She watched us ride over the cavalletti again—not one horse ticked a rail.
“Excellent.” Miss Cho smiled. “Thank you. I’ll see you at the next class.”
As I led Charm out of the arena, Heather and Aristocrat came in from the outdoor arena. She looked behind me, watching Cole, Aaron, and Violet leave the arena. “Where’s Jasmine?” she asked.
“She got kicked out,” I said. “It was awful. She rushed Phoenix over cavalletti and didn’t listen when Miss Cho told her to stop. She’s waiting for Miss Cho in Mr. Conner’s office.”
Heather grinned. “I feel bad for Phoenix, but not for Jasmine. The instructors needed to see what kind of rider she really is.”
“No kidding. I can’t wait for her to just go back to Wellington already.” Callie would have loved this, I thought. She’d disliked Jasmine ever since Jas had harassed me at the Junior Equestrian Regionals. I frowned.
Heather looked at me and slowed Aristocrat. “Thinking about Callie?”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “I just wish we could all stop fighting.”
I stopped Charm by his stall and Heather led Aristocrat forward. “This hurts me to say, but we’re more alike than I thought,” Heather said.
“What? How?”
“We both chose to give up our friends for guys we weren’t supposed to have.” Heather turned and walked off.
“I don’t ‘have’ Eric!” I called after her. “For the millionth time, we’re just friends!”
But Heather was already gone.
20
THANKS, BUT NO
MR. CONNER’S CLINIC, DAY 9
ESTIMATED TIME TILL I GET CALLIE BACK: SOON!
I WALKED ACROSS THE CAF TO AN EMPTY TABLE. Along the way, my stomach growled so loud, I looked around to see if anyone else heard it. But no one was looking at me. Phew. I slid into my seat and tried not to stuff my face with fries.
“Hungry, huh?” Eric asked, taking a seat across from me.
I nodded. “I can’t believe it’s already Tuesday,” I said. “The demo’s on Saturday!”
“I know. I can’t wait to watch you ride.” He took a giant bite of his turkey and lettuce sub.
“Did you hear anything about what happened to Jasmine, by the way? I left before I could find out what happened.”
Eric put down his sandwich. “She got suspended from today’s classes. She has to watch from the side.”
“Oooh, man. She’s going to be ma-ad today!”
“You should have seen her leave Mr. Conner’s office,” Eric said. “Her face was beet red and she stomped away so hard, I’m surprised her boot heels didn’t break off.”
We laughed and I looked around to be sure Jasmine wasn’t lurking to spill something on me again. But luckily, she was never in the cafeteria—and today was no exception.
“Oh! Did you text Callie yet?” I asked. “I’m dying for you to ask her out. She’ll be so excited!”
“Actually…,” Eric started. He looked at his lap.
“What? You haven’t texted her yet?”
“No, I did. But she said no.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“She said thanks, but no.” Eric shrugged.
“Ohmigod! What is wrong with her?! She’s wanted to go out with you for forever. Text her again. She must just been surprised or maybe—”
“Sash, it’s okay. Really. She said no. It’s no big deal.”
Why wasn’t he more upset about this? I folded my arms on the table and banged my head against them. “It is a big deal. This was supposed to prove to Callie that I never betrayed her.”
“I’m sure you’ll find another way,” Eric said.
“Unless…,” Maybe Callie didn’t care about Eric because she was back to the old Callie! The all-boys-annoy-me Callie. Maybe she’d just needed time. Maybe she’d even listen to me now.
Eric looked at me suspiciously. “Uh-oh. You already thought of another way, didn’t you?”
I smiled. He knew me too well.
“Now that you’re done setting me up,” Eric teased. “Want to study?”
“Sure.” I pulled out my handbook and we got to work.
21
MY EX-BFF HAS A BF
CHARM AND I HEADED TO JUMPING CLASS WITH Ms. Thorne. I’d looked around for Callie while grooming and tacking up Charm, but hadn’t seen her.
Violet and I were the first ones in the arena. We mounted our horses and started to warm them up.
