Elite Ambition Read online

  Alison clutched her hands together. “It is seriously my dream to go to one of those. I can’t wait to see your dress.”

  As I listened to Alison and Paige talk about the secrecy surrounding sample sales, my mind wandered to the schooling show. It’s not that I didn’t care about clothes—I loved shopping—but there were more important things on my mind, like doing my best on the YENT.

  Mr. Davidson walked into the classroom and picked up a binder and his worn copy of The Secret Garden from his desk. He took his seat in our circle, running a hand over his blond hair. He was one of my favorite teachers—I’d had him last year for English and he’d pushed me into becoming a better writer and had deepened my love of books.

  “Hello, everyone,” Mr. Davidson said. He smiled at us, and we all smiled back. “Did you all have a good break?”

  Everyone in the class nodded except for Aaron, who raised his left arm which was in a cast.

  “Broke it,” Aaron said. “I was at a new skate park by my house, and I lost my board on a half-pipe.”

  “Ouch,” Mr. Davidson said. “Sorry to hear that. At least it wasn’t your right arm, though. Then, we would have had to get you help with your homework.” Mr. Davidson smiled.

  Aaron nodded. “It would have been so tragic.”

  The entire class laughed and Mr. Davidson shot Aaron a mock stern look. But he smiled, too, and opened his notebook.

  “Okay, let’s get started,” Mr. Davidson said. “We’ll be finishing The Secret Garden this week, so that means you’ll have a test on Monday. I’ll hand out a study guide, but most of the material on the test will come from your notes.”

  I wrote ENG TEST :/ on Monday’s slot in my assignment notebook.

  “We’ll review for the test on Friday,” Mr. Davidson continued. “It’ll be your last chance to ask any questions you might have about the book, and we’ll run through a few potential exam questions.”

  “I know what we’ll be doing all weekend,” Paige whispered to me.

  “Yep,” I whispered back.

  That and I’d be showing.

  “Let’s talk about the reading you did over break,” Mr. Davidson said. “Who wants to start?”

  A couple of students raised their hands, but I sat back and pretended to pay attention until the class was dismissed.

  When I finally got to lunch my brain was fried. Every class had been a blur of questions, quizzes, and assignments. It was only Tuesday and teachers usually piled more work on us as the week went on. But I had to get everything done as early as I could since I wanted to devote the weekend to prepping for the show.

  I stood in the lunch line, my shoulders sagging from the weight of my backpack. Today’s menu was grilled cheese and fries—yum. I snagged a Diet Coke from the fridge and walked into the caf. Paige, sitting by Geena, waved me over. I glanced over toward the Trio’s table and Heather caught my eye with a clear come-sit-by-us look.

  “One sec,” I mouthed to her.

  I walked over to Paige, not sitting on the seat she’d pulled out for me.

  “Are you going to eat standing up?” Paige teased.

  Being torn between Paige and the Trio was the worst.

  “No, actually, um, Heather asked if I wanted to sit with them. She invited Brit to lunch and I’m trying to make her feel welcome.”

  “Oh,” Paige said. “I get that. I thought I noticed a look in her eye that vanished quickly. “No big deal. I’m leaving lunch early anyway and Geena and I are just going to be talking about cooking class.”

  “Cool,” I said. “We’ll catch up and talk later, okay?”

  Paige smiled. “Definitely.”

  I turned around and started toward the Trio’s table. Halfway across the cafeteria, I realized I hadn’t asked Paige why she was going early. But she would have told me if it had been something important.

  I slid onto the empty seat next to Alison. The Trio and Brit were already seated and starting on their lunches.

  “If anyone else tells me that they didn’t get a ton of homework in every class so far, I’m going to scream,” Heather said.

  “Agreed,” Brit said. “I’ve got so much to do—I don’t even know where to start. Classes here are intense.”

  “So, was your old school like this at all?” Julia asked. “You never said where you went.”

  I tensed waiting for Brit’s answer and wondering how the Trio would react.

  “Charles Middle School,” Brit said, taking a bite of her grilled cheese.

  The three girls paused, looking at each other.

