Unfriendly Competition

by Jessica Burkhart

  “Promise,” Doug said. “You handled yourselves extremely well in an emergency—keep that in mind and try not to worry too much. The situation could have been much worse if you’d lost your cool.”

  He dismounted and led his horse and Mike’s down the aisle. The four of us sat—frozen in our saddles.

  “I’ve never seen Mr. Conner look like that,” Callie whispered. “He was in so much pain. Oh, my God. I just keep seeing Lexington rearing, over and over in my mind.”

  Brit’s face was pale. “I know. I don’t even know if I can dismount. My whole body is shaking.”

  “He’s going to be okay,” Heather said, sounding as if she was trying to convince all of us. “We did everything right. Mike’s there until the ambulance comes and all we can do now is wait to hear.”

  “But his leg . . . ,” I started. It almost made me throw up to think about how it was bent. “It’s definitely broken.”

  Heather couldn’t dispute that. She just nodded. “I know.” Her tone was soft.

  “Maybe we can get out of our first class,” Brit said. “I won’t be able to concentrate anyway.”

  Heather hopped out of Aristocrat’s saddle. “I think we should at least ask our teachers. Good idea.”

  “I’m going to untack Charm and just go to Mr. Davidson’s office,” I said. “He’s my first class this morning.” I turned to Brit. “I’ll BBM you if I don’t have to go. And you let me know too, and we can meet up in our room.”

  “Sounds good,” Brit said.

  “You can come over to my suite if I’m able to get out,” Heather said.

  Brit and I nodded. I wanted to be surrounded by friends right now. The three of us dismounted, joining Heather on the ground.

  I looked over, seeing sadness on Callie’s face. She was going to Orchard too. To her single if she got out of class. She’d be alone.

  “Callie?” I said.

  “Yeah?” Her eyes were pink when she looked at me.

  “If you get out of class and you, you know, want to, you should come wait for news with us at Heather’s.”

  Callie blinked and chewed on her bottom lip. “That would be . . . great,” she said, her voice soft. “Thank you.” She looked at Heather. “Is that okay?”

  “Definitely.”

  We all exchanged tiny smiles before we led our horses into the stable and toward their stalls. They didn’t need to be groomed—just untacked.

  Like a zombie, I untacked Charm and put away his gear. I came back to hug him extra tight. “I hope Mr. Conner’s okay,” I whispered. “He has to be.”

  As I walked back to Orchard, everything hit me. I cared about Mr. Conner more than I realized. He was an instructor I’d been seeing twice a day almost since I got to Canterwood. He pushed me to be a better rider and had made Charm and me a better team. I was as intimidated by him as I was inspired. The thought of him being away from the stable felt scary.

  I wiped tears off my face, not even realizing I was crying until I got to the stairs of the English building.

  I went inside and walked to Mr. Davidson’s office. His door was closed, but the light was on inside.

  I knocked, waiting for a response.

  “Come in,” he called.

  “Hi, Mr. Davidson,” I said, trying to stop sniffling.

  “Sasha.” Mr. Davidson got out of his chair and came around from behind his desk, putting a hand on my arm. “Sit down and let me get you a glass of water. You’re pale.”

  His blue eyes stayed on me as he got me a plastic cup of water from the tank in his office.

  He handed me the cup and sat at the edge of his desk so he was in front of me. “What happened? Are you all right?”

  I took a sip of the cool water, trying to calm my still racing heartbeat.

  “Mr. Conner—he, he fell off his horse,” I said, choking up as I said the words. “We were crossing the street and his horse reared and fell on him. My teammates and I got Mr. Conner and his horse off the road and got an ambulance.”

  Mr. Davidson covered his mouth. “Oh, my gosh. Sasha, that had to be terrifying. I’m so sorry. Is Mr. Conner all right?”

  “I think he broke his leg,’ I said, desperately trying not to picture it. “One of the grooms, Doug, is supposed to call us when he has news. It was”—I had to take a breath—“so scary. I’ve never seen anyone get hurt like that. Ever.”

