Horse Guest (12 page)

Britt smiled slightly, but she didn’t really look amused. “Magoo can’t help it,” she said. “He doesn’t understand why the bandages have to stay on. Besides, he’s just doing it because he’s restless and bored after being cooped up so long.”

Carole nodded, immediately feeling bad about her own attitude, which was much the same as Lisa’s. “You’re right, Britt,” she said. “Magoo is a horse, not a person. He doesn’t understand why he has to stay in his stall so much these days. And he doesn’t know any better way to express how frustrated he is.”

Britt smiled at Carole, then at Lisa. “Sorry,” she said
softly. “I didn’t mean to scold you guys. I just feel bad that Magoo is so lonely and unhappy.”

Lisa wondered if Britt could empathize with the horse’s loneliness because she was lonely herself. It wouldn’t be surprising. Being new in town was hard for anyone, and for shy Britt it must be excruciating.

But The Saddle Club would fix that soon, Lisa reminded herself. Once Britt joined, she wouldn’t ever have to be lonely and unhappy again. “Come on,” she said, letting herself into the stall. “Let’s get Magoo fixed up. It won’t take long if we all work together.”

L
ATER
, C
AROLE CAUGHT UP
to Lisa in the tack room. Nobody else was there, so she sat down to talk. “This all feels really right, doesn’t it?” she said.

Lisa nodded. She didn’t even have to ask what Carole was referring to. “At first it seemed weird to even think about adding a fourth full-time member,” she said, scrubbing slowly at Prancer’s saddle. “It’s always been just the three of us—ever since the beginning. But Britt fits so well.”

“And I think she’ll be thrilled when we ask her,” Carole said. “Lately it seems like she’s finding any excuse to hang out with us. She obviously wants to be our friend.”

Lisa grinned. “Who can blame her?” She gave the saddle one last swipe, then tossed her sponge into a nearby bucket and stood up. “I’m finished here. Are you ready to go?”

The girls left the tack room and headed for the door. On the way, they passed the door to the indoor ring. It was propped open, and they could see Britt inside, mounted on Coconut.

“Let’s stop in and say good-bye,” Carole suggested. She and Lisa stepped through the doorway and called to Britt.

Britt turned to look at them. So did two other riders, who had been hidden from view until the girls had entered the ring.

“Hi, guys,” said Polly. “What’s up?”

“Oh, hi, Polly,” Lisa said. “Hi, Lorraine.”

Lorraine smiled. “Are you as excited about the gymkhana as we are?” she asked.

“More,” Carole assured her with a grin. “It’s going to be fun.”

Polly gathered up her reins as Romeo tossed his head. “Max said we’re going to have to ask our horses to back up in one of the races, so we decided we’d better practice. Britt’s helping us.”

Lorraine nodded enthusiastically. “She’s been a huge help,” she said. “She’s really good. I’ve never seen Coconut perform so well!”

“It was nothing,” Britt said, blushing. “Coconut did all the work. I just sat there.”

“You’re too modest, Britt,” Polly said. “Now come on. You promised to help me get Romeo to back up in a straight line instead of curving off to the side.”

Carole and Lisa said good-bye to all three of the other
girls and left. “Isn’t that great?” Lisa asked once they were out of earshot. “Britt’s really coming out of her shell!”

“And it’s all thanks to us,” Carole said proudly. “She’s really got that Saddle Club spirit. By the way, did you notice how great she and Coconut were doing—again?” She grinned. “It’s like they were meant to be together.”

Lisa smiled back. She didn’t necessarily agree with that, but she didn’t feel like arguing at the moment. “Right,” she said, linking her arm through Carole’s. “Just like The Saddle Club.”

“I
CAN
’
T BELIEVE
we forgot to ask her yesterday,” Lisa said as she and Carole hurried toward Magoo’s stall the next morning.

Carole shot her an exasperated glance. “Would you stop worrying?” she said. “We’ll ask her as soon as she gets here. It will be fine. What other team would Britt expect to be on but ours?”

“But she’s so insecure,” Lisa said. “What if she’s been worrying all week because we haven’t asked her yet? Maybe she thinks we don’t want her on our team.” She had been thinking similar kinds of thoughts all night, ever since the moment at dinner when she had realized
that The Saddle Club still hadn’t asked Britt to be on their team for the gymkhana. After dinner she had tried to call the Lynns’ house, but nobody had answered. Now the day of the gymkhana was here, and Lisa felt terrible at the thought that they might have unintentionally put their new friend through days of misery.

Carole stopped in front of Magoo’s stall. As soon as she saw the horse, she frowned. Magoo was at the front of the stall. He tossed his head and snorted when he saw the girls. Then he backed away and stamped his feet. He tossed his head again and circled around in the stall a couple of times. Then he returned to the front and peered out over the door again.

“He seems pretty agitated,” Lisa said. “Do you think something else is wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Carole replied. She watched Magoo silently for another minute or two. The horse continued to seem upset, but Carole couldn’t see any obvious signs of colic or any other problem. “Maybe he’s just feeling lonely again. Let’s see if our company helps.”

The girls went into the stall to check on Magoo’s bandages. Despite their presence, the horse continued to seem worked up and edgy. “You know, normally I feel sorry for any horse that’s upset,” Lisa said as she dodged aside to avoid having Magoo step on her foot. “But I still can’t help thinking he’s doing it on purpose.”

“I know,” Carole said. “Maybe that’s why Elaine is so eager to sell him. He’s no good in a big stable. He needs
an owner that will pay attention to him and baby him twenty-four hours a day.”

Lisa moved aside again as Magoo pushed past her on his way to the front of the stall. “Maybe,” she agreed with a rueful smile. “But I’m not going to volunteer for
that
job.”

