vacation but without helicopters and paparazzi chasing after me If it were up to me I’d give up acting for good No one here knows my true identity except for Ryleigh Aunt Jane and Layla my counselor and I plan to keep it that way Ryleigh leaned over and whispered You wanted to be a regular kid This is what regular kids do At least regular kids at horse camp I picked at my chipped nail polish Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a regular kid after all You have to be realistic said Ainsley You can’t go on an overnighter You haven’t even been assigned a horse yet because you’re not comfortable on any of them She shook her head Overnighters are for intermediate and advanced riders because we have to travel all the way up to Ridge Rock and Seneca Falls It’s tough terrain It’s rocky and some of the hills are steep There’s not much open land There’s no way you could do it 10
Khadija patted my back Maybe you can go next year But Ainsley’s right about this year You need to be a really good rider Then she corrected herself Actually you need to be an excellent rider to go on to Clearwater Creek in the morning This is the first time I’m going that far and I’m nervous She tugged on her hijab again I’ve been working on my voice commands Aunt Jane said I’m finally showing Silver Moon that I’m in charge of her I can keep her calm and confident even when she’s spooked Khadija beamed I’ve waited two years for Aunt Jane to bump me up to advanced I stomped my foot Congrats I guess But I’m still jealous that you get to sleep by a waterfall under the stars It’s only one night said Ainsley You could sleep outside here if you wanted to By myself No thanks 11
Ryleigh elbowed me I’m not riding on to Clearwater Creek in the morning Now that I’m officially working here I need to come back earlier to help Bree and Aunt Jane in the small barn too Before Ainsley had a chance to brag I held my hand up Don’t say it I already know you’re an advanced rider and there’s no way you’re coming back early She raised her eyebrows More than advanced Olympic bound She crossed her fingers I hope I was jealous Jealous with a capital J Can I can help anyone finish packing I asked We’re all packed up said Khadija But if we don’t finish mucking out this stall we’ll never get going She handed me the pitchfork What needs to be done next Cassidy Think It wasn’t rocket science Add new bedding 12
Khadija nodded as she brought a second wheelbarrow filled with straw inside and dumped it I swished the pitchfork around to spread the straw There’s not enough straw to make a horse comfortable in here Ainsley gave me a high five You’re right It needs to be thicker So after dumping more straw onto the floor I was done Will it pass Aunt Jane’s inspection Khadija kicked her boot through the straw The manure and urine are gone That’s important She took a whiff The smell’s gone too Ryleigh brought the tubs back inside and filled one with water and the other with hay Aunt Jane gets super upset if she sees empty or dirty buckets So I have to muck out stalls and then check on the horses all day long to make sure they have 13
