Hot Potato

by Alyssa Brugman

  Shelby added a steak sandwich with onions to her uneaten salads and took the plate to her father.

  'Thanks, honey!' He seemed genuinely pleased.

  'Oy! Where's mine?' asked Clint.

  'Hales!' Mr Crook called over to the other side of the arena, where Hayley was standing with Monica and Kim – two of the girls who rented the stables opposite the Crooks. 'Do you see this?' He pointed to Shelby. 'This is how a dutiful daughter behaves.'

  Hayley poked her tongue out and then turned back to her chums.

  Shelby blushed. She didn't want people to think she was a suck-up. Her dad ruffled the top of her head. 'Go and get something for yourself, honey.'

  Over her father's shoulder she saw Tammy sashaying along the fence and in through the gate, followed by two friends. Shelby quickly turned around, hiding behind Miss Anita, who was talking with a group of parents. Shelby peeked over a tall lady's shoulder.

  'Clint! There you are.' Tammy beamed. 'This is my extraordinary farrier. You saw how spirited Ajax was. Not everyone can handle him, but Clint is a genius,' she told her friends, and then she leaned forward and spoke to Clint out of the side of her mouth. 'Did you get the money I left for you?'

  Clint crossed his arms. 'Eventually. You might want to put a weight on it next time, or you could pay me in person. A lot of my clients like to be there to talk about the health of their horse's hooves.'

  Tammy waved her arm. 'I'm sure if there was a problem you'd ring me.'

  Just then Miss Anita and her companions moved away, leaving Shelby face to face with Tammy. Shelby blushed furiously.

  'Clint told me that Ajax kicked you. I'm really sorry that happened,' she said.

  'That's OK,' Shelby mumbled.

  'You know, Ajax is a real horse – not like those little ponies you're used to,' Tammy continued. 'I might suggest to Brenda that she leaves handling horses to people with more experience.' Tammy turned around and led her friends to the food table.

  Shelby shook her head, glad at least that it was over. Clint arched an eyebrow at her, but he didn't say anything.

  A few moments later Mrs Edel stood up on a crate and banged a caterer's size tomato sauce bottle with a big plastic spoon.

  'If I could have your attention, I would like to begin the formal part of the afternoon.'

  Shelby's dad glanced around, embarrassed, looking for a place to dump his plate and then escape, but the other three men insisted that he stay.

  'After all, your family keeps a horse here too,' said Mr Crook.

  'I suppose.' Shelby's dad shrugged and then helped himself to a second steak sandwich.

  Lindsey's mum talked about how the drought had been affecting the pastures. She talked about the weed management plan for the next few months. She explained the new paperwork and procedures for insurance, and went over the rules about the driveway and float parking.

  Shelby edged through the crowd to Lindsey and Erin, who were still at the mini jumping circuit. The two girls scooted over so that Shelby could fit on the end of the drum. Erin draped an arm around Lindsey's neck and rested her head on Shelby's shoulder. Shelby looked up to see Hayley staring at them, but Hayley quickly looked away.

  'Boring!' Lindsey mumbled, rolling her eyes.

  Shelby grimaced, but secretly she was interested in what Mrs Edel was saying, because one day she was going to run a place like this. Lindsey's mum did a pretty good job of it. Shelby could learn a lot from her.

  'I've been going through the paperwork and some of the information seems to be incorrect,' said Mrs Edel. 'Next time you are making a payment please attach your contact details so that we can check it against our database.'

  The crowd started to murmur, anticipating that Mrs Edel was almost finished.

  'Please make sure that your payments are up to date,' she yelled over the top of them. 'Now, does anyone know Gwen Stefani? Is she here today? I haven't been able to find her anywhere.'

  At first there was silence, and then there was a general mumbling and rumbling as those assembled talked amongst themselves. Shelby could hear little grabs of conversations.

  'Isn't she the president of the Welsh Pony and Cob Society?' asked Olivia's mother. The cocker spaniel at her feet strained against his lead.

  'No, you're thinking of Gladys Stephens. She was the treasurer,' replied Mr Crook.

  'I know a Gwen Barton who used to have draught horses,' said Erin's mum. 'She volunteers at the school canteen on Wednesdays.'

  'Maybe Stefani is her married name?' suggested the mum who had cooked the sausages.

  'That name is really familiar to me,' said Mrs Crook, tapping her chin with her index finger. 'Where's Hales? She'll remember.'

  'It's quite an unusual name really. How many of them can there be?' asked Miss Anita.

  The rumbling got louder and louder as the different groups compared information.

  'Did she say Gwen Stefani?' shrieked Hayley's friend Kim. 'No way!'