  Mr. Davidson’s eyes were sympathetic. “That’s something no one should have to ever witness. Again, I’m so sorry. But it sounds as though you and your friends did all the right things. You might have saved his life.”

  I couldn’t even think about that.

  “I know I’m not sick, Mr. Davidson, but I wouldn’t be able to concentrate in class. Is there any way I can make up the—”

  He smiled at me, shaking his head. “Sasha, I wouldn’t ask you to come to class after that. You need to try and rest if you can, while you wait for news about your instructor. Please do not worry about class today. Okay?”

  “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

  Mr. Davidson nodded. “Of course, Sasha. I’ll be on the alert for updates about Mr. Conner too. Are you all right getting back to your room?”

  I finished the final sips of my water and tossed the cup in the tiny trash can beside me. “I’m fine.”

  “Let your dorm monitor know if you need anything, okay?” Mr. Davidson said.

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  Mr. Davidson got up and opened the door for me.

  I walked out of his office, starting to BBM Brit to tell her I was heading back to our room to change and then, hopefully, meeting her, Heather, and Callie at Heather’s.

  There was already a message on my phone.

  Heather Fox:

  No class 4 me. Come over whenever.

  Sasha Silver:

  Me either. Be there soon.

  I swiped my hand across my eyes and pushed the button for the elevator. My legs weren’t stable enough for stairs.

  “Sasha?”

  I looked up and saw Paige. Her green eyes, wide, searched my face.

  “What happened?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

  “No,” was all I managed to choke out.

  “Come here.” Paige took my hand and slowly led me over to a bench at the end of the hallway, away from any student traffic that would soon fill the building.

  Like nothing bad had ever happened between us, Paige put her arm around my shoulders and I leaned into her. The entire story came out and Paige rubbed my back, calming me down.

  “Oh, Sasha,” she said when I was finished. “I can’t even imagine. I’m so, so sorry that happened to Mr. Conner and that you had to witness it. But I’ve been around Mr. Conner enough to know that he’s going to be fine. You have to know that what you, Brit, Heather, and Callie did was something few students would have been able to do. I would have panicked. You didn’t. You should be proud.”

  “Thank you,” I said, looking at her for a second. “For saying that and for talking to me. You didn’t have to.”

  “Sasha. I wanted to. I want us to be friends again. I—” Now it was Paige’s turn to get teary. “I miss you. I miss being your friend. I miss movie nights. And TV marathons. And going to The Sweet Shoppe. Everything. I’m so sorry for what I did.”

  “I miss you,” I said. “I miss all of that. You were my best friend and nothing’s been the same since I moved out. You have to know that.”

  “Same thing for me,” Paige said. “I love having Geena as my roommate, and you seem so happy with Brit—and I’m glad—but I miss us.”

  I leaned over, hugging Paige. “Me too.”

  After a few seconds, we pulled apart. “You’ve got to get to class,” I said. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

  “Only if you’re okay,” Paige said.

  “I am now. Thanks to you.”

  “All I did was listen,” Paige said. “I want to keep talking, if you do. Maybe a Sweet Shoppe date soon?”


  “I’d love that.”

  We hugged again with promises to start BBMing to say hi until we set up our Sweet Shoppe meeting. Paige went back down the hall toward Mr. Davidson’s classroom and I got in the elevator.

  When I got closer to Orchard, my phone buzzed twice almost simultaneously.

  Brit Chan:

  My teacher was totally understanding. B in r room in 5.

  Callie Harper:

  I got excused from class. Changing then going 2 H’s.

  I wrote to Brit that I’d see her in a sec and to Callie that I was glad she got out of her first class and that Brit and I would meet her at the Trio’s suite.

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later, the four of us were gathered in the Trio’s living room.

  “Did you tell Julia and Alison?” Callie asked. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor. We all had our phones on extra loud and in front of us so that there wasn’t even a chance of us missing a call or text about Mr. Conner.

  “I texted them,” Heather said. “I didn’t want them hearing misinformation and freaking out.”

  “Were they upset?” Brit asked. She and I were sitting on the couch.

