J.O.P Stable: The Twin Saga (Book 2: Vortex)

Chapter 7:

Monday morning officially marked 2 months until the competition, and I had a plan.

As much as I hated having to make this decision, there was no way Onyx would be ready in time. We hadn't even cleared a single jump and it seemed that he just wasn't conditioned to be a puissance jumper. Maybe the Summer Finale had just been luck...

I could have turned to Secret, the horse me, Jewel and our teammates had gotten our Uncle John to ride for the first time since he had quit years ago, but she was older now, close to retirement and I didn't want to push her.

However, there was one horse currently at J.O.P.S that had the right conditioning and was the perfect age to jump the huge wall.

I just had to convince her owner to let me ride her, and after the showdown yesterday, it seemed like it was going to be harder than I thought. Luckily I had most of my classes with Felix thanks to mom and dads arrangement, so I had plenty of opportunities to be annoying enough to convince him to let me ride Rio.

As I walked to my study hall period in the library, I noticed Kendall with her head bent down over her phone. We hadn't talked much since our little...I don't even know if it was a fight, but I did know that I missed her.

A lot.

I was about to say something when icky Vicky suddenly came up beside me. I was sure Nate was right behind her, but I kept staring forward.

" I can't believe you haven't quit with that jumping yet " Vicky spoke as she stared at her freshly manicured nails. " I mean, you know that spaz of an Arabian you call a horse doesn't have what it takes, so why don't you just drop it already? " We turned into the library and I took my regular table, but Vicky and Nate continued to bother me, taking the spot right beside my table. " I mean, your a decent event rider, leave it at that and stop trying to step on our turf "

" Decent is a stretch " Nate commented, making Vicky laugh as she latched onto his arm.

I sighed and crossed my arms, rolling my eyes. " And what makes you think I don't have what it takes to be a Puissance rider? " I asked, not even bothering to look at them.

" Theres more to Puissance jumping than the jumping, you need technique, skill "

" And a horse that can at least clear more than a five footer " Nate made another comment.

I growled under my breath. " I have a horse! " I snapped.

" Then tell me you at least know what the Vortex jump is, because you can't be a real Puissance rider if you don't know the Vortex jump " Vicky replied.

" You know, the fail of a jump that has-been Felix tried when he broke his leg " Nate explained briefly, chuckling.

Vortex?

I remained silent as Vicky and Nate laughed.

" Ya, thats what we thought " Vicky replied before they stood up and walked out of the library.

I bit my lip, trying not to let the thought into my mind.

Maybe they were right...

I jumped when books landed face down on the table. I looked up and saw a familiar blonde haired blue eyed guy standing on the other side of the table.

I kept my frown. " Don't worry...I'm not going to ask to borrow your precious horse...I'm not doing the competition... "

He sat down, not saying a word as he ripped a piece of paper out of his notebook and scribbled something down before passing it over to me. " Here, then you'll know why I've been so cautious around Rio... " he said simply before walking away.

I stared after him, confused. After a few more seconds of wondering what had just happened I glanced down at the paper he had passed me.

Puissance Vortex Epic Fail

I logged into my laptop and brought up youtube, plugging in my headphones as I typed with one hand.

It took me a while but I finally found what looked like the right video,

I stared at the screen as the video loaded and the next thing I knew I was on the edge of my chair. It was Felix! And he was riding Rio around a huge indoor arena, circling two huge walls extremely close to each other. It then hit me that this was the video I had kept forgetting to watch. Now I could really see what made Felix quit riding and ignore Rio.

As I watched Felix canter Rio around, the mare look a bit more fit, but she also looked like she was enjoying herself. Her ears were perked but always flicked back towards Felix and she cantered excitedly, but still managed to clear each practise fence with scope.

Felix however looked like a completely different person. Dressed in a show jumping jacket and white breeches, he smirked as he waved to the crowd after each tall jump. It was totally different from the quiet, moody guy I had come to know around the barn and house. He looked so confident, like he knew he was going to win.

I chuckled softly. It kinda reminded me of myself.

I turned up the volume to hear what the commentators were saying.

" And I mean, you gotta love this kids attitude, only 16 and already competing at a Puissance level this high "

" Well I'll tell you what this kid definitely has a great horse to back up his skills. A mare with bloodlines to world record holding high jumper Huaso Ex-Faithful out of a Rio Grande mare. The partnership that these two have is undoubtably a force to be reckoned with and I think it's going to show here tonight "

" As you can see Felix has set up a new jump design he's debuting tonight. A Puissance jump he calls the Vortex, if he makes it, he'll be put in the record books for sure "

My eyes were glued to the screen as I watched Felix circle Rio around to the inside of a decorative plant instead of the outside. I had held her back when I jumped her, but Felix was letting her break into almost a gallop.

' Too fast! ' I thought, but Felix still had a smirk on his face. Rio took off, clearing the first wall, but as she landed in-between the two walls about to take off to clear the next she stumbled. She wasn't able to get her feet out from under her in time and they crashed through the wall. I couldn't help but gasp as I watched the bricks fall down around them. The bricks just made Rio stumble more and the next thing the video showed Rio had rolled over Felix and he was laying motionless on the ground, facing down on the ground. Rio was trying to get up, kicking out her back legs. Her reins had gotten tangled in her front legs which was scaring her since she couldn't get up.

The commentators and crowd were going crazy and the camera panned on a woman who had fainted

Felix's mother

Paramedics were surrounding Felix while grooms attempted to calm Rio, but the mare now looked like her old self, scared and fighting against the handlers, but her ears were still flicking towards Felix.

I quickly slammed the lid shut, not wanting to see anymore. I picked up my books and walked out, going to find Felix.

It was time to talk.