Elaine’s final artistic touch was to fold the napkins into swans.
“She is amazing,” Josh commented to Anya as Elaine fussed with the table settings. “Like, truly.”
Elaine heard him. “Well, don’t just stand there like bumps on a log. There’s plenty to do. Come on, children!”
“Until she talks,” Josh added. “Funny how that works.”
Anya nudged him. “It doesn’t matter. Did you see what she did with that sad hen? It’s, like, gourmet!”
Will came in holding a dessert box. “Here’s your cake, just as requested,” he said to Elaine.
“Yo, next time, I’ll do the whole pastry chef part,” Josh offered. “I’m good at that.”
Anya smirked at him. “Yeah, I think I’ll ask you to prove that in advance of inviting Lady Covington, yeah?”
When Kit made it back to her room, tired, filthy, and yet hopeful, she found a note on her pillow. ACT SURPRISED, it read in Anya’s flashy printing. She laughed, wondering what exactly was in store. Could it match her excitement at finding TK?
An hour later, Kit and Nav, both dressed for dinner, arrived at the dining hall. “Yeah, so then her note said to act surprised —” Kit stopped talking. Both of them stopped walking.
The dining hall looked beautiful! And at one central table sat Will, Josh, Anya, Elaine, and Lady Covington, all of them talking and laughing like one big family.
“And here I am,” Kit said, “not having to act. . . .”
“Is she smiling?” asked Nav.
Kit knew he must be referring to Lady Covington, and, yes, indeed, she was smiling! “Is this a trap?” Kit wondered aloud.
She was about to go in when Nav reminded her, “Not a word about TK, not until we can make a plan.”
Kit nodded just as Anya spotted them and called, “Kit!”
Everyone at the table turned to watch Kit and Nav enter. “Who did this?” Kit asked, amazed.
“If I’m being honest?” Josh said. “Mostly Elaine.”
Elaine smiled modestly. “Everyone played their part. And it’s getting cold, so come! Sit!”
Kit led Nav to their chairs as Lady Covington said, “What a surprise. Elaine, this looks, quite simply, delicious.”
Kit sat down, beaming. These are my friends, she thought in awe. My friends! And look what they’ve done, just for me! Nav found TK, and Elaine, of all people, organized everybody to make Thanksgiving dinner! Kit realized something wonderful at that moment.
She felt at home.
The feeling wasn’t solid yet, and big problems still loomed in her life, but right now she had friends, food, and laughter. Life was looking up!
As dinner began, Kit didn’t know that her dad was peeking into the dining hall. He watched his daughter smiling and laughing and sharing with her friends, including the Dragon Lady herself. It was a wonderful sight indeed.
“Kit seems very happy,” said Sally in a soft voice.
Rudy had sensed her approach. Now she stood beside him looking so cute with a pencil stuck in her bun and her arms full of books. The ultimate English teacher.
“You’re doing something right,” she added.
“I hope so,” Rudy said. “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster.”
“I’m not an expert, but I was a teenage girl, and I think you’re getting off rather lightly, actually.”
Rudy gave her a grin. “Your kid gets older, and it’s harder to make decisions about what might be right for her or you . . .” He shrugged, feeling the weight of his role as father — and not only that but as single parent — very much on his shoulders. He knew Sally was waiting for him to explain himself, but he didn’t have the words to do so. He rarely did. “Ah, just ignore me,” he said. “Nothing quite so sentimental as an old cowboy.”
After dessert was eaten and the formal conversation wound down, Lady Covington thanked her students for a lovely time and made her exit.
Kit and company weren’t ready to end the night yet, so they gathered closer over second helpings of cake and talked about the upcoming league gala.
Josh set the tone of the conversation by stating, “Honestly, guys? I feel that we have a shot at making the league gala our own.”
“And, Elaine, you’ve run a clear course for the last six times,” Nav put in.
“It’s Thunder,” Elaine said. “He’s been impeccable.”