  Heather nodded. “They were. They both told me to BBM them the second we hear something. They’re going to tell other riders as they see them in class.”

  “That’s a good idea,” I said. “It’s hard to hear, but I’d want to know from friends instead of hearing gossip and being shocked.”

  We were all quiet for several minutes. No one wanted to watch TV or read or do anything. None of us could concentrate.

  “So this is what it took,” Callie said. She shook her head. “I can’t believe it took a serious accident for us to sit in a room and talk. I’m sorry.”

  “Me too,” I said. “It never should have come to this. We’re a team and we haven’t been acting like it at all. I’m sorry, too.”

  Brit looked around at all of us. “I’m with Sasha. I made a lot of mistakes, and I’m not going to repeat them. I’m completely with this team.”

  From her spot on the recliner, Heather nodded. “I might have been a little immature about some stuff.”

  I looked at her. Heather had changed. The old Heather Fox would have ripped into us and not admitted to doing anything wrong. But it had actually been Heather who’d been the main force in pulling our team together and talking us into how important it was to be a team.

  “All we can do now is be better in the future,” I said. “There’s no reason to beat ourselves up for what we’ve done.”

  Callie glanced at me. “Sasha’s right. Mr. Conner’s accident can’t be for nothing. We have to take something away from it, and I think we got a message he’d be proud of.”

  We sat still, absorbing Callie’s words.

  “Hey,” Brit said, her tone light. “Someone has a birthday tomorrow.”

  Heather sighed. “Don’t remind me. I’ve been trying to forget about it. That means my mother will be invading campus tomorrow and throwing me a party I don’t want.”

  Brit and I exchanged quick looks. Heather had no idea that we’d been working over BBM with Julia and Alison to still plan the movie-themed party she wanted. It was happening as a surprise after her mom’s party.

  “The night might be better than you think,” I said, trying to cheer Heather up without giving away anything.

  Heather’s phone went off with a shrill ring. She almost fell out of her seat as she snatched it from the table.

  “Hello?”

  She listened nodding. “Okay. Uh-huh.”

  “Is it about Mr. Conner?” I whispered.

  She shot me a look, then nodded her head yes.

  “Thanks for calling. And we’ll definitely ride cross-country with you this afternoon if that’s what Mr. Conner wants. We’re up for it.”

  She ended the call and looked at us. “He’s going to be totally fine.” The relief was audible in her voice.

  “Omigod! Wheeew!” Callie said, leaning back and clasping her cheeks in her hands.

  “He didn’t suffer from any head or back trauma,” Heather continued.

  “You said he’s going to be fine,” I said. “What about his leg?”

  The elation in the room went on insta-pause.

  “It’s broken,” Heather said, taking a deep breath. “He’ll be out of the hospital late tomorrow, and Mike said he’ll be able to get around on crutches.”

  “That’s awful,” Brit said. “I feel so bad that he got hurt at all.”

  “Mr. Conner told Mike he still wants us to practice cross-country this afternoon, so we’re not all spooked by this morning. He wants us to keep practicing for Huntington.”

  Huntington.

  “This sounds awful,” I said. “But if we’re riding with Mike, will Mr. Conner be able to coach us?”

  “Of course he will,” Heather said. “From the ground. He won’t be able to ride until after Thanksgiving break, possibly closer to Christmas.”

  It felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. Mr. Conner getting better was more important to me than any show. But this was our first season as YENT competitors and our instructor would be coaching us from crutches.

  “Don’t have a panic attack, Silver,” Heather said. “It’s Mr. Conner. He’s going to coach us better with a broken leg than any of the healthy coaches.”

  “Heather’s right,” Callie said. “We’ve got Mike too. He’s not a coach, but he’ll be able to go on cross-country rides with us.”

  “This is going to make us all rely on each other for coaching when Mr. Conner can’t be there,” Brit said. “Going into Huntington, I don’t know if that’s necessarily a terrible thing.”

  No one disagreed.

