Best Enemies

by Jessica Burkhart

  “I forgot my notebook in the tack room, so I went back to get it a few minutes ago,” Callie said. “When I was leaving I saw Heather go into Mr. Conner’s office.”

  “And?”

  “She was pretty upset. She told Mr. Conner that Julia and Alison hadn’t cheated and she didn’t know what happened, but she knew they’d never do that.”

  I flopped backward. “What did he say?”

  “That Heather was a good friend to defend them, but that Headmistress Drake did have proof—cheat sheets. He said he was sorry, but he wasn’t going to let them back on the team.”

  “Heather’s not going to give up,” I said. “They’re her friends and she believes them. It’s what friends do.”

  7

  DATE NIGHT

  I WAS UP SO EARLY ON SATURDAY MORNING, cartoons weren’t even on yet. Tonight was my date with Eric! I pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a jacket, trying not to wake Paige as I got dressed and flew out the door. In the cafeteria, I surveyed my food options. First date day deserved a special breakfast. I grabbed two blueberry waffles and a glass of OJ. I looked around. I definitely had my pick of tables—the caf was deserted.

  I picked through my food, my thoughts focused on tonight. The idea of sitting in the darkened theater with Eric made my heart pound. The only boy I’d ever sat with at the movies had been Jacob during film class, but that had been totally different. Was I supposed to hold Eric’s hand for the entire movie? My hand might get sweaty. Then Eric would be grossed out and he’d never want to do it again.

  I swallowed and pushed away my waffles. I had to ask Paige about the hand-holding sitch. I checked the time on my phone. Still early. I took small sips of my orange juice and watched as the Crush Girls—the riders I’d caught talking about Eric—came into the caf. The six girls loaded their trays with food and scanned the room, looking for empty seats. They spotted me and started whispering.

  Uh-oh.

  They walked up to my table and stopped.

  “Can we sit?” asked Rachel, a girl on the intermediate team.

  “Sure,” I said.

  The girls put down their trays and stared at me, not one of them touching their food.

  “So… ,” said a girl with braces. “Remember when you told us Eric Rodriguez had a girlfriend?”

  “Yeaaah,” I said.

  “Funny,” the girl said. “You never mentioned her name.”

  I picked up my fork and started playing with my waffles, desperate for something to do. “Well, I didn’t just because I—”

  “Because you are the girlfriend?” Rachel interrupted. She adjusted her black plastic–rimmed glasses. Artsy.

  “Um.” I swallowed.

  “You could have just told us,” said a girl with blond highlights sitting next to Rachel. “We’re, like, so sorry that we were talking about your boyfriend.”

  “Even if he is gorgeous,” Rachel added with a grin. She was pretty in that girl-next-door way. She was freckled and petite with a perfect, slightly upturned nose and her light brown hair had warm reddish highlights and side-swept bangs.

  I smiled back. “No worries.”

  “Cool. But, uh, keep an eye on him,” Rachel said with a wink. “All the girls think he’s hot.”

  “He is,” I said. “Lucky me.” I picked up my tray and walked away, leaving them staring enviously after me.

  For the rest of the morning and afternoon, I forced myself to do homework. With finals only weeks away the workload was getting heavier every day. But it was no use; I couldn’t concentrate on anything. All I could think about was tonight.

  “What if he wants to see that zombie movie?” I asked Paige.

  She turned away from her desk to look at me. She’d been doing homework all day too, stopping only every five minutes to answer my date questions.

  “Then you go,” Paige said. “Scary movies are perfect because every time something terrifying happens, you can bury your face in his arm. He’ll love it.”

  “Oooh, yeah,” I said. “Good point.”

  Paige looked at our wall clock. “It’s five thirty,” she said. “We either pretend to keep doing homework or start getting you ready.”

  My history book was closed before she’d finished her sentence. “I’m going on a date!” I said, my voice rising with every word. “Omigod! What should I do first?”

  Paige grabbed my arm and pulled me off my desk chair. She pushed me gently into the bathroom and started to close the door.

