Blue Ribbon Summer

by Catherine Hapka

  “It’s no big deal,” she murmured, rubbing the mare’s withers as they set out along the edge of the soybean field next door. “We can start our training tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER

  2

  BROOKE HAD STARTED OUT WITH no particular destination in mind. But it wasn’t long before she realized she was almost automatically heading toward Adam’s house.

  Adam Conley was the only other kid Brooke’s age within a five-mile radius. The two of them had been hanging out since they were toddlers, and they usually spent most of the summer bombing around together, exploring their rural little corner of the county, Brooke on Foxy and Adam on his souped-up dirt bike.

  This year was different, though. Brooke couldn’t remember the last time Adam had showed up at the screen door during breakfast, already bored and looking for something to do. In fact, she’d barely seen him since school had let out almost a month earlier.

  It’s only because he’s on the swim team this year, Brooke told herself, squeezing with both legs to hold herself in place as Foxy picked her way down one of the few hills in their mostly pancake-flat area.

  But was that really all it was? Brooke couldn’t help remembering that Adam hadn’t hung out with her much during the last few months of school, either. He’d seemed more interested in spending time with other boys—playing basketball with them after school, goofing off with them at lunch, elbowing them as they all loped down the halls together between classes. And mostly ignoring Brooke, barely nodding when she said hi and never coming over to talk during homeroom. Brooke hadn’t been sure what to do about that, so she hadn’t done anything. But it hurt a little to think maybe he didn’t like her as much anymore.

  Still, it wasn’t as if she didn’t have any other friends. She’d had plenty of people to sit with at lunch or pair up with for school projects. But none of those girls lived close by, and none of them had called or even texted much so far that summer.

  “Whatever,” Brooke muttered aloud, not wanting to think about that anymore. She was sure Adam hadn’t really changed. They were older now, and busier, and it made sense that they couldn’t spend every second of the day hanging out the way they had when they were little kids.

  For instance, Brooke’s new training plans would probably keep her just as busy as swim team practices and stuff were keeping Adam. Reading her friends’ posts had given her lots of ideas, and suddenly she wished she’d stayed home to get started after all.

  Then she remembered something her old riding teacher had said once—that anytime you rode or handled a horse, you were always either training or untraining her. That had made a big impression on Brooke at the time, though she’d sort of forgotten about it lately.

  Now the idea inspired her anew. She sat up straighter on Foxy’s back, shortening her reins, which she’d let slip out to the buckle. Foxy stopped, obviously thinking that was what her rider wanted.

  “No, it’s okay, girl. Walk on.” Brooke clucked and nudged the pony’s sides with her heels. Foxy shook her head against the snug reins, stepping awkwardly sideways.

  Fine. If Foxy wanted to go sideways, maybe it was time to teach her to leg-yield better. Brooke had played around with teaching the mare a few moves like that after checking a book on dressage out of the library, though that had been during the winter, when the footing in their backyard ring wasn’t very good, so they hadn’t done much. Now Brooke tried to remember what the book had said.

  “Outside leg on, bend to the inside—or was it to the outside?” Brooke couldn’t remember. She bit her lip, then shrugged and just gave a kick with her right leg.

  Instead of moving to the left, Foxy halted again. She lifted her head and backed up a step.

  “No, Foxy,” Brooke said. “You’re supposed to be leg-yielding.”

  She nudged the mare forward again and gave it another try. This time Foxy kept walking, but actually veered to the right instead of the left when Brooke gave the leg aid for the leg-yield!

  Oh well, Brooke thought. Maybe I need to look at that dressage book again. Or maybe I’ll look up some tips on the Internet later.

  She was almost to Adam’s house anyway, so she gave up on training for the moment, instead pushing Foxy into a trot to get there faster.

  Adam was in his front yard, kicking a half-deflated soccer ball back and forth between his bare feet. He glanced up when he heard Foxy coming.

  “Hi!” Brooke called, holding the reins in one hand as she pushed up her glasses, which had slipped down her nose as they always did when it was hot.

  “What are you doing here?” Adam asked.

  Brooke shrugged. “Nothing. Just bored. Want to ride down to the creek or something?”

  “I can’t.” Adam shot a look toward the quiet country road, which was deserted except for a crow pecking at a leaf. “I’ve got swim team. Justin will be here to pick me up soon, so . . .”