“Anybody home?” called a familiar voice from outside. Stevie shoved Magoo’s head aside and peered into the stall.

Carole and Lisa pushed past the horse and let themselves out into the aisle. Fortunately, Magoo had finally calmed down a little and was standing quietly at the front of the stall, gazing at the newcomers.

“Look who I ran into on my way in,” Stevie said. She gestured to Britt, who was standing beside her.

“Good,” Lisa said. “Did you ask her yet?”

Stevie looked confused. “Ask her wh— Oh!” she exclaimed. “No, I totally forgot. I haven’t been able to think about anything except how relieved I am that my grandma decided not to come today.” She turned to Britt, who was stroking Magoo’s nose. “Hey, Britt, we were hoping you’d be on our team for the gymkhana today.” She gestured to include Carole and Lisa. “How about it?”

Britt’s eyes widened. “Oh,” she said softly.

Lisa smiled at her apologetically. “We’ve been meaning to ask you all week,” she said. “Sorry to leave it to the last second like this. I hope you didn’t think you wouldn’t have a team to ride with.”

“Um …,” Britt said. She paused, looking anxious. “Actually, I didn’t. I mean, someone else already asked me to be on their team.”

“Someone else?” Carole repeated. She exchanged puzzled glances with her friends. “What do you mean?”

Britt straightened Magoo’s forelock and shrugged. “Polly asked me the other day,” she said. “Lorraine and Anna are on the team, too.”

Stevie could hardly believe her ears. “You mean you’re already on somebody else’s team for the gymkhana?” she asked.

“That’s what she just said, Stevie,” Lisa said, sounding a little testy. She turned to Britt and smiled. “Well, too bad for us,” she said in a friendlier voice. “I hope your team does well. We’ll see you later, okay?”

The three friends hurried away, leaving Britt with Magoo. As soon as they were out of earshot, Carole turned to her friends. “Can you believe that?” she asked. “Britt’s already on a team!”

“Isn’t it obvious what happened?” Lisa said. “Polly and her friends needed a fourth for their team, and they knew that Britt was new and a good rider. So they asked her, and she was too shy to turn them down. It’s our fault for not asking her until now.”

Stevie was nodding. “That makes perfect sense,” she said. “We hadn’t said anything to her yet about being teammates, and she was probably afraid to bring it up herself.”

“And she didn’t want to be left without a team,” Carole finished. She sighed. “Boy, did we blow it this time.”

Lisa looked grim. “No kidding,” she said. She glanced at her watch. “The gymkhana starts in half an hour, and we still don’t have a fourth person for our team.”

Stevie gasped. “Oh no!” she said. “I didn’t even think about that. We’d better hurry—let’s split up and start asking people.”

“D
ID YOU ASK
Besty?” Lisa asked. It was ten minutes later. The Saddle Club had just convened an emergency meeting in the aisle outside Magoo’s stall. Britt had disappeared—probably to join up with her teammates—and the gelding was munching calmly on a mouthful of hay.

Carole nodded. “She and Meg are on a team with Joe and Adam.”

“Of course,” Stevie said. “It’s not just a team, it’s a double date.” Betsy and Meg were each dating one of the boys.

“What about … um …,” Carole tried to think of another likely prospect.

“I asked everyone I saw,” Lisa said bluntly. “Even all the younger kids turned us down.”

“So did Simon,” Stevie said. She patted Magoo as he stuck his head out of the stall and nudged her. “Can you believe he has a full team and we don’t?” Simon Atherton was probably the worst rider in Horse Wise.

“What do we do now?” Carole asked. “Do you think Max will let us ride if we’re short one person?”

The three girls were silent for a moment, pondering that question. That’s when they heard heated words coming from the hallway around the corner from where they were standing.

“Some friends you are!” Veronica said, fuming. “Dumping me for some stupid boys!”

“Sorry, Veronica,” Betsy’s voice came. “We were sure you’d understand.”

“But you didn’t even tell me!” Veronica exclaimed angrily. “How am I supposed to find another team now? The gymkhana is starting in twenty minutes!”

“It was the boys’ idea,” Meg said apologetically. “They just suggested it last night when we were all at the movies—that’s why we didn’t tell you. We couldn’t help saying yes when they asked us. It’s so romantic.”

Veronica let out a very unromantic-sounding snort. Then she came storming around the corner, almost barreling into The Saddle Club. “Watch where you’re going,” she spat out, not even seeming to realize how illogical her comment was, since they were standing still.

Lisa gulped and glanced at her friends, her heart sinking. They looked just as dismayed as she felt. But she knew what they had to do.

“Um, Veronica?” she said. “We couldn’t help overhearing …”

“A
T LEAST SHE
’
S
a good rider,” Carole said.

Lisa glanced at her. She and Carole were on their horses, watching Veronica and Stevie on the other side of the ring. Veronica took the loud, Hawaiian-print necktie that Stevie had just yanked off of Belle. The tie was already knotted, and Veronica slowly and carefully pulled it over Danny’s head. “Would you stop saying that?” Lisa snapped at Carole. “Her riding skills don’t help us much when she’s so afraid of messing up her new manicure that she sabotages every single race.”

“Go!” Stevie screamed as Veronica finally finished and remounted. The tie dangled from Danny’s neck just below his head. It didn’t seem to bother the horse one bit. “Canter! You’ve got to make up ground!”

But Veronica ignored Stevie’s shouted commands and kept Danny to a sedate trot. Stevie urged Belle over toward her friends.

“Whose idea was it to give her the last lap in this race?” she fumed as Veronica crossed the finish line several yards behind the next-slowest rider, a six-year-old on a chubby pony.