Chosen

by Jessica Burkhart

  “That’s the most important thing about fashion,” I said. “Rule number one: If you wear clothes that you really love, ones that make you feel good about yourself and also make you feel comfortable, not only will you look great because of the clothes, but you’ll feel confident. Nothing makes you look better than confidence, Ana. No matter how impressive the label or how glitzy the accessory. You look incredible tonight because you’re glowing with confidence.”

  “I’m going to miss you, Lauren,” Ana said.

  We smiled at each other. Over my shoulder, I saw Taylor talking to his swim team buddies. I caught his eye and motioned that I’d be near the snacks whenever he was done.

  “Be right there,” he mouthed, holding up one finger.

  I didn’t care that he was hanging with his friends. It wasn’t my style to be a clingy, stay-by-my-side-every-second girlfriend. I wanted to party with my friends, too. But I couldn’t shake the way he’d been acting earlier.

  “Let’s grab something to eat and talk,” I suggested.

  Ana followed me, and we both grabbed plates that said YATES in bold navy letters on the bottom.

  “There’s so much food,” Ana said. “I think Brielle was in charge of that.”

  “Is she here yet?” I asked, craning my neck to look around for her.

  Ana scanned the room, then pointed. “There she is.”

  I followed Ana’s gaze. Brielle was already on the dance floor. She’d always been an amazing dancer—she took ballet lessons on days off from riding. Will was dancing next to her and, from the look on his face, Bri had him totally hooked.

  “They look great together!” I said.

  Will, dressed in a button-down white shirt and black dress pants, held his own next to Brielle. His olive-toned skin, dark brown hair, and hazel eyes were all gorgeous.

  I noticed that Bri had curled her dark hair into waves that cascaded around her shoulders, which she’d dusted with iridescent shimmer body powder. Brielle had paired her dress with white-silk kitten heels and a simple, layered silver necklace.

  She looked away from Will, spotting me and Ana. She smiled and mouthed, “Hi!”

  We waved to her.

  “I’m so happy for her,” Ana said. “She really, really wanted to go with Will. I bet they’re the It-Couple next year.”

  “For sure,” I said.

  I reached for a serving spoon from the food table. I loved fruit and I’d just spotted marshmallow fruit salad that I wasn’t passing up. I put a heaping spoonful on my plate, suddenly realizing that I’d had nothing but a slice of pizza and a small Pinkberry all day. Ana, a Mexican food addict, went in the opposite direction. She filled her plate with tortilla chips, a spicy jalapeño dip, and sour cream. I added a cupcake to my plate—vanilla with strawberry buttercream frosting.

  We found two free chairs next to each other and sat down. I dug my fork into the fruit salad and gobbled three bites before Ana had even finished two chips.

  Taylor spotted me and started to break away from his friends, motioning that he’d be right over.

  “How’s everything with you two?” Ana asked, her voice low and close to my ear so no one else would overhear.

  “Um . . . it was a little weird on the ride here,” I admitted. “I think he’s sad that I’m leaving. He’s probably trying not to say anything about it because he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings.”

  “You’re sad to leave him, too,” Ana pointed out, crunching down on a chip. “If Tay were my boyfriend, I’d be upset if he wasn’t sad.”

  “Exactly. It’s complicated—I mean, I certainly don’t want him to be sad. But I do want him to at least tell me that he’ll miss me. I know that’s selfish.”

  “Not really,” Ana said. “Of course you want your boyfriend to think about you. Especially after you just told him you’d be moving hours away for boarding school.”

  Ana and I saw that Taylor was getting closer to us.

  “Just remember,” said Ana. “You don’t have to figure everything out tonight. It’s not like it’ll be the last time you see each other. You’ve got all summer to figure out Lauren-and-Taylor with Canterwood in the picture.”

  Ana had made me feel so much calmer. I wanted to pick her up and spin her around. “You’re so right,” I said, hearing the change of tone in my own voice. “I kept thinking, Tonight’s it! Everything has to be figured out before the dance is over.”

  Ana shook her head. “Not at all.”

