Lisa (10 page)

by Stevie Lake

Community service means doing good things for other people, whether you know them or not. That’s what my trip to the Bar None Ranch was all about. I was busy, busy, busy for the whole trip making other people’s lives happier and more fulfilled and even more educated, too. It was very gratifying for me to help so many, many, many people so very, very, very much. I didn’t even mind sacrificing my own time to help others, even though it meant I didn’t have much time to work on this essay. I had to make a decision—help others by concentrating on the Halloween Fair that would benefit a whole community, or help myself by selfishly spending valuable time working only for my own purposes and grades?

It wasn’t an easy decision, but I think it was the right one. I chose to devote myself to others, and that’s why this essay is shorter than it was supposed to be. That in itself makes an important point about the value of community service, don’t you think?

Thornbury Hall

London, England

Dear Lisa
,

It was great to find your letter waiting for me when I got back to my dorm after the summer! Thanks for writing back. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, and it was terrific to hear your voice again (well, you know what I mean …). I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. I never realized how busy my last year of college would be—it’s nothing like my senior year of high school, when there seemed to be plenty of time for hanging out and doing nothing!

Anyway, how is your new school year going? Actually I guess it’s not so new anymore—by the time you get this it will probably be almost Thanksgiving. I wish I could come home for the holiday this year, but as you know the Brits don’t celebrate it, so I don’t have any time off. Maybe I can get Mom to FedEx me some turkey and stuffing. (On second thought, I’d better not mention it to her, even in jest. Knowing her, she’d actually do it!)

It was nice to hear that you were having an interesting summer, riding a lot and hanging out with your friends Steffie and Carol. I hope I get to meet them sometime—they sound like nice girls. By the way, how is Francine Potts doing? Do you still see much of her?

In any case, that business you wrote about—I think you called it the Mystery of the Missing Pin—gave me a terrific idea. I might have written last time about how I was doing some newspaper reporting this summer, right? Well, after a couple of
months on the job, I decided that journalism probably isn’t for me. I liked the writing part well enough, and the traveling was fun, too. But I just couldn’t get comfortable with interviewing strangers all the time, asking them all sorts of personal questions. I don’t think I have the personality for it, you know?

So ever since I got back to school, I’ve been trying to figure out what else I could do for a living once I graduate. Mom and Dad (well, mostly Mom) are already on my case about starting to look for a “real” job. I guess they didn’t like my idea of working part-time as a waiter or something and writing at night. I had to promise to send out a few resumes just to get them off my case.

But now I think I have a better answer. I’ve sort of been thinking about trying my hand at screenwriting—you know, writing scripts for movies. And I know movies for kids your age are a big thing right now, and when I got your letter and realized how interesting your life is, I got inspired. So now I’m hoping you’ll agree to write back whenever you can and fill me in on more of what you and your friends do. That way I should have enough straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth (ha ha) info on people your age to come up with a really great script. And if I finish by the end of the school year, maybe our parents will actually believe I can make a living by writing and they won’t tie me up and shove me, kicking and screaming, behind a computer in some insurance or accounting office somewhere!

What do you think? Write back soon and tell me!

Love,
Peter

Dear Diary
,

Well, I’m glad Peter finally wrote back. I was beginning to think he’d forgotten all about me. I’m also glad he seems to have gotten the hint that I’m not an infant—this letter actually sounded more like an ordinary one between two mature people. Of course, it was still a little weird realizing how out of touch we’ve actually been lately. I’m sure I must have mentioned Stevie and Carole at least a million times in notes and phone calls (not to mention in my last letter), but he still got both their names wrong. Hasn’t he been paying attention? I guess not, or he’d know that Francine Potts moved away three years ago—not that I cared much, since we haven’t been good friends since second grade!

Still, I guess it takes two to lose touch, right? Maybe I haven’t been communicating that well with him, and that’s why he doesn’t seem to know what my life is really like these days. Ms. Shields says it’s important to be clear when you’re trying to convey information in your writing. She had us do an exercise in technical writing the other day, where we weren’t allowed to include any judgments or emotions, but simply reported the facts.

I don’t know if this is the same kind of thing, though. I mean, shouldn’t Peter and I be better at communicating with each other? After all, we’re brother and sister. If we can’t understand each other, who can?

But his idea about becoming a screenwriter is exciting. It would be cool to have a big brother who’s some kind of Hollywood mogul. Maybe he could fly me and my friends out to the West Coast to “do lunch.” Just about the only thing cooler than that would be to see The Saddle Club immortalized on the silver screen. I can’t wait to tell Stevie and Carole about that when I see them tomorrow!

