Elite Ambition

by Jessica Burkhart

  I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face. Riding in a new place with Charm was what we needed. I wasn’t worried about him—he’d been perfect since he’d bucked me off earlier, but I’d be a little more attentive than usual just in case.

  “This is a quiet road, and we’ve posted signs that there might be riders, so if we encounter any car traffic, the driver should be respectful,” Mr. Conner said. “But stay alert and prepared just in case. Follow me single file, please.”

  We all nodded.

  “Let’s go,” Mr. Conner said.

  He and Lexington stepped off the driveway and onto the road. They turned right, and I went first, with Brit behind me and then Heather. The horses’ shoes clanked against the asphalt—it was weird to be on the road.

  Charm, calm now, kept an ear back toward me and another pointed forward. He wasn’t nervous about being away from campus—he liked exploring as much as I did.

  A yellow caution sign with a horse and rider was posted alongside the road, but the road was deserted. Dark wooden fences were on both sides of the street and large trees, branches sprawled over the road, cast shadows on the pavement. I turned around, grinning at Brit.

  “So awesome,” she mouthed at me.

  I smiled, turning back around before Mr. Conner saw me.

  We reached a metal gate, and he walked Lexington off the road and into the grassy shoulder. Heather, Brit, and I followed him. We watched as Mr. Conner unlatched the gate and without dismounting, opened it for us. That wasn’t easy to do, especially on a semigreen horse. But Mr. Conner had been working with Lexington long enough that the gray seemed to trust him; he allowed Mr. Conner to open what probably looked like a scary gate.

  Heather, Brit, and I rode through the opening, waiting while Mr. Conner relatched the gate.

  “All right,” Mr. Conner said, pulling Lexington next to Aristocrat. “Keep your horses at a steady canter and let’s go.”

  I gave Charm rein and within seconds, he broke into a canter. His strides, long and even, were smooth and he kept pace with the other horses without trying to fight for the lead. He was definitely on his best behavior after tossing me earlier.

  It felt amazing to be away from campus. There wasn’t any pressure of classes, drama with Callie, or weirdness from Paige.

  I shifted in the saddle, leaning forward ever so slightly as we started up a gradual incline. Charm snorted and surged forward, determined to keep the same speed going uphill as we had on the flat ground. But I didn’t want Charm to strain himself, so I slowed him a notch while still allowing him to keep up with the other horses.

  Brit, Heather, Mr. Conner, and I kept the horses even with each other as we climbed the easy hill. We reached the top where the ground leveled off. None of the horses were even close to being winded.

  “Keep them at an easy canter,” Mr. Conner said. “We have a long way to go, and I don’t want anyone’s horse to burn out early.”

  I relaxed in the saddle, enjoying the rocking gait of Charm’s canter. The horses moved easily across the open field. There was nothing else I’d rather be doing. The late September air had a hint of a chill, but the sun kept me warm.

  Charm’s hooves made dull thuds against the grass. I’d left my hair loose under my helmet and the wind swirled it back behind me. Every stride Charm took made me feel more exhilarated. I looked over at Heather and she looked as relaxed as I felt. This was a workout for all of us, especially our horses, but it was also a release.

  From everything.

  Lexington tried to stick his muzzle in front of the other horses, wanting to be the one in the lead, but Mr. Conner held him back. Frustrated, Lexington shook his head, then settled.

  The flat ground started to raise again, steeper this time. The horses had to work harder to keep their paces steady. I concentrated on keeping my balance and watching for any sign from Charm that he needed to slow down. But the grueling workouts with Mr. Conner had him in top shape. Brit’s horse moved well, too, and we looked over at each other and smiled.

  We cantered the horses up and down a few more hills before Mr. Conner slowed Lexington.

  “Trot and then ease them to a walk,” Mr. Conner instructed us.

  Heather, Brit, and I did as he asked. Charm’s copper-colored coat had darkened from sweat. His breathing was heavy, but not too hard. I was probably more ready for a break than he was!

