Cross-Ties

by Bonnie Bryant

  Stevie smiled. “I’m just getting to that.” Deborah Hale, Max Regnery’s wife, was a reporter for a major Washington, D.C., daily. She and Max had met and married several years earlier, soon after Deborah had come to Pine Hollow to do some background research for her first horse-related story. Since then, she had written several other equine articles, though she also reported on a wide variety of other topics, from politics to social issues to the environment. “The story didn’t sound too thrilling at first, actually,” Stevie admitted. “It was just supposed to be a nice little article about an old lady who takes care of old horses. But then we got out there and realized there was a lot more to it than that.”

  She quickly filled Callie in on the rest of the details. At first, when she and Deborah had arrived at the retirement farm, everything had seemed fine. The place was clean, the woman running it was friendly, and the horses looked healthy—from a distance. When Stevie got closer to one of the retirees, though, she’d noticed some subtle health problems that made her suspicious. After that Deborah had taken over, digging out all the details of the real story: The woman was cutting corners on the horses’ care to make more money. Deborah had launched a full investigation, and the resulting story had run in the previous Friday’s issue of the newspaper.

  When Stevie finished, Callie looked suitably impressed. “Wow,” she said as the two of them started up the school steps toward the heavy wooden front doors. “Sounds like Deborah was lucky you were there and paying attention.”

  “I guess she was,” Stevie agreed, not bothering with false modesty. She was proud of herself for the part she’d played in helping those horses, and she didn’t care who knew it. “But I was pretty lucky, too. See, Deborah let me help her out a little with the writing, and she talked her editor into mentioning me in the byline. That was totally cool. So I figured, hey, why not try to recapture the feeling?”

  Callie nodded thoughtfully. “So you’re going to join the school paper?”

  Stevie grinned. “You’re a genius, Forester,” she said. “And you’re exactly right. The Sentinel needs me. I mean, what other Fenton Hall student has actually been published in the Washington Reporter?”

  “Probably none,” Callie agreed with a smile.

  Stevie took the last few steps two at a time and then held the door open for Callie, who was following more slowly. When they were both inside, Stevie checked her watch. She still had plenty of time before she had to be in homeroom. “I’d better get up to the media room.”

  “Okay. Good luck.” Callie waved and hoisted her backpack a little higher on her shoulder. “See you at lunch, if you’re not busy tracking down breaking news or something.”

  The two of them parted ways. Stevie headed straight for the south stairwell, which would lead her up to the school’s media room on the third floor. She was so busy making a mental list of all the brilliant story ideas she’d come up with over the past few days that she wasn’t paying much attention to where she was going. As she rounded the corner into the stairwell at a swift trot, she almost crashed into a tall, slender, attractive girl with long dark hair.

  Stevie pulled herself up just in time. “Whoa! Sorry!” she exclaimed breathlessly before she’d even had a chance to recognize the other girl. Then she frowned. “Oh. Veronica. It’s just you.”

  Veronica diAngelo gave Stevie an annoyed glare. Glancing down at her suede jacket, she brushed an invisible spot of lint off the lapel. “Stevie Lake,” she said in the slow, haughty, deliberate tone she saved for anyone she thought was beneath her, which was just about everyone. “Doing your best ladylike impression of a freight train again, I see?”

  Stevie rolled her eyes. Yeah, right, she thought. Like Veronica has ever actually seen a freight train. Stretch limo is more her speed.

  But she didn’t bother to respond out loud. Back in junior high, when Veronica had been taking riding lessons at Pine Hollow, the two girls had been at each others throats almost constantly. Veronica’s snobby, superior attitude always rubbed Stevie the wrong way, while Stevie’s rambunctious, fun-loving nature had often clashed with Veronica’s sense of self-importance. In the past few years, however, Veronica had turned her attention from expensive horses to rich guys. She and Stevie had separate groups of friends, and it was pretty easy for them to ignore each other most of the time. And Stevie had to admit that their truce—intentional or not—made her life a lot easier.

