Best Enemies (Canterwood Crest) (23 page)

“Fingers crossed about tomorrow,” I said, hugging Callie.

“You too,” she said. “I really, really believe we made it.”

Eric and Jacob stared at each other for a second, but didn’t say anything.

“Talk to you tomorrow,” Eric said, squeezing my hand and giving me a quick kiss. He turned to Paige. “And thanks for distracting Sasha tonight—I know you’ll be doing that.”

“Anytime,” Paige said. “I’ve got the DVDs ready.”

Paige and I walked toward Winchester and I thought about how great tonight had been. Everyone—minus the Belles—was getting along. I had my BFF back and we both had amazing boyfriends. Paige was about to have a fab summer as a TV star and Jacob and I were even kind of friends again. My last night at Canterwood couldn’t have been better.

32
A YES OR A NO?

LAST NIGHT HAD BEEN THE OPPOSITE OF
what I’d expected. Instead of lying awake all night, I’d fallen asleep right away. Now all I could do was stare at my phone, willing Mr. Conner to call with news.

“Aren’t you glad you didn’t wake up any earlier?” Paige asked. “’Cause you’ve been watching that phone for two hours.”

“I know,” I said. “But I can’t miss this call.”

Paige kept packing her shoes into her suitcase. “But guess what? You don’t have to watch a phone to make it ring. You should do something to distract yourself.”

I nodded and got up off my bed, tossing my phone on the comforter and looking at its dark screen one last time. “You’re right. I really do need to check to be sure I’ve got everything. Mom and Dad will be here—”

Riiinngg!

“Omigodomigod!” I dashed across the carpet and grabbed my phone, almost dropping it.

“Hello?” I answered, barely able to get out the word.

“Hi, Sasha. It’s Mr. Conner. Mr. Nicholson has informed me of his decision. I need to see you in my office now, all right?”

“Okay. Yes. Okay. Thank you.”

I closed the phone and clutched it, staring at Paige. “This is it. I’m either on the YENT or I’m not.”

I started to sit down, but Paige reached over and pulled me up. “Go. Right now. You’ve been waiting for this answer for months. Sasha, either way, you did your best and you know it. Go get your answer.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath. “You’re right. Okay. I need to know. Going now.”

I walked out of Winchester, forcing myself not to take the long way. But I wished the walk took longer than five minutes. Being in limbo—
did I make it or not?
—was almost easier than this walk to his office. In minutes, I’d have an answer. No gray area. A yes or a no.

Heather and Callie were standing outside Mr. Conner’s closed door, just staring at it.

“I can’t go in,” Callie whispered. “I’m too scared.”

Heather nodded, not even trying to fake nonchalance.

“I almost don’t want to know,” I said.

The three of us stood there, waiting for someone to make a move.

“Oh, go in already, losers,” said a voice behind us. Jasmine pushed her way between Callie and me and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Mr. Conner called.

Jasmine opened his door and walked into the office, taking a seat.

Barely breathing, I sat next to Callie.

“Thanks for coming,” Mr. Conner said. “I called you in as soon as I spoke with Mr. Nicholson. He knew you were all eager to hear his decision.”

No one spoke. We couldn’t.

Mr. Conner looked at each of us. “I don’t want to drag this out, but I do want to tell you how proud I am. You’re each talented and hardworking riders and without those qualities, you never would have made it this far. The YENT can only take so many riders, but no matter what, you all should be proud of yourselves.”

Five minutes ago, I hadn’t wanted to hear the decision. Now I was dying.
Spill it already!

“I want to remind you that any rider who is chosen
must attend summer training camp,” Mr. Conner said. “It will be intense and demanding—much more than our midwinter break clinic.”

Say. It. Now.

“I’m going to announce Mr. Nicholson’s decision,” Mr. Conner said. “Starting with Heather.”

She swallowed when he said her name. I crossed my fingers for her—something I never would have done last fall. But I didn’t want to see her lose Aristocrat.

“Heather,” Mr. Conner said. “You’ve made the team.”

Heather covered her mouth with her hand. “Omigod—um. Omigod! Wow.”

“Congrats!” Callie said.

“That’s awesome,” I said. “Congratulations.”

Heather nodded at us. Jasmine didn’t even look in Heather’s direction. Color came back to Heather’s face and I knew the relief wasn’t just about making the team. She’d secured her future at Canterwood and she’d kept Aristocrat.

“Jasmine,” Mr. Conner said. “You’ll also be joining Heather on the team.”

Jas just smiled and nodded as if she’d known all along.

Callie and I looked at each other. We’d both known she’d make it.

Mr. Conner’s eyes settled on me.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,
I repeated to myself.

“Sasha,” Mr. Conner said. “Congratulations. You’re a member of the YENT.”

“I knew it!” Callie squealed. She hugged me and I started laughing, trying not to cry.

“I made it!” I said. “I really made the YENT. No. Way.”

I flopped back into my chair. Everything Charm and I had worked for had happened. We were
both
members of the Youth Equestrian National Team. I wanted to tell Eric, Paige, Mom, and Dad right now!