  His voice trailed off, and he didn’t quite meet Brooke’s eye. Brooke knew him well enough to guess what he wasn’t saying—he wanted her to scram before his ride arrived, probably because Justin was a year older and one of the most popular boys at school.

  Before she could figure out how to feel about that, there was the sudden loud pop of a car backfiring at the end of the road. A second later a souped-up vintage Mustang peeled around the corner and sped toward them, engine roaring. Brooke knew the car—her stepdad had sold it to Justin’s older brother, who was in high school.

  The crow flew up with a squawk, and Foxy snorted and jumped to the side as the car screeched to a stop at the curb. “Easy, girl,” Brooke murmured, grabbing a chunk of mane just in time to stop herself from sliding off the pony’s back. How embarrassing would that be?

  Justin jumped out of the passenger seat. “Yo, Conley!” he yelled. He did a double take as he noticed Brooke and Foxy standing there. “Whoa, a horse! Weird.”

  Adam laughed. “Yeah, that’s just Brooke. She’s, like, the neighborhood horse freak. Come on, let’s jet.”

  Justin’s brother revved the engine as Adam and Justin climbed into the car. Adam’s door had barely shut behind him when the Mustang shot off again, tires squealing as it rounded the next bend in the road.

  Foxy relaxed as soon as the car was out of earshot, though Brooke still felt tense. What had gotten into Adam lately? He’d always been her best friend—almost like a brother. But he wasn’t acting like much of a friend lately. . . .

  She shook her head, banishing those thoughts. What was the point in worrying about it? There was nothing she could do.

  “At least I still have you, girl,” she whispered, rubbing Foxy’s neck. “Come on, let’s take a nice long ride along the creek—just the two of us.”

  By five o’clock that afternoon it was hotter than ever. After her morning ride, Brooke had spent the next few hours in the air-conditioned house, looking through her shelf of horse books for training ideas. Only the need to feed Foxy had forced her to drag herself back outside.

  Foxy was halfway through her grain and Brooke was outside the shed, topping off the mare’s water tub with the hose, when she heard her stepfather calling her name from the direction of the house.

  “He’s home early today,” she commented to Foxy. When her name drifted across the yard again, Brooke turned off the hose and shoved it back under the fence where Foxy couldn’t reach it. The mare was still young, and had been known to play with things when the mood struck her. Those things often ended up damaged or destroyed as a result. That was what had happened to Foxy’s last fly mask, and also to a couple of grooming brushes Brooke had left within the mare’s reach. Brooke was already broke and definitely didn’t want to spend the next two weeks scrubbing upholstery at the used car lot to pay for a new hose.

  She hurried back to the house. Her stepfather was pacing back and forth in the kitchen. The twins were sitting at the table, paying no attention to their father or anything else as they argued loudly over the last cookie in the box.

  “Ah, Brooke.”
Her stepfather stopped pacing and smiled at her. “There you are. Tammy!” he shouted. “Hurry up!”

  “Coming, coming.” Brooke’s mother hurried in, her high heels click-clacking on the linoleum. She was still all dressed up in her Realtor outfit of blazer, skirt, and pantyhose. Brooke didn’t know how she stood it in this heat.

  “What’s happening, Daddy?” Ethan asked, looking away from the cookie just long enough for Emma to grab it and shove the entire thing into her mouth. “Hey!” Ethan yelped when he noticed.

  “Never mind the cookie, honeybun. I’ll take you out for ice cream after dinner if you want.” Brooke’s stepfather was obviously in a good mood. He grinned as Ethan cheered. Emma let out a whoop too, clearly assuming she was included in the ice cream offer.

  “What’s going on, Roger?” Brooke’s mother sounded slightly impatient. “I’m right in the middle of updating the website, and—”

  “I’m trying to tell you, okay?” he said. “Listen, you all know it’s been a pretty great month at the lot so far, right? Well, it got even better today. Some rich guy from D.C. saw my ad online and came all the way out from his beach house in St. Michaels and actually bought that old ’Vette I’ve had on the lot for months! Almost full asking price, too!”

  “Really?” Brooke’s mother sounded interested now. “That’s wonderful, sweetie.”