  “Charles,” Julia said slowly. “Is that … in New York? I’ve never heard of it.”

  “Nope,” Brit said, smiling. “It’s in Connecticut. Sasha and I found out that we’re both from small towns. We were only a few miles apart.”

  “Omigod,” Julia said. She put her hand over her heart. “It’s like you guys are long lost sisters or something.” She rolled her eyes and dipped a carrot stick in blue cheese dressing.

  Months ago, I would have crumpled at being treated like that by one of the Trio. But Brit laughed. Shock replaced the smug look on Julia’s face. Heather and Alison’s gazes were both on Brit—neither girl seemed fazed by what Brit had just admitted.

  “It is awesome to meet someone else from a tiny town,” Brit said. “Are all you from big cities?”

  Alison nodded. “New York City,” she said. Her tone was nothing like Julia’s had been. “But even with all the perks of living there, none of us wanted to pass up Canterwood. It definitely has the best riding program.”

  I just sat there, listening to them talk about the other nearby schools and how none compared to Canterwood. The only one who’d reacted at Brit’s admission had been Julia. Heather wasn’t making one comment to Brit like she’d made to me about being out of my league at Canterwood.

  I forced my attention back to their conversation.

  “I’ve been riding since I could walk,” Brit said. “I clicked with Apollo the second I saw him.”

  “That’s awesome,” I said. “Because Charm and I definitely didn’t get along too well when we first met. He threw me in the grass and galloped off. For a few minutes, I wished there was a return receipt for him.”

  Brit and the Trio laughed.

  “Sorry to inform you, Silver, but you’ve got to acknowledge that you still get tossed sometimes,” Heather teased.

  I stuck out my tongue at Heather, not even bothering to come up with a response.

  “What’s your riding specialty?” Alison asked Brit.

  Julia, not bothering to cover her yawn, couldn’t have looked more bored.

  “I love dressage,” Brit said. “I’ve been studying it since I started riding and it’s my favorite discipline.”

  Just like Callie, I thought. Callie, without question, was the strongest dressage rider in eighth grade.

  Brit finished the final bite of her grilled cheese and checked her phone. “I’ve got a meeting with Ms. Utz about extracurriculars,” she said. She picked up her beige tray, smiling at us. “Thanks again for inviting me to lunch.”

  “Invite’s always open,” Heather said.

  Julia’s face turned pink. She was treating Brit just as she’d acted toward me when Heather had first started becoming my friend. I didn’t get why Julia was so worried—it’s not like she was going to be forced out of the Trio.

  Brit walked away from the Trio’s table and left the caf. Julia leaned across the table, looking as if she was going to pounce on Heather.

  “What are you doing?” Julia asked.

  Heather folded her arms. “Excuse me?” Her tone was biting.

  “I’m sorry, but first we let Sasha hang with us,” Julia said. She acted as if I wasn’t even there. “And that’s fine. She did save Alison and me from Jasmine and I sort of trust her. But Brit? We don’t even know her. We don’t need anyone else in our group! We’re the Trio.”

  Alison scraped chocolate pudding from her bowl, not looking up. M
y eyes flickered to Heather’s face.

  “Sasha isn’t part of this discussion,” Heather said. “And as for Brit, we want her on our side. She hasn’t aligned with anyone else yet. She’s a great rider. Plus, she hasn’t been here long and everyone wants to be her friend.”

  The way Heather talked about Brit—like she was a prize or trophy—made me squirm a little.

  “If everyone wants her in their group, then we need to get her on our side,” Heather added. “She’ll probably start her own clique if she gets the chance. And we’re the ones who rule this grade.”

  “But what’s so special about her?” Julia pressed.

  Alison crunched on a carrot stick so loud that it was as if she was trying to break the death glare between Heather and Julia.

  “If you don’t like her—fine,” Heather said. “There’s always another seat open at a different table.”

  Julia’s face went from red to white in half a second.

  “Done eating?” Heather asked, looking at Alison and me.

  I nodded and so did Alison.

  We got up and, flanking Heather, left the cafeteria. And Julia.