  9

  BACK IN THE SADDLE

  AFTER WE GOT THE CALL ABOUT MR. CONNER, we split up the list of riders we had in our phones and told them the news about Mr. Conner. By the time we’d finished, it was time to get to our second class. I felt better throughout the afternoon about Mr. Conner’s condition. But it felt weird not to have him on campus, even though I didn’t see him during the day except for lessons: like I could still feel his absence.

  I slogged through my classes and met Brit back in our room to change for our riding lesson.

  “I’m nervous,” I admitted. “I understand why Mr. Conner wants us to ride the same course with Mike so we’re not afraid, but the accident just happened this morning.”

  Brit laced up brown paddock boots. “I feel the same way. I don’t want to go anywhere near that spot. Especially not right now. But I trust Mr. Conner and I know he’s right. We have to go or our fears will intensify.”

  Reluctantly, I got up off my bed and followed Brit out the door. At least the morning fog had lifted and the November sun was bright in the cloudless sky. Brit and I gathered our tack and separated to get Charm and Apollo ready, since the stable was packed. Everyone was talking about Mr. Conner’s accident. Someone had put a giant piece of white poster board over his office door and there were scribbled notes for him to get better and come back. I made a mental note to sign it after my lesson.

  “Sasha!” Nicole Allen, one of my riding friends, called after me. She brushed her blond curls from her heart-shaped face. “Thanks for texting me about Mr. Conner. Omigosh, I’m so glad that you and the rest of the YENT riders were there to help. Were you scared?”

  “It was really scary,” I said. “For a minute, I didn’t think I’d be able to move, but all of us just snapped out of being afraid and knew we had to help him.”

  “That’s amazing,” Nicole said. “I put a poster board up on his door. Tell anyone you see to sign it.”

  I should have known it had been Nicole. She was so sweet—she’d been the first person to welcome me to Canterwood when I’d arrived.

  “It’s a great idea—he’ll love it,” I said. “I’ll definitely let people know.”

  “I’ve got to groom Wish, but talk to you later.” Nicole smiled at me and headed off
toward her gelding’s stall.

  As I walked toward Charm’s stall, I made up my mind to keep him inside while I tacked him up. The stable was bustling with chatter about Mr. Conner, and I didn’t want Charm getting nervous. Me either. Hearing about the accident over and over wasn’t exactly something I wanted.

  I put Charm’s tack down on his wooden trunk and grabbed a body brush. It was all he’d need before our ride. He was clean enough from this morning.

  “Hi,” I said, my voice soft. He’d had a rough start to the day too, and I didn’t want to startle him.

  Charm looked up at me from the corner of his stall. His left hind leg was cocked in a relaxed position. Inside, I put my arms around his neck and breathed in his scent. It was my favorite—better than any body spray or perfume. Even Heather’s expensive Burberry kind.

  Charm smelled like fresh, clean hay and sweet grain. I kissed his cheek, something he sometimes wouldn’t let me do in front of his friends, and rubbed his blaze.

  “We’re going to go for a cross-country ride with everyone and Mike,” I said. “Mr. Conner broke his leg this morning.”

  Charm looked at me, seeming to listen.

  “I’m kind of scared to go back to there.” I rubbed my eyes, trying to block out the images of what had happened this morning. “It’s what Mr. Conner wants, though, so we have to do it.”

  Charm, always in tune with my feelings, rubbed his head against my arm like a giant dog.

  “Sweet guy,” I said. “Thank you. Let’s get you tacked up and get out there.”

  It only took minutes to get him ready and soon, we were heading down the aisle to meet Mike and his mount outside the stable.

  We passed Trix’s stall, and Julia had the mare tied outside. “Heard you’re the big hero who rescued Mr. Conner,” she said, unsmiling.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I grabbed Lexington. Didn’t Heather tell you what all of us did?”

  Julia rolled her eyes and whisked a dandy brush over Trix’s bay coat. “Yeah. Whatever. She said the YENT riders got Mr. Conner help.”

  Sometimes, I didn’t understand this girl. She went from hot to cold with me in seconds for no reason I could figure out.

  “Look. Are you . . . mad about something?” I asked.