Tompkin's School (For The Extraordinarily Talented Book 1)

by Slick, Tabi

  “Buck Owens ain’t so bad!” Shane protested.

  “Whatever you say,” Lee laughed.

  “What is that instrument playing?” I asked, trying to be polite and make conversation.

  “You don't know what that is?” Shane asked, surprised, “That’s a banjo. Kinda like a guitar, I guess. I have one, if you’d like to try it out.”

  “Darling,” Sara said, entering from the kitchen with a huge tray of fried chicken, rice, and assorted vegetables, “now don’t scare our guests and leave the banjo till at least after we’ve finished dinner.”

  Everyone breathed in the wonderful smell and my stomach grumbled.

  “Lee, can you get the bread?" She asked.

  “Sure, mom,” Lee replied, disappearing through the kitchen door.

  We all took our seats at the table, Lee rejoining in a matter of seconds as he placed the bread next to the other food.

  “Boy, I am starving,” Shane chuckled, “Let’s pray.”

  Pray? I wasn’t much into religion...I believed there were things out there that couldn’t be explained, but to be honest I really didn’t think about it all that much.

  “Let’s bow our heads,” he began.

  I looked at Lee and Sara as they bowed their heads, taking each others hands and closing their eyes. Shane finished his prayer and then we ate the most delicious dinner I’d had in...well it was so long I couldn’t even remember. The Walker family were strange, to say the least. But there was something pleasant about being around an actual family, rather than the stone cold Torvik household I was oh so used to.

  “Maybe you’d all like to check out the pastures in the back,” Shane suggested, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Shane!” Sara scolded, “that can wait until the morning. Let them rest!”

  “You have horses?” Kain asked.

  “We sure do!” Lee replied.

  My eyes widened in shock because I had never seen a horse in real life, only on TV or the occasional carriage being pulled in the park. But I always kept my distance. I wasn't really sure if I was completely comfortable with being close to them or not.

  “Maybe tomorrow, then,” Shane shrugged, “Lee can show ya’ll the ropes.”

  Lee winked in my direction and I blushed crimson. It was crazy, but it seemed like he knew what I had just been thinking about. Did he know that I had never seen a horse up close?

  “And then maybe sometime tomorrow we can shoot some hoops,” Lee suggested to Kain.

  “Sure,” Kain replied.

  “That was so good, Mrs. Walker!” I complemented.

  “Well, thank you,” she smiled.

  After dinner, Lee’s parents went to bed because they both had to go to work the next morning. The rest of us stayed up and watched a movie before going to bed ourselves. The Walker family lived at a much slower pace than everyone else I knew back home. That was probably due to the fact that the Walkers lived in the country and I grew up in the middle of a bustling city. Not feeling the pulsating crowd or the drive to move faster was strange. It was like spending a day in your own little world and it was growing on me surprisingly.

  ‡‡‡

  I woke up the next morning to be welcomed not by the normal sounds of police sirens blaring and people shouting, but by the sounds of morning crickets and birds!

  I sat up slowly, the realization of where I was hitting me straight on as I stood from my bed to look out the window. When my eyes adjusted to the bright morning sun I was startled to find a pair of eyes staring right back at me!

  I jumped back as I let out a scream and tumbled off the side of the bed. I picked myself up and ran for the door as fast as I could. I had no idea what it was but I was getting out of there! I slammed into something solid as I ran from my room and looked up, completely startled.

  “Good morning,” Lee smiled.

  “What?” I stammered, trying to shake the drowsiness, “There-there-there’s a giant black thing in my bedroom window!”

  I stopped myself as I realized the words that I had just blurted out made no sense.

  I felt confused eyes peering at me and I turned to find Shane, Sara, and Kain all sitting on the couch. Suddenly, I felt my face burn red with embarrassment as I realized what I looked like. I hadn’t even bothered to change out of my pajamas and my hair was knotted up into a messy ponytail. Why was I the only twin that ever got caught in these embarrassing moments?

  Gurr! Kain never seemed to get embarrassed at all!

  “What?” Kain asked, a giant smirk on his face.

