Scandals, Rumors, Lies

by Jessica Burkhart

  “The trail ride is going to be sooo cool!” I said.

  “I thought the gazebo party was enough,” Brit said. “And then he surprised us with that. It’s going to be the best Halloween ever.”

  “I’m excited to spend it with Charm,” I said. “He’s going to have just as much fun.”

  “You’re going to hang out with him for a little while, right?” Brit asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “This week has been so crazy. I’ve either been hanging out with Jacob, doing homework, or a zillion other things. I think he misses me.”

  Brit smiled. “I’m sure he misses you. Go hang with your boy. See you later in our room.”

  I walked back down the aisle toward Charm’s stall. He’d been perfect during our lesson earlier and he deserved some one-on-one time. In cross-ties just before Charm’s stall, Aristocrat was standing still as Heather groomed him.

  “Did you forget that we just finished our lesson a couple of hours ago?” I teased.

  Heather rolled her eyes. “Please. We’ve got major shows coming up. I need to practice.”

  I walked up to Aristocrat and rubbed his neck. “Are you going to let showing take over your life again?”

  I wanted to take back the question the second it came out of my mouth, afraid Heather would snap at me, but it was too late.

  “No,” she said. There wasn’t any anger in her voice. She lifted Aristocrat’s saddle onto his back and reached under his stomach for the girth. Straightening, she looked at me. “I’m not doing that again.”

  Unclipping Aristocrat’s cross-ties, I slid his reins over his head, starting to bridle him. Heather didn’t object to my help.

  “I have this new thing with Troy,” Heather said. “And I’m trying to figure it out. Plus, with school and everything else, there’s not enough time for me to be here twenty-four seven anymore even if I wanted to.”

  “So you’re riding when you can,” I said. “I get that—totally. I really do think that when you only have a limited amount of time to be at the stable, you work that much harder to get done what you need in a shorter amount of time than it used to take.”

  “Maybe, Silver. But don’t think for a second that it doesn’t mean we’re not all going to be ready for the first big show of the season. We’re going to win—easily.”

  I grinned. That was Heather Fox.

  “No doubt,” I said.

  I finished bridling Aristocrat, then waved good-bye to Heather. I walked a few steps before I turned back to her.

  “Can I practice with you?”

  “As long as you don’t get in my way,” Heather said, smiling sweetly.

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  I walked down the aisle to Charm’s stall, smiling at the ghost decal Mr. Conner had let me put up on his door.

  “Hi, boy,” I said.

  I let myself into the stall and he walked right into my arms. I hugged him tight—loving the scent of hay and sweet grain that clung to his body.

  “I came for some Sasha-Charm time,” I said. “But Heather’s willing to practice with us. It okay with you if we hang out together after a little more riding?”

  Charm seemed to understand my question. He bobbed his head. That was my boy—game for anything.

  “Be right back,” I said. I grabbed his tack and it only took us minutes to get ready. His coat was already clean from the last lesson and, within fifteen minutes, we were walking down the aisle to practice with Heather.

  The big door to the exit was still open and dusk was settling over campus. I jumped sideways a little when one of the plastic skeletons hanging from the ceiling moved when a breeze blew through the stable. Laughing to myself, I put on my helmet and walked into the arena. I had something much bigger to be worried about.

  Heather.

  JUST GOSSIP

  CHARM AND I WEREN’T EVEN FIVE MINUTES into our practice session with Heather when I realized the goriest, scariest haunted house would be less scary than this.

  “Silver, your hands are ridiculous,” Heather said. “I know you’re, like, afraid of me but stop shaking.”

  “Ha, ha,” I said. “My hands aren’t shaking.” And they weren’t—but they were bouncing around Charm’s neck.

  Heather and I had put the horses through a light warm-up before starting our private practice session. Instead of focusing on dressage or jumping, we’d decided flatwork was a basic place to start and a good way to end the week.

  “Take Charm though another spiral,” Instructor Heather called. She’d halted Aristocrat in the center of the arena and, with the reins resting on his neck, was gesturing at me.

