"We did so well! I can't believe it, Virgo," I say, hugging Virgo's neck.
I dismount and give Virgo an even bigger hug. He had done everything I had asked and I couldn't have been happier. I won't know if it's enough for Antonio until he announces who is on the team. A tall man approaches me and takes Virgo's reins away from me to cool him off for me.
"Oh... bye boy," I call. "I'll give you a carrot later then.
This is all so different from how it is back home when we untack all our own horses and feed them ourselves. Here at SEC, grooms do it mostly. It is still strange to me.
I walk into the stable and go to the Admin room. I turn the brass handle and enter the room. It's quite a small area with a whiteboard at the front and white plastic chairs stacked at the back of the room. Kids aging from ten to fifteen sit nervously in little huddles around the room and their matching parents dressed in suits or rich dresses look almost as nervous. Lily was right though: all dressed in in show jackets and expensive brands.
At the sound of me opening the door and walking in, everyone's heads spin. When they realize I am not Antonio a mixture of groans and laughs quietly fill the once silent room. I creep into the Admin room quietly, not trying to draw any more attention to myself. Since everyone is sat in small groups of friends and I am alone I take a chair and sit at the back.
I can manage to notice the girl who rode before me with two others, peering over their shoulders to look at me. I sink slower in my chair just trying to escape. The minutes go by and there is still no sign of Antonio coming to tell one of us great news. My mind shuts off out of boredom but the tension in the air still crawls on my skin. My stomach is twisting tighter and tighter and my hands become clammier and clammier.
Please hurry up, Antonio. Just tell me I didn't make the team already.
The Admin room's door swings open and in strides Antonio, folder tucked under his arm and brow furrowed. I think everyone's breath caught in their throats. Parents move from their spots at the front of the room to make way for Antonio. He faces us with a smile before opening his folder.
"Good afternoon everyone. I want to thank you all for coming here today, I know how far some of you have come and how hard you all have worked to be here," Antonio starts. "I'm so glad I got to watch you all ride and display your talent and-"
And his speech is killing me. I just squeeze my chair harder and clench my jaw. Can Antonio just say who is on the team already?
"Now I've held you all here long enough so I'll cut to the chase," Antonio says, flipping through some pages in his folder.
Wow. Antonio must be reading my mind. But my mind can hardly focus. It buzzes like a swarm of bees invading it. I wish I had a fly swat to get rid of them.
"This person worked well with their horse, had great-"
Can he just say it already I'm dying to know!
"Now the new member of the Junior competition team is Maddie Smith."
We don't care about lectures can we just-wait, what?
Antonio calls my name and I stand to bolt upright in the span of a few milliseconds. Did I make the team? Me? People are clapping for me but I can sense a hint of jealousy in the air. Everything becomes blurry for a moment as I continue to stand like an idiot. Just sit down you dumbo, cries my brain but my body ignores it. A thousand swear words run through my mind out of excitement.
"Alright. Thank you to everyone that tried out and of course, you are all able to sign up for riding lessons," Antonio says, joining my side at the back of the room.
My mouth is still on the floor as people leave the room and Antonio pats my back. "Need water?"
"Yep," I manage to say.
Antonio walks away to the water bubbler in the corner while everything washes over me. Me, the not-rich-at-all girl from Cooma, and her cheap Thoroughbred gelding that she rescued made the SEC Junior competition team. Somebody pinch me, damn it!
The second I got out of the Admin room I march straight to Virgo's temporary stall and give him the leftover carrot in my pocket. He breathes warm air into my palm as I feed him. I stroke his glossy neck, over the moon.
After I walk back up the hill to the clubhouse with Antonio by my side. The sun is setting and the sky is turning a gorgeous pink with hints of rose red. The summer sky looks gorgeous. Unfortunately, I can't help but feel nervous. What will all these people that are already on the team and amazing riders think of me?
"Mrs. Ramirez is cooking a big dinner for all of us to celebrate you joining the team," Antonio says, breaking our long silence.
"Dinner sounds great."
Food in my stomach sounds great right now. Antonio opens the door for me and the house is louder than when I first stepped inside a couple of hours ago. I fold my arms in front of my body, nervously as the two of us enter the kitchen. In the centre of the spacious room is a long, wooden dining table with benches lining it. Will, his unnamed friends, a few other girls around Lily's age and the girl with dutch braids sit around the table, spooning piles of Spanish cuisine onto their plates. Antonio and I go unnoticed in the doorway until my new instructor claps his hands together.
"You guys are really hungry aren't you?" Antonio smiles.
"You bet boss. This Spanish food Mrs. Ramirez cooks is much better than the crap you Italians cook," jokes Will.
Will is definitely a class clown type.
Antonio glares at the seventeen-year-old while everyone starts to laugh. "Ever insult the food of my mama again, Will, and you will be out of here."
Antonio's warning makes everyone laugh more and causes Will to salute Antonio who has placed a hand on my back.
"Alright, you rascals. Now as you know I had try-outs today for the Junior competition team and the lucky girl that made it is Maddie. Please don't scare her away," Antonio cheers, pushing me slightly in front of him.
Warm applause from the teenagers at the dinner table wraps around me, and Antonio whispers in my ear to join them at the table. I walk over, not knowing if I will fit in but two older girls move over on their bench to let me sit down.