  “There’s something really, really big outside my window!” I explained, not caring that Kain was being sarcastic because I was just too freaked out, “It’s black with these huge eyes and seriously it’s bigger than the window!”

  “Daisy,” Shane and Lee said at the same time.

  “What?” It was my turn to be confused.

  “She’s our Clydesdale,” Shane said, as he started to get up from the couch, “I’ll go get her,”

  “No, I got her,” Lee smiled, as he turned to me, “Wanna come?”

  It took all my might to keep my knees from buckling. That smile could kill anyone a mile away! It was incredible how much power this guy had over me.

  “Maybe you should eat first,” he said while pulling on his boots.

  He winked before heading out the front door, giving me a perfect rear view of his muscular build. Now I really was in trouble. I had to slap myself out of whatever this was!

  After changing into a more appropriate outfit and having breakfast, Lee led us to where they kept all their horses.

  As I stomped around in some boots that were way too big for my feet, due to having borrowed them from Lee, I looked at the field where the horses stood. They were all chomping on grass, chilling like they weren’t ginormous at all. But they seriously were ten times bigger up close than I imagined!

  “Have any of you ever gone riding before?” Lee asked.

  “I’ve been once or twice,” Kain replied.

  I shook my head nervously when Lee turned to ask me.

  “Nope, never,” I said, shaking my head again for emphasis, “never, ever been.”

  “Well, today’s your lucky day!" He said, handing me a helmet.

  “What?” I scoffed, “No-no-no-no, I can’t! They're just so...it’s just that…”

  “Come on, Izzy,” Lee said, while giving me the most heart wrenching looks yet, “it’ll be fine, I promise.”

  How could I say no to that? He was just too breathtakingly incredible that I seriously was just too taken away by how much he looked like a model to argue. Get a grip! I had to get one. This was definitely not like myself to just ignore all reason and be so head-over-heels for someone like this.

  Kain and Lee then took the lead as we all headed for the barns where they kept the riding gear. Kain saddled up his horse without any problems and was galloping around the pen before I even had my helmet on. Who knew that he actually liked horses at all, let alone was able to ride them? I sure didn't.

  “Okay, so I’ve already saddled your horse,” Lee began, as he stepped in close to me to tighten my helmet.

  A shiver ran through me as I felt his hand graze my cheek.

  “You’ll be riding Cherry, she’s the friendliest of all our horses and the kindest so she’ll treat ya right,” he smiled.

  He opened a gate and entered one of the stalls to bring out the demon. I had to focus if I was going to get through this. I had to concentrate on the mission, which was to survive and not fall off the towering giant.

  “Don’t fall. Stay on the saddle. Keep from flying off the giant,” I chanted to myself, pacing nervously over the hay that was strewn all over the barn.

  “You ready?" He called as he led something huge out of the stall.

  Behind him was a humongous, brownish-red colored horse that was beautiful, but super scary. I was just fine getting on top of a pyramid, but this was too much!

  Suddenly, the horse sneezed
and blew her mane from her eyes and I instinctively took a step back.

  “Come here,” he laughed, “take my hand.”

  I obeyed him as he guided me inch by inch closer to my sure death. This mammoth was going to eat me alive!

  “Are you sure this thing doesn’t eat people?” I asked, looking up to see his amused face.

  “Don’t worry, okay?" He replied, “I promise you I wouldn't be leading you to this horse if she did.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Scout’s honor,” he winked, “now, reach up and place your hand up here and put your right foot in this stirrup.”

  He showed me where to put my hand and then put his hands at my waist. I prepared myself to leap onto the horse and land, although I wasn’t too confident I would be successful. I hoped I wouldn’t embarrass myself too much.

  “Ready?" He asked.

  “No,” I answered.

  “Okay, one-two-” he counted off way too quickly, “three!”

  I let out a shocked scream as he helped my other leg sweep over the other side of the horse. But my foot never found the stirrup and I slid over the other side, screaming the whole way as I landed on my butt and covered in hay.

  Next time I was going to listen to my instincts!

