Riding Lesson (10 page)

Carole backed out of the room, then turned and ran upstairs to her room. She slammed the door and threw herself facedown onto her bed. The tears of hurt, outrage, and loneliness she had been holding back welled up at last, and she sobbed into her pillow for a long time.

C
AROLE MANAGED TO
stay out of Marie’s way—and her father’s—all day Friday. She left early for school in the morning and went up to her room as soon as she got home in the afternoon. At dinner that night Marie and Colonel Hanson hardly seemed to notice Carole’s presence as they chatted about Marie’s history report, which had gone extremely well, thanks to Colonel Hanson’s input. Carole just moved her peas around on her plate as they talked. She had finally finished her English assignment at midnight the night before, but she knew her work wasn’t as good as it would have been if she hadn’t been so tired and upset while she was writing it.

After dinner, while Colonel Hanson and Marie watched TV in the living room, Carole went up to her room and
tried to read a book. She was exhausted from staying up so late the night before, and before long she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

She woke up early the next morning, refreshed in body but not in spirit. In fact, she felt more miserable than ever. She wasn’t sure she could survive another entire week as Marie’s unwilling sister. She was even less certain that she could make it through the hayloft sleepover that night—especially since Stevie and Lisa were sure to make a big fuss over Marie for her birthday. That reminded Carole that she and her father still hadn’t gone shopping for Marie’s birthday gift. They hadn’t even settled on what to get her. Carole found herself hoping spitefully that Colonel Hanson had forgotten all about it—it would serve Marie right. Still, it wasn’t likely that the Colonel would forget his favorite new daughter, Carole reminded herself.

Sighing, she sat up in bed and glanced at the clock. It was early, but not too early to head over to Pine Hollow. She really needed someone to talk to, and Starlight was the best listener she knew. He was probably the only one who wouldn’t lecture her on how she should be nicer to poor Marie, she thought morosely.

She got up and pulled on her oldest jeans and a flannel shirt. Then she tiptoed out into the hall, pausing a moment to listen. Hearing the sound of gentle snoring coming from her father’s bedroom at the end of the hall, and silence
from Marie’s room, Carole decided with relief that they both must still be asleep.

Moving as quietly as possible, she went downstairs and into the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of milk. After gulping it down she found some carrots in the vegetable bin in the refrigerator. She stuck them into her pocket for Starlight. Remembering the bag of stale butter cookies, she grabbed that, too.

Last, but not least, she went to the notepad by the phone and scribbled a quick note to her father so he’d know where she was. Then she left the house, grabbed her bike from the garage, and started the long ride to Pine Hollow. The cool morning air felt good against her face. There were no people or cars anywhere in sight, and Carole was glad. She wanted to be alone.

W
HEN SHE ARRIVED
at Pine Hollow, the stable yard was completely deserted. Inside, the horses had been given their morning feed, but nobody was around. Once again Carole was relieved. She was still in no mood for human companionship. But just being in the presence of all those horses made her feel a little better. On the way to Starlight’s stall she stopped to visit some of the others, beginning with Spice, the mare who was supposed to foal soon. Spice greeted her calmly, seeming relaxed and happy in her unfamiliar surroundings. As Carole moved down the aisle, she paused to give a scratch or a pat to each horse she passed.

Starlight’s nicker of greeting made Carole feel better than she had in days. “Hi, boy,” she said softly, letting herself into the stall. She gave the big gelding a hug, then dug out the treats she’d brought. He crunched happily on the carrots, but after biting down on one of the cookies, he quickly spit it out.

“I don’t blame you,” Carole told him. “Those cookies aren’t good enough for either of us to eat.”

Then she set to work grooming him. As she worked, she talked, telling him all about her rotten week with Marie.

“Everyone acts as though I’m the one with the problem,” she told the horse. “When, in fact, they’re the ones who are acting strange, fussing over Marie like she’s the queen of the world.”

She finished picking out his hooves and tossed the pick into his grooming bucket. Then she found the body brush and set to work on his gleaming bay hide, paying careful attention to all his special itchy spots. “I mean, just listen to this, Starlight,” she continued. “First of all my dad acts like her arrival is the best thing to happen in his whole entire life. He carries her suitcases, fixes her a great snack, and generally acts like she’s the funniest person that ever lived.

“Then there’s the whole matter of his driving her around everywhere she pleases. Never mind that I usually have to take the bus whenever I want to come here. The bus just isn’t good enough for Marie, I guess.” Carole
paused for breath. Starlight nuzzled her neck, looking for more carrots, and she gave him one.

“And I don’t think he would even care if I flunked out of school, as long as Marie’s stupid history report gets finished.” She paused again for a moment. “Well, actually, come to think of it, he would care. He’d love it if I flunked out, because that would give him another excuse to yell at me.”

Starlight moved his head up and down, and Carole would have sworn he was nodding sympathetically. “You see what I have to put up with, boy?” she asked. “It’s not just Dad, either. Stevie and Lisa can’t stop talking about how wonderful Marie is. They just can’t wait to throw her this big party tonight. And they’re always laughing at her stupid jokes and saying how funny she is. When she’s here, they can’t wait to help her tack up and give her private riding lessons—but let me give her one little bit of constructive advice, and they look at me like I’m the big bad wolf.”