She still had her modesty running at full blast. Kit figured it was because she didn’t want to rock the boat, and for that, Kit felt a smidge of affection for Miss Perfect. Only a smidge, though. After all the trauma she’d been through with Elaine, a solid friendship was going to take time. Then again, all friendships take time, don’t they? she thought. Then, aloud, she brought up a question that had been bugging her. “So what do I have to do to participate in the gala?”
Total crickets, and then everybody responded at once: “What?” and “Really?” and “You’re serious?”
“What?” Kit asked defensively.
“I just thought, with TK gone, you might not want to,” Anya said.
Kit could deal with that. She had been making such a huge fuss about TK, complaining and whining to everyone who would listen. But now that she finally knew where TK was, her confidence had shot up into the stratosphere. “I know,” she said. “But maybe it’s time that I just go for it.”
Everyone’s response differed. Anya looked gobsmacked, Elaine seemed a bit wary, and Josh looked ready to leap into Cheerleader Mode. Kit noticed how Nav grinned, though — he knew she was up to something, and she could tell he was quite curious.
Will was the one who brought up the biggest practical consideration. “The deadline is tomorrow. You know that, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Kit said. “Of course! . . . Um, the deadline for what?”
“You’re not even in the league,” Will pointed out. “To compete, you’ll have to do an official timed run.”
“You’ll have to complete the entire jumper course,” Elaine chimed in.
Kit turned to her. For once, Elaine wasn’t speaking with sarcasm but with what seemed like genuine concern. Kit would have been wowed by that, but the idea of doing the jumper course . . .
And then Nav just had to repeat the worst part by reminding her of the deadline. “Tomorrow,” he said.
Riding class was about to begin. All the students were assembled in the tack room, chatting, while Kit waited at the door. She was hoping to catch a moment with her dad before he started teaching.
She heard him coming and pounced the second he entered. “Can I talk to you, Dad?”
“One sec,” he said. He faced the class. “Gather round, gang. The latest standings for the all-schools league are in.” He began passing out papers. “As you know, your scores to this point will determine your rankings, which will decide where you compete in the league gala race.”
“Yeah, aka the Big One,” said Josh.
Rudy nodded. “Exactly. Okay, it should be no surprise that Will, Nav, and Elaine are all in the top five in their division.” Everyone burst into applause as Rudy said, “Congrats, you guys.”
Kit noticed that Elaine wasn’t eating up the praise. Instead she was frowning at her paper. “Individual glory is one thing,” she said, “but how is Covington doing as a school? Ah, Luders is in eighth, and Patel is in . . . twentieth?” She flapped the paper angrily. “This is a disaster!”
Kit was sure that Josh and Anya did not appreciate the mention of their personal scores. Kit wanted to avoid the same thing, seeing as her name had a zero next to it. “Hey, Dad —”
“As a team, we are in fourth, which is up from the beginning of the term,” Rudy said to Elaine. Kit was annoyed at being interrupted, but she understood that the sooner her dad calmed Elaine down, the better everyone would feel, so she kept quiet. “This is a win,” Rudy went on. “And you two,” he then said to Anya and Josh, “still have time to turn this around. Nothing’s impossible, not for this team. You’ve got to remember that. Eve
n with Kit’s zero, we’ve still got a real shot.”
“Could we please not call it Kit’s big fat zero?” Kit asked. “It’s technically a did not participate.”
Instead of saying something nice to his daughter, Rudy looked past her. “Nav, are you all right? You should be happy about this.”
Kit turned to see what Nav was doing. He had his handkerchief in his hand. Then Kit noticed that one corner bore a monogram, SVA. It’s not Nav’s, she thought. So what’s he doing with somebody else’s handkerchief, and why does he look so upset about it?
“Yeah,” Nav said absently, looking lost in thought. Then he seemed to snap back to reality. “I mean, thank you, sir. Please, could you excuse me?” Clutching the handkerchief as if he wanted to squeeze it to death, he left the tack room.
That seemed to signal a class break. Rudy stepped over to his desk, and Kit grabbed her chance. She hustled to his side and announced, “I brought you a coffee!”
Rudy jumped. “Oh! I didn’t see you there.”
