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teasingly.
    Heather rolled her eyes. “Hardly. I just don’t want a lame rider on my team at the schooling show.”
    I moved my arms and legs, showing her that I was fine. “See? No nurse necessary. I’m ready to get back on. And
stay
on.” I brushed dirt off my shoulder and pants.
    I took Charm’s reins from Heather and mounted. He moved at the slightest cue from me—trying to make up for what he’d done. Whatever it was, he’d gotten it out of his system because he was an angel for the rest of the warm-up.
    Mr. Conner rode Lexington, a young horse he was training, into the arena. Mr. Conner on horseback meant something awesome: cross-country!
    â€œHi, girls,” Mr. Conner said. He stopped the gray horse in front of us. “Since the weather is so nice, I thought it would be a great day for us to spend some time outside and away from the arena.”
    I couldn’t stop my smile. That sounded
beyond
perfect.
    â€œWe’re going to go for a long hack instead of taking our usual route,” Mr. Conner said. Heather and I glanced at each other—we’d so do this every day if we had time.
    â€œFollow me,” Mr. Conner said. “Ready?”
    â€œReady,” Heather, Brit, and I answered.
    Instead of turning toward the woods Mr. Conner started Lexington at a walk back toward the stable yard. Brit, Heather, and I grouped together and rode behind him. Just when I thought Mr. Conner would definitely turn to the woods on the side of the stable, he kept Lexington going straight down the driveway.
    â€œSeriously?” Heather whispered. “Are we going off campus?”
    â€œLooks like it,” I said.
    Brit, riding on Heather’s other side, looked over. “That would be so cool.”
    Riding down the driveway felt so weird. We’d never gone this way before and all three horses—especially Charm and Aristocrat—were excited. They seemed to know we were going to a new place.
    The horses’ shoes clinked against the driveway and I looked around, taking in the different view from Charm’s back. I was so used to seeing this part of campus from the backseat of my parents’ car. The pastures had gentle hills with grass cropped short by grazing horses. Every beautiful brick building that had once looked intimidating now felt like part of my home. The sun shifted from behind clouds, and I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the brighter light. The end of the driveway was near. We were rapidly approaching the road.
    â€œHalt for a minute,” Mr. Conner said.
    We pulled our horses to a stop and he turned Lexington to face us. “We’re going to walk the horses down the road for only a few yards before we reach a gate,” he explained. “I’ll open the gate, and you’ll go inside the pasture. It hasbeen checked out by Mike and Doug, so it’s safe. We’re going to work on stamina, and we’ll ride the horses at a trot and canter over a few miles of hills.”
    I couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across my face. Riding in a new place with Charm was what we needed. I wasn’t worried about him—he’d been perfect since he’d bucked me off earlier, but I’d be a little more attentive than usual just in case.
    â€œThis is a quiet road, and we’ve posted signs that there might be riders, so if we encounter any car traffic, the driver should be respectful,” Mr. Conner said. “But stay alert and prepared just in case. Follow me single file, please.”
    We all nodded.
    â€œLet’s go,” Mr. Conner said.
    He and Lexington stepped off the driveway and onto the road. They turned right, and I went first, with Brit behind me and then Heather. The horses’ shoes clanked against the asphalt—it was weird to be on the road.
    Charm, calm now, kept an ear back toward me and another pointed forward. He wasn’t nervous about being away from campus—he liked