She smiled at Red as he approached them. “Hello there, Red,” she said. “How’s it going?”
“Fine, Stevie,” Red replied. “How are you?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, not too great,” Stevie said sadly. “I just found out I have a very rare disease. It’s a digestive thing.”
“Really,” Red commented drily. “How did you find out? Did Belle give you the diagnosis?”
“Of course not,” Stevie replied disdainfully. “Don’t be silly. Anyway, the problem is that I have to go on a very specific diet. I have to eat certain foods at certain times of the day or I’ll waste away—”
“Let me guess,” Red interrupted with a twinkle in his eyes. “Right now you’re scheduled for ice cream, and you haven’t got a cent.”
Stevie gave a pathetic sigh. “You’re so sensitive, Red. How did you know?”
“I guess I must have missed my calling to be a doctor,” he said, digging into his pocket and pulling out a few dollars. “It’s a good thing I didn’t become a banker, though. This is the third time I’ve loaned you money this month, and I haven’t seen a cent in return.”
“Thanks a million, Red,” Stevie said, taking the money from him. “I’ll pay you back soon, really.”
“Right,” Red said, looking a little skeptical. “As soon as the story of your new ice-cream disease is made into a movie of the week, right?”
MOMENTS LATER THE girls slid into their favorite booth at TD’s. The waitress came over to the table immediately. “Okay, let’s get this over with,” she said by way of greeting.
Stevie blinked up at the woman innocently. She knew very well that the reason for the waitress’s comment was that Stevie always ordered outrageous ice cream concoctions, but she wasn’t about to admit that. “I’m still making up my mind,” she said sweetly. “Carole and Lisa, why don’t you two go first?”
After Carole and Lisa had ordered, the waitress turned back to Stevie. “No more stalling,” she said.
“Well, I’m in the mood for something a little different today,” Stevie said. “So I think I’ll have a scoop of mocha-hazelnut ice cream.”
“That’s it?” the waitress asked in disbelief.
“No, you interrupted me,” Stevie said. “I’ll also have a scoop of lime sherbet, with caramel topping and mini marshmallows.” She leaned back, satisfied.
The waitress wrote it all down without another word. Then she spun on her heel and stalked away.
“Now,” Stevie said to her friends, “it’s time to talk about Merrill’s visit. What fun things will we do while she’s here?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Lisa said. “I really want her to have a good time, especially since she’ll be here for her birthday.”
“How did you and Merrill meet, anyway?” Carole asked Lisa curiously. “I don’t think you’ve ever told us.”
“We met in a public speaking class our mothers made us take,” Lisa explained. “My mother thought it would be a useful skill for me to learn.”
“What a surprise,” Stevie said with a laugh. Stevie and Carole knew that Lisa’s mother liked to make her take all sorts of classes and lessons, from piano to tennis to ballet. She thought it would help turn Lisa into a proper young lady. It wasn’t one of Lisa’s favorite things about her mother, but at least one good thing had come of it: It had been Mrs. Atwood’s idea for Lisa to take riding lessons.
“Anyway,” Lisa continued, as the waitress appeared with their sundaes, “Merrill’s mother made her take the course, too. Merrill’s always been really quiet and shy, and her mother thought it would help her get over all that.” She picked up her spoon and dug into her hot fudge sundae.
“Did it?” Carole asked.
Lisa shrugged. “Not really. For the last class, we each had to give a speech in front of our classmates and everybody’s parents, and she was just terrified at the thought of getting up and talking in front of all those people. She worried about it more and more as the time to give the speeches got closer. Soon she couldn’t think about anything else. She was even having trouble sleeping and eating because she was so nervous.”
“Wow,” Stevie said, trying to imagine that. She got nervous herself on occasion, but she never thought twice about giving a speech in class—unless she hadn’t prepared for it, of course, which had been known to happen. In any case, she certainly couldn’t imagine being so worried about speaking in front of people that she couldn’t eat.
“What happened?” Carole asked. “Did she give the speech?”
Lisa nodded. “She begged her parents to let her drop out of the class, but they wouldn’t let her. The night of the speeches, I found her in the bathroom. She was crying and shaking like a leaf. I knew I had to do something to help her.” She shrugged. “I started off by reminding her of a trick our teacher told us: She could imagine that everyone in the audience was sitting there in their underwear.”
Stevie grinned. “I’ve heard that one,” she said.
“She didn’t seem very convinced that that would work,” Lisa continued. “So I said she could try picking out just a couple of people in the audience to focus on, so it would feel more like she was talking to one or two people rather than speaking in front of a crowd.”
“That’s a good idea,” Carole said. “Did it work?”
“Well, not exactly,” Lisa said. “She didn’t seem very confident about that trick, either. So I figured it was time to get creative. I told her she should combine the two methods. She should go up there thinking that she could only look back and forth from me to our teacher, because everybody else was wearing pink polka-dot underwear. That did it. She actually started to smile. I just kept talking, describing all the weird and crazy underwear that everyone was wearing, and soon she was even laughing a little. By that time it was her turn to speak, so I got a seat in the front, and she gave her speech.”
“How did it go?” Stevie asked.
“Okay,” Lisa said. “She was still nervous, but she got through it. And I saw her smile when she looked around. We’ve been good friends ever since, even after her family moved to Maine.”
Carole took a sip of her root-beer float. “I can’t wait to meet her,” she said. “I wonder if she’s gotten any less timid since she started riding. Sometimes just being around horses can bring out the best in people.”
“Like us, you mean?” Stevie queried with a smile.
“Exactly!” Carole replied, smiling back. “But seriously, look at what riding has done for all of us. It’s made Lisa more independent; you more responsible, Stevie—”
“And you more organized?” Stevie added teasingly. Carole was definitely not organized—except when it came to horses.
Carole shrugged and laughed. “You got it.”
Lisa looked thoughtful. “You know, you may be on to something, Carole. Horses just may be the key for Merrill, too. If she’s a good rider, she’ll be more self-confident.”
“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!”
DESPITE STEVIE’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 point
ed 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.”
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