by Amy Brown
Jade and Andy giggled.
‘Well, they are egg heads,’ Ngaire went on. ‘Do kids not say that anymore?’
‘Yeah, kids do,’ Andy said. ‘I’ve just never heard an adult say it before.’
‘Well, when I was little I swore I’d never grow up. I ’d be like Peter Pan,’ Ngaire said. ‘That must be it.’
The Jeep must have found its way around the coast while the tide was out, or belonged to one of the families with baches at the northern end of the beach, because the riders didn’t see it again. They were free to canter along in the tide for a good ten minutes before they saw another sign of life: an elderly man walking his St Bernard dog. Tani had a long look at the St Bernard, but behaved with bravery and decorum.
The sea air and long canters seemed to be doing the unthinkable: tiring out Taniwha. It was a rare ride which finished with Tani dawdling, fatigued, back to his paddock, but the beach seemed to have a wearying effect.
Pleased to see the driveway and to hear the welcoming whinnies of the youngsters, Tani pricked his ears, but didn’t quicken his pace.
‘He has potential, but needs fitness training,’ Flora said, noticing Tani’s wilting.
‘I thought he was quite fit. I ride him almost every day,’ Jade said.
‘There’s riding,’ Flora said, ‘and then there’s endurance. You’ll learn the difference by the time you leave Samudra.’
Jade wasn’t sure if this was a threat or a promise.
The mail came in the afternoon at Ocean Bay. When the riders had made their horses comfortable, and said goodbye to Ngaire and Mata, who lived down the south end of the beach, they found Nellie in the kitchen staring at another official-looking envelope. Her long, dirty fingernails were beginning to tear at the opening.
‘Is that addressed to you?’ Flora asked sharply.
‘You can’t keep ignoring this. It won’t just go away.’
‘No news is good news,’ Flora said huffily. ‘If I don’t read it, it isn’t news. It certainly isn’t bad news.’
Andy and Jade understood Nellie’s frustration at Flora, who had started flicking through a Two Fat Ladies cookbook as if it had the answer to the problem of the letter.
‘Fine! Give it here then,’ Flora demanded.
The three girls sat gravely, watching Flora read.
‘Is it as bad as we thought?’ Nellie asked eventually.
Flora’s frown-line was deep. She held on to the kitchen bench with one white-knuckled hand, which made Jade nervous.
‘They can’t do that. They can’t,’ Flora muttered to herself.
‘Can’t do what? Shut down the riding school? Let me see.’ Nellie snatched the letter out of Flora’s fingers and read silently.
‘“Requisitioning the land for infrastructure purposes” — again! What does that even mean? And who is this Kim Bandt?’
‘Kim Bandt, I gather from the letterhead, is a property developer. And what it means is that by 4 January they want us off the land so that they can start subdividing and building holiday homes.’
‘Can they do that?’ Jade asked. ‘Evict you just like that?’
‘It hasn’t been sudden,’ Nellie said, glaring at Flora. ‘If we’d opened the letters months ago, we’d have had more time to prepare.’
Flora snapped at Nellie, arguing that there was still a couple of weeks and that none of them — not Nellie, not Casey, not a single one of the horses — was going to give up their home. It would be over Flora’s dead body.
‘What’s your plan?’ Andy asked her aunt gently.
‘I don’t know yet.’
Nellie rolled her eyes. ‘We have to be practical! Let’s sit down now and think of something to do.’
Flora looked exhausted, as if the letter’s contents had only now become real to her. ‘Horses’ feeds first, then we’ll talk.’
The routine of allocating the correct bucket of feed to each animal was, for Jade at least, soothing at the end of a long, hard day’s work. Flora, who usually made a fuss of each and every one of her horses as she fed them their evening meal, seemed distant and quiet.
When the horses had eaten and the girls had lugged all the empty feed buckets back to the shed, Flora gave Jade and Andy a plain white bucket each. Instead of a sweet-smelling horse-feed residue in the bottom, there was sand.
‘I want both of these full of pipis for tonight’s dinner. Okay?’
Jade wasn’t sure what Flora meant, but didn’t want to seem stupid. Andy had nodded, so Jade would just copy Andy.
