Rival Revenge

by Jessica Burkhart

  Callie’s head jerked back a little. This felt surreal. It was suddenly Heather and me versus Callie.

  “Wow, a turf war.” Jasmine, without Phoenix, walked into the arena and grinned at all of us.

  “You’re not riding at all, so you have no reason to be in here,” Heather said to Jas. “Get out.”

  Jas put a hand on her hip, her eyes flashing at Heather. “Whatever, Heather. Like I’m going to let you and Sasha force Callie out. I mean, I don’t like any of you, but Sasha …” Jas shook her head. “This is just wrong. You went after your BFF’s boyfriend. All she did was ask you to leave the arena so she could practice and you run and get Heather to stand up for you?”

  “I didn’t get Heather to do anything,” I said, trying to keep my voice quiet. If I yelled, Mr. Conner would be in here in two seconds. “I was here first, then Callie showed up. I’m not leaving.”

  “You’re ridiculous,” Jas said. “You should have offered to leave. Everyone at school knows what you did. You’re the girl who tried to steal a boyfriend from her best friend. You really should just resign from the YENT and go home. No one wants you here.”

  I blinked back tears. I’d tried not to think about what anyone else had thought about me and my reputation on campus. And I wished I could believe that Jas was exaggerating, but I wasn’t sure. Did everyone think that?

  “Jasmine, shut up,” Heather said. “You have no idea. So don’t pretend to know anything about what’s going on around campus.”

  Jas’s face went pink. This had to stop. I wanted to practice, not fight.

  “I’m staying on campus and in the arena,” I said. “So deal.”

  Jas shrugged. “Fine. Stay and let everyone talk about you. More fun for me.” She turned and walked out of the arena.

  Without a word, Heather mounted Aristocrat and trotted him to the far end of the arena and started riding him in large circles. I edged Charm toward the middle and went back to working on my stretches. Callie, as if deciding what to do, looked at the door, then turned Jack to the empty corner of the arena and began working on transitions.

  I sneaked a glance at Callie. She looked focused and not at all as if she was thinking about what had just happened. Before the Jacob mess, if Jas had ever said anything like that to me, it would have been Callie defending me—not Heather.

  It used to be Callie and me against the Trio. Now, Callie was looking at me as if I was on the opposite side.

  OUT OF ALL THE ROOMS

  I STAYED IN THE ARENA UNTIL I FELT CHARM’S stride start to lag. I took extra good care of him—giving him two carrots and grooming him until he was super shiny.

  “You were perfect today,” I told him. I hugged him and he wandered right to his hay net. I latched his door, put away his grooming box, and picked up his tack.

  I took his saddle and bridle into the tack room, filled a bucket with warm water, and got out a tin of saddle soap. I undid every buckle on his bridle and saddle, embarrassed that I’d let Charm’s tack get so dirty. I scrubbed with the yellow soap until it caked under my fingernails and water ran down my elbows. My fingers got tired as I ran the sponge around every inch of leather—twice—just to make sure it was clean.

  I dried everything and grabbed Charm’s saddle pad to throw into the stable washing machine with a few other blankets that were inside. I’d pick it up tomorrow.

  Satisfied with Charm’s gleaming tack, I washed my hands and picked up my stuff. I walked back to my room feeling relaxed because I knew Paige was out. There wouldn’t be any questions or looks.

  After I showered and changed into jeans and an old, comfy T-shirt, our room felt tiny. I wanted to get out and study somewhere else. The Winchester common room would def be a mistake. Jas would probably be there, or at least someone else who thought I was a backstabbing boyfriend stealer. I wanted drama-free study time.

  The media center seemed like a safe place. There were tons of rooms and I knew the least popular ones where none of my friends—or, I guess, former friends—would go. I loaded my book bag and walked across campus, taking the shortest route to the center. I was tired after my lesson and I didn’t feel like trekking all over campus.

  Inside, I hurried through the main lobby—ignoring the clumps of people who were trying to decide whether or not to watch a movie or grab one of the many flat screens and watch TV or a DVD.