  I couldn’t wait to coach her next.

  Charm and I started the pattern—the circle getting smaller with each rotation. I kept him at a posting trot and focused on keeping each rotation even.

  When Charm’s body felt as if it started to strain, I stopped, turning him in the opposite direction and made another spiral.

  “Nice,” Heather said.

  I looked up, hopeful she’d say that she was ready for me to coach her now. I patted Charm’s neck.

  “Ready to swap places?” I asked.

  Heather laughed. She moved Aristocrat forward so that she looked that much more menacing from the top of his back.

  “You’re not getting off that easy, Silver,” Heather said. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked. I wanted to get through this as painless as possible so I could start my weekend.

  “Two more spirals,” Heather said.

  I started to move Charm forward, but Heather raised her hand.

  “No stirrups.”

  Apparently, “painless” wasn’t going to be part of my vocabulary during this session.

  An hour later, Heather and I had dismounted and were cooling the horses.

  Every muscle in my body ached and I couldn’t wait to jump in the shower and wash off the day. We groomed the horses together, then started across the now moonlit campus to Orchard.

  “What’re you doing tonight?” Heather asked.

  “I don’t know yet,” I said. “Brit and I will probably watch a movie or something. You?”

  “Troy and I are meeting up later,” Heather said, she shook her blond hair out of its ponytail. “We haven’t decided what we’re doing yet.”

  “Cool. I’m sure whatever you do, you’ll have fun.”

  And that reminded me to turn on my phone. I’d had it off while I’d been in the stable. As the phone lit up, almost like a flashlight as we walked across campus, it immediately started chiming.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Four.

  Five times.

  All BBMs.

  I opened the messenger and saw one was from Jacob and the rest were from Brit.

  “Someone’s popular all of the sudden,” Heather said.

  But I barely heard her. I’d opened Brit’s name first and was scanning her messages over and over.

  Brit Chan:

  Sash—I know you’re w/Charm but you’ve got 2 BBM me.

  Brit Chan:

  Srsly. (But don’t freak when you read this—it’s not an emergency.)

  Brit Chan:

  Okay. Your phone’s def off.

  Brit Chan:

  If ur not back in half an hr, I’m coming 2 stable.

  That last message was fifteen minutes ago.

  I opened Jacob’s message.

  Jacob Schwartz:

  Hey, S. U and Brit want 2 grab food @ The Slice 2nite?

  I exited out of messenger, not able to type a message to him. Not until I knew what was going on with Brit.

  “Something’s up,” I said to Heather. “Brit BBMed me a bunch of times. I think something big happened when we were riding.”

  She turned to me. “What’re you talking about?”

  And then her phone lit up.

  She looked at the screen, shaking her head.
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  “I think I know what Brit messaged you about,” Heather said.

  We were just yards from Orchard now, walking faster.

  “What? How?”

  Heather looked at me, chewing on the inside of her lip. “Julia just messaged me.”

  “So? What did she say?”

  I was getting more and more nervous by the second.

  “She’s with Brit and Alison in our suite,” Heather said. She hesitated.

  “Heather! Just tell me! You’re freaking me out.”

  Heather sighed. “The gossip blogger struck again.”

  I almost laughed. “That’s it? The gossip blogger ? Seriously, I thought something awful had happened.”

  Heather pulled open the door to Orchard, her expression not even close to laughing.

  “It did, Sash. To Paige.”

  “What?”

  Dashing forward, I almost left Heather in the hallway as I hurried to the Trio’s suite. But she caught up with me and, together, we walked inside where Alison, Julia, and Brit were clustered around Alison’s laptop on the coffee table. It’s just gossip, it’s just gossip, I repeated to myself. But that didn’t make me any calmer.

  I knelt in front of the Mac, my heartbeat out of control as I stared at the page, reading to myself.

  It looks as though Manhattan’s once-perfect princess Paige Parker has taken a fall from her throne. The poor girl had just gotten everything—including her first clichéd knight in shining armor—Ryan Shore.