‘What are pipis?’ Jade asked Andy, following her friend down the beach track, towards Casey’s container.
‘Shellfish. There are heaps in the sand at this time of day when the tide is out. You know they’re there if you can see a little breathing hole.’
Andy was right. The smooth, wet sand was dotted with so many tiny breathing holes that it resembled freshly whipped instant pudding. Jade watched her friend stick a finger into the hole, burrow it right down in the sand and pull out a white oval shell.
‘Put some seawater in your bucket first, to keep them fresh and alive,’ Andy instructed.
It was fun foraging for dinner on the nearly deserted beach, and they filled up their buckets quickly, especially when Casey came to help the girls.
‘Cause a ruckus,’ he said, when Andy asked if he knew what to do about the letter Flora had received.
‘What do you mean?’ Jade asked.
‘Y’know, make some noise. Tomorrow, holidays start proper for most of the bach-owners. The beach will be chock-full. Usually I’d say that was a bad thing, but this time it could work out for us. People like the riding school. They’ll certainly like it more than an ugly subdivision. Stir them up, get them involved.’
‘With, like, a petition?’ Andy asked.
‘A march. Use the horses. Protest.’ Casey’s eyes were gleaming. Jade had the impression that Casey was often looking for an excuse to protest.
‘That’s a good idea.’ Andy’s eyes were shining now, too. ‘It’s a really good idea.’
While Flora cooked corn cobs, potatoes, pipis and more kahawai on the home-made barbecue next to the vegetable garden, Jade, Andy and Casey plotted an Ocean Bay uprising.
‘What if we’re not as popular as you think?’ Nellie asked, opening a bottle of cheap cider and pouring it into cups for herself, Casey and Flora.
‘It’s still worth a try, isn’t it?’ Andy said. ‘We could make banners and give pony rides, and take a petition around all the baches.’
‘What would we make the banners out of?’ Flora asked irritably.
‘Anything! You’re not even trying, Aunt Flora.’
Flora spun around, accidentally knocking a corn cob off the barbecue with her tongs. ‘This is my home, Andrea. Don’t pretend I don’t care about my home and livelihood being taken away from me.’
Andy frowned.
‘She’s right, though, isn’t she?’ Casey said after a long pause. ‘Where’s your backbone gone, Flo?’ He had a mischievous expression.
‘All right. Do what you like — just don’t embarrass the riding school.’
‘There won’t be a riding school to embarrass soon, if we just sit here pretending the problem will go away,’ Nellie said, swallowing a large mouthful of cider. ‘What harm can a little demonstration do, anyway?’
As they ate, outside, the pile of empty pipi shells grew and the sea gradually darkened. Yet Flora still hadn’t quite come around to the idea of riding door-to-door, explaining the fate of the riding school to other Ocean Bay residents. She didn’t like drawing attention to herself — and that was the point of the exercise.
‘Let’s sleep on it. I’ll decide what to do tomorrow,’ Flora said. ‘I promise I will have an idea by morning.’
It was nearly nine, and Jade and Andy were yawning. Bed didn’t seem like a bad idea after such a hard day’s work.
Casey was right: by mid-morning the following day the beach was filling up with holida
ymakers. The dirt road down to the little settlement of baches passed the ponies’ paddock. The ponies were standing at the fence line, watching the dusty cars roll past, when Jade and Andy came to catch them. All of the ponies needed to be in the yards, groomed and tacked-up for a busy day of lessons.
Because the paddocks were already mucked out, the morning had begun relatively easily, with tack-cleaning and fence-fixing. Flora, who was yet to share the idea she had promised to have by the morning, was never without a task for Jade, Andy and Nellie. When the tack was done, the chickens needed feeding; when the fence had been fixed, the yard needed sweeping; and, when that was finished, the ponies had to be readied for the riding school.
As Jade groomed Pikelet and Andy combed Dumpling’s mane, Nellie, who’d been picking out Secrets’ tiny hooves, saw a black Lexus park outside the gate to the riding school.
‘It’s completely blocking the driveway,’ Nellie complained.
