My Favorite Mistake (29 page)

Yeah. Of course they were. Zara could only imagine how over-the-top, wet-her-pants psyched Summer would be if Zac Trask and Gina Gerard showed up at her dorky little birthday bash.

“Better not alert the paparazzi on that one,” Zara told Summer. “They've both made plans to be in other countries to avoid your party.”

“What?” Summer's smile faltered. Zara could almost see the little wheels in the girl's head turning as she tried to figure out whether Zara was joking.

Even though Summer was getting on her nerves as usual, Zara felt a flash of guilt. A tiny one, anyway.

“Kidding. Duh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But yeah, they'll both be out of town then.”

“Oh.” Summer giggled. “Good one, Zara! You're coming though, right? I mean, you'll be at the show already, so obviously you'll come. Right?”

Before Zara had to answer, there was a sudden shout from the other end of the barn. It sounded like Fitz.

“What's going on?” Zara wondered. “Hope the new racehorse didn't decide the wash stall looked like a starting gate.”

“I know, right?” Summer wrinkled her nose. “What was Fitz thinking, bringing some scrawny half-trained thing like that into the barn?”

Not really the point, but Zara didn't bother explaining. “Let's go see what's up.”

She headed down the aisle, not bothering to see if Summer was following. The wash stalls were located in the center block of the barn at the opposite end from the feed room. They consisted of several large, airy bays with drains in the floor and hoses on overhead booms.

At the moment only one of the stalls was occupied. Fitz's new Thoroughbred was watching with pricked ears as Fitz, Kate, and Tommi surrounded someone in the aisle just outside the stall. Zara's eyes widened when she saw who it was.

“Dani!” she blurted out in surprise. “Whoa, didn't think we'd see her around here so soon.”

“No kidding,” Summer said. Then she rushed forward, shoving Kate aside to grab Dani. “Oh wow, Dani! Welcome back!”

Dani grinned sheepishly, leaning on one crutch to awkwardly return Summer's hug. “Hi, Summer. I figured I'd better stop in and show you all I'm still alive,” she joked. “I also want to visit Red and let him know it wasn't his fault and I still love him.” When she noticed Zara behind Summer, she lifted one hand. “Hey, Zara,” she added. “You totally missed my involuntary dismount yesterday.”

“Yeah, I heard it was pretty spectacular.” Zara stared at Dani's cast, which covered her left leg from just above her toes to just below the knee. “You okay?”

“She got a nine on the somersault from the Russian judge, but then completely blew the landing,” Fitz said.

“Very funny.” Dani stuck out her tongue at him.

“Don't listen to him. We're all glad to see you,” Kate said softly. Shooting Dani a smile, she ducked under the cross-ties
and started working on the horse's far side with a sweat scraper.

“So Marissa said you had to have surgery,” Summer said to Dani.

“Yeah, that was fun.” Dani grimaced. “But I guess it went okay. I'm not supposed to put any weight on it for a while, but the doctors say I should be okay in about six weeks.”

“Six weeks? That's not too bad,” Tommi said. “You could be back in the saddle in time for Harrisburg.”

“I hope so.” Dani leaned on her crutches. “Anyway, I'll probably need all six weeks to convince my parents that I'm not going to—”

“There you are!” a loud voice rang out, cutting her off.

A girl Zara had never seen before stomped toward them. She was about their age, with overprocessed reddish-brown hair and hoochie-mama cutoffs. The girl ignored Zara and the others, her angry gaze focused on the horse in the wash stall. She jabbed a finger at it.

“I can't believe you stole him right out from under me!” she yelled.

Kate took a step out of the stall, gripping her sweat scraper so hard her knuckles were white. “Nat!” she exclaimed.

I would like to acknowledge the teachers at the Spence School and at New York University, especially Ms. Eisenberg, Ms. Jewett, and Mr. Dinwiddie, who might have never been impressed with my writing but never let me believe that or accept failure. You always gave me just as much attention as the best student in the class and tried your very best to make me think I was as good as them if I believed in myself. Without your hard work and determination I would not have had the skills or the confidence to help write this book. There are a few of my past teachers who would be shocked that I am an author, and deservedly so. I apologize for making your job more difficult and for never appreciating the opportunity I had to learn from you. My only advice to you and to any teacher is to never give up on even the laziest, most rebellious student in your class. They may never show you that they appreciate it but I can say from experience that they will eventually. To the teachers who did this for me, I thank you and will always remember you.

Georgina Bloomberg

Kathy Russels

Georgina Bloomberg is the younger daughter of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. An accomplished equestrian, Georgina is on the board of directors of the Equestrian Aid Foundation and is the founder of the charity The Rider's Closet, which collects used riding clothes for collegiate riding teams that are unable to afford them. She also sits on the board of the Bloomberg Sisters and Bloomberg Family foundations. Georgina is a graduate of New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Georgina is donating a portion of her proceeds from this book to the ASPCA.

CATHERINE HAPKA has published many books for children and young adults, including several about horses. A lifelong horse lover, she rides several times per week and keeps three horses on her small farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania. In addition to writing and riding, she enjoys animals of all kinds, reading, gardening, music, and travel.

Also by Georgina Bloomberg & Catherine Hapka

The A Circuit

Copyright © 2012 by Georgina Bloomberg

Electronic edition published in March 2012

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First published in the United States of America in March 2012
by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
www.bloomsburyteens.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bloomberg, Georgina.
My favorite mistake : an A circuit novel /
by Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Teen equestrians Tommi, Kate, and Zara try to put aside thoughts of boyfriends and family issues as they continue to compete on the elite A-circuit, but secrets they are keeping from one another prove more problematic.
ISBN 978-1-59990-755-0 (hardcover) • ISBN 978-1-59990-642-3 (paperback)
[1. Horse shows—Fiction. 2. Horsemanship—Fiction. 3. Friendship—Fiction.
4. Wealth—Fiction. 5. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Hapka, Catherine. II. Title.
PZ7.B62345My 2012      [Fic]—dc23      2011015083

ISBN 978-1-59990-746-8 (ebook)