"Congratulations on making the team," one of the older girls beams. "I'm Ella Maman, the best show jumper on the Senior competition team."
"She wishes," sneers the other girl that moved over for me. "We all know that belongs to Lily. I'm Katy by the way."
I laugh at the girls' playful words. "Nice to meet you guys."
Katy has gorgeous dark skin with curly hair that is tied back. Ella has a face full of freckles while her hair is a dirty blonde pulled into a bun. Both are dressed in baggy hoodies and shorts.
"Who said my name?" Lily's familiar voice questions behind me.
She comes down the stairs that lead to the kitchen and her face beams when she sees me. "You did it, Maddie! You made it!"
Lily hugs me from behind and I chuckle.
"Ella and Katy were lying to poor Maddie here about who the best showjumper is on the Senior competition team. They said you but clearly, it is me," Will claims from the other side of the table.
Lily scoffs. "Don't listen to him, Maddie. Will is trouble."
"Trouble who wants to make out with you," Will flirts.
I can feel Lily's eyes roll through the back of my head. She leans over the table, and me, to slap Will straight across the face and I gasp. Will rubs his cheek and acts all upset.
"In your dreams," Lily cringes.
"Will has had a crush on Lily for months," Ella adds, whispering in my ear.
Will is a good-looking boy and if I were Lily I would definitely date him.
Lily slides in between Ella and me before grabbing herself a plate and loading it with food. I was too nervous to eat before she got here but now she is I finally grab a plate for myself.
"Now Maddie let me introduce you to everyone," Lily declares.
I nod, knowing Lily will tell me everyone's names even if I say no.
"That's Will, as you sadly know, and his friends over there are Jack, Tom, and Jasper. Jasper is on the Junior team with you while the other two dimwits are on the Senior team."
"How dare you! We aren't dimwits," cries Jack, a lanky boy with vibrant green eyes.
"Ok, well next!" Lily blurts out, ignoring Tom and Jack. "Of course here are my friends Katy and Ella. Now over there is Sarah who is just the sweetest person you will ever know."
Sarah is on the other side of Katy and still has her dutch braids in from earlier. She waves timidly at me while trying to hide her blushing face.
"Come on Sarah, you are! She's just shy," Lily adds.
Before I can greet anyone properly Jasper, a tanned boy that looks just younger than me starts a conversation about how he likes edge brownies. Tom argues, stating that the middle is better which leads Sarah to slam her fists on the table and demand that edge brownies are superior. Will, of course, cracks a joke about how stupid Tom is for saying that middle brownies are the best which drags Ella, Katy, and Lily into the once normal conversation, now turned fight. I shovel a pile of paella into my mouth-Mrs Ramirez is an amazing cook-before leaping to Tom's side. The buzz of conversation around seems to give me a warm hug. I haven't felt this warm in a while and maybe, just maybe, I will become a part of the family I've always needed.
"Middle brownies are great. I don't know what you guys are talking about," I put in.
"Thank you, Maddie," Tom cheers, high-fiving me from across the table.
"Newbie you're insane," Will sneers.
"Well, Will-" I get cut off when footsteps come down the stairs.
Then down comes Alex, head down and face stormy, wearing pajama pants and a plain top. The crowd around the dinner table falls silent while we watch Alex pick up a plate. He piles food onto it, not making eye contact with anyone. He slides in between Jack and Will and our eyes just follow him. Alex starts to eat and the table is still quiet. "What?"
Everyone starts talking again to fill the silence but no one answers Alex. I don't start talking again but instead, just watch Alex. He isn't talking either, just playing with his food with his fork, lost in thought. I wonder what he is thinking. Could he be thinking about our fight earlier today?
Alex suddenly looks up and stares right at me. My face burns-I was staring at him for so long. He must think I a psycho now.
"Hi," I mouth.
Alex rolls his eyes before going back to prodding at his food.
"Don't worry about him. Just forget it," Lily whispers to me.
Even though I nod, I don't know why Alex hates me. We might have been rude to each other when we first met, but he started it.
Antonio strides into the kitchen just as I dive back into the whole fight over which brownies are the best. "Tomorrow morning guys I'm holding a meeting and it is required for you all to be there at five to seven."
We all murmur our agreements to Antonio and some complaints about the early time, except Will. "Is it about the stealings, Antonio?"
I sit up at his remark. What stealings?
Antonio laughs nervously as the whole table looks eagerly at him. Everyone, apart from me, seems to understand what Will means. The silence becomes thick and I almost choke on my food as Antonio opens his mouth but closes it again. "W-Will. Err-come to my office if you want to discuss it but let's not worry Maddie with our problems."
The group nods silently as Antonio says goodnight before heading back upstairs. I feel odd. A secret is here at SEC and for some reason, I can't know about it. Well not now anyway. Something to do with stealings but what could that be? This place is one of the best riding schools in the country, what secrets and problems could be here?
I slump my shoulders and look around the group of teenagers. They are all talented riders but they all know something about SEC, something Antonio is uncomfortable talking about.
"What did Will mean?" I ask Lily.
"Oh, don't worry," Lily replies quickly.
I sigh as Lily turns away from me and back to Ella and Katy. This is my new family, they have to let me in on the secrets eventually.