  “You’re going to do this crazy thing called showering,” Paige said. “Then, I’m going to do your hair. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. Paige shut the door and I hopped into the shower. I used three times the usual amount of strawberry-vanilla scented body wash before getting out. I pulled on my fluffy pink robe that Mom had given me for Christmas and let Paige blow out my hair until it was smooth and shiny.

  “Get dressed and then I’ll finish it off with a flatiron,” she said.

  I put on the clothes we’d ordered from Express, twirling in front of the mirror.

  “Am I good or what?” Paige said, eyeing my outfit. “I knew a blue ruffle top would be perfect. And that skirt looks amazing on you!”

  “It does? Are you sure?” I smoothed the skirt and peered down at it.

  “Totally,” Paige said. “It’s first-date perfect.”

  I sat in the center of our room on Paige’s desk chair as she straightened my hair. I fastened my charm bracelet around my wrist and put on a pair of Paige’s silver chandelier earrings while she worked her flatiron magic.

  Tap-tap-tap!

  “Expecting company?” Paige asked, putting down the flatiron.

  “Nope.”

  Paige opened the door.

  “Hey, first-date girl,” Callie said. “Can I come in?”

  I waved her inside. “C’mon.”

  Callie came over and stood beside me, checking out my clothes. “Awesome,” she said. “You look gorgeous.”

  “So do you!” And she did. Her dark hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders. She’d dusted shimmery sand-colored eye shadow over her eyelids and had peachy blush on her cheeks. She wore a white one-shoulder shirt that set off her pretty caramel-brown skin, and had paired it with a light brown skirt. Callie put her purse on my bed.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Paige said to Callie. “You can help me do Sasha’s makeup.”

  Callie squealed. She stepped over to the makeup counter (read: Paige’s desk) and picked up the moisturizer.

  Paige spun me away from the mirror. “We’re so not letting Sasha peek until we’re done.”

  “Agreed.” Callie started to put a dab of moisturizer on my cheek.

  “Wait!” Paige yelled.

  “What? What’s wrong?” Callie jumped back, yanking her hand away from my face.

  Paige giggled. “Sorry. You have to pick a makeup artist name. It’s, like, our tradition. I’m always Jade and Sasha is Kiki.”

  Callie thought for a second. “Gisele.”

  “Good one!” I said, high-fiving her.

  I settled back into the chair and let Jade and Gisele get to work. Getting my makeup done was relaxing and it kept me from worrying about my date.

  Twenty minutes later Paige and Callie stepped back to look at me.

  “We’re going to spin you around,” Paige said slowly.

  They turned my chair toward the full-length mirror in our room. I blinked at my reflection.

  “Wow,” I said softly. “You guys are good.”

  Paige and Callie smiled behind me.

  Tinted moisturizer had evened out my skin tone. A shimmery dusting of barely-there blush highlighted my cheekbones. My eyelashes were darkened with a coat of mascara and Paige had lined my eyes with a smoky, light gray liner that made my green eyes appear even greener.

  “Um, but no lip gloss,” I said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Callie said, turning to Paige’s desk and rummaging through the lip gloss co
ntainer. “I really don’t think any of these will work.”

  I stood and looked into the box. “What? None of these? Why?” There were at least twenty to choose from. One had to work. “Look in my bag.”

  But Callie reached into her purse and pulled out a small package wrapped with sparkly pink paper. “I think you should use this instead.”

  “Callie!” I took the gift from her and tore open the wrapping. Under the pretty paper was a Stila Lip Glaze in papaya. “Omigod, it’s perfect!”

  I hugged her, keeping one eye on the lip gloss at all times.

  “I’m so glad you like it,” Callie said. “You totally needed a first date gloss. I spent hours on the site to pick the perfect shade.”

  I twisted open the lip gloss pen and carefully applied a coat of the sheer soft pink.

  “That’s exactly what you needed,” Paige said. “You’re ready now.”

  I swallowed, rubbing my palms together. “I’m sweaty!” I said. “My hands are slick and Eric’s going to think—”

  “That you like him enough to be nervous,” Callie said, cutting me off. “It’s okay to be nervous. It’s your first date. But it’s Eric. You know him and you really like him. It’s going to be great.”