“Very funny. I wanted to talk to you about something. I want to compete in the gala.”
Rudy had lifted the coffee halfway to his mouth. That’s where it stayed as he regarded his daughter with wide eyes. “You do?”
“Yes. And I know I have to do an official run because I don’t actually have a rank and I know that the deadline is”— Kit made a little helpless gesture — “today.”
“Well, it seems as if you’ve already thought this through.”
In all honesty, Kit hadn’t thought it through, not completely. She had never ridden in a gala before, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with it. All she knew for sure was that she needed to do it. She felt it in her bones. Kit Bridges had to be part of the gala. “So?” she asked.
Rudy thought about it. “Well, we’ve got a judge down here doing some makeups. I’ll request permission to have you included.” He smiled and finally took that sip of coffee as if all of this was no big deal.
He’s just trying to keep me calm, Kit thought, hopping on her toes in excitement. “Oh, my gosh! Okay, things just got real!” She took a deep breath, afraid that her heart would beat so hard it would burst. “I’m doing this. I’m really doing this, today!”
Nav had found the SVA handkerchief on the ground in the stable. At first he’d wondered if it could have gotten mixed in with his things, and then maybe he dropped it. But no, there was only explanation for its presence, and Nav didn’t like it. It took him a while, but he eventually found the handkerchief’s owner near the main driveway, playing a game with Will and Winston. “What are you doing?” he asked as he drew close to the group.
“Playing keepie-uppies,” answered Will.
“It’s called ti jian,” Nav corrected him. Most people thought of hacky sack as having been invented in the United States in the 1970s, but he knew it had its roots in traditional Asian games.
Will didn’t seem to care. “Doesn’t matter what you call it,” he said as he kicked the foot bag over to Winston. “Have you seen this guy? He’s amazing.” Will was referring to the third member of their trio.
Nav faced that member. “To what do I owe this surprise visit, Santiago?” he asked, adding, “And may I see your visitor’s pass?”
While Will and Winston continued kicking the foot bag back and forth, Santiago produced his pass. “There you go,” he said in a thick Spanish accent. “Our half-term break is a couple of weeks earlier than yours, and I thought of the idea of a quick jaunt to Rome or Buenos Aires, but then I thought, why not visit my favorite cousin, eh?”
Irritated, Nav kicked the foot bag as it flew toward Santiago. Since he hadn’t been aiming, the foot bag sailed high over their heads and landed some distance away.
“Right, mate,” said Will. “Well done for ruining a friendly game.”
“There are no friendly games, William,” Nav replied while frowning at his cousin.
Santiago laughed.
After looking for Nav for some time, Kit found him in the stables. “Okay, the plan is in motion. All I have to do is ride the trial today, which should be super-mad-crazy-easy!” She wrung her hands nervously.
Nav, still holding the mysterious handkerchief, responded with a vague, “The trial . . . ?”
“Because if I earn the right to compete in the league gala, then Lady C might consider bringing TK back! At least, that’s my hope.” Kit couldn’t stand the mystery anymore and asked, “What is that?”
As if snapping awake from a dream, Nav shook his head. “Oh! Uh, nothing. Sorry. You were saying?”
Kit risked coming right out with her request. “Can I borrow Prince? And you, too! I need you guys to get me through the trial. Prince is the only other horse I can even think about getting on.”
Nav’s eyes suddenly flared with anger. “Are you mad? Not Prince, and definitely not today!”
Kit stepped back. “Whoa. Do you mind helping me pick my head up off the floor? I didn’t expect it to be snapped right off.”
Nav looked mad, and he seemed to be on a roll. “Look, take my phone, take my saddle — take my private jet anywhere you want! Anything but Prince! I can’t part with him, not today!”
Kit was getting concerned now. She had never seen Nav so angry, let alone at her. “Are you okay? You’re all jumpy.” She wanted to add, “Can I help?” but didn’t know what effect it would have. Nav wasn’t acting like himself.
He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he was close to being normal Nav again. “It’s my cousin,” he confessed. “Santiago. He showed up this morning, dropping little clues for me to find.” He held up the handkerchief. “Last time we met, it ended badly.”