  “Whatever,” Stevie told Veronica shortly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have something important to do.”

  “I’m so sure.” Veronica rolled her eyes with a slightly bemused expression that indicated exactly how important she thought anything Stevie had to do could be. As she turned, though, she paused and glanced at Stevie again. “By the way,” she said, “I hear Nicole Adams is taking up riding again. And that your very own twin brother has been playing the happy little tour guide for the past week. I guess it’s true what they say: When the cat’s away …” She let her voice trail off suggestively, then smirked and hurried out of the stairwell before Stevie could come up with a suitable reply.

  Gritting her teeth—why did Veronica still have the ability to get to her, even now?—Stevie headed up the stairs. She knew exactly where Veronica was going with her stupid little remark. Up until a year ago, Stevie never would have guessed that her twin brother and one of her best friends would fall in love. But Alex and Lisa had been a couple for the better part of a year now. They’d had a few rocky patches in their relationship lately, but Stevie was really starting to believe that they were meant to be together forever, just like her and Phil. When Lisa had left for California the weekend before Thanksgiving, Alex had spent the first day or two moping around and bemoaning her absence. Then he’d run into Nicole Adams at the stable.

  Poor Alex, Stevie thought, her mind flashing to the image of her brother gazing at Nicole’s bouncy blond hair and amazing figure. What does he know about dealing with a total flirt like Nicole? He was just being friendly. Even though she’d discovered that Nicole had been a rider at Pine Hollow way before Stevie had started taking lessons there, she wasn’t convinced that the other girl’s sudden resurgence of interest in horses was the only reason for her return. Stevie still remembered how her drunken brother had slow-danced with Nicole at their party after a huge fight with Lisa. I’m sure Veronica remembers that, too, she thought grimly. And I’m sure she’s totally grooving on the idea that Nicole might be causing trouble between Alex and Lisa. Not that there’s really any chance of that. Now that Lisa’s back, everything will be fine.

  Stevie banished Lisa, Alex, Nicole, and especially Veronica diAngelo from her mind as she approached the media room. The glass-paneled door was propped open with a large dictionary, and classical music was playing softly from somewhere inside. Stepping over the threshold, Stevie cast a curious eye around the spacious, window-lined room. She’d been there many times before, usually to drop off a student government announcement for the paper or to check out a tape from the extensive video library. But for the first time, she really took it all in. The media room had been created by knocking down the walls between two rooms, allowing enough space for the newspaper and yearbook staffs to work, as well as plenty of storage for the bulky audiovisual equipment that wouldn’t fit into the cramped, dungeonlike library on the ground floor. Unlike most of the classrooms at Fenton Hall, which echoed the building’s old-fashioned exterior with their arched windows and scuffed wooden floors, the media room had a modern look. Metal shelves stretched along two of the walls, holding hundreds of video- and audiotapes, CD-ROMs, and miscellaneous pieces of computer equipment. A separate shelving unit against a third wall provided a home for a few TV sets, a couple of handheld video cameras, and an old-fashioned film projector, as well as the portable stereo that was the source of the classical music. The floor had been covered with sisal carpeting, and long, low-slung tables were scattered here and there, along with a few armchairs. There was even an old, slightly battle-scarred couch rest
ing beneath one broad window. At the moment the place was almost empty, with just a couple of students bent over their work in different parts of the room. Still, Stevie was sure that by Thursday morning the place would be bustling as the entire staff worked to meet their deadline and pull the paper together in time to print it.

  Wow, Stevie thought, a slow smile spreading across her face. So this is where I’m going to be spending my time from now on. Not too shabby.

  Just then a girl sitting at a computer near the window glanced up from her keyboard and spotted her. “Hello?” she called. “Can I help you?”

  “Hi! I was looking for the editor,” Stevie replied, vaguely recognizing the other girl as a freshman named Mary or Marnie or something like that. “Is she around?”

