Best Enemies (Canterwood Crest) (17 page)

TODAY WAS SCARY FINAL DAY FOR ME.

Biology.

If I didn’t pass biology, it wouldn’t matter if my YENT tryout ride was flawless. I
had
to get good grades. I turned away from the classroom door and leaned against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut and taking a deep breath.

“You okay?”

When I opened my eyes, Callie and Jacob were standing in front of me.

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “Just getting ready to take my bio final.”

Callie stepped closer to me, shifting her books from one arm to the other. “You’re going to do
great
. I know it. Don’t be nervous.”

“You’ll ace it,” Jacob said. “You studied a ton.”

“Right,” I said. “True. Feeling less hyperventilate-y now. Thanks!”

They laughed as I walked into the classroom, feeling better. I sat down and took out a pen and paper. Jasmine walked by me, letting her big fat Coach bag bump against my shoulder.

“Oops,” she said. “Sorry.”

Right.

I ignored her and watched Julia and Alison take their seats in front of me. Neither girl turned around. My phone buzzed in my bag. Oops—that needed to be on silent. I leaned down to check my text.

U will rock it. G luck!

Eric. I turned down my phone and put it away.

“Getting last minute help?” Jasmine asked, turning to me.

“What?” I asked.

“Puh-lease. Who’s texting you definitions for the test?”

I glared at her. “Excuse me? I can look at my phone whenever I want. And FYI, the texts have nothing to do with bio.”

“Sure, Sasha. Not that you’d ever even be
able
to pull off a Julia-and-Alison.”

Julia and Alison turned around and stared at Jas. “A
what
?” Julia snapped.

“You know what you did,” Jasmine said. “We all know.”

Julia’s face reddened. “You don’t know anything! And if you ever say that again, I’ll—”

Julia closed her mouth when Ms. Peterson walked into the room. She eyed the four of us and Julia and Alison turned back around in their seats.

Ms. Peterson handed everyone in the front row a stack of test booklets to pass back. I pushed up my sleeves, ignoring my slamming heartbeat.

“Please open your test booklets and begin,” Ms. Peterson said.

I flipped the page and stared at the first question.
What does DNA stand for?
Four choices. A, B, C, D. I filled in the bubble next to B, Deoxyribonucleic Acid, and went to the next question. I moved quickly through the multiple choice questions, determined to at least guess for a shot at credit if I didn’t know the answer. Forty minutes later, Ms. Peterson cleared her throat.

“Pens and pencils down,” she said. “Please make sure your name is on your booklet and pass them forward.”

I handed my test to Julia and ran through answers in my head, trying to think if I’d missed anything. But there
was nothing I could do now. The test was over. After all of the papers were turned in, I gathered my stuff and left. On my way out, I texted Eric.

Done! B @ stbl in 25 mins.

Already here,
he texted back.

When I got to the stable, I hurried down the aisle and found Eric grooming Luna. He smiled when he saw me.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“Not bad,” I said. “I know I missed a few questions about cells, but I can’t think of any sections I totally bombed.”

“That’s great.” Eric said. “But now I’m
really
going to test you.”

“Oh, you are?”

“Yep. I’m going to coach you on show jumping and
you
can work with me on cross-country.”

I nodded. “Deal. But FYI, all of your finals are going to be easier than the course I’m going to make you jump.”

Eric held back a laugh. “Go get Charm—I’ll be ready in ten.”

“You’re on.”

Exactly ten minutes later we were on horseback and heading to the outdoor arena. Mr. Conner had set up a new course with a couple of difficult combinations and I was
ready to try it. Eric and I warmed up the horses and looked over the course.

“You can go first,” I said.

Eric nodded. “Works for me.” He took a breath and let Luna into a trot. A few strides later, she broke into a canter. Eric circled Luna before lining her up with the first three-foot vertical. Luna jumped easily over the red and white poles and Eric sat quietly in the saddle. Four strides later, Luna left the ground and hopped another vertical. Eric wobbled on the landing and his hands slid up her neck.

“C’mon,” I whispered.

But Eric didn’t recover in time. Luna reached the first half of a combination and took off a second too late. She tucked her forelegs under her body and her back hooves barely missed the top rail. Eric didn’t have time to correct her before the second half of the combo. Luna was late again as she went into the air and she didn’t tuck her forelegs enough. Her knees knocked the rail and it tumbled to the ground.

Eric collected Luna and got her over three more verticals and the final jump—an oxer—without another problem. Eric patted Luna’s neck as he rode her over—the disappointment showed on his face.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Her timing was off, but that happens.”

Eric halted Luna, nodding. But I noticed that he didn’t say anything.

“Don’t even worry about it,” I said.

Eric smiled half-heartedly. “Your turn.”

I settled into the saddle and let Charm into a canter. His even strides got us to the first vertical in seconds and Charm floated over the jump, landing softly on the other side. I pointed him at the next vertical, which was a few inches higher, and let him speed up enough to make it over. Charm, invigorated by the jump, tossed his head and sent his mane flying. Learning from Eric’s mistake, I did a half halt and Charm flicked an ear back at me.

Three, two, one, and now!
I got into the two-point position and Charm leaped into the air, the black rails flashing beneath us. My eyes were already on the second half of the obstacle before we even landed. When Charm hit the ground, I sank my weight into my heels and tried to keep Charm from rushing to the next jump. Two strides later, he rocked back on his haunches and propelled over the second half of the combo. He didn’t come close to nicking the rail.