  9

  THROWN

  ALL THROUGH AFTERNOON CLASSES, I COULDN’T stop thinking about what had happened at lunch. Heather and Julia would make up—they’d had fights before—but I’d never seen Julia so threatened by anyone. Considering Brit had been nice to everyone since she’d gotten here, I didn’t understand why Julia found her so intimidating.

  I hurried back to my room after classes ended and rushed through putting on my riding clothes so I could get to the stable ASAP. Julia wasn’t in my riding class, but I knew she’d be practicing. I was dying to know if she and Heather were back to being friends.

  The tack room was my first stop and inside, I found Alison gathering Sunstruck’s tack in her arms. Perfect.

  “Is everything cool with Heather and Julia?” I asked. “Things got a little weird at lunch.”

  Alison sighed. “Yeah, that was a little intense. But they’re fine now. Julia told Heather she wouldn’t be mean to Brit anymore. And Julia apologized to Brit when we ran into her near the science building.”

  “That’s good,” I said. “Brit seems cool. I really like her.”

  “Me too,” Alison said. She shifted the saddle in her arms. “Julia’s always that way, though, with new people.” She gave me a half smile. “You know that from experience.”

  “Unfortunately,” I said. “You guys riding together now?”

  Alison nodded. “Yep. Practicing on our own before our lesson with Mr. Conner.”

  “How’s Cal—,” I started to say, before I could stop myself.

  “How’s Callie doing in riding class?” Alison asked, her tone gentle. She understood why it was hard for me to talk about Callie.

  “Yeah.” My voice was quiet. “I just want to know. I mean, we’re not talking, but YENT trials are coming up. I still care about her riding.”

  “She’s doing great,” Alison said. “You know Callie—she works harder than anyone and she’s been so focused on riding that it shows in every practice.”

  I leaned against the tack room wall, both sad and happy at the same time. Focused, determined Callie was the BFF that I missed. But I was happy she was doing well in the advanced class.

  Alison headed for the door. “I’ve got to tack up, but see you later.”

  “’Kay. Bye.”

  Alison left, closing the door behind her. Talking about Callie made me think about Jacob. On Friday, Callie would know the truth. I knew I had to let Jacob do what he wanted, but just thinking about it made me nauseous. I didn’t want him to look like the bad guy because I cared about him too much. But it’s his decision, I reminded myself.

  I pulled out my phone and typed a quick message.

  Want 2 meet aftr my riding lesson?

  It took Jacob seconds to respond.

  Of course. Txt me when ur done.

  That made me smile and feel a little less sick. Just seeing him would make me feel better. More than anything, I wanted to try and see if we could make it as boyfriend and girlfriend. And, even though I hated thinking about how Callie would look at him when she knew the truth, I knew deep down that my relationship with Jacob couldn’t start with lies. Not too long ago, I’d gotten caught up in lies I’d created to protect people I cared about. But they’d only ended up backfiring. Jacob was right—we had to be honest and make a clean start. I picked up Charm’s tack and walked down the aisle, thinking about what I was going to do. I’d tell Paige on Friday morning too. Then, the truth about what happened at my party would spread over campus. I’d be exonerated, but Jacob …

  Charm, always in tune with me, put his head over the stall door as I approached.

  “Hi, gorgeous,” I said. “Ready to work?”

  Charm snorted and, laughing, I put his tack on the trunk outside his stall. I slid open his stall door and led him out in front of his stall. I glanced up and down the aisle—all of the crossties were full.

  “We’ll stay here, then,” I told him. He didn’t move as I clipped the lead line to the ring under his chin and used a slip knot to tie him to the black iron bars in front of his stall.

  His coat was already shiny: Mike had groomed him after my morning lesson. All Charm needed was a quick once-over with the body brush and he was ready to be tacked up. I led him to the outdoor arena. We were warming up when Heather and Brit rode in together.

  They split up, and we worked our horses in separate spaces of the arena while we waited for Mr. Conner to arrive. Charm, high-strung, fought my hands and asked for more rein as we trotted around the arena.

  I sat deeper in the saddle, trying to force my weight down into my heels.