  “She just ran to the bathroom,” the freshman replied. “Should be back soon.”

  Stevie nodded her thanks, then wandered toward the long wall opposite the door. Framed past issues of the Sentinel decorated the spaces between the windows, and as Stevie looked them over, she felt more and more excited about her plans.

  Wow, she thought, walking slowly down the length of the wall and scanning each framed page. I guess this is one of those “advantages” Mom and Dad are always talking about when they tell people why they decided to send us to private school.

  Over the years, Stevie had occasionally wished that her parents had decided to send her to Willow Creek High, the public school across town, where she could be with her best friends all day long. But at that moment, she really did feel incredibly lucky to be at Fenton Hall. She knew that Lisa had briefly joined her school paper during her sophomore year, but she’d quit in frustration after just a couple of months. Although the middle school managed to put out a respectable paper, Willow Creek High’s Crier was published sporadically at best, and the previous year the three student editors had spent more time juggling for power than they had in doing any actual work. The result was a dull, error-riddled publication that rarely filled more than eight pages, and which most of the student body ignored unless they were making it into spitballs.

  By contrast, the Sentinel came out every Friday morning without fail, had won numerous local awards, and had even been a finalist in the state journalism competition the previous year. The current editor, a senior named Theresa Cruz, was continuing the tradition of lively and varied reporting on all sorts of topics, from the smallest student concerns to serious national controversies. Like most Fenton Hall students, Stevie never took her seat in homeroom on Friday morning without first grabbing a copy of that week’s Sentinel from the basket near the door.

  Stevie was reading an article from the previous spring about the public school board’s proposal to institute a school uniform when she heard the girl at the computer speak again. “Hey, Theresa,” the freshman called. “Someone’s here to see you.”

  Stevie spun around and saw that a short, pretty, olive-skinned girl with large, serious dark eyes and close-cropped black hair had just entered the room. “Hi, Theresa!” Stevie exclaimed, hurrying toward the older girl. “I’m Stevie Lake.”

  Theresa Cruz nodded, a slight smile brightening her serious face. “Yes, I know who you are,” she said. “What can I do for you, Stevie?”

  Stevie grinned, wondering if Theresa had seen her byline in the Reporter the previous week. Then she realized that Theresa probably knew her from before that. For one thing, reporters from the Sentinel had interviewed Stevie several times just a month earlier. She had been Scott’s campaign manager when he’d won the office of student body president. Besides that, Stevie had never exactly been shy, and Fenton Hall was a relatively small school. She knew just about everyone, and just about everyone knew her.

  In any case, Stevie decided there was no point in beating around the bush. “I’m here to join the Sentinel,” she explained. “I want to be a reporter.”

  Theresa didn’t bat an eye. “Okay, great,” she said calmly, taking a seat at the nearest empty table. “We’re always glad to have newbies. Why don’t you come back at lunchtime and we can talk more about what you and the Sentinel have to offer each other?”

  “Sure thing,” Stevie agreed. She was a little disappointed at being put off, but she figured it was for the best. At lunchtime, she and Theresa would have much more time to talk. That way they could figure out which beat would be best for Stevie—politics? sports? student life?—and figure out how soon she could get her first story into print. And then my spectacular new career can really get off the ground, she thought with a grin as she glanced around the media room once more before heading for the door. I can’t wait!

  A little later that morning, Carole Hanson was standing in front of her open locker, staring at a photograph she’d taped to the inside of the metal door. It was a picture of her horse, Starlight, standing in the back paddock at Pine Hollow and looking over the fence. As she gazed into his big, dark eyes, she could swear she heard him speaking.

  Carole, he said woefully, in a voice that sounded an awful lot like Mr. Ed’s, why don’t you ever come to Pine Hollow and ride me anymore?

  “Carole!” a much more familiar voice said from right behind her.

  Carole jumped, then turned with an embarrassed laugh. “Lisa,” she said. “Hi. Uh, you startled me.”