“Ready for tomorrow?” Violet asked, adjusting the collar of her pretty, royal blue mockneck bell coat. I’d never get away with a nice coat like that around Charm! He’d sneeze, drool, or snort on me and my clothes would be ruined.
“I’m ready,” I said.
Jasmine walked into the arena and leaned against the wall.
Cole and Aaron led their horses inside and Ms. Thorne walked in right after them. Ms. Thorne had a look on her face that made me shiver. Today was going to be tough.
“Are all of your horses warmed up?” she asked.
“Yes,” we told her in unison.
“Good. We’re going to be jumping a few low verticals…”
Easy.
“…without stirrups,” Ms. Thorne continued.
Never mind.
“Go ahead and cross your stirrups over the pommel and sit deep in your saddle.”
This was going to be painful. I sighed and waited for my turn. This time, I would not obsess about the e-mail—or Callie. I would stay focused. Charm and I had to do better.
Forty-five minutes later, I pulled Charm to a trot as we finished our final ride.
“Best ride of the class, Sasha,” Ms. Thorne said. “Maybe you should ride without stirrups from now on.”
Everyone except Jasmine laughed. Charm and I’d had a great ride—one of the best in days! That’s how we needed to perform from now on. I patted Charm’s neck and Ms. Thorne dismissed the class. I led Charm out of the arena and walked to cool him down.
I looked for Eric—I had to tell him about my ride! But he wasn’t in the aisles. I hurried to untack and groom Charm.
“You were sooo good today, boy,” I said. I put him in his stall and kissed his muzzle. “Love you.”
Charm sniffed my hair for a second and then moved over to his hay net.
I gathered Charm’s tack and carried it to the tack room.
“…she thinks we don’t know about her boyfriend…”
I stopped outside the door and peeked inside. Julia and Alison were huddled together by the saddle racks.
“Seriously. Could Callie be more obvious with the texting? Do you know who he is?” Alison asked.
Callie. Had. A boyfriend. I stopped midbreath.
My supposed-to-be BFF had a BF and she didn’t tell me!! I struggled not to drop Charm’s saddle with my sweaty hands. That’s why she said no to Eric. She’d been dating someone and I’d had no clue. She obviously didn’t even think of herself as my friend anymore—otherwise, she would have told me. I slumped against the wall.
“No—but I’m going to find out who he is,” Julia said. “Then we’ll decide what to do.”
“She’d probably spill if we asked her,” Alison added.
Julia laughed. “Where’s the fun in that?”
I shifted closer to the door. I wanted to burst in and tell them not to mess with Callie, but I knew they’d just deny that they were up to anything.
“I’ll try to grab her phone,” Alison said. “Once we know who he is, then we can decide how to use that info.”
They laughed and I clenched the saddle leather with my fingers. Without Heather, Julia and Alison had stepped up their game.
Boots scuffed against the floor and I darted away from the door, dragging Charm’s tack with me.
Callie could not trust them! I had to warn her that—no. No. Callie hadn’t listened to me for weeks. She didn’t want to be my friend. She’d chosen Julia and Alison as her new BFFs. She’d never believe me anyway.
After I was sure Julia and Alison were gone, I put Charm’s tack away and left the stable. Even though I’d had a great ride, as I walked back to Winchester, I was completely obsessed with Callie and her secret boyfriend.
Why had Callie given me such a hard time about Eric if she’d already had a boyfriend? And, most important of all, who was he?
22
MY NUMBER-ONE GUY
MR. CONNER’S CLINIC, DAY 10
HOURS UNTIL BELLES MEETING: 16
TODAY WAS THE DAY. WELL, TOMORROW, I guess, since I wasn’t meeting the Belles until midnight.
I knew the day would drag if I didn’t stay busy, so I’d been at Charm’s stall by seven in the morning. It was only eight now, and I’d already groomed every inch of him. I rubbed my fingers over his soft blaze and inspected my grooming job.
