False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

Teens

synopsis

Synopsis

Cory Iverson's junior year is off to a lousy start. Publicly humiliated by the school's hottest guy and terrorized by a bullying band director, Cory flees sports try-outs and just about everything else she begins, earning a reputation as a loser as well as a quitter. But when her wandering dog leads her to the barn of a former Grand Prix rider, she finds a welcome refuge in the familiar world of horses. It's not too long before she starts dreaming of showing in one of the country's most prestigious shows--a totally unrealistic hope--until she rescues a mysterious horse with some unusual talents. But her road to success is littered with roadblocks as events spin out of control: prescription painkillers appear in her mother's purse; her ballerina sister wastes away before her eyes; her boyfriend is keeping secrets; and her normally opinionated trainer becomes strangely evasive. Worst of all, the horse show world is not what she imagined. It isn't long before Cory's winning spree attracts the attention of a brutal trainer with a string of unexplained horse deaths in her wake. When Cory lands in the crosshairs, she has to decide if she'll once again back down and flee or stand up for herself, her horse, and her dreams.

bio

Author Biography

Inspired by everyday miracles, L.R. Trovillion weaves magical stories of hurting people who find hope through horses in her Maryland Equestrian Novel series. Although she earned a degree in Russian and spent a career in government service, her real love has been caring for and working with horses. That love shines through in her series, focusing on the healing power of horses in the lives of teens facing complex and sometimes dangerous family situations. Believing there is more to this world than meets the eye, she adds a dash of the supernatural to each story. L. R. Trovillion lives on a small horse farm in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and several animals that really run the place. Her other works have appeared in Baltimore magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and various poetry anthologies.

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Author Insight

What If the Bully is Your Teacher?

Bullying in school has escalated to epidemic proportions with the introduction of social media. But what if the biggest school bully is one of the teachers? In this scene, the band director, nicknamed The Hawk, has been terrorizing students all year. He intimidates and picks on the timid and the talentless ones especially and no one has had the courage to stand up to him. He presides over the band room like a Roman emperor in the arena, until one day he goes too far. When Cory stands up to challenge him for pushing a student, all eyes turn to see what will happen. She doesn't know what will happen. Will anyone back her up? Will she become The Hawk's new target for persecution? Will she be thrown out of band, or worse yet...? I wrote this scene to show Cory finally standing up against her fears and to illustrate that bullying, no matter who is doing it, should be confronted and stopped. Read on to find out what happens!

Book Excerpt

False Gods: The Show Jumper's Challenge

The room fell silent. Mr. Schroeder, the Hawk, strode in and eyed the assembled students like a border collie sizing up the sheep. He flipped open a large music score on the director’s stand and pulled it toward him.

“All right, people, ‘Pomp and Circumstance.’ Let’s try to get it right for a change. You’ve got two weeks until graduation, the seniors won’t be here to carry you, and I don’t want to be embarrassed by your playing.” He raised his baton. “One, and two, and . . .”

After only a few measures, Cory knew it was off. The rhythm dragged, the brass was drowning out the woodwinds, and the whole thing sounded off pitch. The baton slammed down on the edge of the stand so hard Cory thought it would snap in two.

“Stop!” Mr. Schroeder’s face was red. “What’s wrong with you people? We’ve been at this for months now. Brass! If you’re going to blast us out of the room, at least do it in the right key.”

He descended the podium and walked past Cory to the back row. Waves of frustration radiated off him. He stabbed his baton at the sheet of music in front of one of the trumpet players. The kid’s face was as red as his wavy hair.

“Here, Mr. Ryan. It says right here, key of G. Let’s hear it. Trumpets only.”

The Hawk stood, arms folded. Cory placed the bell of her clarinet on her knee and clutched it to her body. She prayed the trumpets would get it right this time, watching as the terrified redhead raised the instrument to his lips.

The loud, sour notes wafted through the band room and escaped out the open windows.

All at once there was an enormous crash, followed by complete silence. The trumpet players held their instruments inches from their lips, mouths open. Liam Ryan was lying on his back on the floor with his trumpet still clasped in one hand, the music stand on top of him. Everyone stared. Nobody moved. They had all seen Mr. Schroeder smash the back of the stand in a fury, sending Liam Ryan, startled, over backward on his chair.

“Well, get up, you idiot,” the director snarled. “I’ve told you all a million times not to tip back in your chairs.”

“You pushed him!” Cory was on her feet.

Mr. Schroeder swung around to face her. “I didn’t push him,” he barked, then zeroed in on her. “Sit down, Miss Iverson.”

Behind him, the other trumpet players scrambled to help Liam up. Cory’s legs were shaking. Mr. Schroeder had her locked in his bird-of-prey stare.

“Sit down, I said!”

Cory remained standing. She felt a hundred eyes on her, watching. She looked over to Kevyn and saw a faint smile. Mr. Schroeder marched toward her, drawn in by her defiance like a heat-seeking missile. Sweat broke out under her arms. Her hand itched for a crop—she knew what to do with a dominant horse that tried to invade her space and threaten her—she’d back him off with a smart tap of her whip. Mr. Schroeder was in her personal space now, too close. She could see the gray hairs in his dark moustache and the tiny red veins that snaked along the tip of his nose. His voice was steady and low.

“You sit down now or I’ll throw you out. And don’t you ever—”

“You hit a student!” The words flew out of her.