  “Sorry.” Lisa Atwood smiled, her gaze straying to the photo. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your mental conversation with Starlight.”

  Carole blushed. Her friends knew her too well. Then again, almost everyone who’d ever met Carole knew that she spent much more time thinking about horses than about anything else. Carole knew that some people thought she was a little strange—a bit too single-minded in her devotion to horses. Then again, she thought anyone who didn’t have any interest in horses or riding was pretty strange. What did those people find to think about all day long? She couldn’t imagine.

  Carole had known for as long as she could remember that she planned to spend her life working full-time with her favorite creatures. The only question remaining was what, exactly, she was going to do. Would she find her future in riding horses in competition? Training them? Healing them? Or maybe following in Max’s footsteps and teaching others to love them as much as she did? Carole wasn’t sure yet which path was meant for her, but she was determined to figure it out soon.

  “So what’s up?” she asked Lisa, quickly grabbing her English notebook and slamming her locker door shut.

  Lisa checked her watch. “We have a substitute in senior lit this week, so I have a study hall next period. I figured it was the perfect chance to track you down and catch up.” She smiled, pushing a strand of blond hair out of her eyes. “I miss you, you know, and I figured you missed me a little, too. Almost as much as Starlight, maybe.”

  Carole laughed. “Definitely,” she teased. “Definitely almost as much, I mean. Come on, why don’t you walk me to my English class?” She smiled ruefully. “These days, I can’t afford to be late to anything. Otherwise Dad might not let me ride until Memorial Day.”

  The two girls fell into step as they headed down the crowded hall. Carole was glad Lisa had found her. One of the hardest things about being grounded was being kept away from horses. But being kept from her friends was hard, too. Stevie and Lisa had been there for all of the important moments in her life, good and bad, for so long that Carole could hardly remember a time when she hadn’t known them. Her life just didn’t seem quite complete when she couldn’t talk to them about things. The three of them had always complemented each other perfectly, their friendship stronger because of their differences rather than in spite of them. Fun-loving, impulsive Stevie was the group’s clown, but she also offered strength and loyalty that were second to none. Lisa was the most logical and sensible of the trio, a responsible citizen and an A student. Of course, that didn’t stop her from occasionally succumbing to doubts or insecurity, especially since her parents’ divorce. Carole sometimes thought of herself as the glue that cemented their three-way friendship. Her friends’ strong o
pinions rarely clashed, but when they did, Carole was always there to remind them that their friendship was more important than any disagreement.

  Sometimes Carole missed the days when the three of them would spend virtually all their time together, not seeming to want or need anyone else. That didn’t mean that Carole didn’t like Callie and Scott or Phil and Alex. It just sometimes seemed that there were so many other people in her friends’ lives these days that there wasn’t enough time left for their friendship.

  “So how was your trip?” Carole asked, dragging her mind out of the past. She seemed to spend too much time there lately, especially considering that she was trying her best to focus on the future. “Did your father give you a hard time about the college thing?” While Carole and Stevie were juniors who had done little to prepare for college so far, aside from taking the PSATs a month or so earlier, Lisa was a senior, and she’d recently decided to attend nearby Northern Virginia University. Unfortunately, she hadn’t shared her decision with either of her parents until after she’d already responded to the school, and Carole knew that they were very upset about that, especially since Lisa had applied to several much more prestigious schools in other parts of the country.

  Lisa wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, he was all over me at first,” she said. “But he got distracted when my brother turned up.”

  “Your brother?” Carole was surprised. Lisa’s older brother, Peter, had been living abroad for so long that Carole had met him only a few times. She raised her voice as they turned a corner and entered a different hallway, where half a dozen guys were horsing around. “I didn’t know he was coming back to the States for Thanksgiving.”

  “None of us did,” Lisa replied, dodging as a foam football whizzed past her head. “But that wasn’t the biggest surprise. It turns out he went and got married without telling any of us. Plus, his new wife’s a few years older than him, recently divorced with a couple of kids.”