  “How do your horses feel?” Mr. Conner asked. “Is anyone sensing any strain or fatigue from her horse?”

  We all shook our heads.

  “Good,” Mr. Conner said. “We’re going to walk back to make sure they’re completely cool, and we’ll take a different route that’s not so hilly. I don’t want any of your horses to be sore before the show. That was a great workout for everyone, and I’m impressed by all of you and your horses.”

  Mr. Conner looked over at Brit. “I watched with how in tune you are with Apollo. You knew exactly when he needed to slow, and you never pushed him past his limits, even though you made sure the workout was a challenge. Excellent job.”

  “Thank you,” Brit said, blushing.

  I couldn’t help but think if Mr. Conner had made that remark to Jasmine. Her answer would have been more of an um, duh than the way Brit handled the compliment—with grace. It felt surreal—like I kept expecting the cool new girl to disappear and the former princess of destruction to return.

  We walked the horses back toward the stable, and I smiled to myself when I remembered who was waiting for me to finish my lesson—Jacob.

  10

  FRIEND, BOYFRIEND, AND MAYBE-FRIEND

  BACK AT THE STABLE WITH CHARM IN CROSS-ties, I texted Jacob.

  Grooming Charm. Meet in an hr under archway?

  I was digging through Charm’s tack box, looking for his dandy brush when my phone vibrated.

  Perfect. C u there.

  His text gave me chills even though I was warm from the workout.

  “I’m going to meet Jacob,” I whispered to Charm. “We’ve barely had time to talk since school started, and I really want to see him.” Just saying the words made me nervous and exhilarated at the same time.

  Charm, listening, turned an ear in my direction. I unclipped the crossties and led him to his stall, letting him loose inside. After I filled his water bucket, checked his hay net, and latched his stall door, he popped his head over to watch me as I gathered up his tack.

  “Love you,” I said.

  Charm bobbed his head—his eyes connecting with mine for a second before he went for his hay net. Laughing, I stored his tack and locked myself in the stable bathroom. I ran my fingers through my hair—ridding it of the tangles from my ride. I wiped a speck of dirt off my cheek and applied a coat of peachy lip gloss. Then, I couldn’t stand being in the stable for another second. Jacob was waiting for me.

  I hurried down the aisle, cut across the courtyard, and headed for the stone archway. It wasn’t a place of good memories, but I hoped seeing Jacob there would change that. Right now, all of my thoughts associated with the archway had to with the Belles. The then–eighth-graders had tried to force Callie, the Trio, and me into riding at midnight as part of a dare. If we completed the task, they’d coach our riding and get us invited to the coolest parties. We’d met them in a secret old room under the archway. I shivered—the memory alone was enough to make me nervous. At the final step of initiation, we’d gotten caught and, for a second, I thought I’d be sent back to Union.

  Yards away from the archway, someone leaned against the stone wall. When I got closer, Jacob straightened and walked toward me, reaching for my hand. He pulled me under the arch. We were finally alone.

  Together.

  I’d chosen the arch because the courtyard was too public. If Jacob and I really were going to get back together, I wanted Callie to hear that and the truth from him first—not witness anything between us.

  “Hi,” Jacob said.

  “Hi,” I echoed back. My tone was high and giggly.r />
  “I’m glad you texted me,” he said. “I wanted to see you and make sure this is still what you want.”

  “It is,” I said. “I can’t focus too much about you telling Callie, or I’ll make myself crazy. I know you’re doing the right thing, but I don’t want to see people looking at you the way they looked at me.”

  “The only person that I care about looking at me is you,” Jacob said.

  His words seemed to reverberate in my ears. I looked at Jacob as if I’d never seen him before—his green eyes had flecks of a half dozen shades of green that I’d never noticed before. His light brown hair looked soft and a little windswept. I wanted to reach out and touch his tan face.

  “That’s really sweet of you,” I said. “But you have to understand where I’m coming from. I lived though the worst of it already—the whispers and stares and people gossiping about my party.”