  'She's famous!' yelled Monica.

  Erin grabbed Shelby's hand. She was squeezing so hard that it hurt. She must have been crushing Lindsey's hand too.

  Hayley Crook manoeuvred through the crowd towards them.

  The crowd hit fever pitch. Girls were screaming.

  'Has she been here? OMIGOD! Gwen Stefani was here!'

  'Which horse is Gwen Stefani's?' one parent roared.

  'Yeah! We want to see it!' Mrs Crook demanded.

  Mrs Edel was banging away on the tomato sauce bottle trying to call the mob to order.

  'What are we going to do?' whispered Lindsey.

  'I don't know!' wailed Erin.

  'Shh! Don't panic!' said Shelby.

  'Are you ready to tell me what's going on yet?' Hayley asked with her hands on her hips.

  'It's not Gwen Stefani's. It's our horse,' Erin blurted. 'We made up the name because we didn't want our parents to know.'

  'Der,' said Hayley. 'Clint knows though, right?'

  They looked at each other. 'Maybe,' admitted Lindsey.

  'No way!' said Erin.

  'Well, he's headed this way!' said Hayley.

  Shelby could see Clint striding across the arena. With each step his boots sent a spray of sand behind him.

  The crowd had split into two. The group in the middle were mostly girls shouting hysterically at one another. All the dogs were barking, capering around and wagging their tails. On the other side of the arena a larger group of the parents, including Shelby's dad and Mr Crook, stood in a semicircle, watching on, still eating and sipping their drinks, as though this were some kind of performance.

  It was so loud that Shelby could hardly hear Clint when he spoke. 'Not so lucky now, Shelly Shoes.' Clint had a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

  'You're enjoying this!'

  He shrugged. 'Sometimes it's good to see people getting their just desserts.'

  Shelby's mouth dropped open. 'I did get kicked in the head already!' She pointed to her face.

  'Yes, but that's not funny. This, though – this is gold! I can't wait to tell the missus. She asks me about you girls every day when I walk in the door. "What have they done now?" It's like one of those stories on the radio that you hear in instalments.'

  'You've known from the beginning?' asked Erin.

  Clint chuckled. 'That little pony has been bouncing around the sales for months. Don't you remember all the fellas having a go at me – talking about whose turn it was? Some silly fool tried to get her in a box-trailer once. That's why they made those jokes about folding her up and putting her in my pocket.'

  Shelby thought back. 'Oh, yeah.' It made sense now. At the time it had just seemed like teasing.

  'Was Gwen Stefani here?' Kim shouted at Mrs Edel. The hysterical crowd of girls swarmed around Lindsey's mum.

  'I don't know!' Mrs Edel shouted back. 'Lindsey took the booking.'

  The whole congregation swivelled around looking for Lindsey. They found her and surged forward.

  'Well?' asked Mrs Edel.


  'Yes, Lindsey, the people are waiting,' Clint said.

  Lindsey's face was white and her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.

  28 Hanging Out with

  Hayley

  Hayley cupped her hands around her mouth. 'It's a chestnut mare! She's in the back paddock.'

  The crowd in the middle of the arena started talking excitedly again. Some of the younger girls bounded out of the arena and ran down the lane, each wanting to be the first to spot Gwen Stefani's horse. Soon the rest of the crowd streamed after them.

  Lindsey's mother was in the middle, being pushed along like a twig in a river, still with her tomato sauce bottle in hand. One of the ladies explained to her who Gwen Stefani was.

  'A singer?' Mrs Edel looked lost. 'American? You're sure? Then why is she so far behind? I should have been charging double! Lindsey, is this true?'

  A group surrounded Lindsey, herding her down the laneway and peppering her with questions. She tried to answer, but then someone else would interrupt with another question.

  'No, I didn't see her in person . . . I have no idea why she would keep it here . . . I've never seen her ride . . . I can't remember what sort of float it was.'

  The group of spectators watched them head down the laneway and then returned to the food. Some tucked into the potato salad while Mrs Crook was distracted. Shelby heard her father ask, 'So is it always like this?'

  Hayley, Erin and Shelby followed the group down the laneway at a discreet distance. 'Are you going to tell?' Shelby asked Hayley.

  Hayley frowned. 'Why should I help you? You never include me in any of your things. How do you think it feels? You get to have all the fun and do whatever you want.' Her mouth turned down at the sides and she crossed her arms. 'I hear you laughing, and meanwhile, I just go round and round in circles while Mum yells, "Win! Win! Win!" at me. It's not fair.'