“Charm, you look so handsome,” I told him. His coat had a deep sheen and his blaze was blinding white.
He tilted his head and gave me a look that said, like that’s news.
I tacked him up and led him down the aisle. The stable was super-quiet today. Most of the riders were just starting to arrive and the horses peeked sleepily over their stall doors.
A low rumble came from Charm’s throat. I looked up to see Callie and Jack standing in front of us.
“Hey,” I said cautiously.
“Hi,” Callie said. I noticed that she had a coat of mascara on and sparkly pink lip gloss. Callie never wore makeup to the stable. Ever. This was boyfriend related.
“Listen,” I said. “Can we talk sometime? I know—”
“Cal! C’mon!” Alison and Sunstruck stepped between me and Callie. She grabbed Callie’s arm and pulled her away. “We’ve got to get to our lesson.”
Callie turned back to me. “I’ve got to go,” Callie said to me. She, Alison, Sunstruck, and Jack walked toward the indoor arena.
I stared after her. Jealousy rippled through me. Callie had a boyfriend and my almost-boyfriend Jacob wouldn’t even e-mail me back. Plus, she had Julia and Alison—two new best friends who hung out with her every second. At least you’ve got Eric, I reminded myself. Otherwise, I’d be totally alone.
I led Charm outside. His tail whipped from side to side and he yanked his head up and down. The reins slipped through my gloved fingers and I tightened my grip.
He sulked through Miss Cho’s entire dressage lesson. My mood didn’t help, either. Miss Cho told me twice to pay attention, but I just couldn’t focus. Julia and Alison’s voices swirled in my head and I kept remembering how many times I’d seen Callie texting her mystery guy. Charm and I moved mechanically through the drills.
After dressage, I had a break. I avoided everyone and took Charm to the back of the stable while we waited for Mr. Bright’s class to start. He was supposed to teach us about herbal supplements for winter feeding.
“Sasha?” Doug asked, walking up to me.
“Yeah?”
“Mr. Bright had to cancel classes today. He had to leave for a family emergency.”
“Oh, no! What happened?”
“His daughter was practicing cross-country today and her horse refused a jump. He slid right into a solid log and she went over his head and broke her shoulder.”
“Oh, my God. Is she okay?”
Doug nodded. “She’ll be fine. But Mr. Bright wanted to see her.”
“Of course,” I said. “Thanks for telling me.”
Doug nodded and walked away, probably to let the other students know.
Accidents happened, but it didn’t make them any less scary. Poor Mr. Bright had probably freaked when he’d gotten that call. A vision flashed in front of me—Charm slamming into a log because I wasn’t paying attention.
I leaned against Charm and sighed. “That can’t happen to us, boy,” I said. I couldn’t keep losing focus. I’d been so busy sulking and fixating on my problems that I’d forgotten to look out for my number one guy—Charm. He didn’t deserve that.
“Let’s get you untacked and back in your stall so you can rest, boy,” I said. “You get the rest of today off. We’ll start practicing hard tomorrow for the demo. We’ll work as long as it takes to be sure we’re ready for scouts, okay?”
Charm winked at me. I led him down the aisle, feeling better than I had in days. I just wished it hadn’t taken a serious spill to make me see what was really important.
23
HE WANTS TO BE WHAT?!
BACK AT WINCHESTER, I GEARED UP FOR A long night of studying. I threw on my royal blue leggings, fuzzy crème-colored socks, and a thermal knit top. I half dried my hair—just enough so I wouldn’t be cold—and then curled up in front of the warm fireplace in the common room.
I opened up my handbook and a bag of Chex Mix and began to read a passage about poisonous pasture plants. It was just past noon—twelve hours left until I met the Belles.
I’d made it through thirty pages when my phone rang.
OMG…that ringtone!
!!!!
I swiped my phone off the coffee table and blinked at the screen. JACOB.
“Hi,” I said, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt.
“Um, hey, Sasha,” Jacob said. “Look…”
I could hear him breathing. My chest felt crushed. Would he hang up on me before I got to say—
“I’m sorry!” we both blurted out at the same time.
