Best Enemies (Canterwood Crest) (21 page)

“Let’s go sit in the hayloft,” I suggested. “I’ll text them where we are.”

Paige and I started across the yard to the stable. As we walked, I looked for Heather, Callie, and Jasmine. Jasmine and her parents had vanished—probably going off campus for a fancy lunch or something. By the arena, Mr. Fox was talking to Mr. Conner. Heather stared at her boots, not even glancing up at Mr. Conner.

Paige saw it too. “But look who’s coming,” she said.

Julia and Alison hurried over to Heather—they knew she needed a rescue. Heather walked away with them, leaving Mr. Conner to handle Mr. Fox.

30
WHO’S THE LIAR?

THE TWO-HOUR BREAK BLEW BY AND AFTER
Paige and I had stuffed ourselves with burgers and milk-shakes, Eric found us to say good luck before my final round. I said good-bye to everyone and went to hang out with Charm. We needed a few minutes alone.

I stood with Charm in his stall, my arm draped over his neck. I’d taken him from Mike and had led him back in here. Charm kept shooting longing glances at his hay net.

“Sorry, boy,” I said. “You can’t eat right now. After today, you’re going to have a few days off. And then, we’ll either spend the summer working together at Briar Creek in Union or we’ll go to YENT camp.”

Just saying the words “YENT camp” made me smile.

“We better get out there.”

I tightened Charm’s girth, then bent down to check his leg wraps. On our way down the aisle, I grabbed my protective vest off the hook and buckled it on. Mom, Dad, Paige, Eric, and the rest of everyone’s friends and family were all waiting at the finish line. Mr. Nicholson was out on the course by an undisclosed jump to watch.

Heather, Jasmine, Callie, and I mounted our horses and rode them up to Mr. Conner.

“Sasha, you’re going first,” Mr. Conner said. “You may begin in one moment. This is the last round. I want to see safe rides out there.”

We all nodded. Charm was made for cross-country. Even though it was the end of a long day and he had to be tired, I knew he’d put everything into this round.

“Sasha, please head to the starting line,” Mr. Conner instructed.

Charm danced sideways, tossing his head and almost prancing to the line. He was
so
ready. But was I? I’d walked the course twice and knew Charm could get over all of the jumps and make great time, but I worried about the creek. I shook out my hands.
Don’t think about that now.
I’d deal with it when Charm and I were there.

I pushed down my heels, sank my weight into the saddle and gripped the reins—readying myself in case
Charm bolted. Mr. Conner raised his arm above his head, then dropped his hand. When his hand went down, I loosened the reins and Charm surged forward, almost throwing me back in the saddle. I held him at a medium canter, not wanting to let him burn out before we even got started.

Charm jumped easily over two brush fences and trotted uphill. When we hit level ground, he broke into a canter and jumped an old gate with blue paint peeling off the wooden planks. His strides were rhythmic as he cantered toward two hay bale jumps, the first lower than the second. I’d always half-expected Charm to try and snatch a mouthful of hay in midleap. But he tucked his knees neatly under his body and got over the hay bales.

I slowed him to a trot and leaned back in the saddle as we started down the hill. The grass changed to dirt and we trotted into the woods and along a winding path. Charm eased around a sharp corner and had two strides to straighten out before he jumped a log pile.

“Good boy,” I said. I tried to keep the nerves out of my voice. The creek was one jump away. Charm tugged on the reins, asking for more, and I let him out a notch. He gathered himself and launched over a small fallen tree that Mr. Conner had left blocking part of the trail.

I urged him with my hands, encouraging his momentum so he’d keep going right through the creek.

We trotted down a slight incline and Charm approached the bank. The dirt softened and I stopped posting to sit to his trot while he moved forward. I drove him with my legs, but tried not to clamp onto his sides.

Charm’s ears started flicking back and forth, but he didn’t weave. The clear creek water flowed over the shiny pebble rock bed and the few sunrays that had broken through the trees bounced off the water.

A stride before the creek, Charm hesitated and started to sink his weight backward. “No, you’ve got it,” I said. “C’mon!”

Charm seemed to trot in place for a second before bounding into the creek. Water sprayed into the air, soaking the lower half of my breeches and trickling into my boots, but I didn’t care. Charm plunged through the knee-deep water and trotted up the bank, shaking his mane as he climbed up.

“Yes!” I cheered. “You did it!”

For a second, I wouldn’t have cared if Charm ran out or refused a jump after that. He’d conquered his fear of water and he would be more confident every time we did cross-country and made it through a creek.

“Ready to finish this?” I asked. I gave him an extra inch of rein. “Let’s go!”

Charm started to canter and his hooves pounded the dirt as we swept down the straight part of the trail out of the woods. We reached the clearing and were only jumps away from the finish line.

Charm jumped two rails held by old feed buckets and bounced playfully when we landed. He was feeling proud after the creek.

We cantered up to a row of old tires and Charm jumped them, hitting the ground inches away from the obstacle.

“Two more,” I said. “Then we’re done!”

The reins had worked up a white foam against Charm’s sweaty neck. His breathing was getting heavier, but he didn’t slow for a second. Charm jumped a tall hedge and didn’t come close to touching the leaves below.

“Almost there,” I told him.

All that separated us from the YENT was the stone wall. Charm asked for more rein and I let him into a faster canter, knowing he needed a boost to get over the final jump. I started counting it down.

Three
.

The last jump before the YENT.

Two
.