  “It never should have happened,” Jacob said, his jaw clenching. “I made the worst mistake by letting you take the blame. And as for the stares and whispers—like I said—I only care that you’re with me. I can handle everything else.”

  I stared at him—wanting to kiss him but knowing better. We couldn’t risk it. But once he told Callie, we were finally free to try.

  “It’s so weird,” I said, trying to breathe evenly. “I want Friday to come and I don’t. I hate the idea of stirring up talk about my party. But I’m also hopeful, whether or not it’s even a possibility, that maybe Callie and I can work on our friendship again.”

  Jacob nodded, listening.

  “I don’t think we’ll ever be friends again,” I continued. “I mean, how can she really be friends with someone she thinks she can’t trust? I did lie to her about what really happened, to protect her—and you. She’s not just going to magically forgive me for that.”

  “She might not,” Jacob said, touching my arm. “But whatever happens—she needed to know the truth and you deserve to have your name cleared. It’s not fair to you and it never was.” He stared down at the cobblestones beneath us, then looked back at me. “I should have done something about it a long time ago. I’m sorry, Sasha. I don’t know if I can apologize enough.”

  “Stop.” I reached over and squeezed his hand for a second before letting him go. “We’ve been over this. You did what I asked. It’s what I wanted. I should be the one apologizing to you—you need to do what feels right.”

  “How about we both agree to stop apologizing to each other, okay?” Jacob asked. His smile was soft.

  “Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I can do that.”

  We stared at each other for minutes—neither of us saying a word. Silence was comfortable for both of us. Our bodies were inches apart, and it was almost impossible not to hug him.

  Or kiss him.

  More than anything—that’s what I wanted to do.

  “I better go,” I said, reluctant. My voice broke the silence. I hated saying it, but it had to happen. No one could see us here.

  A look—maybe sadness—crossed Jacob’s face. But it was replaced with understanding. “I get it,” he said. “We’re doing it right this time.”

  But the way he looked at me—I just knew. He wanted to kiss me. And, more than anything, I wanted to kiss him back.

  “Right,” I said. I took a tiny step back. The longer I was closer to him—the harder it was to step away.

  “Text you later,” Jacob said, squeezing my arm then letting me go. I half wished he’d kept his hand on my arm and forced me to stay. But we both knew better.

  “Okay. Bye.” I tore my eyes away from his and left the archway, leaving him standing there.

  Hours later, I sat down to dinner in the caf. My brain was still stuck on what had gone on earlier with Jacob. The scene kept replaying in front of my eyes—the light breeze that had blown the scent of fresh cut grass through the archway, the warmth that seemed to radiate from Jacob’s body and—what I couldn’t forget no matter how hard I tried—the way he’d looked when I’d approached him. I couldn’t help but worry about the timing of everything. Jacob was telling Callie the truth before the schooling show, which was important to her. I blinked and flashed back to when I’d been testing for the YENT and had found out that Callie and Jacob were together. It had almost ruined my chances at making the team. I didn’t want this show to be a mess for Callie. Not after I knew how it felt.

  I stirred my wonton soup, usually one of my faves when the caf served Chinese food. But today I was unable to focus enough to eat without spilling soup down my shirt.

  “Everything okay?” Paige asked. She finished her third pork dumpling and wiped her mouth.

  “Totally fine,” I said. I directed my gaze from my soup to Paige’s face. “I had a big lunch.”

  Paige nodded. “Gotcha. I did, too, but I love Chinese food so much and …”

  She kept talking but her words stopped registering in my brain when I saw two people walk through the doorway.

  Eric. Rachel.

  Something overwhelming came over me—I couldn’t sit another second without talking to Eric. I had no idea what to even say, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said to Paige.

  “Okaaay,” she said. “Are you all right?”

  “Great,” I said. “I’ll just … be right back.”