“Can I go first?” Jacob asked, laughing a little.
“Sure.”
He took a breath. “I’ve been a total jerk to you. I knew how much Heather bothered you…and I totally should have talked about it to you. I handled everything all wrong at the Sweetheart Soirée. And I shouldn’t have avoided you after that. I’m really sorry.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding pretty much since the Soirée.
“I’m sorry, too,” I said hurriedly. “I was wrong to believe Heather over you. I should have talked to you the second I started worrying about the whole Heather thing. It was horrible the way I yelled at you in front of everyone.”
“It’s both our faults,” Jacob said.
“I know. But it shouldn’t have happened.”
“Well, I know we can’t take it back.” He paused. “But I don’t want to be stuck on it forever.”
“Me neither.”
“I’m okay if you’re okay.” Jacob’s tone lightened.
“I am now.”
We both laughed nervous laughs.
“Phew,” I said. “I’m glad that’s over.”
“Me too.”
“Have you been offline this whole time?” I asked. “It took you forever to read my e-mail.”
“E-mail? I didn’t get one from you.”
Um.
“You didn’t? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, or I would have e-mailed you back. Let me check again….”
I heard Jacob’s computer whir to life as he checked his e-mail. OMG, if he never got my e-mail then that meant he was calling me on his own. He’d wanted to talk to me! We had a chance to get back together and start over. I hugged myself with my free arm. A log crackled in the fireplace and cast a spark up into the chimney.
“Nope, nothing,” he said. “That’s so weird.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m just glad you called.”
Now he’d tell me he couldn’t wait to see me…
“It was good to talk. I’m glad we can still be friends after everything.”
“Yeah! I’m so happy we’re…”
WAIT! Did he say friends?
“…um, friends,” I finished, hoping he’d correct me.
“I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you around campus soon,” Jacob said.
“Right,” I mumbled. “Bye.”
The line went dead and I stared at the phone. He’d said friends. And meant it.
OH.
MY.
GOD.
NO!
I buried my head in my hands.
The e-mail! It was still out there! The one where I told him
everything about how sorry I was and how I still liked him. What if it just showed up in his inbox and he read it after he’d just told me he wanted to be “friends”? “Great,” I said aloud. “Just great.” I flopped onto my back on the couch and covered my burning face with a pillow. So much for not worrying about the little things. But this wasn’t little. That was huge. I moaned into the pillow and kept it over my face.
I was not going to do this. I pulled off the pillow and sat up. When Jacob came back to Canterwood after break, I’d track him down and we’d talk. Again. And again…until he believed that I was sorry. He still liked me—I knew he did. He’d realize that once he saw me.
I smiled to myself. There. I had a plan and I would get him back. I could do this. But until then, I was all about the clinic. Jacob would be so proud when I told him how Charm and I had impressed the scouts.
I opened my handbook again and started to read. Eleven hours to go.
24
INITIATION
BUZZZZZ! I ROLLED OVER IN BED AND HIT THE off button on my phone alarm. 11:45 p.m. I had no idea how I’d managed to fall asleep, but somehow I’d drifted off and had been able to get at least a couple hours of rest.
I left my lamp off, in case Livvie decided to patrol the hallway, and turned on the bathroom light. I shut the door so that just enough light peeked through and slipped out of my oversize Hello Kitty sleep shirt and matching pink pants. I pulled out the clothes I’d so carefully borrowed from Paige’s closet—a black cowl-neck sweater and dark-wash boot cut jeans—and paired them with my dark brown paddock boots.
In the bathroom, I ran my fingers through the tangled waves in my air-dried hair. Last, I needed Lip Smackers. A quick coat of Wild Raspberry and I was ready.
I stuffed my keys and phone into my pocket. The door creaked as I eased it open and I held my breath. The hallway was dark, except for the low-lit wall fixtures that cast amber-colored light up the walls.
No sign of Livvie.
The Canterwood Crest Stable of Books Page 41