  We smiled at Taylor once he reached us. He smiled back and sat next to me. Between hanging with his friends and sitting down with me and Ana, he’d filled his own plate with sliders, BBQ-flavored chips, and a couple of chocolate-chip cookies.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “I didn’t mean to ditch you as soon as we got here.”

  “You didn’t ditch me,” I said. “Ana and I were hanging out, too. Totally fine.”

  Taylor and Ana had always gotten along very well. The three of us fell into easy conversation about summer.

  “You’re going to have to fight us for time with Lauren this summer,” Ana told Taylor in a joking tone. “Brielle and I are planning to steal her as often as we can.”

  Tay tilted his head. “You’re so on.” He looked at me. “You better get out your calendar and start filling it in. This is serious business.”

  “Poor me.” I smiled at them. “Being wanted by my three best friends. This is terrible!”

  Once we’d all finished eating, Taylor took all of our plates to the trash.

  “Ana?”

  Ana and I looked up at Jeremy, a gorgeous, highly sought after boy in our grade.

  “Um . . . Jeremy?” Ana’s voice was squeaky.

  He smiled at her, flashing a set of perfect white teeth. “Do you . . . want to dance with me?”

  Oh, snap! Ana’s eyes darted to me. I wished I could high-five Ana right then and there. If this didn’t prove my point about confidence being the most important rule of fashion, nothing would.

  YES! SAY YES! I screamed at her in my head—trying to signal with my eyes to go with him. But Brielle and I had barely gotten Ana to agree to come to the dance. There was no way she’d say—

  “Sure,” Ana said. “I’d love to. Thanks!”

  I couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open. I looked like a total cliché, but I didn’t care. I was absolutely stunned.

  Ana tossed me a quick smile, smoothed her black skirt and got up, winking at me before she went off with Jeremy—who totes looked happy.

  I half-stood, wanting desperately to get Brielle’s attention. I signaled her with an exaggerated wave, looking like an idiot. But it worked.

  “What?” she mouthed, her arms around Will.

  “Ana!” I mouthed back, nodding in the direction of Ana and Jeremy who were dancing together. Dancing! And laughing.

  Once Brielle saw what I was gesturing toward, her face mirrored my own clichéd one from earlier. She whispered something in Will’s ear, then hurried over to me.

  “How did that happen?” Brielle asked. “Ana’s dancing. At a dance. With a guy. With . . .” She squinted Ana’s way. “Oh. My. God.”

  “I know! He came over and I even felt sorry for him before he even said anything—I mean, I was sure Ana would say no. But before I could bribe her with a trip to the art store, she got up on her own and just went with him!”

  “Wow.” Brielle shook her head, still staring at Jeremy and Ana. “Our little Ana—all grown up.”

  We both pretend sniffled-slash-dabbed imaginary tears and giggled.

  “I won’t keep you, but are you having a crazy fun time with Will?” I asked.

  The sparkle in Brielle’s eyes was unmistakable. “He’s so funny and cute. And smart. I wish we could stay all night. How about you? Where’s Tay?”

  “Ready to dance,” I said. “And here comes Taylor.”

  Brielle winked at me. “Catch up with you later,” she said before giddily running back to the dance floor.

  Taylo
r started to sit back down next to me, but I stood, grabbing his hand. “Dance with me.”

  He smiled. “I thought you’d never ask,” he joked.

  We found an empty space on the packed floor, walking past a bunch of people I knew on our way. It still amazed me when no one said hi—I barely even got a half smile from a couple of girls I’d done a history project with about a month ago. Because of me, those airheads had all gotten A’s. Rudeness, ladies?

  But I kept my head up. I wasn’t going to let anyone make me sad tonight, least of all them. Besides, the more I spoke to Becca, Ana, and Brielle about it, the more I realized that if people were actually going to behave this way, they weren’t my real friends anyway.

  Taylor and I moved to the rhythm of the music. He smiled at me whenever I looked at him, but something still felt off. I didn’t know what was wrong. But I didn’t want to keep bugging him about it either. Taylor would talk to me if there was something serious going on. I’d just have to trust him when he told me nothing was wrong.

  When the fast music changed to a slow song, I stepped closer to Taylor, putting my arms around him. Smiling.

