“Sitting trot, bring her through the center, and change directions,” I said.
Eric brought Luna to a smooth trot. I watched his legs, hands, and back. All fine. But after a few seconds, my attention started to wander. I visualized us on the trails, riding side by side. It would start to snow, and Eric would have flakes stuck to his eyelashes. We’d stop by the creek and he’d brush the snow out of my hair. Then he’d lean in and…
“Sasha?”
I jumped. “Huh? What?” I asked.
Are my hands okay?” Eric asked.
“Yes, yep,” I stammered. I shook my head, covering my smile with my hand. I had to pay attention. I wanted Eric to be the best on the intermediate team. If only Eric had transferred to Canterwood in time for the advanced team tryouts. But he’d make it this fall.
Half an hour later, Luna’s coat started to darken with sweat. I’d somehow managed to focus for the rest of the lesson and hadn’t let up on Eric once. I might have taken out some of my frustration about Callie and Jacob on Eric. I’d been making him work hard.
“Pull her up for a sec,” I said. “Then you can jump.”
Eric stopped Luna in front of me and wiped fake sweat off his forehead. “For a second, I thought you were going to make me do a sitting trot until my legs fell off!”
“I considered it,” I teased. “But I felt sorry for Luna.”
Eric laughed. “Weren’t you afraid to critique me, what, half an hour ago?”
“I guess I got over that!”
“You think?”
The dizzy/warm feeling swept through me. I pretended to be fascinated by Luna’s bridle so I didn’t have to look at Eric.
“What’s my jumping order, coach?” Eric asked.
I looked at the far side of the arena. “The two verticals, the oxer, the double oxer, another vertical, turn, and then take the jump with the flower boxes.”
“Okay. I’ll try not to embarrass myself,” Eric said.
“Oh, please,” I said. “You’ll be fine. Count strides in your head if you need to.”
Eric nodded, touching his crop to his helmet in a salute. “Here goes!”
I crossed my fingers as he urged Luna into a canter and pointed her toward the first red and white vertical. Please don’t knock a rail, I thought. I didn’t want Eric to feel self-conscious if he messed up in front of me.
Luna tucked her forelegs under her body as she leaped into the air. She landed with ease on the other side and started toward the next vertical. She jumped it and headed for the oxer—white boards with caution cones on either side. Mr. Conner wanted to introduce our horses to as many strange objects as possible. That would help cut down on spooks during show jumping or cross-country. Luna’s ears flicked back when she saw the cones, but Eric deepened his seat and squeezed his legs against her sides. Luna jumped without hesitation.
As Eric guided Luna over the other obstacles and headed to the final jump, I didn’t want to blink and miss a second of his ride. Eric must be one of the best show jumpers at Canterwood! His timing was insane, and he encouraged Luna to be confident as she jumped.
Eric slowed Luna to a trot and patted her neck. She tossed her head, sending her mane flying.
“I can’t believe you!” I said. I hurried over to Luna and tried not to jump up and down like a fan girl at a rock concert. “You never told me you could jump like that.”
Eric smiled as he dismounted. “Is that good or bad?”
“Oh, stop,” I whacked his arm. “That was amazing, Eric. Seriously. You’re one of the best jumpers at school and you know it.”
He laughed. “I don’t know about that, but thanks. That means a lot coming from the cross-country star.”
Luna snorted and I rubbed her shoulder. She’d been amazing too.
Eric took off his helmet and snapped it to one of the stirrup irons. “It’s only because I have the most talented, awesome instructor. And cute. I mean, that Mr. Conner is so…”
Eric burst into laughter when he got a look at my face. “Kidding! I’m talking about you, Coach Silver.”
“Oh,” I whispered, feeling a blush burning my cheeks.
Luna, probably bored with our talking, nudged Eric’s arm.
“I’ll walk with you while you cool her out,” I said.
“Okay. And feel free to critique me,” Eric said.
I mock-rolled my eyes. “Yeah, after that jumping round, you really need help. No way you won’t make the advanced team in the fall.”