  “You’re telling me.” He grinned. “And don’t worry, I’m planning to spread the joy around. Ta-da!” He ducked into the hallway, returning a moment later holding a large shopping bag emblazoned with the cheerful logo of the area’s largest toy store.

  “Yay!” the twins cheered when they looked inside. “Thanks, Daddy!”

  “And for my favorite wife, I made reservations next Saturday night at that Italian place you like in Ocean City. We’ll make a weekend of it—I already called my sister, and she’ll keep the twins while we’re gone.”

  Brooke’s mother gasped. “Oh, Roger!”

  Brooke liked seeing her mother’s face light up as she grabbed her husband and kissed him, gushing about the restaurant and the romantic time they’d have. She liked seeing the twins so happy, too. But her stomach tightened as she realized her stepfather hadn’t mentioned what she’d be doing that weekend, and she couldn’t help wondering if she’d been forgotten once again. . . .

  “Don’t worry, Brookie, I saved the best for last.” Her stepfather turned to her with a wink. “See, that rich guy who bought the car told me he’s whisking his whole family off on a surprise trip to Paris. That’s why he was in such a hurry to make this deal—I guess they’re leaving in a couple of days.”

  “Um, okay,” Brooke said, a bit confused. Was her stepfather taking her to Paris? Somehow she doubted it.

  “So the guy also told me his daughter had to pull out of her annual horse camp to go on the trip,” her stepfather continued. “That means there’s a spot open at her very exclusive camp, which happens to be located less than an hour from here.” He grinned. “At least, there was a spot open, until I called and signed you and Foxy up for it!”

  “What?” Brooke blurted out, still not quite understanding.

  “Surprise!” her stepfather sang out. “You and Foxy are going away to Camp Pocomoke for two weeks. You leave on Sunday.”

  CHAPTER

  3

  AN HOUR LATER, BROOKE STILL hadn’t quite wrapped her mind around her stepfather’s big surprise. She picked at her dinner, occasionally sneaking a peek at him, studying his broad, ruddy face as if she’d never seen it before. And in a way, she felt as if she hadn’t. He hardly seemed to notice her most of the time, and paid even less attention to Foxy unless he was complaining about how much she cost to keep.

  And now this! Brooke was touched that her stepfather had thought of doing something like this for her. Sure, it had kind of fallen into his lap. But he could have ignored the open spot at horse camp and bought her a new cell phone or something else instead. After all, a two-week horse camp couldn’t be cheap.

  Two weeks. The thought of it struck her suddenly, causing her stomach to tighten so much, she put down her fork and swallowed hard to keep the bite of potato she’d just eaten from coming back up. Two whole weeks. Brooke had never spent more than a night or two away from her family before, and now she was supposed to spend two weeks all alone in a strange place.

  But I won’t be alone, she thought. Foxy will be there with me.

  That made her feel better, but only a little. She needed to “speak” to her Pony Post friends—and now she had much bigger news to share than her silly self-training plans!

  “May I be excused?” she asked, pushing her plate away.

  Her stepfather looked up from shoveling chicken into his mouth. “Sure thing, honey,” he said. “Better get upstairs and start packing, eh?”

  “Yeah.” Brooke smiled back. “Thanks again, Dad.”

  Upstairs, she pulled out her laptop and logged on to the Pony Post. She was surprised to see that all three of her friends’ names had little green dots glowing next to them. That meant they were all logged in to the site right now! That didn’t happen very often unless they all set up a time beforehand, since they were in three different time zones.

  Brooke quickly started typing, not wanting any of her friends to log off before she got her news out.

  [BROOKE] Hi all! Guess what?

  [MADDIE] BROOKE! Was wondering where u were all day. What’s up?

  [HALEY] Hi Brooke! How’s Foxy?

  [NINA] Hey B! Is it hot where you are? B/c it’s hotter than Hades here in NOLA.

  [HALEY] Isn’t it always hot there? lol

  [BROOKE] Hot here too. But listen, I have big news.

  [HALEY] What?

  [MADDIE] Spill!

  [NINA] Is it about Foxy?

  [BROOKE] Yes, sort of. My stepdad just gave me a big surprise—he’s sending me & Foxy to riding camp!

  [MADDIE] 2 COOL!