She traded the body brush for a soft rag. “Do you know how irritating it is when you’re the only one who can see how annoying someone else is being? Well, that’s just how I feel,” she declared. “Even Max is getting in on the act. It’s funny how we have to practically beg him to do anything at all around here, and yet when Marie is involved, he just says yes right away, no questions asked.”

Carole threw the rag back into the bucket and set to
work combing out Starlight’s mane and tail, working out the few tangles expertly but gently. When she was finished, she stepped back and looked at him with satisfaction.

“You’re just about the prettiest horse that ever set foot in a barn,” she declared. Now that she had vented her frustration about Marie, she felt a little better—although she didn’t want to think about what would happen when Marie and Colonel Hanson arrived for the Horse Wise meeting later that morning. She was sure her father would be angry that she had come to the stable without bringing Marie along. Starlight snorted and pawed at the straw with one foreleg. “What’s that, boy? You seem a little restless. All right, then, wait here a second. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried away and returned a moment later with Starlight’s bridle and a lunge line. “You obviously could use some exercise, and I’ve been thinking you need a little lunging practice. We might as well go out and use the ring while no one else is around to bother us.” She led him out of the stall and down the wide stable aisle toward the door.

“W
OW
,”
SAID
S
TEVIE
softly as Starlight’s footsteps faded away in the distance. She and Lisa were crouched in the hayloft right above Starlight’s stall. They had come over to Pine Hollow early to make sure the loft was clean and ready for the sleepover. By the time they had noticed that Carole was in the stall below them, she had started her one-sided discussion with Starlight. Not wanting to eavesdrop,
but not knowing what else to do, the two girls had kept quiet, and so had heard every word.

“Yeah,” said Lisa. “Wow is right. We’ve got to do something.”

Stevie nodded. “Then we’re in agreement. Let’s go see if that netting is still there.”

“Wait,” Lisa protested. “I’m sure if we keep thinking about it, we can come up with another plan. I just don’t think your idea is safe, especially since Marie just finished healing from her last accident.”

Stevie looked hurt. “Marie won’t get a scratch,” she said. “I have everything all planned out. Come on, help me find the net and then I’ll show you. It’ll be as safe as nursery school.”

“Well, you can show me, but I’m not promising anything,” Lisa said doubtfully.

They headed for the tack room. The roll of heavyweight netting was in the corner, just as Stevie had remembered. Max had used it as temporary fencing when a storm had knocked down a couple of posts. After the fence was repaired, he had stored it in the tack room, not knowing what else to do with it.

The two girls dragged the roll of netting out into the main section of the barn. Then Stevie put her hands on her hips and looked around, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully. “Let’s see, now, we just have to figure out how to attach it.…” she said.

Lisa groaned. “Stevie, I can’t believe you’re really serious about this. You’ve had some crazy schemes before, but this one just about takes the cake.”

“Come on, Lisa,” Stevie said. “You heard Carole just now. Desperate times call for desperate measures.” She couldn’t quite remember where she’d heard that phrase, but she liked the way it sounded. “This will work, you’ll see. During that split second when Carole actually believes Marie is falling, she’ll realize just how much she likes her. It’ll be perfect!”

“Oh, yeah?” Lisa said darkly. “Then what happens afterward, when Carole—not to mention Marie—realizes she’s been tricked?”

Stevie grinned. “We can’t let a little detail like that stop us.”

“Right,” Lisa muttered. “Because once Carole figures out what we did, she’s going to throw us down after Marie!”

“H
ORSE
W
ISE, COME
to order!”

At Max’s words the members of Pine Hollow’s Pony Club immediately quieted down and turned toward him expectantly. It was ten o’clock and time for the weekly Saturday-morning meeting to begin. Everyone was seated in a wide circle in the indoor ring. Horse Wise alternated between mounted and unmounted meetings, and this week’s was unmounted. Pony Club members were supposed to learn all about horse care—not just riding, but also things like grooming, stable management, and even veterinary care. Max often invited special speakers to come and talk to the Horse Wise members during the unmounted meetings. Judy Barker had spoken to the group many times, as had the local farrier and other experts in various fields.

Today, however, there was no speaker scheduled. Max stood in the center of the circle and waited until he was sure he had the undivided attention of everyone in the room—which included parent volunteers as well as young riders.

“Good morning, everyone,” he began. “Today we have a special guest sitting in on our meeting.” He held out his hand to where Marie was sitting between Colonel Hanson and Stevie. “Marie Dana is staying with the Hansons for a little while,” Max continued, “and therefore she is welcome here. Especially since today happens to be her birthday.”

A chorus of greetings and “happy birthdays” rose from the group. Most of the people present had met Marie before. Marie smiled and gave a little wave in reply. Carole, who was sitting on the other side of Stevie, scowled.

“Now,” Max went on, “on the agenda for today is something we haven’t done in quite a while: a pop-quiz mini-know-down.”

Carole perked up a little at that. A know-down was a type of quiz game that tested players’ knowledge of all kinds of horse facts. It worked sort of like a spelling bee, except that each player could choose the difficulty level of his or her question. Sometimes Max gave members time to study. But occasionally he would have them play a short game without warning. As he said, it was like a pop quiz in school, and it was useful for the same reason. It gave players
a chance to prove that they were learning all the time, not just studying for a specific game.