Changing Leads

by Bonnie Bryant

  “That’s a great idea.” Scott glanced at Phil gratefully, then turned back to Stevie. “But I have an even better one. Phil and I were going to play some tennis this afternoon. Why don’t you come along to the club with us? We could all hit a few balls around … you know. Not exactly mixed doubles, but it could be fun.”

  Stevie hesitated. “Thanks. But I don’t think so.” She would be ready to start patching up her relationship with Scott soon. But for today, she thought she would rather just go home and think about all this. “You two go ahead, though. I’ll catch you both later.”

  Phil peered into her eyes, looking concerned. “Really?” he asked uncertainly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Really. I’m sure.” And this time, she meant it.

  By the time she walked into chemistry class three days later, it felt almost natural for Stevie to greet Scott with a friendly smile and a little wave as she took her seat next to him at lab table number four. Sue was absent, so it was just the two of them.

  “Hi, Stevie,” Scott greeted her as he dropped his lab notebook onto the black tabletop. “What’s new?

  “Not much.” Stevie still felt kind of weird chatting with Scott this way—as if nothing had happened, as if the past three months had merely been an extended bad dream. But she was trying to ignore those feelings, and it was getting easier with every passing day. “You?”

  Scott shrugged. “Callie had another doctor’s appointment today,” he reported. “At lunchtime. Sounds like it went pretty well.”

  “Great!” Stevie said. “I haven’t seen her all day. But she must be thrilled, especially after last time.”

  Scott turned away long enough to greet several female classmates who had stopped to say hi, giggling and batting their eyelashes. Stevie rolled her eyes. But Scott’s charm and charisma didn’t really bother her anymore. For one thing, because she was no longer angry at him, they no longer seemed like a personal affront. But also, she now knew how much that seemingly effortless charm cost him. That made her feel a lot more sympathetic toward him.

  When the girls had moved on to their own tables, Scott returned his attention to Stevie. “What did you say about Callie’s last appointment?”

  Stevie shrugged. “I talked to her afterward,” she said. “She seemed pretty disappointed by what the doctor told her. I guess she was hoping for better news about losing the crutches. But the doc said she was stuck with them until November at least.”

  “Hmmm.” Scott was silent for a moment.

  Stevie watched him curiously. She wasn’t shy, and according to her mother and Lisa and various other people, she wasn’t always tactful. But she hesitated to ask Scott what he was thinking. Their relationship was still too new, untested and a little uncertain.

  Luckily, Scott decided to volunteer the information. “It’s interesting to hear that,” he said. “Because actually, that was good news. Before, Dr. Amandsen was predicting Callie would be able to walk without any assistance sometime after Christmas, maybe not until the very early spring. But thanks to all her hard work, he moved that up a couple of months. We were all thrilled.” He glanced at Stevie. “All except Callie, apparently.”

  Stevie bit her lip, wondering if she had given away some kind of secret without realizing it. “She didn’t seem that upset,” she said quickly. “I mean, I was kind of rushed that day I think, so maybe I—”

  “It’s okay,” Scott reassured her. “It’s not so surprising to hear that she reacted that way. I know why she’s so eager to ditch the crutches right now. It’s because her friend Sheila is coming to visit next week. Did she tell you about that?”

  Stevie nodded, wondering why Scott’s lip had curled slightly as he said Sheila’s name. “She didn’t say she was coming so soon, but she mentioned it a couple of times,” she said. “She seemed pretty psyched about it. Don’t you like Sheila?”

  Scott looked surprised for a moment. Then he laughed. “Is it that obvious?” he asked. “Uh-oh. I’d better work on that before she gets here.”

  Stevie grinned. “You’re secret’s safe with me,” she promised. “Don’t worry—I don’t always like my brothers’ friends that much, either.”

  “Well, I guess that’s only natural.” Scott glanced at the front of the classroom as Ms. Rourke entered. When the teacher started talking quietly with a student who’d been waiting by her desk, Scott went on. “But there’s a little more to it than that when it comes to Callie and Sheila.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Scott sighed. “I know it’s probably none of my business,” he said. “Callie’s a big girl—she can pick her own friends. But Sheila … well, in my opinion Sheila has never been that good for her. She and Callie have always been close—our mothers are good friends—but not in the same way you and your friends are close.”

