Home Sweet Drama by Jessica Burkhart Read Free Book Online Page A

done.
    I rode Charm next to Aristocrat and stopped him. Heather looked over at me and gave me a nod.
    â€œNot a disaster,” she said, her tone light. “I mean, you didn’t fall off or anything.”
    â€œThanks a lot.”
    Mr. Conner finished writing on his clipboard and smiled at both of us.
    â€œThose were excellent rides, girls,” he said. “Please dismount and cool your horses. See you next class.”
    He shut off the camera and I dismounted. When my feet hit the ground, I felt all of the tension that beenbuilding for days start to drain from my body. It was a mixture of relief that the tape was over and exhaustion from worrying about it so much. I leaned lightly against Charm’s shoulder and for what felt like the first time in a while, I took a breath.

7
    HOMECOMING THREW UP ALL OVER CAMPUS
    HEATHER AND I COOLED THE HORSES WITHOUT saying a word to each other. I had a feeling she had been as nervous as I’d been about the test, but she’d never admit it. I clipped Charm into crossties and groomed him. He was so shiny from when I’d prepared him for the tape that all he needed was a light body brush.
    I unclipped the crossties and led him down the aisle. “You deserve to spend the night outside in the big pasture, boy,” I said. He followed me outside and we walked across the stable yard to the pasture. We passed the outdoor arena where Callie was riding by herself. I paused, unable to look away. Black Jack, Callie’s Morab gelding, was flexing his leg and back as Callie took him at an extended trot around the arena. His shiny black coat caught the sunlight and he looked gorgeous.
    I turned away and caught Charm watching them too. His head was raised high so he could see and his eyes were on Jack. Unlike Callie and me, they were still BFFs.
    â€œC’mon, boy,” I said. I tugged gently on his lead line and opened the gate to the pasture. I walked him inside, then unclipped his lead line. He stood beside me, not moving. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I get it. I miss them too.” I dropped down and sat cross-legged in the grass. I plucked a blade of grass and twirled it in my fingers. Charm lowered his head and started grazing near me. I kept my back to Callie and just listened to the sound of Jack’s hoofbeats in the arena.
    When I left the pasture, the sky was starting to turn pink, orange, and purple. I hadn’t realized how long I’d stayed with Charm. I walked through the center of campus and fought the urge to shield my eyes. It looked like Homecoming had thrown up all over campus and it kept multiplying every day. This morning five or six yard signs had been stuck along the sidewalk that I took from the courtyard to Winchester. Now, a dozen signs on either side of the sidewalk directed students to Homecoming activities and promoted the week’s contests. Every dorm hall had a banner over their entrance and I looked down soI didn’t have to see the WINCHESTER 4 THE WIN! sign that draped over our entrance.
    Inside the dorm I hurried down the hallway to my room. If I saw one more inch of green or gold … . I paused outside my dorm and took a breath. Paige had decorated the white board outside our door with a green marker. Her fun, flirty script read
Sasha & Paige
<3
Homecoming! Go CC!
    I rubbed my eyes for a second, then opened the door. Paige was at her desk, typing on her laptop. She had her stack of textbooks beside her and her bio notebook was open. Maybe now was the perfect time to tell her what really had happened at my party.
    â€œHow’s the homework?” I asked.
    Paige looked up from her computer. “Almost done. One more question to answer. How was your taping? I was going to text you, but I figured you were probably decompressing with Charm.”
    â€œYou know me so well,” I said. “The taping went great, actually, and I was hanging with Charm in the pasture. He did a