‘Who is it?’ Andy asked, shielding her eyes from the sun.
‘No idea, but I’m going to tell her to park somewhere more sensible,’ Nellie said, sticking the hoof-pick in her pocket and climbing over the yard fence.
Andy and Jade stopped working and watched Nellie approach the tall platinum-blonde woman who had emerged from the car. Nellie normally had a way of silencing people with a stare, but now she seemed to have met her match. The woman was wearing circular black sunglasses, high heels (at the beach!), and shiny green shorts. To Jade, the whole outfit looked peculiar but expensive.
To Jade’s and Andy’s surprise, instead of succeeding in getting the woman to move her car, Nellie, after some gesturing, shrugged and led her to the vegetable garden, where Flora was staking her cherry tomatoes.
‘Let’s go and see who she is,’ Andy said.
Jade looked at Secrets and Marama; both fat little ponies still needed to be groomed and saddled for the morning’s lesson.
‘Shouldn’t we keep working on the ponies? It’s nearly ten. The clients will be here soon.’ Jade enjoyed the way Flora called riders ‘clients’ — it sounded professional.
‘I guess.’
‘Nellie will tell us what’s going on.’
Jade was right. Nellie was soon storming back to the yards. As she walked, she kicked a stone and sent it flying at a fence post, off which it bounced and nearly hit an unsuspecting chicken.
‘Who is she?’ Andy asked.
‘Kim Bandt,’ Nellie snapped. She went back to picking out Secrets’ hoof. She picked so vigorously that the packed dirt flicked up and hit the pony’s belly, making her skin shudder.
‘I knew it!’ Andy said. ‘Didn’t I say, Jade?’
Andy hadn’t said anything, but Jade nodded anyway.
‘What does she want?’ Jade asked.
‘To put boundary markers around the property. To make sure that Flora has read the eviction notices. She’s horrible — really scary.’
If Nellie said someone was scary, they were likely to be an actual witch. Jade frowned.
‘Poor Flora.’
‘Poor all of us. Poor ponies!’ Nellie said, suddenly realizing how roughly she had been picking out Secrets’ hooves. ‘But, on the bright side, I reckon Kim Bandt’s visit has been a wake-up call for Flora. She’s keen for us to let the rest of the beach know about the eviction. We’re to tell all the pupils, and anyone we meet on the beach during this afternoon’s trek.’
That was more like it — action at last. When Jade and Andy had finished preparing Marama and Secrets for the morning lesson, they went inside to find Flora in her little office, the printer whirring away at her side.
‘These,’ she said, black-framed specs perched on her nose, ‘are to be handed out to anyone you see on the beach from now on.’
Jade picked up a piece of printed paper and read:
S.O.S.
Save Our Samudra!
Do you want a beachside riding school
or
a huge property development
that ruins the charm of our beautiful bay?
If you think we’re good neighbours,
come to Samudra ASAP
and sign a petition to let us keep our land.
‘Where’s the petition?’ Andy asked.
‘Right here.’ Flora pointed at the computer screen. ‘You’re right, girls: a petition is a good idea. I can’t think of anything better right now anyway, and time is of the essence.’ Flora was staring past the faded gingham curtains of the office window, out to the youngsters’ paddock. What would happen to all the horses and ponies if, in two weeks, they were no longer welcome on this land?
Jade wondered whether that would be a good enough excuse for Mr White to accept Pip back. Perhaps he would even take a couple of extra ponies? Although he would grumble, he wouldn’t want to see them homeless.
‘What a waste of time!’ Flora sighed, thumping ineffectually on the space bar, clearly struggling with the spreadsheet of the petition. ‘I should be preparing for the Boxing Day Race, not fussing in the office.’
‘Shouldn’t you be helping Nellie with the morning lesson?’ Andy said suddenly. ‘There seem to be lots of kids in the yard now.’
Flora swore. ‘You’re right. There’s never enough time! You two come and help me get the kiddies mounted.’
Jade knew that she could be the shy one in her family. Her dad had no trouble bossing the other journalists around at work; her granddad, though quiet, enjoyed telling a story; and her mum had been a university lecturer who loved teaching. It didn’t seem fair that now, faced with a slightly older girl who had never ridden a horse before, Jade was blushing and tongue-tied as she tried to explain the simple process of mounting and holding the reins.
