Initiation (20 page)

The students trickled out of the arena and, once I stood alone with Mr. Conner, it started to
really
hit me.

I'd made the intermediate team.

I, Lauren Towers, rode on the intermediate team for Canterwood Crest! My phone battery was going to need serious charging—I had to call all of my friends at Union, Becca, and Mom and Dad.

“Congratulations again, Lauren,” Mr. Conner said.

“Thank you, sir,” I said, clenching my jaw to avoid teary eyes.

“I chose you because you're an extremely talented young rider. You've had a lot of training and have wonderful experience in the competitive circle. But, as I stated, that didn't play a role in my decision today. I considered
you as if I knew nothing about your background at all. I saw a talented young rider and her horse, both of whom have the potential to grow and do very well here at Canterwood.”

I smiled. “Thank you so much. Whisper and I are going to work hard, I promise. You won't regret your decision.”

Mr. Conner smiled back. “Whisper is a strong, willing young mare. I look forward to coaching both of you. You'll have a lesson each afternoon unless otherwise stated. Mike and Doug will care for Whisper in the morning. Her stall, feeding, and grooming all falls to you in the evening.”

“Oh, but I can feed her and muck out her stall in the morning, too,” I said. “No one else has to do that for
me
!”

“Well! While I thank you for offering,” Mr. Conner said, “it's stable policy for young riders. We want your focus on school in the morning. You'll have
plenty
of stable chores—trust me. And, if not, come find me and I'll be happy to give you more.” He laughed heartily.

To my surprise, I started laughing too.

“Deal,” I said.

“Please go ahead and groom Whisper and tack up,” Mr. Conner said. “Your first lesson begins in half an hour. I'll see you in the main outdoor arena.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you so much!”

I wanted to hug him, but I restrained myself. Instead, I half skipped out of the arena. Khloe leaned against Whisper's stall door. She and Whisper turned their heads toward me, but I didn't have to say a word.

“Oh, my God!” Khloe said. “You made it!”

She grabbed me in a fierce hug and we jumped up and down, squealing as if we were five.

Whisper's eyes widened. She tossed her head, looking at Khloe and me.

“Oh, sorry, baby girl,” I said.

Khloe and I went to her head and rubbed her cheeks. “We didn't mean to scare you,” Khloe said to Whisper in a soothing voice.

“I just found out that we're going to be on the intermediate team, Wisp,” I said, resting my head on her neck. “You worked so hard all summer with me. I'm so proud of you.”

Whisper let out a soft breath. I kissed her cheek and peered around her to see Khloe.

“Thank you for being here,” I said. “Of anyone on this campus, I'm so happy I got to tell you the news first.”

“Pffft. Like I could have concentrated if I'd
tried
to do anything else,” Khloe said. “We'll have to have tea and a special celebratory dessert tonight.”

“Sounds
great
. But right now, I've got to get Whisper groomed and tacked up. My first lesson starts in half an hour!”

“Go, go,” Khloe said. “I've got a solo practice session. But I'll meet you in our room later. And I'll bring dessert!”

“Awesome. Thanks, Khlo.”

We smiled at each other before splitting. I grabbed Whisper's tack and, hurrying, turned a corner smacking right into Riley.

The petite girl stumbled backward and, at the last second, got her footing back and righted herself.

“Oh, my God, I'm so sorry,” I said. “Are you okay?”

“Are you unable to
read
?” Riley snapped. “There are signs everywhere saying not to run in here. It would have been just your luck if you'd injured me before show season.”

“Riley, I'm really, really sorry. I'm glad you're okay and you're right—I shouldn't have been rushing.”

“Whatever.” Riley brushed past me. “Please don't run to your beginner lesson next time.”

“Intermediate, actually,” I said, letting the door close behind me.

I put Whisper's tack on an empty saddle rack.

A strawberry roan mare was being groomed in my
usual set of crossties. Instead, I tied Whisper to the iron bars on her stall. I groomed her in record time, but took enough time to make sure every hair on her body gleamed.

Whisper turned her head toward me and I used a soft cloth to wipe her delicate face with its dished muzzle. It made her look part Arabian.

Whisper seemed to feed off my excitement. She danced in place when I arranged the saddle on her back and eagerly took the snaffle bit from my hand. I put on my helmet and led Whisper through the side aisle and outside. I gathered the reins and mounted.

Whisper started off at a walk toward the arena. Lexa and Cole, already warming up, took their horses in circles.

I gave Whisper rein, letting her into a trot. We went through the entrance and Lexa and Cole looked up when they heard Whisper's hooves on the arena dirt.

“You made it!” Lexa said. “Yay! Yay!” She trotted Honor up to us.

“I still can't believe it,” I said. “I'm so excited to ride with you guys!”

“Congratulations!” Cole called to me. He smiled and took Valentino through another figure eight.

“Warm up with us,” Lexa suggested. “Everyone else
will be here in a few minutes. The horses have to be warmed up by the time Mr. Conner arrives.”

I nodded and let Whisper trot after Honor. A good breeze blew my hair back. The cloudless sky made for an unusually mild day. We made a few laps around the arena before Clare and Riley rode in. They both stared at me and then at each other.

Clare flashed me a quick smile. “Hi, Lauren. Congrats on making the intermediate team.”

“Thanks, Clare,” I said.

Riley stared a long time, looking at me from Adonis's back. The gray gelding was so tall—he had to be nearly seventeen hands—and his nostrils flared pink. His ears shifted back and forth and he struck a foreleg, scraping the grass.

Whisper didn't flinch. She lifted her head, locking eyes with Adonis. That was my girl—not afraid of another horse who was obviously trying to intimidate her.

Adonis held his ground—keeping his eyes on Whisper—my eyes danced back and forth between the two of them. Just when I thought the staring contest would go on forever, Adonis snorted, shaking his head.