  Stevie wasn’t following him. “Huh?”

  Scott looked pensive. “You and your friends share things, support each other. Right?” When Stevie nodded, he went on. “Callie and Sheila aren’t really that way. They always seem to think—at least Callie does—that they have to put on some kind of front for each other, be perfect friends, perfect people.”

  That didn’t make any sense at all to Stevie, and she said so.

  “I know. It’s weird,” Scott agreed. “But that’s how it’s always been with those two. Sort of competitive, in a warped way. Like they’re one step removed from what most people think of as friendship, each of them doing their best to prove to the other what a wonderful friend she is.”

  “Wow.” Stevie was still having trouble wrapping her mind around that, though it did help to explain Callie’s rather odd behavior at TD’s when she was telling Lisa about Sheila. Still, it was so different from most of the friendships Stevie knew—her friendship with Carole and Lisa, Phil’s friendship with A.J.—that it was hard to imagine.

  “I’m sure my family’s lifestyle is partly to blame,” Scott said thoughtfully. “It’s not easy living in a fishbowl like we do, with people always watching because of Dad’s job. Sometimes it’s hard to know who to trust.”

  “You don’t seem to have much trouble,” Stevie pointed out. Remembering what she now knew about him, she added, “Most of the time, anyway.”

  “I don’t,” Scott admitted with a shrug. “I like people, and it’s always been pretty easy for me to make friends. But Callie’s different. She’s always been kind of withdrawn, serious, maybe a little suspicious. It’s harder for her to let her guard down. That’s probably why she got so interested in horses so young. She’s always trusted them a lot more than people, I think.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Stevie joked. Then she frowned. “So why is Sheila coming to visit, then?”

  Scott shrugged again. “Because despite all that, Callie thinks of her as her best friend. Besides, this move has been pretty tough on her. She hides it most of the time, but I’m pretty sure she still thinks a lot about our old home. Sheila is part of that, so of course she wants to see her.”

  Suddenly something clicked for Stevie. “But at the same time, she doesn’t want Sheila to see her with her weak leg and the rest of it, because it proves she’s not perfect after all. That’s why she wanted to be able to get rid of her crutches. She wanted to be all better before Sheila gets here.”

  “Bingo.” Scott smiled, but his eyes were sad. “Callie hates looking weak in front of anyone. But she must really hate the thought of Sheila seeing her the way she is now.”

  Stevie frowned. “Well, I think that’s terrible,” she declared. “Friends should trust each other. They should accept each other as they are, weaknesses and all.”

  “I know.” Scott sighed. “I just wish Callie saw that as clearly as you do.”

  At that moment the teacher called for attention, bringing their conversation to an end. But Stevie continued to think about what Scott had just told her. She thought it was truly sad that Callie couldn’t simply be happy about a visit from her oldest friend. Maybe I can help her, St
evie thought hopefully. Maybe I can find a chance to talk with her about this before Sheila gets here next week. If Sheila is a true friend, Callie just needs to learn to trust her. They need to start trusting each other, being honest with each other—warts and all. If I can help her see that, this visit could be the start of a whole new Callie.

  Stevie smiled, pleased with her new plan. She would help Callie feel better about her friend’s visit, and in the process show her what real friendship was all about. It sounded like a big job, but Stevie was sure she could do it.

  Now that Scott and I are talking again, she told herself happily, just about anything seems possible!

  FIFTEEN

  “Well, here we go again,” Stevie said, clicking the Power button on the remote control. “Another thrilling Friday night in front of the TV.”

  Phil put his arm around her and pulled her a little closer on the couch. “You can’t fool me,” he teased, nuzzling her neck. “This is your favorite way to spend Friday night.”

  Lisa glanced over her shoulder at them from her spot in the overstuffed chair. “Little do you know,” she told Phil mischievously. “Actually Stevie’s favorite part about all this is watching all those hot hunks on Skye’s show.” She gestured at the television, where the opening credits for Paradise Ranch were coming onto the screen.