Then I remembered Callie. I grabbed her hand and looked expectantly at Mr. Conner, waiting for him to say her name. Mr. Conner looked down at his desk and then back up at Callie.

“Callie,” Mr. Conner said, pausing. “Your rides were excellent and Mr. Nicholson was impressed.”

I looked over at Callie, smiling at her.

Mr. Conner shook his head. “But I’m sorry. You did not make the team.”

What?!

Oh.

My.

God.

Callie just stared at Mr. Conner. She didn’t move— not even a blink. Her hand went limp in mine.

“I’m sorry, Callie,” Mr. Conner said. “Mr. Nicholson put a lot of thought into his decision and he ultimately decided that you just weren’t ready. He’ll be looking to add a rider or two in the fall and he wants to watch you test again.”

Callie finally nodded. “Okay. Thanks.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Mr. Conner looked at Callie—he knew she wasn’t okay.

“You may leave now,” Mr. Conner said. “Thank you for working hard this year and I hope you have a good summer. If any of you”—he looked at Callie—“need to talk about this, please call or e-mail me.”

We got up and shuffled out of his office. Jasmine walked away, not even bothering to manage a “sorry” to Callie.

Callie sat on the bench outside of Mr. Conner’s office. Heather and I sat on either side of her. Callie took a deep breath.

“Callie,” I said. “I’m so sorry. Mr. Nicholson made a huge mistake.”

Heather leaned forward so she could look at Callie and
see me. “You did the best you could,” Heather said. “You practiced as hard as all of us.”

“But I didn’t,” Callie said, her voice calm. “That’s why I’m not losing it right now. I didn’t work hard—not even close.”

Heather’s eyes connected with mine for a second.

“What are you talking about?” Heather asked. “That’s so not true.”

I shook my head. “You worked
hard
.”

“I did practice, but not like I needed to,” Callie said. “I knew for months about tryouts and I let myself get distracted by other things.”

Heather, sighing, stood up. Her face was flushed and she paused before looking at Callie. “You’re allowed to have a life, you know,” she said. “Not everything has to be about riding. And take that from someone who’s just figuring it out.”

Heather walked away, leaving Callie and me alone. Callie and I sat in silence for a few minutes before Callie turned to me.

“I got too caught up in Jacob,” Callie said. “And I was afraid that would happen from the second I started to like him.”

I was quiet, knowing Callie needed to get it out.

“I didn’t work hard enough,” Callie said. “I just didn’t.”

I shifted on the wooden bench, turning sideways to look at her. “You don’t have be so calm. It’s okay to be upset.”

Callie shrugged. “But I did this. I chose to be late to practice and I made the decisions not to ride more on weekends. I can’t blame Mr. Nicholson for not picking me when I didn’t deserve a spot on the team.”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. Heather was right, which is kind of weird but true. We’re all learning how to juggle things. It doesn’t make you any less dedicated of a rider if you want to hang out with your boyfriend instead of riding every minute of every day.”

“But I used to be so focused,” Callie said. She ran her fingers through her hair. “The old Callie would break up with Jacob right now, ride all summer, and ensure she got a spot on the YENT this fall. But I’m still crazy about Jacob and I don’t want to give him up.”

“You shouldn’t,” I said. “I love that you’re so happy with him. You deserve to be happy.”

Callie smiled. “Thanks. And I do want to figure out how to handle things so I can make the YENT, but riding isn’t the only thing in my life anymore.”

“You’ll make it,” I promised. “And you know I’m here for you in the meantime.”

“I know. We’ll probably see more of each other on iChat than we have in the past couple of weeks.”

We hugged and Callie checked the time on her phone. “I’ve got to go finish packing before my parents get here.”

“Yeah, me too.” I shook my head. “Our last day on campus as seventh graders. Wow.”

Callie laughed. “There were a few times this year that I didn’t think we’d see eighth grade.”

“No kidding. For a while, I wasn’t sure if we’d survive Heather, Jas, or the Belles.”

We laughed and Callie stood up. “You have to update me every day from YENT camp,” Callie said. “Or we won’t be friends anymore.”

I crossed my heart with a Princesses Rule–tipped finger. “Promise. You’ll be sick of my updates.”

We hugged again and Callie walked away. When she was gone, I stood in the aisle, processing everything that had happened. Callie was going to be okay—she had Jacob. And me. She’d make the team in the fall.

And I’d
already
made it. I was going to YENT camp!

I hurried down the aisle, almost running into Julia and Alison.

“We heard from Heather,” Alison said. “Congratulations.”

Julia nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’m glad you made it.”

“Thanks,” I said. “And I hope things work out for you this summer so you’ll be riding in the fall.”

The girls nodded.

“We will be,” Alison said. “You’ll see.”

I had no idea what that meant, but I didn’t doubt it for a second.

They walked away and I left the stable, barely able to stand not being able to tell someone right now. Paige had been there for me since the first day of school and she deserved to hear the news first. Then, I’d go find Eric. This time, the distance between the stable and Winchester never felt so long.

33
CONFESSION