I helped Eric untack Luna, and after he left the stable, I spent a few minutes with Charm, who was in desperate need of a treat. A couple of days ago, I’d managed to sneak a bit of cake frosting into the stable fridge as a surprise for Charm. I brought him a carrot coated with vanilla frosting.
I laughed as he devoured the carrot, icing sticking to his whiskers. “Aw, Charm,” I said. “Let me get a paper towel.”
I walked to the tack room and paused when I heard voices inside.
“Oh, my gosh. He is the hottest guy at the stable,” said a girl.
“Yeah, Rachel, but so is Ben,” said another voice.
I peered through the slightly open door and saw six of the beginner and intermediate riders huddled together in the tack room. Who were they talking about? I grinned—Callie would absolutely love this. It was perfect gossip. I reached for my phone and stopped. Oh. For a second, I’d almost forgotten I couldn’t call her.
“So is Andy!” added another girl. “I heart him. But Eric’s definitely the hottest.”
No.
Way.
They were talking about Eric! I peered through the door and watched the girls toss a purple rubber currycomb around.
“That hair,” said one of the beginners. “And his smile. He actually said hi to me yesterday. I thought I was going to die.”
The girl sighed. Over Eric. My Eric.
I shook my head. These girls—all of them—noticed how amazing (and adorable) Eric was. How had I missed it for so long?
“He doesn’t have a girlfriend,” one girl said. “I’m sure of it. I bet he asks me out!”
Okaaay. This was getting to be a little much for me. Jealously flared in my chest. I knew Eric wasn’t interested in anyone else, but still. I didn’t even want to think about him going out with another girl. I hadn’t even been out with him yet!
“He could ask me out,” said a girl holding a Sprite.
“No, he already said hi to me, remember? Next step—a date.”
This was torture! I held myself back from walking inside and shouting, “He’s mine! Taken!”
I couldn’t say that. Instead, I just stepped into the tack room without saying a word. The girls looked up at me.
“Hey,” they said.
“Hi,” I said, taking my time getting a paper towel.
“Well, when Eric asks me out first,” said a girl with braces, “I won’t say, ‘Told you so.’”
I turned, pretending to look surprised. “Are you talking about Eric Rodriguez?”
The girls nodded, their heads doing the bobblehead thing.
“He’s got a girlfriend,” I said. “I heard it from one of my friends in Winchester.”
Their gleeful expressions faded. “Seriously?” said one of the intermediate riders.
“Sorry,” I said. “I hear they’re superclose.” I started toward the door, trying to keep myself from smiling.
“So, Eric’s taken,” a girl said. There were a few seconds of silence. “What about Troy?”
I held back my laughter until I was safely down the hallway.
When I got back to Winchester, Paige was waiting for me. She pointed to my desk chair. “Sit,” she commanded.
I sat, surprised.
“What exactly happened at the end of the clinic?” Paige asked. “You haven’t talked to Callie all day and you’re not even trying to talk to Jacob.”
I knew I owed Paige an explanation.
“Jacob and I are never getting back together,” I s
aid, wanting to get this part over with fast. “He came to the clinic to see Callie. They started talking after the Sweetheart Soirée and now they’re going out.”
Paige sat up straighter at the end of her bed. “Are you serious? Sasha, I’m so sorry. And Callie just told you on Saturday?”
“Nope. Julia did. Callie said she never meant for it to happen and she really, really likes Jacob…” I sighed. “I just got her back as my friend after the Eric mess.”
“She ignored you for weeks because she thought you liked Eric, even though you didn’t, and now—”
“And now I find out she was keeping the Jacob thing from me all this time,” I finished.
“I can’t believe her,” Paige said. “It’s hard to imagine Callie doing something like that.”
“I know.” I got up and walked over to my closet, busying myself by searching for an outfit for school tomorrow. “I never thought she’d go behind my back like that.”
“At least Jacob never got that e-mail you sent him during the clinic,” Paige said.
