AFTER CLASS AND MY RIDING LESSON ON Friday, the only thing I wanted to do was spend time with Charm. I especially loved being in the stable now, since it was only a week before Halloween. Mike, Doug, and Mr. Conner had decorated the stable—keeping hairy plastic spiders and giant rats far out of the horses’ reach.
But before I could spend time with Charm, there was a stablewide meeting in the indoor arena. I imagined that Mr. Conner wanted to talk to us about the upcoming fall schedule, but I wasn’t sure.
In the already half-full arena, I stood near the back of the crowd.
“Boo!”
I jumped, whirling around. Troy, Ben, and Andy laughed, their faces red as they stood behind me.
I crossed my arms over my chest, pretending to be mad. “Seriously, guys? Was that the best you could do?”
Dropping the act, I smiled at them at them, plotting in my head a way to scare them later. I saw Eric enter the arena with Rachel and her friends. Julia and Alison were near the center of the arena. I looked for Heather’s blond head, but didn’t see her standing with them. She must have been late. The Trio was, well, the Trio. They were always together.
“Sasha, hey.”
I looked over at Brit as she stepped beside me.
“Any idea what this is about?” I asked her.
“Not a clue. You?”
“None.”
Brit craned her neck, staring across the campus. “What’s Heather doing over there?” she asked.
“Heather? Where?” I looked back toward the Trio, thinking I’d somehow missed Heather joining them. But Brit pointed toward the back of the room where Heather was standing.
With Troy.
The two had separated from the rest of the guys and were standing close.
The clique leader wasn’t with her girls. This was so weird.
“You know she’s with Troy,” I said. “I’m sure she offered to hang with Julia and Alison, but they told her to go with Troy.”
But I wasn’t so sure if that was really true or not. All three members of the infamous Trio hadn’t been together much, recently.
I’d seen Julia at the movies with Ben.
Alison had been working with Sunstruck.
Heather had been with Troy or riding Aristocrat on her own.
But the Trio would never break up. They were the force on campus. Just because they were spending some time with other people instead of being linked at the arms didn’t mean anything.
The chatter in the arena silenced when Mr. Conner entered. He stood in the front of the arena and looked around at us. We stared back and the room seemed filled with uneasiness.
“Everyone can relax,” Mr. Conner said. “This isn’t an announcement about changes to stable policies or anything that you need to be nervous about.”
Whew.
“But,” Mr. Conner said with a smile. “Some of you might get a little spooked after you leave. As you all know, next Sunday is Halloween. The stable will contribute an open, campus-wide activity for all, and, as a treat for you, I’ve planned something special.”
Brit and I looked at each other. This type of announcement was definitely a kind Mr. Conner needed to make more often.
“As our part in the day of Halloween festivities,” Mr. Conner said, “we’ll be providing fun snacks and drinks in the gazebo, which will be decorated to fit the occasion.”
That sounded like so much fun! In my head, I was already running through Halloween-themed snacks and beverages like orange soda and chocolate cupcakes.
“You will get your reward at nightfall,” Mr. Conner said.
Everyone started to murmur, trying to figure out what it could be.
“When the sun sets, come to the stable and tack up your horses. Mike, Doug, and I will be leading a haunted trail ride.”
“Omigod!” Brit and I whispered at the same time.
“No way!” someone in the arena said.
“Sooo cool,” said a girl.
“None of you will be allowed on the trails starting tomorrow. I will be determining a safe path and installing lighting and a few surprises along the way. Everyone needs to stay out of the woods; otherwise it won’t be a surprise. Deal?”
“Deal!” we all said in unison.
“Good.” Mr. Conner laughed at our reaction. “Have a good weekend and I’ll see many of you for lessons on Monday.”
What had been a low murmur when Mr. Conner entered the arena ratcheted up to full out excitement as students streamed out the openings.
“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.