  “Are you okay?" He asked, trying to hold back a laugh.

  “I’m fine,” I replied, sitting up and cleaning myself off.

  “Gonna give up already?" He asked, taunting me.

  I sighed.

  My insides wanted me to say yes, but I knew that that was not what I was going to do. Both Kain and I had inherited very stubborn characteristics and so I was definitely not going to give Lee the excuse to call me a quitter.

  “No,” I replied, standing up, “No, I’m not.”

  The second time around I finally got the concept and landed sturdily atop the horse’s back. It made me feel very tall and I smiled triumphantly.

  “Ready to go?” He asked, already atop a black steed.

  The feeling of triumph vanished as the realization that I had to get this big huge animal to walk set in. I didn’t want to ask how I should go about doing that, but it seemed inevitable.

  “Okay,” I said, “Walk! Walk, Cherry!”

  Obviously he couldn’t contain himself this time as he doubled over in laughter.

  “Make like a lightning and bolt!” I shouted, rolling my 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 so slightly in my direction. I could tell that he secretly hoped that I hadn’t caught him checking me out, which I totally did. I smiled inwardly.

  “Mine, too," Lee smiled.

  “Should be interesting,” Kain commented, “I’ve never been to a boarding school before.”

  “I think it should be fun!” I replied, honestly.

  “Time for breakfast, kids!” Sara called from the dining room.

  We all got up and joined Mr. And Mrs. Walker at the table, which was set with freshly baked biscuits, eggs, cereal, and pancakes. It was amazing! At home we were usually stuck with weird globby oats since father became a vegan tyrant.

  We all dug in and once we were finished we packed up Lee’s huge black truck with all of our stuff.

  “Wish I could drive ya’ll to school,” Shane said, as we all stood beside the truck, “but I gotta get to work.”

  “Be good, Lee,” his mom warned, “and take care of them two, okay?”

  “Sure, mom,” he replied, giving his mom a hug.

  “It was so nice to meet the both of you,” I said, giving Sara a hug and shaking hands with Shane, “and thank you so much for everything.”

  “Don’t mention it," Shane replied.

  “Come and visit anytime, okay?” Sara offered.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Walker," I said, politely.

  “Have a safe trip,” Shane told us, “and drive safe, son.”

  “Don’t worry,” Lee winked, as we all got into the truck.
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br />   Kain sat in the front with Lee as he started the engine and drove out of the driveway. The two of them immediately dove into some conversation about all the different tweaks that he had made to the truck. I tuned them out, mostly wanting to just take in my surroundings.

  The road split into a Y and in the center of it stood a sign reading Dolese - Canyon 8 miles. We stayed to the left, heading deeper into the “mountains”, which looked more like abnormally large anthills than anything else. But the trees were very tall and provided a dense forest, of a sort.

  The school was only about a half an hour away from where Lee lived and about fifteen minutes away from the town called Davis, which was that tiny town we had passed through to get to the Walker’s house the other day.

  As we drove through the hills I noticed that there weren't very many houses. But most of the houses that I did see were styled in the same brick as the Walker’s house. I assumed that this was due to the recurring tornado threats which completely terrified me. Back home we didn’t have to worry about those kinds of things.

  “We’re almost there,” Lee announced, as he turned onto a small dirt road that led into the woods.

  “Where are you taking us?” I laughed.

  “I know,” he smiled, “it doesn’t look like much now, but just wait.”

  “Why’s the school way out here?” Kain asked.

  “I was about to ask the same question,” I said, staring out the window.

  Large hills framed either side of the road, causing the trees to cascade over us, preventing much of the sunlight from penetrating through.

  “It looks like nothing’s here,” my brother commented.

  “You’re not leading us to our slaughter, now, are you?” I asked, giving Lee a teasing look when he glanced back in his rearview mirror, “I wore the wrong shoes.”

  “Don’t worry,” Lee winked, “I got some tennis shoes in the back I think’ll fit.”

  We soon pulled up to a black wrought-iron gate. To the left was a guard house and as we drove up, a guy in a security uniform came out to meet us.