dragging out her bags once more and rifling through them, searching to see if she'd forgotten to unpack anything. "Oh, wait!" Ash could have hit herself as she shoved the bags back under the bed and turned to her small backpack that she'd brought in the car when they're been on the road.

She gave Cortney another embarassed grin and opened the backpack. "I forgot that I had packed a lot of things in here, too. My classical music is in here. I rode with Chris on the drive up here and used it to annoy him." She explained, pulling out the few CD's that she had almost forgotten about and putting them up.

She gave Cortney a small grin when she mentioned church, "Don't worry. Before the 'Big D' my family used to go to church on every Sunday. It was all mom's thing, though, because after the divorce, bro, dad, and I never went back much. Well, I did a few times, and bro and I have to when we stay with mom... but bro and dad aren't into church, though I still enjoy going a few times a month. what denomination are you?" She said, ending her words with a curious question.

[Cortney Smit]

Cortney smiled and chuckled as Ashleigh began searching through her bags until she had found what she was looking for. "I'm guessing your brother isn't into classical?" She asked.

She sat back against her pillows, picking up her teddy bear and straightening his pyjamas with care as she listened to the other girl talk. She pressed her lips together as Ashleigh shared some pretty big personal things with her. She drew in a shaky breath, knowing that she should share a little of her life as well. "I'm sorry that your parents divorced." She commented. "I don't think I could have handled mine splitting along with everything else that happened before we came to live with Mom's family." She replaced the bear on the bed next to her. "As for church, I float between Catholic and Anglican." She picked the pillow she had been holding earlier and held it against her chest again.

"How you speak of your brother, reminds me so much of how close Myriam, my sister, and I were. There again, siblings can't get any closer than twins. We both rode horses, we competed together, but never against each other. Two days before we turned twelve, our parents took Myr to a competition, with both our ponies. I was sick so I couldn't go. Myr never made it home. The weather changed on their drive home and the wind ripped a tree up. The tree ended everything. Which is why we; Mom, da and I, live in the States." She bit down on her lower lip as it trembled. "I haven't ridden a horse since. If it wasn't for horses, I wouldn't feel like half of me has been ripped away." She buried her head into the pillow and shook her head as she regained control over her emotions. "Sorry, I didn't mean to download on you like that." She shrugged. "It is kind of better to get it all out now though, then to wait and have you think I was holding back."

[daine5]

"Nope, he likes music with lots of drums and all." Ash giggled slightly, thinking about the long drive to Blue Ridge and how she and Chris had fought over the CD player several times. She had won, though, because Chris couldn't do much since he had been driving.

Ash knew she's told cort some things that most people wouldn't tell someone they had just met, but she also knew that she was a very open person, like her brother, and really didn't mind people knowing the small details of her life. Ashleigh could understand it if Cortney didn't want her to know everything, she could respect that, but she truly didn't mind. She liked to talk. "It's ok, dad and mom still live in the same state, and we get to see mom a lot throughout the year... so it wasn't a huge issue or anything. It just took some getting used to, not having her come home from work to dad's house. Mom's a lawyer, dad's a surgeon. That's why we stayed with dad, he's home more than mom." She explained, shrugging. "When we went... go to church, we always went to a First Congregational Methodist church, but we really never set a denomination to stick with, if you get me."

Ashleigh didn't know what to say when Cortney told her about her sister and not riding since. She couldn't even begin to imagine how the other girl must have felt and she knew that the color had drained from her face as she listened, trying to put herself in those shoes. She couldn't. "Oh..." She said softly, shocked, "I'm so sorry... I... That must be..." Ash didn't know what to say to help, as, in a situation like that, there was nothing to say that could help and she knew it. "You must think I'm so insensitive! Talking about my brother like I have been and not noticing that it must have been bothering you!"