  But this afternoon, the Prince and Princess were caught having a not-so-refined shouting match behind the science building. The verdict? A split among the couple.

  I guess not all endings are happily ever after.

 
  The broken heart symbol made me want to cry.

  “This—this isn’t true,” I said. “There’s no way.”

  Julia shrugged from her position on the couch. “It sounds pretty accurate to me. Why else would someone target Paige by name? No one has any motive to go after her.”

  I sat down on the floor as if I’d been pushed. Brit reached over and put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Sash, it really could just be gossip. Someone trying to mess with people.”

  “It has to be,” I said to Brit. “There’s no way Paige and Ryan broke up.”

  Paige and I really weren’t speaking, but I didn’t care. I had to make sure this wasn’t true. And … if it was, I’d be on my way to Winchester, if Paige wanted to see me, to support her.

  I grabbed my phone, which I’d tossed on the Trio’s recliner, and typed a message to Paige.

  Sasha Silver:

  P? I know things are weird w/us right now, but I don’t care. R u ok?

  Everyone watched my phone, waiting for Paige to BBM me back.

  Almost immediately, a typing signal appeared beside her name. I braced myself.

  Paige Parker:

  Angry, but totally fine. Ryan and I did NOT break up.

  “Omigod, I knew it!” I said, leaning back against the couch.

  “Stupid blogger,” Alison said. She was curled up under an afghan at the end of the couch. “I don’t know why anyone would do something so mean. It’s beyond gross.”

  While everyone started talking, I typed another message to Paige.

  Sasha Silver:

  I *knew* it. I’m really glad u guys r ok.

  Paige Parker:

  Thanks, Sasha. I’ve been getting a million msgs all day. Everyone believed the post!

  Sasha Silver:

  It sounded so real and, for a sec, I was freaking out 4 u. But I’m so glad ur w/Ryan and everything’s ok.

  This time, it took Paige a few seconds longer to start another message.

  Paige Parker:

  Thanks, S. I hope ur doing ok and I’m sure I’ll run into you soon.

  Sasha Silver:

  Def. Bye.

  I closed out BBM, feeling a little sad that my conversation with Paige was over.

  “I’m happy for her,” Heather said, looking at me. “Ryan’s a good guy.”

  “He’s perfect for her,” I said. “I just wish the gossip blogger would stop. Or that people would stop reading it.”

  “Good luck with that,” Julia said. “Everyone loves gossip.”

  And, unfortunately, I knew she was right.

  AND THE WEEKEND BEGINS

  A FEW MINUTES LATER, BRIT AND I WENT back to our room, both relieved that there was no breakup crisis.

  “I was so caught up in the Paige scandal,” I said. “That I didn’t even BBM Jacob back yet. He messaged me while I was at the stable.”

  “How was Charm time, anyway?” Brit asked.

  I put my riding boots on our mat and started grabbing fresh clothes.

  “Heather was at the stable and we decided to coach each other for a little while,” I said. “She can make me crazy, but you know what a great rider she is. I couldn’t pass it up.”

  “I’m glad you stayed,” Brit said. “Nothing exciting was going on here. I got some homework done—lame for a Friday I know—and then the gossip blog mess went viral. What was Jacob up to? Did he message you about Paige too?”

  “Actually, he wanted to know if you and I wanted to grab pizza at The Slice tonight,” I said. “Interested?”

  “Most definitely,” Brit said. “I showered when I got back, so whenever you guys want to meet up works for me.”

  “Awesome. I’ll tell him we’re coming.”

  Sasha Silver:

  Hey! Srry I didn’t respond right away. Fake crisis—will explain ltr. Brit and I def want 2 do pizza. What time r u free?

  I’d just picked out my clothes when my BBM went off.

  Jacob Schwartz:

  Want to meet in an hr—hr and a half?

  Sasha Silver:

  Perf! C u there.

  Pizza at The Slice with Jacob and Brit sounded like the best way to start the weekend.