  “Shhh!” Stevie pretended to be worried. “You’ll give my secret away!”

  Lisa giggled, then settled back in her chair with a glance at the archway leading to the Lakes’ kitchen. “Hurry up, Alex,” she called. “It’s starting.”

  Alex appeared in the archway with a couple of soda cans in each hand. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” he said. “Make room.”

  As he set the drinks down on the coffee table, Lisa stood and waited for him to sit down before settling herself comfortably on his lap. Leaning over to grab her soda, she looked at the screen just as Skye Ransom’s name flashed across it, accompanied by a shot of the young actor’s smiling, handsome face. She still felt a bit strange about watching the show with Alex, even though they had seen it together almost every Friday night since its premiere at the end of August.

  Don’t look for trouble, she told herself sternly, popping the top on her soda and feeling Alex’s strong arm squeeze her waist as she settled back against his chest. Alex seems to be getting over his jealousy about Skye. And that means maybe someday soon I’ll be able to talk to him about the other stuff. About almost staying in California. I just want to wait until I’m sure he’ll understand.

  She did her best to forget the whole subject and concentrate on the show. But she found herself having trouble following the plot, even though she had been on the set when the episode had been filmed.

  Finally the first commercial break came. Stevie stretched and scooted away from Phil a few inches. “All this soda is very well and good,” she said. “But what does a girl have to do to get some popcorn around here?”

  Phil jumped to his feet and saluted. “Aye, aye, ma’am!” he said with a mock salute. He gestured to Alex. “Come on, dude. We’re on kitchen duty.”

  Stevie giggled and winked at Lisa. “He’s so well trained,” she confided in a loud whisper.

  Lisa giggled, too. Alex rolled his eyes and then stood, pushing her aside gently. “Normally I’d be the last person to do something just because Stevie ordered it,” he said. “But in this case, popcorn does sound pretty good. And if we want to be able to eat it, Phil and I had better make it, because Stevie’s the only person I know who can actually burn a whole bag of microwave popcorn.”

  A moment later both guys had disappeared into the kitchen. Stevie smiled as she heard the faint sounds of the two of them talking and laughing together. This was nice. Being here, with her favorite people in the world … well, most of them, anyway.

  “Hey, by the way, why couldn’t Carole make it tonight?” she asked Lisa. “You never said.”

  Lisa shrugged as she dug her lip balm out of her jeans pocket and ran it over her lips. “She didn’t really say,” she said, popping the cap back on. “I just saw her in the hall for a second before last period. When I reminded her it was Paradise Ranch night, she got that look on her face. You know the one.”

  “The one that means she totally forgot.” Stevie nodded and smiled ruefully. “Good old Carole.” She sighed. “Sometimes I hate going to a different school than you guys. I feel like I’ve hardly seen Carole at all this past month.”

  “I don’t know if you can blame separate schools for that,” Lisa said. “I haven’t been seeing a whole lot of her myself. I know she always spends most of her time at Pine Hollow.…”

  “But these days it seems like she’s spending all her time there. Oh, well, at least we’ll see her tomorrow—unless she gets so busy cleaning Starlight’s hooves or braiding Samson’s mane that she forgets about our movie plans, too.” Stevie tucked her legs up under her on the sofa and looked at Lisa thoughtfully. “I guess we all have a lot on our plates these days, don’t we?”

  Lisa was a little surprised at Stevie’s serious tone. But she suspected she knew what her friend was thinking. “How are things going between you and Scott?”

  Stevie shrugged. “So far, so good,” she said. “I mean, it’s only been a few days. But he’s trying. And so am I.”