  I walked down a few different hallways, turning so many times that I’d probably need a GPS to get out, until I found one of the rooms in the back that had no TV and was strictly for studying. I pushed open the door—glad to find it empty.

  I spread my notebooks, homework assignment sheets, and pens on the table. I started with math and got through fifteen out of thirty problems before needing a break. My calendar was open in front of me and I started filling each slot with what I needed to do each day from school to homework to riding. Every space for the next week was full—and I’d written in my tiniest handwriting. The squares were crowded with Write paper, Do sci problems, Ride 1 hr, and everything else that had to be done.

  I checked the time on my phone. I’d spent an hour just scheduling my to-do list! I closed the calendar and shoved it to the side. I pulled out my syllabus for history, a class I was caught up in, and scanned the sheet for the next big assignment. We had an essay on the topic of our choice about European exploration. I flipped through my book for that chapter and started reading, determined to find an essay topic and get started early on the paper.

  My phone buzzed. When do u want the egg? Jacob.

  I wanted to text back Never! U keep it! But instead, I wrote, 2mrw @ hist class.

  I shut off the phone and went back to studying. I turned a page and tried to block out the laughter that was coming down the hallway. The door opened and Eric, Rachel, and her friends, plus Ben, Julia, and Troy walked inside.

  Rachel’s eyes met mine for a second before she looked away. She was the only one to look at me except for Julia, who only glanced in my direction before sitting beside Ben.

  Eric sat a few chairs away from me and Rachel took the seat next to him. Eric was wearing one of my fave shirts—a blue cotton T-shirt that was snuggly whenever I’d leaned into him.

  Thinking about him started to make me sad, but I pushed it away. He could sit with Rachel if he wanted. We weren’t together.

  No one said a word—everyone just started working. The silence in the room was deafening in that weird way and I wished I’d picked a room with a TV just to have some sort of background noise. I didn’t want to sit here with them—they were probably waiting for me to leave so they could talk about me. But if I got up and left now, it would look like they’d chased me out of the room. I had to keep pretending that I didn’t care and was fine.

  So I went back to work, forcing myself to stay. I still couldn’t believe they’d picked this room. Out of every other room they could have chosen—it had to be this one. And the entire time, no one talked—everyone worked on homework. I kept sneaking glances at the wall clock.

  Julia, sitting by Ben, looked over at me for a second and her mouth opened, then she closed it. And that was my cue to leave before she started grilling me about why I was here. I didn’t look at anyone as I put away my stuff and slung my book bag over my shoulder. Troy was the only one to look up and give me a half smile.

  I left and went down a side hallway. I walked by one of the TV rooms that was empty and had the door open. I halted mid-step and went back to look inside. This was the room. The couch. The TV. The place where Jacob and I had met for our first viewing of our documentary, Horse Sense. I’d been so nervous to sit next to Jacob on the couch—I’d almost jumped up when his arm had brushed mine. The memory made me smile.

  When we’d filmed the movie at the stable, Jacob had acted weird the entire time. While I’d held Charm, Jacob had stayed as far away from me as possible. He’d left the second we’d finished filming and I’d been crushed. I’d thought it was because he’d stopped liking me or was into someone
else. I’d had no idea it was because he was afraid of horses. Jacob had gone along with my idea for me because he knew how much I loved horses. It was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for me. I stood in the doorway for a long, long time thinking about good memories and how quickly things can change.

  THE NEW BAD GIRL

  WHEN I GOT BACK TO WINCHESTER, I WAITED

  for the feeling of security, of being in my own dorm and away from everyone, to wash over me. But it didn’t. Instead, I just felt annoyed at seeing Homecoming posters every five feet.

  “Sasha?” Livvie, my dorm monitor, called. She stepped outside her office and I turned back to face her.

  “Yeah?”

  “Come in here a sec. I want to chat.” Livvie waved her arm in front of her, motioning for me to walk into her office.

  I did and she closed the door behind us.

  “Sit, sit,” Livvie said. She brushed her long brown hair back and sat behind her giant wooden desk. It was freakishly organized. Like, down to the paper clip collection. But that was Livvie.