  AT LEAST YOU’RE NOT A TOTAL LIAR

  LATE SATURDAY MORNING, I WAS BACK IN the stable prepping Charm for a practice session with Brit and Heather.

  On Charm’s tack trunk, my phone buzzed.

  It was a text from Callie.

  Paige and I can meet u 2nite at 6 at The Sweet Shoppe. U free?

  Before I could change my mind, I typed a message back.

  6 is perfect. C u there.

  Brit, leading a tacked-up Apollo, walked over. “You okay?” she asked.

  “Callie wants to talk tonight at six,” I said. “I’ll probably have a panic attack before then.”

  “No you won’t,” Brit said. “You’re going to be fine. I promise. C’mon.” She gestured toward the arena. “Let’s keep you busy and start with a riding session.”

  “Okay.” I practically exhaled the word.

  I followed Brit down the aisle, feeling sweat already starting to prickle under my shirt.

  There was a looong way to go till six.

  Like a true friend, Brit kept her promise and made sure I was busy all day. We rode, groomed the horses for hours, then watched a couple of movies. By the time the credits rolled on the final film we’d selected, it was five-fifty.

  “I better go,” I said. “I don’t want them to be mad if I’m late.”

  Brit looked up from her chair where she’d been painting her nails a metallic blue. “You’re going to be fine, Sasha. It’s doesn’t feel like it now, but it’s going to be easier in the future if you can all come to some sort of agreement to get along.”

  “I know you’re right,” I said. “I’m just going to go and not drag it out.”

  “BBM or call if you need anything,” Brit said.

  I slid my purse onto my shoulder. “I will. Thanks.”

  The walk to The Sweet Shoppe seemed to be the quickest in history. I forced myself to step inside and look around for Callie and Paige. Both girls were seated at the back in a corner table—the most private spot there.

  I slid into a chair across from both of them.

>   “We ordered three Diet Cokes,” Paige said. “I hope that was okay.”

  “That’s great, thank you,” I said.

  I stared at them for a moment, just waiting.

  “Sasha,” Callie said. “I want to hear the truth about Jacob and your birthday party from you.”

  I swallowed, wishing my Coke was here already. “You deserve to hear it from me. Callie, that night, I went into the hallway with Eric so he could give me my present in private. We kissed and Jacob saw us. Eric went back inside and Jacob saw what Eric had given me—a heart charm for my bracelet. He asked me if I really wanted it and I didn’t answer him. He was upset and went back inside before I could think of what to say.”

  I took a breath as our sodas arrived. No one touched theirs—Callie and Paige kept looking at me.

  “I knew that Jacob liked me,” I continued. “But it made me sick that he was your first boyfriend and you were crazy about him. He …” and I hated saying this because I knew how much it would hurt. “… told me he liked you so, so much, Callie, but that he regretted that he never got a chance with me.”

  Callie’s face didn’t move. She didn’t look hurt or surprised—just like she wanted to know everything.

  “When I blew out my birthday candles, I wished I could fix everything and take back all of the lies I’d told—ones I thought would keep you and Jacob together.”

  I sipped my Diet Coke. Neither girl said a word. They were really putting me through it, but I deserved it.

  “I told Paige I was going to the bathroom, but I really went to my room. I felt like a total fraud. I hated that everyone was celebrating me when I’d been doing such horrible things. I was in my room and Jacob came in. He told me, again, that he knew I was with someone and he was trying to be respectful of that, but that he couldn’t stay away.”

  I shifted in my seat that was started to feel super uncomfortable. “Jacob begged me to admit that I liked him,” I said. “I told him no and before I could do anything, he … kissed me. I pushed him away and saw Eric standing in the doorway.”

  I rubbed my forehead, feeling my temple throb. “That’s exactly how it happened, Callie. I’m so sorry.”

  A strange mix of relief and anxiety came over me. Now, Callie knew the truth from me, which she’d deserved since my party. But I had no idea how she’d take it.