Riley tightened the reins. “Sorry,
Lauren
. Adonis must have picked up on my shock at seeing you here.”

“I did tell you that I made the team,” I reminded her, slightly amused.

Riley's upper lip curled. “I remember, but still. Surprised.”

We looked at each other, just as the horses had done, before the sound of hoofbeats entering the arena caused us both to look up. Drew rode a blood bay gelding at a slow walk into the arena. He waved to Cole and Lexa, smiled at Clare, and then he saw me and Riley.

“Lauren!” he exclaimed, urging his horse forward. “You made it! That's
awesome
!”

“Thanks,” I said, blushing.

Drew's intense dark blue eyes settled over me and his lips parted in a brilliant smile.

“We have six riders! Now we'll be able to do pairs activities,” Drew said. “We should partner up sometime.”

“That would be cool,” I said. Okay, even
I
was feeling giddy now.

Riley cleared her throat. “Geez, Drew. Way to ignore your other teammates.” She stuck out her bottom lip.

Drew looked at her. “Sorry, Riles. I wasn't ignoring you at all. Isn't it great that Lauren's on our team now?”

Riley's face, still sour, morphed into the fakest smile
ever
. “
So
awesome! I told her she'd make it. Told you,
Laur
.”

I heard a snort behind me and, when I turned, I could swear I caught Cole rolling his eyes at Lexa.

I decided not to call her out. If she wanted to be fake and lie—fine. But if Drew was as smart as he seemed, he'd see through her act.

Whisper reached her muzzle toward Drew's horse. The gelding pointed his ears in a friendly pose and touched his muzzle to Whisper's.

“What's his name?” I asked. “He's gorgeous.”

“Polo,” Drew said. “And thanks! I got him about a year ago. He's an Arab and Thoroughbred mix.”

“I wouldn't have guessed just by temperament,” I said. “He seems so calm.”

“Nothing fazes him,” Drew said. “That's what makes us such a great pair on the cross-country course. Polo's always up for anything.”

I loved listening to Drew talk about his horse. He reminded me of the way I sounded when I talked about Whisper.

At that moment, Mr. Conner walked into the arena.

Within seconds, everyone had their horses lined up in front of him.

I'd been so excited about making the team, I'd almost forgotten—the
hard
part was only just beginning.

“I HOPE YOU'VE ALL TAKEN THE TIME TO
welcome our newest member to the team,” Mr. Conner said.

“We did, Mr. Conner,” Riley said in a sugary voice. “And we'll help Lauren with any questions she might have. I
know
she'll fit right in.”

“Wonderful,” Mr. Conner said, nodding at Riley. “Glad to hear it.”

Next to me, Lexa made a barely audible grumble.

“Let's get right to today's lesson,” Mr. Conner said. “We're going to spend this session on flatwork exercises. It'll be a warm-up for lessons to follow, and it'll give me a chance to see how you've all progressed over the summer.”

This was it. My first official lesson at Canterwood.
My inner cheesiness wished I had my digital camera to take a snapshot of this moment.

“Take your horses to the wall,” Mr. Conner said. “Leaving plenty of space between each other. Follow my direction when it's given.”

I got into line behind Cole and in front of Lexa. I took a breath, reminding myself that this was practice—not a show.

“Trot,” Mr. Conner called.

The six of us let our horses trot. I posted easily and Whisper stayed the perfect distance behind Polo. She knew not to tailgate. Lexa and Honor did the same.

“Cross through the center and trot in the opposite direction,” Mr. Conner said.

Clare, at the front of the line, crossed first. Fuego, her gelding, moved beautifully. The liver chestnut had long, lean legs and a strong back. I loved his stripe. Drew went after Clare and I followed him with Lexa and Cole behind us.

We trotted around the arena twice before Mr. Conner asked us to walk.

“Cross your stirrup irons over your saddle,” he said. “Then move into a sitting trot.”

This was
not
my favorite exercise, but at least he hadn't
asked for the two worst ones—making us stand in the stirrups and keep our balance without tugging on our horse's mouth or lapping the arena while crouched in the two-point position. After doing those at Kim's, I'd always needed to soak in the bathtub for hours afterward.

I let Whisper trot and sat without a problem to her smooth stride. We moved around the arena and Mr. Conner raised his hand, signaling us to stop.

“Put your stirrups back in place, change directions, and trot,” he said.

Whisper's ears flicked back and forth as we changed with Lexa in front of us again.

“Canter,” Mr. Conner said.

Whisper bolted forward into an unsteady canter. Caught off guard, she threw me backward, jostling my right boot almost out of the stirrup. I sat deep in the saddle, applying pressure to the reins and bringing her to a trot. I readjusted my position.

My face burned.

I thought we'd had this problem corrected over the summer. Whisper responded immediately, slowing to a trot. But Drew cantered Polo around us, followed by Riley and Clare. Riley probably couldn't wait for the lesson to be over so she could laugh about my mistake.

“Good call to make her trot, Lauren,” Mr. Conner said. “Now, ask her to change gaits again.”

I slid my leg behind the girth, asking Whisper to canter. Within two strides, she moved into a canter.

Every ounce of my focus was on Whisper for the rest of the lesson. She was an angel while Mr. Conner worked with us. We worked through basic exercises and right when I felt like we were really in a groove, Mr. Conner held up his hand, signaling us to come to the center. I ended up next to Riley. She reached over and patted my arm.

Ew!
Had she really just touched me?!

“Don't worry, Lauren,” Riley said. Her tone was low enough so that Mr. Conner, who was still making notes, couldn't hear. “I'm sure Mr. Conner won't take you off the intermediate team just because you made one really dumb mistake on the first day.”