Now Kit understood. If there was one thing in life that could make a sweet, composed guy like Nav come totally unhinged, it was family. Parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles — all of them were precious gifts that made life worthwhile. And they had the power to completely mess up your head just as well. “How badly?” she asked him.
With a glance up at the heavens, Nav declared, “He beat me at cricket.”
If Nav weren’t so bent out of shape, Kit would have laughed. That was it? A game of cricket? “Ohhhhh,” she teased. “So it was super serious.”
Nav didn’t look like he appreciated her joke. “You don’t understand. My father and his father have competed for their entire lives. And now every move, every grade, every match between us is scrutinized! Judged by our families!” Nav clenched his jaw. “It’s a rivalry that we were born to play.”
“That sounds intense.”
Nav said bitterly, “I need to win, to stay ahead. At all times. My father’s name depends on it.”
Kit didn’t know what to say anymore. She couldn’t imagine being born into such a position. When Nav left without saying good-bye — something he would never ordinarily do — Kit stayed where she was, wondering how parents could force such a burden on their kids. Poor Nav certainly didn’t deserve it.
By now Anya was familiar with Josh’s work schedule, so she went to the tuckshop to see him. Ever since their riding class, she had been feeling out of sorts, and she knew that Josh probably wasn’t feeling so hot, either.
“That hurt my heart, man,” Josh said, referring to that morning’s riding class. “I mean, I don’t really like being the weakest link. My jumper scores were so killer last time! It’s just, my earlier scores weren’t as great.”
“I know,” Anya agreed. “I’m starting to wonder if they only let me win at home because I’m the princess.”
Josh vehemently shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ve seen you jump. You’re like — you’re like an eagle!”
Anya smiled. “Thank you. And you are a space shuttle! But how do we get to the next level?” That was the big question, and Anya had no clue how to find the answer. She hoped Josh might have an idea.
He considered the question. “I think maybe Elaine’s not totally nuts — in some departments,” he said. “I’ve
seen her triple-indexed color-coded homework. She’s intense! But, dude, she totally runs circles around us. Maybe there’s something she knows that we don’t.” At that, he reached into his bag and slid out several laminated papers. He presented them to Anya.
She took one look and gasped. “This is Elaine’s personal training schedule!”
Josh beamed with pride. “Yup. Sneaked it out, copied, laminated, and returned it. Whiltshire’s none the wiser.”
Anya told herself to never get on Josh’s bad side. He had a few talents that she wouldn’t want him to use against her, that was for sure. This stunt was impressive. “If only you could use your powers for good,” she said, poking him in the arm.
“I did! This is the one. This is what keeps her in first place! Sure, she’s all about the team and everything, but this is her own gold medal plan.”
Anya poked him again. “So what are we waiting for?”
Josh turned the first page to reveal a schedule that would make an Olympic athlete’s head spin. The page, entitled “Week 22,” broke each of its seven days into a separate category. Each daily task was fully described, timed, and, of course, color-coded for ease of reading.
Elaine also had a Tip of the Week, this week’s being “Practice tactical breathing techniques” followed by some kind of coding system that, Anya supposed, told Elaine how, when, and where to practice said tactical breathing techniques. The word FOCUS screamed out in capital letters.
“Whoa!” said Josh, reading. “Yoga? We have to do yoga? Have you ever done yoga?”
Anya heard him but was too appalled at another note. “We have to drink raw eggs?”
Josh made a face, then shrugged. “Well, if we want to win . . .”
Anya finished the thought. “We have to be Elaine.”
They shook hands on it, though Anya stifled a gag at the thought of the raw eggs.
Kit wandered around the practice field, studying the jumper course that had been laid out. This was the course she was expected to ride that afternoon in order to get a league rank. It was a beginner-level course, with most of the jumps low and a couple of them just poles lying on the ground. Kit had to keep reminding herself that this trial ride wasn’t so much a competition against other riders as it was a competition against herself. She just had to get ranked. The only person in the way of that was her.
The Search for TK Page 13