  “No,” I said. “Trot.”

  Charm yanked his head and the reins seesawed against his neck. He tried to break into a canter, but I checked him.

  What is going on with him? I thought. He was acting as if he hadn’t been exercised in months.

  He settled for a second, but I kept my eyes on his ears. Both of them pointed forward and I knew he wasn’t listening to me. I did a half halt and pulled gently on the reins, asking him to walk. But he kept trotting and ducked his head.

  “N—”

  I couldn’t even get the word out. Charm bucked, sending me flying through the air. I twisted in the air and landed on my shoulder like I’d been taught. But the impact of my body hitting the ground stunned me. I gasped for breath and didn’t move—too shocked at what had just happened.

  Hoofbeats neared me and just as I sat up, Brit and Heather reached me with Charm in tow. Brit jumped out of her saddle while Heather held Charm.

  “Are you okay?” Heather asked.

  I nodded, taking a shaky breath. “Fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me.”

  “What happened?” Brit asked. Her wide eyes flicked over my face and her skin was pale.

  “I don’t know,” I said, standing with help from Brit. “He wasn’t listening to me when I asked him to slow. I knew he was going to buck when his head went down, but it was too late for me to stop him.”

  Next to Aristocrat, a contrite-looking Charm had his head low to the ground. He wouldn’t look at me. He knew he’d messed up.

  “It happens,” Heather said. “Sometimes, there’s no explanation for it. But seriously. You landed pretty hard. Do you want to see the nurse just to make sure everything’s okay?”

  “Aw, are you worried about me?” I asked, teasingly.

  Heather rolled her eyes. “Hardly. I just don’t want a lame rider on my team at the schooling show.”

  I moved my arms and legs, showing her that I was fine. “See? No nurse necessary. I’m ready to get back on. And stay on.” I brushed dirt off my shoulder and pants.

  I took Charm’s reins from Heather and mounted. He moved at the slightest cue from me—trying to make up for what he’d done. Whatever it was, he’d gotten it out of his system because he was an angel for the rest of
the warm-up.

  Mr. Conner rode Lexington, a young horse he was training, into the arena. Mr. Conner on horseback meant something awesome: cross-country!

  “Hi, girls,” Mr. Conner said. He stopped the gray horse in front of us. “Since the weather is so nice, I thought it would be a great day for us to spend some time outside and away from the arena.”

  I couldn’t stop my smile. That sounded beyond perfect.

  “We’re going to go for a long hack instead of taking our usual route,” Mr. Conner said. Heather and I glanced at each other—we’d so do this every day if we had time.

  “Follow me,” Mr. Conner said. “Ready?”

  “Ready,” Heather, Brit, and I answered.

  Instead of turning toward the woods Mr. Conner started Lexington at a walk back toward the stable yard. Brit, Heather, and I grouped together and rode behind him. Just when I thought Mr. Conner would definitely turn to the woods on the side of the stable, he kept Lexington going straight down the driveway.

  “Seriously?” Heather whispered. “Are we going off campus?”

  “Looks like it,” I said.

  Brit, riding on Heather’s other side, looked over. “That would be so cool.”

  Riding down the driveway felt so weird. We’d never gone this way before and all three horses—especially Charm and Aristocrat—were excited. They seemed to know we were going to a new place.

  The horses’ shoes clinked against the driveway and I looked around, taking in the different view from Charm’s back. I was so used to seeing this part of campus from the backseat of my parents’ car. The pastures had gentle hills with grass cropped short by grazing horses. Every beautiful brick building that had once looked intimidating now felt like part of my home. The sun shifted from behind clouds, and I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the brighter light. The end of the driveway was near. We were rapidly approaching the road.

  “Halt for a minute,” Mr. Conner said.

  We pulled our horses to a stop and he turned Lexington to face us. “We’re going to walk the horses down the road for only a few yards before we reach a gate,” he explained. “I’ll open the gate, and you’ll go inside the pasture. It has been checked out by Mike and Doug, so it’s safe. We’re going to work on stamina, and we’ll ride the horses at a trot and canter over a few miles of hills.”