Read Online Victory and the All-Stars Academy by Stacy Gregg - Free Book Online Page B

lights went out.
    â€œDee Dee!”
    â€œOops,” Dee Dee giggled. “Sorry, roomie! I should have warned you I was turning the lights out.”
    â€œBut, Dee Dee, I want to read.”
    â€œIf you wanted to read then you shouldn’t have gone for a walk,” Dee Dee said pointedly. “It’s supposed to be lights out at ten-thirty and I need my beauty sleep.”
    Issie sighed. “Whatever. Goodnight, Dee Dee,” she said through clenched teeth.
    â€œG’night, roomie!” came the gurgling reply from the other bed. “Sweet dreams.”
    Sweet dreams . The phrase taunted Issie even as she was falling asleep. Her dreams lately had been far from sweet. For weeks now she had been having the samenightmare, that dark and turbulent dream about Mystic.
    She knew that Mystic was her guardian, her protector, but the dreams still scared her. They haunted her thoughts when she woke up each morning. Mystic was her best friend, the horse who started it all and the one that meant everything to her. Usually, a dream about Mystic meant that he was close by and that trouble was even closer. But not recently. The dreams kept coming, but Mystic didn’t appear. To dream the same dream about that fateful day at the pony club was making Issie worry that the threat was something she couldn’t fix.
    What if it means that I’m really losing Mystic this time ? Issie thought. As she felt sleep overtaking her in bed that night, she resisted. She didn’t want to sleep. She didn’t want to dream. She wasn’t ready to let him go. Not yet , she thought. Not yet .

Chapter 7
    The rattle of horse floats and trucks pulling up in the driveway woke Issie before her alarm clock had the chance to ring. She sat up in bed, her brain still fuzzy from sleep. She looked over at Dee Dee. Her roommate was awake too and she was staring out of the window.
    â€œWhat’s going on out there?”
    â€œThe Australians have arrived,” said Dee Dee.
    Two seconds later the door to their room flew open and Stella barged in. “Have you seen them? Ohmygod, they are gorgeous!” Stella squeaked.
    â€œThe horses?”
    â€œNo—the boys!” said Stella. “The whole team is allboys! Laura and I have been spying on them out of our bedroom window. They’re all really hunky. One of them looks just like Zac Efron!”
    â€œIs he wearing make-up like Zac Efron?” Issie giggled.
    â€œHe’s gorgeous!” Stella was beaming with excitement. “Laura likes the red-headed one—she says he has eyes like azure. I don’t know what azure is…do you, Issie? Issie?”
    But Issie wasn’t listening. She had got out of bed and grabbed her bath towel. The Australian team were here and, if Stella was to be believed, they were all utterly good-looking. At this rate they would find her still wearing jammies—which would be totally embarrassing!
    It was chaos in the villa for the next twenty minutes as the girls all bolted for the bathrooms at the same time, trying to get ready. There was a huge queue to use the showers.
    By the time Issie had dashed back to her bedroom and quickly pulled on her jods and her favourite Ralph Lauren pale blue polo, the Australian riders had already unloaded their horses, tied them up to theirfloats with hay nets and water, and were in the kitchen of the villa making themselves at home.
    On the other side of the kitchen door the girls were huddled together in the hallway, giggling and teasing each other, suddenly nervous about meeting their competition.
    â€œYou go in first,” Stella said.
    â€œNo, you go.” Charlotte gave her a feeble shove towards the door.
    â€œOh, for pity’s sake!” Kate rolled her eyes at both of them and swung the door open.
    It was clear that Stella had been exaggerating when she said the whole team was made up of boys. In fact, two of the eight riders were girls. She wasn’t