Comeback (21 page)

“You did more than ‘well.' I'm so proud of you. Your scores will be great.”

We watched the judge's table, and I squinted to see if I could read any of their facial expressions to get a hint of how Lexa had done.

Mr. Conner took a sheet of paper from the judge at the end and raised the bullhorn to his mouth.

Lexa reached out and grasped my hand. We squeezed them tight.

“The score for Lexa Reed of Canterwood Crest Academy is . . . thirty-two points!”

“Yes!” I said. “Lex! That's so low—it's awesome! You barely made any mistakes.”

Lexa rubbed Honor's neck. “Good job, girl. I'm so proud of you. And thanks, LT! I'm really—”

“Next, we have Lauren Towers on Whisper!” Mr. Conner's voice boomed through the megaphone, cutting off Lexa.

“Now it's
you
,” she said, smiling. “You've got this, Lauren. Go show off
your
horse!”

I stared at her. My mouth went dry. “I—I—”

Lexa locked eyes with me. “You are going to perform the test you know backward and forward. You'll be exiting the arena wishing your test was longer. I know it!”

I don't know if it was something she said, or strength from Whisper, or a combination of the two, but I smiled. A real smile.

“See you in a few,” I said, taking a breath.

I squeezed my legs against Whisper's sides, and she walked toward the arena. She felt
ready
. The question was—was I?

I PAUSED WHISPER AT THE ARENA ENTRANCE
. Thoughts of scoring and points left my head. I could guide my horse, but I couldn't control her. It was our first judged test together, and however we did today, we'd do better next time. All I wanted was to enter the arena on
my
horse and give it our all.

I squeezed my legs against Whisper's sides, and we entered at a working trot. At X, the center of the arena, I brought her to a halt. She didn't stop square, but her response was immediate. I saluted the judges, and we proceeded to C at a working trot. With each stride, Whisper's body settled into the test. I wondered if she'd memorized it too.

When we reached C, she made a
parfait
twenty-meter
circle to B. Through K, X, and M, I changed rein and guided Whisper to a working trot.

She acted as if she knew what I wanted before I asked. Each movement was fluid, and there was no hesitation. I forgot about the audience. The judges disappeared. Even Mr. Conner wasn't present. It was just Whisper and me doing what I loved and what Whisper was clearly meant to do.

We moved through several more movements and reached C again. Between C and M, Whisper got to shine with a working canter on the left lead. She shook out her mane, snorting happily. It would add points to our score, but I didn't care. Whisper was enjoying herself, and it showed.

We finished the remainder of our moves—another circle, a free walk, a medium walk—and made our way back to X.

There was nothing that could keep the smile off my face. I halted Whisper and saluted the judges, beaming. Whisper and I left the arena, and I couldn't reach Lexa—and Khloe!—fast enough.

“LAUREN!” Khloe yelled.

“Shhh!” Lexa and I said, giggling.

“Omigod, that was amazing!” Khloe said, her voice
lower. “You both performed like, like—I don't even know!”

My face got hot. “Thanks, Khlo. That means a lot!”

“Seriously, Lauren,” Lexa said. “You just torpedoed my score.”

“Doubtful,” I said. “I can say for the first time
ever
that I wasn't thinking about points the entire time. I'm
so
happy right now, because it's over! There's no ‘first show after Red Oak' looming over me anymore.”

Khloe and Lauren smiled.

“That must feel so good,” Khloe said.

The megaphone crackled. “The score for Lauren Towers is . . . twenty-nine and a half,” Mr. Conner announced.

“Told you!” Lexa said, lightly punching my arm. “I'm so happy for you!”

I couldn't believe it. Explanations about the scoring ran through my head. It was a schooling show. Judges weren't adding points as harshly.

Stop. So what if it's a schooling show and you don't know how the judges are scoring. You have a twenty-nine and a half!

I got out of my own head and stopped trying to talk myself out of counting my good score as “real.”

Khloe, Lauren, and I stayed together while we waited for the remaining riders to finish. We talked, making it
impossible to hear scores. And I didn't try to listen.

“I've got my break after this,” I said. “And obviously, so does Lex.”

“Perf!” Khloe said. “I get two cheerleaders while I do my dressage test.”

“I can't wait to watch you ride,” I said.

“Me either,” Lexa added.

I rubbed Whisper's shoulder. “Now I'm insanely excited about our trail class later,” I said to Lex. “Dressage was the one thing that was making me crazy nervous. The next class will be fun.”

“The final rider for this intermediate dressage class has been given his score,” Mr. Conner said from the center of the arena. “The judges are taking a final look at the individual scores to determine placement for this class.”

Lexa and I looked at each other. “All I know is that you're ahead of me,” Lex said. “I didn't hear another score. Did you?”

I shook my head. “Not one.”

I waited for the feeling of nerves to hit. The anticipation of where I placed. The excitement or disappointment that would come with it. But my hands didn't sweat. I didn't scream at the judges in my head, wishing they'd hurry. I just waited. I was proud of my horse, and no
matter what, completing my first class since my accident felt like I'd won a giant trophy.

“We have the final scores,” Mr. Conner said. “If your name is called, please come into the arena for your ribbon.”

Lexa, Khloe, and I held hands.

“In third place,” Mr. Conner continued, “Madison Hamilton on Avery from Regent Country Day!”

Cheers and clapping broke out from the bleachers. A slight blonde on a leggy black gelding rode into the arena to await her ribbon.

“In second place,” Mr. Conner said, “Lexa Reed on Honor from Canterwood Crest Academy!”

“YAY!” Khloe and I cheered.

“Omigod!” Lexa said. She grinned, looking back and forth between Khloe and me. “Yes! Omigod!”

She trotted Honor into the arena, stopping her next to Madison and Avery.

Khloe grasped my hand. “You've got this, Laur.”

“We don't know that yet,” I whispered.

Mr. Conner put the megaphone to his mouth again.

“And in first place . . . congratulations to Lauren Towers and Whisper from Canterwood Crest Academy!”

I didn't move. It was as if I hadn't heard Mr. Conner.

“Laur? Lauren! Omigod! You won!” Khloe shook my arm.

I looked at her. Mr. Conner's words weren't registering. Neither were Khloe's.

“You're in shock,” she said. She leaned closer to me. “Lauren Towers, you won first place.”

Then it hit me. All of it.

I'd shown.

There hadn't been an accident.

I'd ridden my own horse.

I hadn't let the days I missed stop me from backing out.

Leaning down, I hugged Whisper's neck, crying and laughing at the same time. I looked up and saw a rider standing in his stirrups on the other side of the arena. Drew put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Laughing, I waved at him.

“Go! Get your ribbon!” Khloe said, laughing.

It felt like a dream as I started Whisper toward the shiny blue ribbon. It was official: Our journey on the show circuit had begun.

Twenty-five-year-old Jessica Burkhart (aka Jess Ashley) writes from Brooklyn, New York. She's obsessed with sparkly things, lip gloss, and listening to Lady Gaga. She loves hanging with her bestie, watching too much TV, and purse shopping. Learn more about Jess at JessicaBurkhart.com. Find everything Canterwood Crest at CanterwoodCrest.com.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ALADDIN M!X

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First Aladdin M!X edition August 2012

Copyright © 2012 by Jessica Burkhart

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Designed by Jessica Handelman

The text of this book was set in Venetian 301 BT.

Library of Congress Control Number 2012939453

ISBN 978-1-4424-1952-0 (print)

ISBN 978-1-4424-1953-7 (eBook)