‘Just stand up here on the block,’ Jade said quietly. ‘No, face away from Secrets’ head. Turn towards her tail.’
‘What?’
‘Um. Just put your left foot in the stirrup.’
The older girl didn’t know left from right. She didn’t seem to have any natural inclination for the pony, the saddle or the mounting block. Her co-ordination seemed to leave her entirely as soon as she touched the leather or the mane. She did this gingerly, too gently, so that Secrets’ ticklish wither shivered. That was it! She was nervous. This older girl with brown hair, and a name Jade had forgotten as soon as it was said, was nervous.
‘Maybe it’d be easier if I showed you,’ Jade said, still shy, but remembering her experience with the Hodge children.
‘Okay.’ The girl jumped eagerly off the mounting block. ‘I didn’t even really want to come. I’m just here with my sister,’ the girl confessed. ‘Horses freak me out.’
‘Secrets is lovely,’ Jade said. She wasn’t at all sure of this, having had nothing to do with the 13.2-hand brown pony other than grooming her that morning, but she thought it best to be optimistic. ‘See, you just stand like this, then put your foot in the stirrup like so, then hold the pommel with your left hand and the cantle, here, with your right, and you can just …’ Jade swung easily into the saddle. ‘Find the other stirrup with your right foot, hold the reins really loosely, like this, and you’ll be all set.’ Patting Secrets’ patient neck, Jade dismounted. ‘Your turn.’
The demonstration had been far more useful than Jade’s mumbled explanation. The older girl copied Jade perfectly, and actually smiled when she found herself in the saddle.
‘Are your stirrup leathers the right length?’ Jade asked, in what she hoped was a professional tone.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Do your legs feel too bunched up? Too cramped?’
The girl looked blank. She’d never been on a horse before and didn’t have a clue what it was supposed to feel like. ‘I guess they’re fine.’
They looked okay, so, forcefully shifting the girl’s leg out of the way, Jade took Secrets’ girth up one more notch before leading the pony and her nervous rider over to the rest of the group.
‘Don’t stop leading me!’ the girl begged as Jade wen
t to unclip the lead rope.
‘It’s okay,’ Jade tried to soothe her. ‘Secrets is very quiet, and she’s surrounded by her friends. She won’t try to run away with you, if that’s what you’re worried about.’ They were in the small, flat paddock next to the yards. The gate was closed and there was nowhere for Secrets to go anyway, even if she wanted to. Seeing that the girl was still nervous, Jade tried again: ‘She’ll just follow the other ponies in a circle around Nellie. See, your sister’s on Marama; she’s Secrets’ best friend. Just follow your sister.’
The girl took a deep breath. ‘Okay.’
‘Good!’ Jade unclipped the lead rope and, as predicted, patient Secrets obediently and automatically began walking in the circle with the others.
‘Isn’t this great, Tania?’ the sister said, turning around and grinning at the nervous girl.
‘Yeah, it is quite fun.’ That was the first real smile Jade had seen from the girl. Nellie was telling her group of beginners to keep their heels down and to hold the reins more loosely. She could look after the girl now; Jade’s work was done.
She found Flora and Andy each carrying three halters. The next job would be preparing the horses for the afternoon ride.
‘Jade, you can come with me and catch Basil. Andy, you fetch Poppet and Precious. Afterwards, you can bring Piper in, too.’
There wasn’t enough room in the yards for all the horses, so some were tied along the fence line. Hearing Taniwha whinnying as Andy led Piper away from the paddock, Jade asked Flora if she should bring Tani in, too.
‘I thought you could ride Basil today,’ Flora said, surprising Jade. The lean Appaloosa wasn’t the most handsome horse Jade had ever seen, but she had taken a shine to him nonetheless — there was something appealing about the way he had rested his cheek against her shoulder as she had led him to the yard.
‘Thanks!’ Jade said. ‘I’d love to.’
‘See how you go this afternoon; if you two get along, maybe you could ride him in the Boxing Day Race for me?’