  I sat, trying to think if I was in trouble. My grades were fine—great, actually. I hadn’t missed a class and I couldn’t think of one reason for Livvie to call me in here.

  Livvie smiled. “You’re not in trouble,” she said, as if reading my mind.

  “Phew,” I said. “I thought something was wrong.”

  Livvie looked down at her desktop calendar, then back at me. “Well, I’m hoping there isn’t. Sash, Paige mentioned to me that you broke up with Eric. She said that you and Callie are going through a rough time. I’m sorry to hear that and please know that Paige only told me because she’s worried about you.”

  I shook my head—I wasn’t mad at Paige. “Worried how?”

  “Worried that you’re overextending yourself. Studying and riding all of the time. I’m all for working hard,” Livvie said. “But you’ve got to take a break every once in a while. Your grades are wonderful, Mr. Conner tells me you’re doing great at the stable, and none of your teachers have a single complaint.”

  “That’s because I’ve been working so hard,” I said. “Paige was right—I don’t have a boyfriend and I lost one of my best friends. That left me with a lot of free time. So, I’ve been studying more and riding.”

  Livvie folded her hands on top of her desk. “But you realize that you can do other things with the free time besides work, right? You and Paige used to be the queens of DVDs and TV shows. I hope you’re still making time for that.”

  “Oh, we are,” I said. “For sure. And I’m fine—really. I’d come to you if I needed to talk.”

  I knew that’s what Livvie needed to hear to let me out of her office. “Good,” she said, smiling. “My door’s always open. You can talk to me anytime.”

  I got up and flashed her a smile. “Thanks. I will.”

  Once I was outside of her office, I changed plans. I didn’t feel like going back to my room just yet. Paige would be there with questions—ones I wouldn’t answer. I decided to risk the common room even though running into Jasmine was likely.

  Inside the cozy room, I grabbed a root beer from the fridge and a mini-pack of pretzels. I put my bag on the carpet and plopped beside it. I pulled out a notebook and wrote things 2 do w/Charm at the top. There were so many exercises we needed to practice before Mr. Conner taped a lesson for Mr. Nicholson.

  I munched on a pretzel and wrote serpentines, shoulder-ins, transitions on the piece of paper. The list kept growing down the page. Each item I added made me panicky. These were all things Charm and I had to do before next week.

  So. Many. Things. I squinted, trying not to take in the whole list as I added the final entries. But the familiar feeling of nausea gripped me. It had held me captive the entire time I’d been lying about Jacob to Callie and Eric. And now it was back because I was nervous about not being able to get all of this done.

  You’ll start first thing tomorrow morning, I told myself. I’d be fine. Completely fine.

  I glanced up when the common room door opened. Jasmine, groaning, walked inside. She came over and sat on the couch across from me. From my position on the floor, I knew she could see my list. I flipped to a clean sheet of paper.

  “In a sad way, I’m kind of impressed by you, Sasha,” Jas said.

  I didn’t even want to guess where this was going. “What are you even talking about, Jas? I’m busy.”

  Jas rolled her eyes. “Sure you are. No boyfriend. No best friend. Yeah, I’m sure your calendar is full.” She put a hand over her heart, pausing for a second. “I just didn’t know that you had it in you to do something like that. And to your best friend. It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?”

  I just stared at her. I’d learned it was better not to answer her rhetorical questions.

  “I mean,” Jasmine continued, “you, Callie, and Paige always looked at me as the bad girl. The horrible one who did mean, awful things. Look in the mirror now.”

  I forced myself not to react. Jasmine knew nothing. Not why I’d done anything that I had. She was so wrong.

  Jas watched me for a few seconds, waiting for a reaction, then shrugged. “Whatever. I’ve got friends to go hang out with.”

  “Have fun,” I said in an ubercheery voice.

  Jasmine got up, walked over to the door, and opened it. But she stopped in the doorway and turned back to look at me. Her eyes focused on me and her dark hair swirled around her shoulders. “FYI, if being the new bad girl is what you want—don’t even bother. I’ve done something way worse than anything you’ve done or could ever think up. So don’t even try.”