I nodded. “That would have been embarrassing. He would have gotten my ‘Hey, Jacob. I still like you and want you back’ e-mail after he was already with Callie. Awkward.”
“You don’t think the Belles will try to use the e-mail against you again, do you?” Paige asked.
I bit my lip. I still hadn’t been able to figure out how the Belles had found out about my confessional e-mail to Jacob. They’d used their knowledge of the e-mail to blackmail me into almost participating in the stupid dare that got me suspended from riding. The only explanation I’d been able to come up with was that they somehow hacked into my e-mail. Thankfully, Jacob said he’d never gotten the e-mail…and with any luck, it was sitting in some spam-mail folder somewhere, never to be seen again.
“I don’t know,” I confessed to Paige. “But it doesn’t matter—Jacob’s with Callie now.”
I considered telling Paige about Eric, but something stopped me. I wanted to keep the secret to myself for just a little while longer.
5
BIOHAZARD
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ALREADY MONDAY morning!” Paige called from the bathroom. She put her brush away and stepped out, looking fab in dark-wash jeans with brown patent leather ankle boots and a blue and white striped sweater. She looked like she’d stepped off the set of Teen Cuisine—the soon-to-be-aired cooking show she hosted. Paige would so be dressing me when I got ready for my future first date with Eric.
“Don’t remind me,” I said. I opened up my e-mail and clicked on a message from Mr. Conner.
Dear seventh and eighth grade advanced teams:
Even though you are not allowed to ride,
it’s expected that you will care for your horse
in the morning until your lessons resume.
—Mr. Conner
Not that I’d ever skip seeing Charm in the morning anyway—but the Trio was probably groaning about still having to get up superearly to groom their horses.
“I’ve got to go,” Paige said, grabbing her messenger bag and piling her arms with books. “I have to meet with my English teacher before class. See you at lunch!”
She left and I pulled on a pair of jeans, a red waffle-knit shirt, and my paddock boots. As I left Winchester and headed across campus, I realized that my chances of avoiding Callie were basically zero. She’d be at the stable caring for Black Jack, her supersweet Morab gelding.
I figured Callie might try to apologize again, but I still wasn’t ready to hear it. Callie had texted and called me half a dozen times, but I’d deleted the unopened texts and let the voice mails pile up in my inbox. The back-and-forth of being friends one minute and not the next was too painful. And now Jacob was involved. I didn’t even want to think about what I’d say to him when film class started. Ugh.
When I passed Jack’s stall, I saw he was alone inside. Down the aisle, Jasmine had Phoenix in crossties while she groomed him. She peered under the gray gelding’s neck and looked at Julia and Alison, who were filling their horses’ water buckets. Julia laughed when Trix, her bay mare, lipped at the hose and sent a spray of water into the air.
I stopped and watched as Jas put down Phoenix’s body brush and walked over to Julia and Alison. Jas’s confident stride faltered when two-thirds of the Trio stopped giggling and glared at her.
“What do you want?” Julia snapped, brushing a lock of her blond bob out of her face.
Alison folded her arms. “Yeah, don’t you have someone else to bother?”
I cringed a little for Jasmine.
“I was just saying hi,” Jasmine said. “Is Heather around?”
Julia stepped forward. “That is so none of your business. And if you don’t stay away from her, we’ll make sure you go back to Wellington.”
Jasmine paused before she lifted her chin into the air. “Wow,” she said. “Insecure much?”
She turned away from them and saw me. I hurried down the aisle, passing her and Phoenix. I felt her eyes burning my back as I went to Charm’s stall. I clipped a lead line to his halter and led him in the opposite direction of Phoenix.
“I’ve got to hurry, boy. Sorry,” I said. “Gotta get to class.”
Charm snorted and stared at me. He knew that wasn’t true. I just wanted to get out of there before I saw Callie. Ignoring Charm’s knowing gaze, I picked his hooves and whisked the body brush over him. No Callie. I unclipped him and we went back to his stall. Still no Callie. I gave Charm fresh hay, clean water, and a few scoops of grain. Callie never appeared.