  And without explanation, I got up and headed for Eric and Rachel. They approached the lunch line, whispering to each other as they got closer. Eric, with his light brown skin and dark hair, looked more ready for a casting call than class. Rachel had a classic girl-next-door look—pretty and petite with light brown hair and natural reddish highlights.

  “Hi,” I said to both of them.

  “Hey,” Eric and Rachel said, both smiling at me. I didn’t pick up on a hit of weirdness or jealousy from Rachel that I was talking to my ex.

  “I’m going to grab my tray,” Rachel said, laughing. “There’s no way I’m missing any of the sweet-and-sour chicken.” Maybe she knew I wanted a minute alone with Eric. Rachel and I weren’t even close to friends, but she was being gracious. I don’t know if I could handle myself as well as she was in this situation.

  Eric smiled at Rachel. “Be right there.”

  We looked at each other, my nerves started to calm the longer I looked at him.

  “How’re you doing?” Eric asked. His dark brown eyes, gentle like always, were sincere as he looked at me.

  “Good,” I said. “Fall break was fun. How about you?”

  “Busy,” he said, brushing back his dark brown hair. “I’m riding Luna as much as I can. Sometimes it feels like I’m living in the stable.”

  I laughed. “Tell me about it. I think Charm was secretly glad to see me go over break.”

  “No, never.” Eric joined my laughter.

  I shifted, swallowing. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your lunch. I just wanted to say that you’ve always been such a great friend to me. I miss seeing you.”

  “I miss talking to you too,” Eric said.

  “You’re a good guy, and I don’t want things to be weird between us. I’m—” The next part was harder to get out. “I’m glad you’ve got Rachel. She seems cool and I want you to be happy. I just hope … that, somehow, we can still be friends.”

  The last part of the sentence gushed out. But I meant it. I needed Eric in my life. No more drama. Or wars between Jacob and Eric. Just all of us coexisting at school and getting back to our normal lives.

  “I want that, too, Sasha,” Eric said. He glanced at the cafeteria floor, then back at me. “We both went through rough things. Maybe the timing wasn’t right for us—I don’t know. But I care about you as a friend. I want to talk. The avoiding-each-other thing is ridiculous.”

  Relief dizzied me—almost forcing me to grab the table beside me.

  “I’m so glad you feel that way. Really. And I want to know how riding’s going. Maybe we can, I don’t know, practice together sometime or something?”

  Eri
c nodded. “I’d love that. Luna misses Charm—you know she had a crush on him.”

  We both laughed. “It was mutual,” I said. “Well, go grab lunch, and I’ll see you around.”

  Eric and I traded smiles. As I walked back to rejoin Paige, I felt better about the possibilities of the future than I had in weeks. Eric and I were on track to becoming friends. Paige and I would get back our super-BFF status. Jacob and I were going to start dating. And, either the best or the worst of all of these things, Callie would know the truth—in less than four days.

  11

  QUEEN OF DRESSAGE

  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON’S RIDING LESSON couldn’t come fast enough. It was only the third day back to class, but it felt like break hadn’t even happened and I’d been studying fractions and American history forever. All I wanted to do was ride.

  I pushed open the tack room door and found Brit inside, wiping off the cantle of her saddle.

  “Hey,” I said. “Ready for another ‘easy’ lesson at Canterwood?”

  Brit grinned, putting her saddle cloth in a nearby bucket. “You know it. I mean, c’mon. Mr. Conner needs to step up the difficulty a little.”

  “He totally does,” I said, laughing. We picked up our tack and, together, walked out of the tack room.

  “How’re your classes?” I asked. “Those supereasy too?”

  Brit groaned. “Seriously. I might drown in homework. Were you overwhelmed when you came here?”

  “That’s an understatement,” I said. “I was beyond overwhelmed. I had no friends, the classes were superintimidating, and I was trying to make the advanced riding team.”

  Brit shifted the bridle on her shoulder. “How did you get through it? I’m kind of scared that I won’t make it with grades and riding.”