A summer at home, or at camp.

One
.

Charm rocked back on his haunches and pushed himself into the air. His back rounded and his forelegs snapped under his body as he arched over the wall. He landed on the other side and cantered away from the jump.

“Omigod, Charm,” I said, pulling him to a trot and then a walk. “You were perfect!”

I hopped off his back and hurried to loosen his girth. His nostrils flared pink and his chest heaved. But he shook out his mane—he knew he’d been amazing.

“I love you so much,” I said. I hugged his neck and walked him over to Mr. Conner.

“Fantastic, Sasha,” Mr. Conner said. He knelt down and ran his hands over Charm’s legs. “Let’s get him back to the stable and Mike will check all his vitals. You can run back to Winchester to change for your interview with Mr. Nicholson.”

“Okay,” I said. “Thanks.”

Mr. Conner went back to the course and I smiled when I saw Eric.

“Mr. Conner told all of us not to bother the riders before their interviews,” Eric said.

“You’re not bothering me,” I said. “But I do have to take Charm back to the stable.”

Eric looked at Charm. “Yeah. He looks tired, but he was amazing. You guys killed it!”

That made me feel a little less exhausted. “Thanks. Really.”

“It’s true. I’d walk you to the stable, but Mr. Conner told me to stay here in case he needs help.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll meet you at the Sweet Shoppe.”

I started to walk away, then realized that my parents
and
Eric would want to hang out with me after the interview.

“Eric?” I said. “I forgot—my parents will be there after and… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Why would I be uncomfortable?” Eric asked.

“Because you’d have to meet them and I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. If you want, I’ll text you when we’re done or something.”

“They’re your parents,” Eric said. “I
want
to meet them.”

“Really?”

“Really. See you at the Sweet Shoppe?”

We smiled at each other, then I turned Charm and led him to the stable. I shook my head—maybe it was just
a misunderstanding—or even bad advice. But I couldn’t help thinking that Jacob had lied to me on purpose.

A couple of hours later, Heather, Callie, Jasmine, and I were sitting outside Mr. Conner’s office, showered, changed, and waiting for him to call our names. No one had said a word about cross-country. It was our little secret about how we’d done.

“Jasmine,” Mr. Conner said, walking up to us. “Mr. Nicholson is ready for you now.”

She walked into Mr. Conner’s office and closed the door. I stared ahead, not able to look at anyone. Fainting seemed like a definite possibility. Beside me Callie was all business in black pants and a gray and white striped shirt.

A few minutes later the door opened and a smiling Jasmine emerged. She flounced by us without a word and disappeared down the aisle. Heather was called in next.

Callie leaned her head against the wall behind her and looked at me. “I’m exhausted.”

“Me too. But I don’t think it was just the riding. We’ve been stressing about this for months and now it’s over.”

“Except for that,” Callie said, tipping her head in the direction of Mr. Conner’s office.

“True, but it’ll only take a few minutes. And we are sparkling conversationalists,” I said, laughing.

“Why yes,” Callie said. “We are.”

We cracked up, then stopped laughing when the door opened and Heather walked out. She nodded at me and kept walking.

“You’ll be fine,” Callie whispered.

I stood and rubbed my sweaty hands on my gray and pink striped skirt. I walked into the office and sat across from Mr. Nicholson, who was seated behind Mr. Conner’s desk.

“Hi, Sasha,” Mr. Nicholson said. “Thanks for talking with me for a few minutes.”

“Thank you for watching me ride,” I said, my voice shaky.

Mr. Nicholson glanced at a file, then took off his rimless glasses and placed them on the table. “You did a respectable job today. I’m most impressed with your connection to Charm. The work you did at the creek was impressive.”

“That’s where you were?” I blurted out.

Mr. Nicholson chuckled. “Yes. Mr. Conner told me what areas each of you were struggling with. I wanted to watch you and Charm at the creek to see how you handled whatever situation arose.”

“I’ve been working with him for weeks on that,” I said. “I’m just glad he went through it.”

“Your hard work was evident, Sasha. Charm trusted you to get him through the water.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, I’ve got a few questions for you.” Mr. Nicholson sat back in his chair. “Why do you want to ride for the Youth Equestrian National Team?”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” I said. “I wasn’t sure how I’d get there when I lived in Union and rode at Briar Creek. I knew I needed to come to a place like Canterwood, but I was scared to leave home.”

Mr. Nicholson nodded.

“But I if I wanted the best shot at becoming a professional equestrian, leaving home was necessary. I came to Canterwood at the beginning of the school year and I don’t regret that decision. I’m growing every day as a rider and I know I’d do that on the YENT as well.”

Mr. Nicholson folded his hands. His face gave away nothing. “What specific skills would you bring to the team?”

I met his eyes. “I don’t have as much formal training as the other riders, but I work hard. I’m strongest in cross-
country and am practicing dressage. I’ll work hard every day that I’m on the team.”

“And what are your riding goals for your eighth-grade year?” Mr. Nicholson asked. He slid a manila file in front of him.

“I want to become a more well-rounded rider,” I said. “I need to work more on dressage. And honestly, I’m still trying to find the balance between obsessing about riding and focusing on other things too.”

Mr. Nicholson smiled. “If you figure that out anytime soon, please let me know.”

“Okay,” I promised. “I will.”

“Sasha, that’s about it. Thank you for answering my questions and for working so hard. I will be phoning Mr. Conner tomorrow with my decision. I am giving every rider serious thought.”