Still, I’ll have to be careful. Whatever our communication problems in the past, I’ll have to be extra clear about whatever I write to Peter from now on, since it could end up in his script. Even though his letter was a lot more normal this time, I don’t want him getting any wrong idea about what “kids your age” (to use his own words) are like. I don’t want his screenplay messed up because he thinks I’m still some kind of baby.

FROM:
           Steviethegreat

TO:
                LAtwood

SUBJECT:
      Hooray for Hollywood!

MESSAGE:

Hi, Lisa! I’ve been thinking about what you told us this afternoon about your brother’s screenplay. I still can hardly believe that The Saddle Club could be
coming to a theater near you
someday soon! How cool is that???

Anyway, I was also thinking about something else. You
know how you’re always seeing articles and shows about screen tests, where directors look for the next hot young star for their movies? Well, you should tell your brother that if they do anything like that for our movie, he should let us know. Because with our talents and natural charm, who better to play ourselves than ourselves? (Plus, I’m sure Carole would insist that no horse could play Starlight better than Starlight himself—ha ha!)

Dear Diary
,

I just had a great idea. I was still thinking about what I wrote the other day about wanting to be clear when I write to Peter again. And suddenly I remembered Ms. Shields’s favorite two words in the English language:
rough draft.
Maybe I’ll do a rough draft of my next letter right here in my diary, just to make sure I get it exactly right before I send it. I want to try to keep it as clear as I can, sort of like that technical writing exercise we did in class. No emotions, no judgments … Here goes!

Dear Peter
,

Thanks for writing back.
It was good to hear from you
. Your new screenwriting plan sounds very
exciting
interesting. I will write to you as often as I can to tell you about me and my friends.

School is fine. I’m taking a special elective creative writing course along with my other classes.
It’s really interesting
. So far my grades are fine.

My friends and I have been riding as often as we can. We have meetings of our Pony Club, which is called Horse Wise, on Saturdays and lessons twice a week. We’ve been working on jumping lately,
which is one of my favorite things to do
.

I don’t know if Mom told you, but I got back from a trip out West a few weeks ago. Kate Devine and her parents invited us to their dude ranch to help them plan a Halloween fair fund-raising event to benefit local Native American kids. We spent several days planning the event and then worked hard to make it fun a success. We ended up raising quite a bit of money for the cause. Kate also adopted a wild mustang just after we left.

I’ll write more soon when something else happens.

Love,
Lisa

P.S. Francine Potts moved to Kentucky three years ago.

FROM:
           HorseGal

TO:
                Steviethegreat

TO:
                LAtwood

SUBJECT:
      Prancer

MESSAGE:

Hi, guys! I just got back from making the rounds with Judy Barker, and Dad’s on the phone gabbing away with one of his Marine Corps cronies, so I thought I’d drop you a note because Judy looked in on Prancer when she dropped me off at Pine Hollow. She says her leg is doing really well, and she thinks she’ll probably be ready for riding by sometime next month! Of course, she said she’d want to check her leg again in a couple of weeks just to make sure, but I think it’s just because she’s a good vet and good vets have to be cautious when it comes to stuff like that. But I’m sure it’s going to happen—Prancer looks so healthy she practically glows, and she’s not favoring that leg anymore at all. Isn’t that exciting news?

Speaking of exciting news, Lisa, have you heard from your brother since you sent that letter last month? Any word on his screenplay? You can tell him I’d be happy to teach him anything he needs to know about horses, since you said he doesn’t ride himself. I’m sure he’ll want all the details to be accurate.

Dear Diary
,

Good news from Carole! I can hardly believe Prancer is almost ready to be ridden. It’s so exciting! When she first came to Pine Hollow, I sort of thought of her as Carole’s horse. I mean, I know Starlight is Carole’s horse—I’m not talking about actual owner-ship here or anything. It’s just that Carole is the one
who kind of discovered Prancer. If not for her, Prancer might not be at Pine Hollow at all. But lately I’ve sort of stopped thinking that way. Actually, when I think about it, it’s sort of like the way things are with me and Peter. Just the way I’ve finally started having a relationship with him separately from the rest of the family (or trying to, anyway), I’m also starting to spend time with Prancer apart from the rest of The Saddle Club. And it’s been wonderful. She’s a sweet, calm horse—anybody could see that—but you have to spend some time with her to realize that she has a feisty personality all her own, too. For instance, the other day I stopped by her stall after lessons and gave her some carrots I’d brought for her, but I guess I missed one. Prancer didn’t miss it, though—she reached right into my jacket pocket and took it out while my back was turned! It was really funny, especially when she gave me that innocent look when I turned around. She just stood there munching on that carrot as if nothing unusual had happened!