“See you later,” I told Charm, kissing his muzzle. He popped his head over the stall door and watched me walk away.
I’d really expected Callie to come find me the second I got to the stable. Didn’t she feel like she had to apologize again for going behind my back with Jacob?
An hour later, I took my seat in bio class. Julia turned around to look at me.
“I did not miss this class over break,” she said.
“Me either,” Alison agreed.
Bio wasn’t my fave class and most (read: all) of the time, I wasn’t thrilled to share the class with Julia and Alison. But today I actually wanted to talk to them.
I leaned forward in my seat. My eyes flickered over Alison’s notebook and I saw a sketch of an Arabian standing proudly with a raised tail—just like Sunstruck. The gorgeous drawing was gallery worthy. Alison closed the notebook when she caught me staring.
“So what’s the deal with Jasmine?” I asked. “Do you think she’s really trying to make friends?”
Alison smirked. “Puh-lease. She wants to get into our group, learn our secrets, and find a way to get back at Heather for beating her at the regionals. Not gonna happen.”
“Yeah, it’s obvi that she’s still after Heather,” Julia said.
The classroom door opened, and Julia and Alison turned back to face the whiteboard. Ms. Peterson, our always tough teacher, stepped inside.
Followed by none other than Jasmine.
“No. Way,” Alison muttered.
“Class,” Ms. Peterson said. “I’d like you to welcome a new student—Jasmine King. Jasmine just transferred from Wellington Preparatory.”
Jasmine smiled shyly at the class, looking every bit the scared new girl. She should totally sign up for drama class.
“She is starting late in the year,” Ms. Peterson continued. “So I expect all of you to offer her help if she needs it. Jasmine, go ahead and choose an empty seat.”
Jasmine’s eyes landed on my face. Seriously?! No! But she practically skipped across the room and slid into the seat next to mine. She tossed her loose dark curls over her shoulder and grinned.
I opened my notebook, ignoring her. Wasn’t it enough that she lived in Winchester?
“Jasmine?” Ms. Peterson asked. “Did you pick up your books yet?”
“I was so excited this morning that I got there too early and the bookstore was closed,” Jas said sweetly. “Then I left right away for class s
o I wouldn’t be a second late on my first day.”
In front of me, Alison choked back a snort.
Jasmine = fake.
“All right,” Ms. Peterson said. “Well, you may share books with Sasha for today.”
I knew Ms. Peterson secretly hated me. I slumped in my seat.
Jasmine scooted her chair closer to mine and leaned over my book. Her lilac-scented body spray made my nose itch, and I inched away from her. This was going to be the longest class ever.
Once classes were over for the day, Paige and I met up back in our room to rehash.
“What awful things did Jas do in bio class?” Paige asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “That’s the problem. All of the teachers think she’s perfect because she never does anything mean when they’re around.”
“She’s good,” she agreed. “But maybe she’ll have her books tomorrow and you won’t have to share.”
“Hopefully. She’ll probably get there ‘too early’ again.” I slammed my math book shut for emphasis.
Paige looked up from her desk, where she was doing homework. “Stuck?”
“No, I just feel like riding Charm right now and I can’t. It’s not fair. I bet Jasmine is riding right now.”
“Can’t you do something else with Charm? He loves hanging out with you.”
I nodded, thinking. “I could walk him. Maybe on the trails.”
“Oh! Can I come?” Paige asked, swiveling in her desk chair to look at me. “I’ve never been on the horse trails.”
“Really? I’d love that! Let’s go before it gets dark.”
We got up and pulled on coats, hats, and scarves. Paige started to grab a pair of furry snow boots, but I shook my head.
“You need these,” I said, pointing to my spare pair of paddock boots. “In case Charm steps on you.” It was one of the many times I’d been thankful that Paige and I shared a shoe size.
Paige’s eyes widened as she took the boots. “Steps…on…me?”
“He won’t. Promise,” I said. This was exactly what I needed—a walk with both of my best friends.
The Canterwood Crest Stable of Books Page 49