  “Good.” Lisa was really happy that Stevie had finally made up with Callie’s brother. She wasn’t sure exactly what had happened to finally break down Scott’s grudge—Stevie had been rather mysterious about that, and Lisa hadn’t pressed her—but it was wonderful to see the difference the change had already wrought in her. Now, when Scott approached her in the aisle at Pine Hollow, Stevie’s face no longer took on that slightly wary, haunted expression. Now the two of them greeted each other politely, chatted easily about Callie’s progress or horses or chemistry homework. Maybe they still weren’t bosom buddies, not yet, but it was a start. A good start. Now if I can just learn to be friends with Callie … Lisa picked at the arm of her chair. “Scott’s a nice guy,” she mused, wishing that a little of his friendliness would rub off on his sister. Maybe that would make this easier.…

  Stevie noticed that Lisa’s voice sounded funny. She glanced at her, noting the pensive look on her fine-boned face as she stared down into her lap.

  “Is anything wrong?” Stevie asked. “You sound kind of weird.”

  Lisa looked up and smiled ruefully. “Sorry,” she said softly, glancing toward the kitchen to make sure the boys weren’t returning yet. “It’s nothing major. Just some stupid stuff that I have to work out in my own head, I guess.”

  “Tell me,” Stevie ordered, leaning forward.

  Lisa shrugged. “It’s … Well, it’s Callie,” she admitted softly. “I haven’t said anything up until now because—well, I don’t know. I guess it hasn’t really come up. But things feel a little weird between me and Callie.”

  Stevie was surprised for a second. Then she remembered that awkward day at TD’s and nodded. “I guess that’s not a total shock,” she said. “I mean, I know you don’t know her as well as Carole and I do. But I thought you two hit it off pretty well when she moved here.”

  “Right,” Lisa said, reaching for her soda. “But then I went away, and when I came back, you and Carole and Callie were like best buddies all of a sudden.” She couldn’t help allowing a touch of bitterness to creep into her voice.

  “It wasn’t all of a sudden,” Stevie reminded her bluntly. “You were gone a long time. Carole and I had plenty of time to get to know Callie better. Especially since she was spending a lot of time at Pine Hollow working on her physical therapy.”

  That made Lisa feel more than a little guilty. Poor Callie. First she had moved far away from her home and her friends; then she had suffered that terrible accident, along with months of recovery that still hadn’t ended. Lisa didn’t envy her that. She just wished she knew how to work the idea of Callie into her own view of life, of her relationship with her best friends.

  “I know,” Lisa
told Stevie with a sigh. “I have some catching up to do. And I’m sure Callie and I will be good friends before long.” She wasn’t quite as certain as her optimistic words proclaimed. But she had learned enough from her mother’s example lately to know that bitterness and gloom and refusing to accept things as they were didn’t solve anything. They just made people even more miserable.

  Luckily, Stevie changed the subject. “Speaking of Callie and friends, Scott told me something kind of juicy in lab today.”

  “Give.” Lisa glanced toward the kitchen again. They could hear popcorn popping. “And hurry. The show’s starting again, and the guys’ll be back any second.”

  Stevie glanced at the television, where Skye was gazing soulfully into the eyes of a beautiful actress. “Hey, maybe we should pipe down and watch,” she teased.

  Lisa glared at her. “Stevie …”

  Stevie shrugged and feigned innocence. “I mean, we wouldn’t want to miss a second of this show you slaved on all summer just for a little news, would we?”

  Lisa jumped out of her chair and grabbed Stevie by the arm. “Tell me,” she commanded. “Or I’ll wrestle you to the ground and then steal all the popcorn.”

  Stevie giggled and jerked her arm away. “You and what army?” But at Lisa’s threatening growl, she held up both hands. “Okay, okay. You win.”

  Lisa settled herself back on the couch next to Stevie. “Let’s hear it.”

  “Well, our other lab partner was absent today. So Scott and I got to talking.” Stevie paused for a second, thinking about that. Up until three days ago, she had dreaded the very thought of walking into chemistry class each day, because she knew she would have to deal with silent Scott. Now I just dread it became I hate chemistry, she joked to herself. Realizing that Lisa was waiting impatiently for her to go on, she did so, relaying what Scott had told her about Callie and Sheila.

  “Weird,” was Lisa’s only comment when she had finished. The two of them fell silent for a moment, thinking their own thoughts as they watched the action on the TV screen.