Yankee Swap (3 page)

“Right,” Stevie agreed. “And this jumping clinic should help her become a better rider, and that will make her even more confident.”

Lisa leaned back in her seat and sighed happily. “Now I really can’t wait for her to get here,” she said.

“Especially since there will be a big party for her on her birthday, thanks to Max,” Carole pointed out.

“True,” Stevie said, frowning a little. “I just hope the boy-crazy girls don’t ruin it for the rest of us.”

“What makes you think they will?” Carole asked.

Stevie shrugged. “You know how they are. They’ll try to make anything into a big mushy romantic event.”

“That could be kind of a challenge. There aren’t that many boys in our class,” Lisa pointed out.

“True,” Stevie said, looking thoughtful. “But that gives me a great idea.”

Carole and Lisa exchanged a nervous glance. Stevie’s great ideas had a tendency to land her, and often her friends, in hot water.

Stevie noticed the glance. “Don’t worry,” she said quickly.
“All I was thinking was that I should ask Max if I can invite Phil to the party, and maybe A.J., too. That way those girls will see that there are at least a couple of boys who are too sensible to be affected by their giggles and flirting.” A.J. was Phil’s best friend. The Saddle Club liked him a lot—he was funny and down-to-earth, just like Phil.

“Great,” Carole said. “It would be fun to have them there anyway, no matter what Betsy and the others think of it.”

“Good. I’ll ask Max tomorrow.” Stevie squirmed happily in her seat. “We have so many things to look forward to. I can hardly wait for next Friday. There’s just one problem.”

“What’s that?” asked Lisa.

Stevie sighed. “It seems like a million years away!”

D
ESPITE
S
TEVIE
’
S
FEARS
, the next Friday arrived right on schedule. Stevie and Carole met at Pine Hollow after school to do a few chores and to wait for Lisa and Merrill, who were coming straight from the airport.

“Did you talk to Phil yet?” Carole asked as the two girls sorted grain in the feed shed.

“Uh-huh,” Stevie said. “He’s coming. A.J. too.”

“Great,” Carole said. She glanced at her watch and stood up. “Come on, we’re finished, and Lisa and Merrill should be here any minute.”

The two friends left the shed and headed into the stable. They didn’t have long to wait before they heard the sound of a car pulling up in front of the stable. Hurrying outside, they
saw Lisa climbing out of her mother’s car, followed by a slim, pretty girl with long strawberry-blond hair.

“Hi, guys,” Lisa called to her friends. “Come and meet Merrill.”

“It’s nice to meet both of you,” Merrill said shyly. “Lisa has told me a lot about you.”

“Same here,” Stevie said.

“She told us you’re becoming a good rider,” Carole said.

Lisa laughed. “Didn’t I tell you Carole always thinks about horses first?” she said to Merrill.

“And second, and third,” Stevie added. “It’s just one of her charms.”

Merrill smiled. “That’s okay,” she said, brushing her hair away from her face. “I like talking about horses, too.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Carole declared. “I feel like we’re friends already.”

“Now let’s meet some other friends,” Lisa suggested.

“You mean like Prancer and Starlight and Belle?” Carole guessed. Starlight was Carole’s horse, and Prancer was the pretty Thoroughbred mare Lisa usually rode.

Lisa nodded and led the way into the stable. Before long Merrill had been introduced to every horse in the place. The more Stevie and Carole talked to her, the more they liked her. Behind her shyness she was very smart and funny, and it was obvious that she loved horses as much as The Saddle Club did. After they had greeted the horses, the girls went to look for Max to ask his permission to go on a quick trail ride.

“I just hope the horses here aren’t too much for me,” Merrill commented worriedly. “The stable where I ride is much
smaller than this. I haven’t ridden that many different horses since I started.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Carole assured her. “Max’s horses are very well trained.”

They found Max in Mrs. Reg’s office.

“Hi, Max,” Lisa said. “This is Merrill—she’s the one I told you about who’ll be taking your jumping clinic with us.”

“Hello, Merrill,” Max said. “I’m glad to meet you. So you’ve been taking lessons up in Maine?”

Merrill nodded. “I’ve been riding for only a few months,” she said softly. “I hope I’ll be able to keep up in your classes. I haven’t really jumped very much at all.”

“No problem,” Max said. “We’ve got all levels of riders participating. It will be a terrific chance for you to learn.”

“Can we take Merrill for a trail ride?” Carole asked.

“Sure thing,” Max said. “Which horse do you think she should ride?”

Carole thought for a moment. Merrill seemed a little nervous about riding a strange horse, and she wanted to pick one that would help her relax. “How about Patch?” she suggested. Patch was good with beginning riders.

Max nodded. “Good choice. Just make sure you’re back before dark.”

The girls headed for the student locker room to change into riding clothes. The young riders at Pine Hollow each had a cubbyhole where he or she kept boots, clothing, and other equipment. Today, when Stevie reached into hers, she felt something very strange—and sticky. She pulled out her hand and stared at it. “Yuck,” she said.
Carole looked over and wrinkled her nose. “What’s that?” she asked.

Stevie touched her tongue to one finger. “Just as I thought,” she said grimly. “Sugar.”

“How did you get sugar in your cubby?” Lisa asked.

“I didn’t,” Stevie said. “But someone did.” She emptied the cubby. Everything was covered in a layer of sticky crystals. Apparently, someone had dumped a whole box of sugar over the cubby’s contents and then added enough water to turn it into a sticky, congealed mess.

“Who would do something like that?” Merrill asked.

