Rival Revenge by Jessica Burkhart

and grooming him until he was super shiny.
    â€œYou were perfect today,” I told him. I hugged him and he wandered right to his hay net. I latched his door, put away his grooming box, and picked up his tack.
    I took his saddle and bridle into the tack room, filled a bucket with warm water, and got out a tin of saddle soap. I undid every buckle on his bridle and saddle, embarrassed that I’d let Charm’s tack get so dirty. I scrubbed with the yellow soap until it caked under my fingernails and water ran down my elbows. My fingers got tired as I ran the sponge around every inch of leather—twice—just to make sure it was clean.
    I dried everything and grabbed Charm’s saddle pad to throw into the stable washing machine with a few other blankets that were inside. I’d pick it up tomorrow.
    Satisfied with Charm’s gleaming tack, I washed my hands and picked up my stuff. I walked back to my room feeling relaxed because I knew Paige was out. There wouldn’t be any questions or looks.
    After I showered and changed into jeans and an old, comfy T-shirt, our room felt tiny. I wanted to get out and study somewhere else. The Winchester common room would def be a mistake. Jas would probably be there, or at least someone else who thought I was a backstabbing boyfriend stealer. I wanted drama-free study time.
    The media center seemed like a safe place. There were tons of rooms and I knew the least popular ones where none of my friends—or, I guess, former friends—would go. I loaded my book bag and walked across campus, taking the shortest route to the center. I was tired after my lesson and I didn’t feel like trekking all over campus.
    Inside, I hurried through the main lobby—ignoring the clumps of people who were trying to decide whether or not to watch a movie or grab one of the many flat screens and watch TV or a DVD.
    I walked down a few different hallways, turning somany times that I’d probably need a GPS to get out, until I found one of the rooms in the back that had no TV and was strictly for studying. I pushed open the door—glad to find it empty.
    I spread my notebooks, homework assignment sheets, and pens on the table. I started with math and got through fifteen out of thirty problems before needing a break. My calendar was open in front of me and I started filling each slot with what I needed to do each day from school to homework to riding. Every space for the next week was full—and I’d written in my tiniest handwriting. The squares were crowded with Write paper , Do sci problems , Ride 1 hr , and everything else that had to be done.
    I checked the time on my phone. I’d spent an hour just scheduling my to-do list! I closed the calendar and shoved it to the side. I pulled out my syllabus for history, a class I was caught up in, and scanned the sheet for the next big assignment. We had an essay on the topic of our choice about European exploration. I flipped through my book for that chapter and started reading, determined to find an essay topic and get started early on the paper.
    My phone buzzed. When do u want the egg? Jacob.
    I wanted to text back Never! U keep it! But instead, I wrote, 2mrw @ hist class.
    I shut off the phone and went back to studying. I turned a page and tried to block out the laughter that was coming down the hallway. The door opened and Eric, Rachel, and her friends, plus Ben, Julia, and Troy walked inside.
    Rachel’s eyes met mine for a second before she looked away. She was the only one to look at me except for Julia, who only glanced in my direction before sitting beside Ben.
    Eric sat a few chairs away from me and Rachel took the seat next to him. Eric was wearing one of my fave shirts—a blue cotton T-shirt that was snuggly whenever I’d leaned into him.
    Thinking about him started to make me sad, but I pushed it away. He could sit with Rachel if he wanted. We weren’t together.
    No one said a