  Paige moved to stand next to Callie. “It will be amazing,” Paige confirmed.

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

  “Have fun,” Callie said. I hugged her, then Paige. They made me feel confident. I could so do this. I slipped on my black cropped cardi-wrap sweater and stepped out into the hallway.

  On my way out, I stopped in the doorway of Livvie’s office. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours, okay?” I asked her. I’d already cleared tonight with her, but I wanted to double check.

  She nodded. “Have fun, Sash.”

  Eric was meeting me right outside. He’d wanted to come inside to pick me up at my room, but I hadn’t wanted to push it with Livvie. She’d already let Eric inside Winchester once. Before I pushed open the door, I took a breath. It’s just Eric, I reminded myself. And that made me smile.

  8

  CHICK FLICKS AND THE GUYS WHO LOVE THEM

  WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR I FELT LIKE I WAS on a movie set. Eric was leaning against the black railing, looking perfect in a long-sleeve black shirt and dark wash jeans. Behind Eric the sky, now a dark purple, was twinkling with early stars.

  “You look beautiful,” he said. “Wow.”

  My anxiety melted the second I heard his voice. “Thanks. You look great too.”

  Eric clasped my hand in his and we walked down the steps.

  “Oh,” Eric said. “Wait a sec.” He stopped and let go of my hand. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small blue box. He held it out to me. “This is for you.”

  I took the box, my fingers shaking a little. “Eric, you didn’t have to get me anything.”

  He shook his head. “It’s our first date, Sasha. I want it to be special.”

  I untied a skinny white ribbon and lifted the lid of the box. Inside, a tiny silver horseshoe charm was nestled on a piece of cotton.

  “Eric,” I gasped. “It’s gorgeous!” I touched the cool surface of the charm.

  His brown eyes warmed as he looked at me. “I hoped you’d like it. I never see you without your bracelet, so I wanted to get you something for it. Paige helped.”

  “I love it.” I held out my wrist to Eric. “Will you put it on?”

  He picked up the charm and fastened it to my bracelet. I shivered when his fingers brushed the inside of my wrist. The horseshoe fit so well with the horse charm my parents had given me.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said. “I’m going to look at it whenever I need luck, which will only be every five seconds.”

  He laughed as I stuck the box in my purse.

  “You don’t need luck,” Eric said, taking my hand again. “But now you’ve got it just in case.”

  As we started walking, I couldn’t help but think that I’d been nervous over nothing. It was Eric. My boyfriend Eric—and we were going to have fun tonight.

  When we reached the media center, we wandered through the giant lobby and got in line. The Friday night line was almost out the door. At the Canterwood movie theater, tickets and concessions were sold in the same line.

  “I’m thinking we need lots of popcorn with tons of butter and a mix of sweet and sour candy,” I said. “You agree?”

  “Like Junior Mints, AirHeads, Nerds, and Twizzlers?” Eric asked.

  “And that’s why you’re my boyfriend.”

  The line moved forward and we inched ahead.

  “Sasha, hey.”

  I turned and saw Callie. With Jacob. They were in the line beside us.

  “Hi,” I said to both of them. “You guys here for a movie?”

  Duh, I thought before Callie or Jacob even responded.

  “Yeah,” Callie said, slipping her fingers through Jacob’s.

  I tucked my hair behind my ear and caught Jacob staring at my wrist. He looked away when he saw me watching him. Callie followed Jacob’s gaze, her eyes widening when she saw my bracelet. Our eyes met and I held my wrist out to her. “Eric gave me a new charm.”

  “Oooh!” Callie squealed. “I love it! That was so sweet.”

  I glanced at Eric. “I know. I’m totally spoiled. Lip gloss from you and a charm from Eric.”

  Jacob shifted and looked away. Callie and I traded glances, but didn’t say anything. We knew it was useless to try and make them be cool with each other.

  It was Eric’s turn at the counter, so he stepped up to order.

  “Hi,” he said. “Two tickets for Zoe’s Guide to Getting the Guy. And I’ll take a large popcorn, one medium Diet Coke and one medium Dr Pepper—”

  I smiled when he knew my favorite soda was Diet Coke and listened as he ordered enough candy to give us a sugar high for a week.