Charm eased into the turn and I gave him rein to let
him increase his speed a notch before the next vertical. But Charm’s ears went forward and he slowed, tossing his mane playfully. I squeezed the reins and tightened my legs against his sides. Charm took four strides at a lazy pace before listening to me and focusing. He cleared the next three verticals and soared over the spread on the oxer without a problem.

I rode him back to Eric, shaking my head. “He stopped paying attention,” I said. “Usually, I have to hold him back when we’re on a course.”

Eric looked at Charm, thinking. “Do you think he got bored in between jumps? Maybe work on keeping his attention, especially on longer turns and stretches with no jumps so that he doesn’t lose interest and then scramble when he realizes there are more jumps.”

“You’re totally right,” I said. “Good idea.”

We let the horses walk out of the arena and I turned in the saddle to look at Eric. “I feel bad even asking you this, but would it be cool if we went to work at the creek instead of doing the cross-country course?”

“Why would you feel bad about that?” Eric asked. “It’s a few days before the YENT—of course you want to practice as much as you can. We can do cross-country anytime. Let’s go.”

“Thanks.” I said.

We walked the horses side by side down the dirt path through the woods. I let Charm wander on a loose rein and kicked my feet out of the stirrups, enjoying the quiet of the woods.

“This weekend’s going to be crazy,” I said.

Eric nodded. “Packing to go home
and
attempting to keep my parents from doing anything embarrassing while they’re here.”

“Ugh, don’t say ‘packing.’ Paige and I have been doing that all week. Her stuff is in neat containers and mine is shoved into boxes and spilling everywhere.”

Eric laughed. “So Sasha.”

“When are your parents coming?” I guided Charm away from a patch of grass he was eyeing as he walked by.

“Sunday morning. I’ll show them around campus— we didn’t have much time to tour when I transferred, so they’ll like that.”

I considered asking Eric if he wanted to meet my parents. But I decided I’d wait for Paige’s opinion before I pulled the trigger on that one.

We walked the horses closer to the creek. “Okay, I’m going to try to get Charm to go through the water,” I said. “Will you pony us over if I can’t get him to go?”

“Sure,” Eric said.

I circled Charm away from the creek, then urged him into a trot. Charm trotted to the bank, slowed at the incline, and started to weave. I squeezed with both legs and tapped him with my heels. Hesitating, he started to lean back to slide to a stop. I deepened my seat and tried to push him forward. Charm shuddered, then bounded into the creek. Water splashed up his legs and I gripped with my knees to stay in the saddle. Charm plowed through the water, eager to get through it.

In two strides, Charm was out of the creek and scrambling up the bank. “Good boy!” I said, patting his neck.

“That was great!” Eric cheered.

Eric urged Luna through the creek and she barely made a splash.

“Show-off,” I said, sticking out my tongue.

Eric reached over to squeeze my hand as we walked Charm and Luna through the woods.

After our ride we groomed and cooled the horses. Eric left for Blackwell and I walked back to Winchester. I went through the courtyard, lost in my own thoughts about the YENT, Eric, and what the summer would bring.

“Sasha?”

Jacob walked toward me, carrying a giant plastic cup of soda and a bag of Doritos.

“Marathon studying session food?”

Jacob nodded. “Absolutely. I want to go to a videogame tournament this summer in Boston and there’s no way my parents will let me go if I don’t get good grades.”

“I’m sure you will,” I said. “Are they picking you up Sunday?”

“Yeah. When do your parents get here?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. I was thinking about…”

Oh, no. Did
not
want to talk to Jacob about this.

“About what?”

But it was too late and I was the
worst
liar.

“Oh, uh, just maybe inviting Eric to lunch with them. With my, um, parents. I haven’t decided.”

Jacob shook his head. “Wow. It must be superserious if you’re taking
that
step.”

“It isn’t that big of a deal,” I said. Was it? And even if it was, why was I trying to convince Jacob about
anything
?

“You haven’t been going out that long,” he said.

“Oh. Yeah… I guess.” How long
was
I supposed to wait?

Jacob shrugged and took a drink. “It just seems fast.
Like it might freak out a guy to meet his girlfriend’s parents so soon. But do whatever you want, obviously. Whatever. I’ve got to go.”

I nodded, dazed. “Okay. Bye.”

I hadn’t even thought about how it would make Eric feel to meet my parents. We really
hadn’t
been dating that long—maybe it would make him nervous.

26
LOOK WHO CAME TO LUNCH

“WE’RE
SO
DONE!” I CHEERED. IT WAS JUST
after ten on Friday morning. Seventh grade was officially over.

“I know!” Paige said. We practically skipped out of the history building. “See ya, seventh grade!”

“Finals are done. No more tests. Or essays. Or homework. Or projects. Or anything school-related, all summer. Omigod.” I shifted the pile of books and papers in my arms.

Paige shook her head as we walked down the cobblestone path and under the archway and started toward Winchester. “I can’t even believe it. I’m in shock. We’re going to be
eighth
graders next year!”

“That sounds so much older,” I said. I took a deep
breath and looked up the sky, enjoying the gold warmth of the sun on my face.

“Totally.”

We laughed, but my smile slipped when I saw Jasmine and the Belles walking in our direction. The girls stopped and looked at Paige and me.