  “I’m so glad we came,” I told him. “I’m having a lot of fun.”

  “Good,” Taylor said. “Me too.”

  We danced, shifting slowly back and forth. I knew he’d wanted to talk about us tonight, but Ana’s words from earlier were in my brain. I didn’t have to settle everything or even anything tonight.

  “Taylor, I know you wanted to talk about us tonight,” I said. “And I want to talk, too, but do we really want to do that here—tonight?”

  I shifted away from Taylor’s ear so I could see the expression on his face. I could see the relief in his eyes.

  “We have all summer together,” I went on, encouraged. “Do you want to just . . . enjoy tonight and figure out us later?”

  Taylor’s eyes never left me “I thought about that too. This isn’t the place. I just want it to be you and me when we get into all that. Tonight’s supposed to be a party—we definitely deserve to enjoy it!”

  I hugged him. “I’m so glad you agree.”

  Tension seeped from my neck and shoulders, my body loosening as we moved on the floor. The music picked back up and Taylor and I grinned at each other while we danced. I noticed that his posture had relaxed, too.

  Tonight, sixth grade would get the send-off it deserved.

  JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY SATURDAY

  THE NEXT MORNING, I WOKE UP WITH A SMILE on my face.

  My first thought was of the dance. Taylor and I had danced until we’d exhausted ourselves. And before his mom picked us up, we’d stepped into a quiet corner of the room. First, we promised to BBM each other over the weekend.

  Then, Taylor had kissed me. Every time we kissed it felt special.

  I touched my lips with my index finger. They still felt tingly—like I’d just woken up after a trip to the dentist and the Novocain was beginning to wear off.

  After our kiss, Taylor said good-bye to his friends and I found Brielle and Ana. Brielle was sitting with Will, their heads close together as they talked. I told her I’d text her tomorrow and gave her a hug before leaving. Ana was still on the opposite side of the floor with Jeremy.

  “Hey,” I’d said. “Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to say bye before Taylor and I left.”

  “I hope you had fun,” Ana said, hugging me. Then she leaned into me and whispered, “Jeremy’s awesome.”

  I grinned.

  “Did you have a good time?” I asked Jeremy.

  I didn’t know him that well, but we’d talked a couple of times.

  “Really great,” Jeremy said with a smitten look on his face. “I didn’t know that Ana was an artist, too.”

  “I didn’t know you were,” I said. “That’s cool! What’s your specialty?”

  “I mostly sketch and paint,” he said.

  “We’ve been talking about art all night,” Ana said.

  I’d never heard her like this. She sounded so happy and her voice was flirty.

  “I’m glad you asked my best friend to dance,” I told Jeremy. “See you guys later.”

  I left them, and before I was two feet away, they were already back to talking.

  I snapped out of last night’s memories and climbed out of bed, not wanting to be late for my first riding lesson of the summer. Kim had changed weekend hours so that my lesson now started an hour later, but I wanted to get to the stable at my usual time. Every second I wasn’t with my friends and family, I planned to spend at the stable.

  Because in a few months, I’d be at Canterwood.

  No matter how many shows I’d competed in or how many teams I’d ridden for, Canterwood was completely different. Canterwood wasn’t like anything I’d experienced before. I knew I couldn’t take Cricket with me and there was no way to predict what kind of school horse I’d get, so I had to prepare myself as much as I could. That meant riding. Lots and lots of riding.

  I pulled on tan breeches and a ballet pink distressed tee before heading downstairs. Mom and Dad were at the breakfast table, sipping coffee and talking.

  “Morning,” I said, cheerful.

  They both looked at me, smiles on their faces.

  “What?” I asked slowly. “What’s going on?”

  “Come sit for a second,” Dad said, patting the seat next to him with his palm. “Your mom and I want to talk to you.”

  Oh, no. Had Headmistress Drake changed her mind? Maybe Canterwood didn’t want me anymore.

  I almost saw spots as I sat down slowly. “Did Canterwood change its mind?” I said, unable to keep it in. “Are you trying to find a nice way to tell me? Because if you are, I’d rather just know now. Just . . . tell me.”