  While Eric waited for his change, it was Jacob’s turn to order. “I need an extra large popcorn, two large Sprites, some king size Skittles, a Hershey’s bar, two boxes of Lemonheads, a box of—”

  “Hey,” Callie said gently, interrupting him. “Are you bringing a second girlfriend on this date? That’s plenty of stuff—really.”

  Jacob turned back to the cashier. “That’s it.”

  “Forget something?” Eric asked Jacob.

  Jacob glared at Eric. “What?”

  Eric hid a smirk. “Tickets, maybe?”

  Jacob’s tan face turned a deep red.

  “I’ve got it,” Callie said in a light tone. “Two tickets for Revenge of the Killer Zombies, please.”

  “Wait,” Jacob said. He leaned forward toward the cashier. “She means tickets for Zoe’s Guide to Getting the Guy.”

  What?

  “We don’t want to see that,” Callie said. “It’s supposed to be a super–girly-romantic movie. You’ll hate it.”

  “We have to see it,” Jacob said, blushing. “Uh, Mr. Ramirez wants us to watch all different kinds of movies. Including ones we normally wouldn’t like.”

  True. But film class was almost over. Jacob was doing this just to bug me. He wanted to tag along on my date with Eric to have a chance to prove the entire time that he was the better boyfriend.

  The cashier handed him the tickets and Jacob loaded his arms with the candy and popcorn. Callie grabbed the sodas.

  Jacob practically stomped off toward the theater.

  Eric and I followed Callie and Jacob into the dimly lit hallway and we made our way down the aisle, looking for empty seats. Callie and Jacob slid into a row in the back.

  I walked until Eric and I were halfway down the theater. “This okay?” I asked.

  Eric nodded. “Perfect.” We found two seats and I smoothed my skirt when I sat down. I tried not to think about the fact that my ex–almost-boyfriend was behind me. I wanted to enjoy my date.

  Eric put the popcorn bucket between us and we put our drinks in the cup holders. The lights dimmed and the movie started
. This was it!

  I reached into the popcorn bucket at the same time Eric did. Our fingers brushed together and I blushed, glad it was dark in the theater. We’d held hands a zillion times, but tonight felt different. I’d almost jerked my hand out of the bucket when he’d touched me.

  I took a handful of popcorn and started munching. Eric passed the Twizzlers to me and I broke off a piece before handing it back to him.

  We watched a few more minutes of the movie, but I wanted to talk to him. “You going riding tomorrow?” I whispered.

  “Yeah. Lesson. But I really want to trail ride. I—”

  “Shhhh!” someone said behind us.

  “Sorry!” Eric and I whispered simultaneously. I tipped watermelon Nerds into my mouth and tried to concentrate on the movie, but I couldn’t. Sitting here and not saying anything was torture! We finished the popcorn and Eric moved the bucket to the empty seat beside him so he could hold my hand over the armrest.

  My hand felt warm and tingly as he held it.

  I looked over at him and we traded a glance—I knew he was thinking the same thing I was.

  “Want to get out of here?” he whispered.

  “Yes!”

  We grabbed our stuff, ducking as we tiptoed down the row and out into the aisle.

  We passed Callie and Jacob. I gave Callie a thumbs up to let her know nothing was wrong. Callie nodded and waved. I felt Jacob’s eyes on me as I followed Eric out of the theater.

  Eric and I finished the final sips of our sodas and tossed the cups with the rest of our trash. He took my hand and we left the noisy media center. I breathed in the chilly spring air, just glad to be out of the theater.

  “I thought I wanted to see a movie,” I said. “But I really just wanted to talk to you!”

  “Me too. I’m glad you wanted to leave.”

  We walked down the well-lit sidewalk and stopped in front of the Sweet Shoppe—the campus’s delicious café/bakery. I loved the sign with typewriter font that hung over the doorway.

  “I have to run in here to get something,” Eric said. “It’s a surprise.”

  “A surprise?” I asked.

  “Yeah. There’s somewhere I want to take you after this.”

  I looked at his face—his eyes were sparkling even in the weak streetlamp light.