  [NINA] Is it a sleepaway camp?

  [BROOKE] Yes, for 2 wks.

  [HALEY] That’s amazing! I did riding camp last summer, but it was only day camp at my dressage trainer’s barn.

  [NINA] I’ve never done a riding camp, but I’ve been to sleepaway art camp and it was the BESTBESTBEST thing ever!

  [MADDIE] I’ve been to soccer camp a few times. Rly fun! But riding camp? I’m super-jealous!!!!!

  [HALEY] Me too! You’re going to learn sooooo much!

  Brooke smiled as she read over her friends’ comments. They were making her feel less nervous already, mostly because she’d realized something. This was a riding camp, which meant all the other campers would be just as horse crazy as she was. Maybe she’d meet some girls like her Pony Post friends!

  Well, not exactly like them, of course. They were all one of a kind. But if Brooke imagined spending two weeks with girls almost like Nina, Maddie, and Haley, the whole idea of camp suddenly seemed a lot less scary—and a lot more fun.

  [BROOKE] Yah, I can’t wait. This should be the perfect chance for me & Foxy to get more real training.

  [HALEY] Xlnt! What will u be working on?

  [MADDIE] More jumping maybe?

  [BROOKE] I’m not sure—I don’t rly know anything about the camp yet. But remember Foxy is still pretty green, so I’m sure whatever we work on will be good for her. And me, too!

  They all chatted for a few more minutes, and then Nina had to log off to set the table for dinner, and Haley needed to go feed her pony. Brooke and Maddie said good-bye, too.

  After she logged off the Pony Post site, Brooke pulled up a search engine and typed in the name of the camp. Camp Pocomoke had a website, but Brooke was disappointed to find that it wasn’t very detailed. There were only a few photos, including one of a teenage girl jumping a big bay horse in a tidy riding ring and a couple of distant shots of barns and paddocks. Still, at least the site included an address, and when Brooke located the camp on a mapping site, she recognized the general area right away. It was a beautiful, unspoiled part of the pen
insula near Pocomoke Sound. Brooke’s family had visited several of the parks and small towns nearby, and there was lots of wildlife around and some great spots for hiking and camping.

  Brooke put down the computer and headed out to the barn. The sun was sinking toward the western horizon, but it was still hot. Foxy was dozing under the oak tree across the fence from the draft horses. But the pony pricked her ears and wandered over when Brooke ducked under the fence.

  “Guess what, baby girl?” Brooke whispered, sliding her arms around the mare’s neck and breathing in her familiar scent. “We’re going to camp! And we’re going to learn a lot, and make new friends, and have lots of fun. . . .”

  “Are you sure you don’t want any dessert, sweetie?” Brooke’s mother asked as she set bowls of ice cream in front of the twins.

  Brooke shook her head. It was the big day, and she’d had a whole herd of butterflies in her stomach since the moment she’d woken up that morning. It had been all she could do to choke down a few bites of her tuna sandwich at lunch, and she’d done little more than push the food around on her plate during the family’s early dinner.

  Her stepfather hurried into the kitchen. “Trailer’s hitched up,” he announced, wiping his hands on a dish towel hanging on the back of a chair. “Ready to roll?”

  “Almost.” Brooke glanced at her watch, which she’d actually remembered to put on for once. Adam should have showed up by now, but there was no sign of him. “Um, but I should probably put my stuff in the car first.”

  “You haven’t done that yet?” Brooke’s mother sounded alarmed. “Go, do it! We need to be back here at a reasonable hour—I’m supposed to lead the church group meeting tonight, remember?”

  Brooke wasn’t sure how she was supposed to forget. Her mother had only mentioned it about fifty times. “Okay, okay. I put my saddle and barn stuff in earlier, so the rest will only take me a minute.”

  She hurried out into the living room, where she’d piled her suitcase, duffel, and sleeping bag beside the door. She grabbed her pillow off the top of the pile and stepped outside, squinting in the late-afternoon sunlight. A small stock trailer was parked in the driveway, hitched to one of the big diesel pickups from the used car lot. The trailer wasn’t fancy, but Brooke knew she was lucky they had one at all. The only reason her parents had bought it was that it doubled as a way for her stepfather to haul car parts around. And it worked well enough for that as well as for Foxy.