  Erin shook her head, confused. 'You want to hang out with us?'

  Hayley shrugged. The rims of her eyes were turning red. She wasn't exactly crying, but Shelby didn't think she was far away from it.

  The three girls stared at each other for a moment and then Shelby could feel the sides of her mouth twitching. She started to giggle.

  'What?' Hayley looked puzzled.

  Soon Shelby had tears in her eyes. She was laughing so much that her nose scrunched along the top. Her cheek hurt, and she held it, but she couldn't stop giggling. Erin laughed until she snorted and then got the hiccups, which set the other two off. Soon all three of the girls were laughing together.

  'You want to hang out with us!' Erin said again, between breaths.

  'Why is that so funny?' Hayley asked, still grinning.

  Shelby shook her head. She thought about telling Hayley that being Shelby or Lindsey, or even Erin, wasn't that great most of the time. They bickered between themselves. They didn't always support each other like they should and sometimes achieving the goals they set for themselves was a struggle – but then, she'd thought being Hayley Crook would be the best thing ever. From the sounds of it, it was a lot of pressure, and lonely too.

  She put her hand on Hayley's shoulder. 'Hales, you can hang out with us whenever you want.'

  By the time the girls had made it through the gate the crowd had gathered at the ridge. The herd of horses was standing on the edge of the hill warily eyeing the people.

  'It must be that one,' said Mrs Edel, pointing to Hotty. 'That's the only one I don't recognise.'

  The group looked on, quiet for a moment.

  'It's a bit small,' commented Miss Anita.

  'Yeah, I was expecting – I dunno, something a bit more flash!' said Kim.

  Monica said, 'I thought it would be tobiano, for some reason – a mustang or something – like in Hidalgo.'

  'That's not really Gwen Stefani's horse, is it?' asked Olivia, tugging on the sleeve of her mum's shirt.

  'I don't think it's true, sweetheart,' her mother answered.

  'Well then, whose horse is it?' asked Mrs Edel.

  29 A Confession

  'Lindsey?' Mrs Edel asked.

  Shelby's heart beat fast. She should confess and save her friend – but what if Mrs Edel was so cranky that she sacked Shelby? Where would she keep Blue?

  She wondered if Erin would do it. Erin was in the best position, because she had the least to lose, and people expected this kind of thing from Erin.

  Shelby knew she should do it herself. It had been her idea in the first place, and if she hadn't bid then Hotty wouldn't be there. Lindsey's mum might evict her, but she would find a new place. It wasn't fair to let Lindsey take all the blame.

  She opened her mouth.

  'It's my horse.'

  Shelby turned, surprised. Hayley had taken the words out of her mouth.

  'Hayley!' Mrs Crook's voice wavered with emotion. She slapped her hands to her cheeks and tears sprang into her eyes.

  Shelby was thinking that Hayley was very brave, when she realised that Mrs Crook's tears were of joy.

  'I thought you were losing interest! Looking after the horses is our special time together. It's so precious to me, and I was sure that you were ready to move on. Oh, Hales!' She rushed forward and wrapped Hayley in a bear hug. 'And now you've gone and bought a pony all by yourself. I'm so proud of you.' She rubbed her daughter's shoulders so fast that Hayley's head jiggled. Mrs Crook looked at Hotty. 'And such a pretty pony too! Oh, this is the best surprise a mother could ever receive.'

  Shelby watched all the other mothers trading glances and guessed that they didn't agree.

  30 A Perfect Match

  It was the Saturday after the barbecue. The four girls sat on the edge of Lindsey's veranda with their gumboots swinging back and forth. Hayley and Erin had finished their lessons. There were no more trail rides to lead. Shelby and Lindsey had already mucked out the stables, and the afternoon feed was still hours away.

  Mrs Crook was about to put Hotty on the float and the girls were staying nearby in case she needed help.

  'So what did the vet say?' asked Shelby.

  'There's nothing physically wrong with her,' Hayley answered. 'It's behavioural. Basically she's a nutcase. Mum wants to get a shrink, but there's no rush. We're not going to ride her anyway.'

  'Like a horse counsellor?' asked Shelby. She didn't know such a job existed. That was a career she hadn't considered before.

  'Yeah, I know,' said Hayley, rolling her eyes. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her jodhpurs and handed each of the girls a fifty-dollar note.

  'You don't have to do that!' Lindsey protested.

  Hayley shrugged. 'I'm buying her from you guys. It's only fair. Besides, it's no big deal. You've all lost more than fifty bucks from the whole thing anyway.'

  'Yeah, I'm grounded for a gazillion years for messing with the accounts,' Lindsey groaned.