  The door slammed behind her and I went back to my homework. I had an essay to write for history, so I started outlining it on paper. No way I was handwriting it, but I wasn’t about to go to my room for my laptop. I scribbled more notes and my eyelids started to feel heavy. I rested my forehead on my knee. Two-minute nap and then back to work, I told myself.

  “Sasha?”

  Someone’s hand touched my shoulder and I felt a pen being taken from my fingers. I blinked and looked up at Paige.

  “It’s almost eleven,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back for hours—I’ve been texting you nonstop.”

  “Oh, Paige, I’m sorry.” I dug my phone out of my bag—it was on silent. “Is Livvie looking for me?”

  “If you’d been in here much longer,” Paige said. “I didn’t tell her anything in case you just needed some time away from Winchester and I didn’t want to get you in trouble. I had no idea you were in here. C’mon.”

  She held out a hand and pulled me up off the floor. She helped me gather my papers and shouldered my bag.

  I didn’t even remember changing clothes, washing my face or crawling into bed. I just knew I was out the second my head touched the pillow.

  TEACHER’S PET

  I WALKED INTO HISTORY CLASS—I’D BEEN dreading it from the second the day had begun. I had to take the egg and notebook from Jacob. I covered a yawn. After Paige had found me last night, we’d both gone to bed, but I’d gotten up at four thirty to finish homework and double-check my schedule.

  Jacob was already in his seat when I slid into mine. He saw me, then leaned over and reached down beside his chair leg. He got up and walked over. Jacob held a box in one hand and the notebook in another.

  He sat in the chair in front of me, turning around to face me.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hi.”

  Awkward!

  He put the box and notebook on my desk.

  “I made the egg a cushion to keep it from breaking,” Jacob said. He opened the top of the box lid, and inside, padded with cotton and Kleenex, was our egg. I peered at it.

  “You drew a face on it,” I said, trying not to laugh. “Omigod.”

  Jacob laughed. “Yeah, well, it needed it.”

  He’d drawn a goofy mouth, nose, eyes, and ears with a blue Sharpie on the egg.

  “I love the eyes,” I said, admiring th
e round eyes with tiny eyebrows.

  “Thanks,” Jacob said. “Since it’s your egg too, you can draw something else on it if you want.”

  Jacob reached into his bag and pulled out a couple of different colored Sharpies.

  “Okay.”

  I took a green one with a fine point and picked up the egg. I drew a sideways baseball hat on its head and wrote CCA on the hat.

  “Niiice,” Jacob said. “That’s exactly what he needed.”

  “Excuse me? He?” I made a face at Jacob. “When was that decided?”

  Jacob smiled. “It was obvious after I drew the face. I made him in blue and then you just added a baseball hat. Of course it’s a boy egg.”

  “Oh, so a girl egg definitely wouldn’t have a blue face or wear a hat?”

  I reached over and swiped the blue Sharpie from Jacob.

  “Sasha! What are you doing?” Jacob grabbed for the pen, but missed.

  I giggled. “Careful! Don’t break ‘him.’ And you forgot something.”

  Jacob shook his head, but watched as I started drawing on the egg.

  “There,” I said, holding it out to him. “Now what kind of egg is it?”

  Jacob peered at it, then grinned. “I would guess that from the curly eyelashes you just gave him, it’s now a girl.”

  “Exactly,” I said. We smiled at each other, then I realized we were acting too friendly. Too close. This couldn’t happen.

  I sat back in my seat, creating more distance between us. “We can text tomorrow or something about when to trade again,” I said. “I’ll, um, log in our notebook that I took it now.”

  Jacob nodded—his smile fading. “Okay.”

  He went back to his seat and I snapped a pic of the egg on my desk. The rest of the classroom soon filled. I was so busy reading my to-do list, I didn’t even notice Eric walk into the room. I just looked over and he was sitting in his seat.

  Mr. Spellman walked into the room, smiling at us. “Before we get started,” he said, “I want to remind everyone that group projects start at the end of next week and