  “No, honey. No!” Mom said, putting her hand over mine. “You’re still going to Canterwood—no one’s going to change their minds. That’s not it at all.”

  “Oh.” I slumped in my chair, the spots beginning to dissipate one by one. I remembered how to breathe and put that action into practice.

  Dad cleared his throat, looking from Mom to me. They were still making me nervous. I wished they’d just tell me what was going on.

  “Lauren, your mom and I have been talking a lot about Canterwood,” Dad said. “We’re just so proud of you for getting accepted. We didn’t give you a gift for your big acceptance—or for graduation—because we had to wait.”

  I shook my head, confused. “I didn’t expect a gift, but wait, why did you have to wait?”

  “We had to wait for Kim,” Mom said.

  The more either of them said, the more confused I got!

  “Kim? Why?”

  “Honey, your mom and I wanted to give you something that you’ve deserved for a long, long time. You’ve always done well in school. But you’ve had outstanding grades at Yates. You’re a responsible young woman. And when you got accepted into Canterwood . . . we asked Kim for help. To connect us with a few local breeders.”

  All I could do was just stare. And I still had no clue where they were going with any of this.

  Mom laughed, touching my hand. “Lauren, next week, we’re going to start looking for your very own horse. You deserve it. We’d really like you to have your own horse at Canterwood.”

  “Breathe,” Dad said, grinning at me.

  “Oh. I mean, oh. A horse. That’s . . . ” All I could do was giggle. I felt hysterical. “Are you . . . you’re not kidding?”

  “We’re very serious,” Dad said. “We talked to Kim about it and she also agreed that you needed a horse to train and grow with at Canterwood.”

  “A horse,” I repeated in shock. “My own horse!”

  “You’ve always ridden stable horses, which Kim thinks made you a stronger rider,” Mom said. “But it’s time. You’re going to have your own horse, Lauren.”

  “I can’t. Believe this,” I whispered.

  It felt like my brain was going to explode.

  I hadn’t even thought about a horse of my o
wn. It just . . . never occurred to me. Canterwood had been enough all on its own—I’d been excited to just ride any horse they had. But now I was getting a horse that was mine—a horse I could name. And love. And never have to share with anyone if I didn’t want.

  My. Own. Horse.

  “We had to wait because Kim had to call reputable farms in the area first,” Mom explained. “She wanted to be there. To help you choose a horse that fits you best. Your dad and I don’t know anything about horses, so we wanted to make sure we could work with her schedule next week. To visit the farms with us. All of us.”

  It was really starting to sink in now. My own horse! “This is the best present ever!” I said, my voice finally coming out above a whisper. I jumped up, hugging Mom and Dad. “Thank you! Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome, sweetie,” Dad said. “Thank you for being the kind of daughter we trust enough to give a present like this. We can’t wait to find the perfect horse for you, baby.”

  “I promise I’ll be even more responsible,” I said. “You won’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll—”

  Mom shook her head, laughing now. “Laur, you don’t have to tell us that. We aren’t worried at all. You’ve treated every horse you’ve ever ridden as if it were your own. You could have handed them off to a groom like a lot of the kids I’ve seen. But you never have. You’ve more than proven your responsibility.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Maybe Mom paid more attention to me than I’d thought. I turned to Dad, tears spilling down my cheeks now. “Dad,” I said, my voice wobbly. “Thank you.”

  Dad smiled. “We start looking Monday morning, Laur-Bell. Just be prepared. Kim will want you to try a few horses. It’ll be hard, so don’t fall in love with the first horse you ride. And don’t worry if it takes awhile to connect with the right horse. We’ve got plenty of time.”

  I nodded. “I know. I definitely want to find the absolute right horse. Oh my God, I have to tell Brielle and Ana. They’re going to freak! Dad, can we go?”

  “Go get your boots, Bell. We’ll go right away.”

  I jumped up, hugging them each again before dashing to my closet to grab my boots. I shoved my feet into them, then realized I needed my bag. Then I realized something bigger than my bag. Becca! I yanked my boots off (house rules) and ran to Becca’s bedroom. The door was closed. I knew she was still sleeping, but I had to tell her now. Otherwise, I’d burst.