Stevie, Carole, and Lisa exchanged looks and replied in one voice, “Veronica.”

“This must be her subtle way of getting back at you for that Gucci bandage last week,” Carole guessed. She explained the trick Stevie had played on Veronica.

“Sounds like she can’t take a joke,” Merrill said.

“That’s for sure,” Stevie said angrily. “She’s not much good at playing them, either. Just look at this mess!” She gestured to her sugar-coated clothes. “It will take me hours to get it all clean. At least
my
joke was funny.” She leaned over and picked up her sugar-encrusted hairbrush between two fingers. “This isn’t funny at all. It’s just plain mean.”

Lisa shook her head. “So much for Veronica being mature,” she said. “Are you going to tell Max?”

“I don’t think so,” Stevie said. “Although it’s tempting because he might kick her out of Horse Wise for good. But I don’t have any proof that she did it, and besides …”

“Besides what?” Carole prompted.

Stevie tossed her head. “Besides, I’d rather get back at her myself.”

A
FEW
MINUTES
later the girls were riding out across the fields and meadows behind Pine Hollow. Stevie had borrowed Carole’s spare boots, since her own were full of sugar.

Merrill was doing very well so far on Patch. Carole suspected that Merrill would be fine on a more spirited horse—she held the reins lightly, maintaining good contact with Patch’s mouth, and Patch was responding well to all of her aids. Still, Carole was glad she’d suggested starting her out on Patch. Since Merrill was new to jumping, it would help her to ride a reliable horse. And this trail ride would give her a chance to get to know him before the first clinic class the next day.

“Tell us about your stable in Maine,” Carole said to Merrill as the four girls rode side by side across a wide field.

“Well, it’s pretty small, like I said,” Merrill said. “A woman named Mary Bartlett owns it and teaches all the classes. She has about a dozen horses and ponies.”

“Do you like her?” Stevie asked.

Merrill nodded. “A lot. She’s really patient with all the students. You can tell the horses love her, too. She’s great with all kinds of animals.”

“Tell them about Maine,” Lisa suggested. “It always sounds so beautiful the way you describe it in your letters.”

“It is,” Merrill said. “I live in a coastal town called Ellsworth, not far from Mount Desert Island, where Acadia National Park is located. So there’s lots of really pretty scenery,
especially around Mary’s stable.” She looked around and took a deep breath of the crisp Virginia air. “Of course, the land around here is pretty gorgeous, too.”

“Especially from horseback,” Carole agreed.

“You think anyplace looks gorgeous from horseback, Carole,” Stevie pointed out.

Carole shrugged. “It does,” she said.

The others couldn’t argue with that. They rode in silence for a few minutes. Finally Merrill spoke up.

“I’m a little nervous about the jumping clinic,” she said, “but I’m kind of excited, too.”

“There’s nothing like it,” Lisa said. “You’ll love it.”

“I think I will,” Merrill said dreamily. “Sailing over everything in your path, over hill and dale, just like flying.”

“Well, it’s not quite as easy as that,” Carole cautioned. “You have to learn the proper form, and how to position your horse and help him adjust his stride …”

Stevie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “But even with all that stuff, it still does feel kind of like you’re flying.”

“I guess you’re right,” Carole said. She smiled at Merrill. “I’m sure you’ll do great.”

“I hope so,” Merrill said. “Especially since …”

“Especially since what?” Lisa prompted.

“Well, I haven’t even told you this yet, Lisa,” Merrill said. “But my parents just told me that if I want one, they’ll buy me my own horse for my birthday.”

Carole gasped. “
If
you want one? That’s wonderful!”

“It sure is,” Lisa said. “You must be so excited!”

“I am,” Merrill admitted. “But I don’t want to choose the wrong horse.”

“I don’t blame you,” Stevie said. “Having the right horse is important.” She reached forward and gave Belle a fond pat on the neck.

“How did you know Belle was the right horse for you?” Merrill asked.

Stevie shrugged. “I just knew as soon as I rode her that I liked her. And the more I rode her, the more I knew she was the horse for me. Soon I could hardly imagine not riding her.”

“That’s exactly how it was with Starlight,” Carole said.

Merrill sighed. “It sounds wonderful,” she said. “I hope I can find a horse as special as the ones you guys have.”

“You will,” Carole assured her. She smiled. “What a way to celebrate your birthday—finding your very own horse.”

“Speaking of celebrating,” Stevie said, “we still have to decide how we’re going to help Merrill celebrate next weekend.”

Merrill blushed. “Oh, you don’t have to do anything—”

Stevie cut her off with a wave of her hand. “Don’t be silly,” she declared. “Of course we have to do something special. Something fun. You heard about the big party on Saturday, didn’t you?”

Merrill looked nervous. “Big party? What do you mean?”

“Max is having a dance to celebrate at the end of the clinic,” Lisa explained. “I guess I forgot to tell you.”

“One of the other riders at Pine Hollow has his birthday on Saturday,” Carole said, “so we are going to make it sort of a birthday party for both of you.”

“I don’t want you to make a big fuss or anything,” Merrill said quietly. “I don’t really like being the center of attention.”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Stevie said. She couldn’t understand how anybody couldn’t like being the center of attention at a party. Stevie herself loved it. And she was sure that Merrill would love it, too, if she gave it a chance. “We won’t embarrass you.” She gave the visitor a devilish wink and a grin. “Not too much, anyway.”

Merrill still looked a little worried, but she smiled back.

“I
S
EVERYBODY
READY
to do some serious jumping?” Stevie asked the next morning, sitting down beside her friends in the indoor ring, where Max had told them to gather.