Maddie’s Dream

by Catherine Hapka

  But no—she wasn’t going to think about that right now. She was just going to do her best at this tryout and worry about everything else later.

  A whistle blew, and Coach Wu gave her a shove. “Get back out there and make me proud, girl,” she said with a grin.

  Maddie nodded, wiped the water off her mouth, and ran back out to take her position. She found herself facing off against a ridiculously tall, willowy girl with short blond hair. Everyone had been whispering about her all day—she was from some little town off to the east of Sacramento, and nobody could believe she was really only twelve, but everyone said she was the best dribbler in California. Supposedly, nobody in her home league could keep up with her.

  Well, I’m going to show her she’s not in her home league anymore, Maddie thought, clenching her fists and focusing everything she had on the scrimmage.

  She might not be able to stop the Richardsons from wanting to buy Cloudy, or force her neighbors to hire her for odd jobs, or even convince her parents not to make her come to this tryout. But this? This was something she could do. She could show that tall girl that Maddie Martinez was a force to be reckoned with on the soccer field! The Richardsons, Ms. Emerson—even Cloudy—faded out of her mind as the whistle blew to start play.

  By the time the tryout scrimmage ended, Maddie had intercepted the tall girl three times, stolen the ball from her once, and scored two goals. She was panting, her muscles were screaming, and she was dripping sweat from every pore, but she felt good. That had been fun!

  Coach Wu was grinning as Maddie jogged toward her. “You know I’m a pessimist, right?” she said. “Even so, I’m thinking you have a good shot of making the league. You were awesome today, Maddie!”

  Maddie smiled, but her mind was already wandering. “Thanks,” she said, grabbing a bottle of water and chugging half of it.

  “We should hear some results by the end of next week,” the coach continued, tossing Maddie a towel. “Stay tuned, okay?”

  “Yeah.” But Maddie wasn’t really thinking about soccer anymore. Her mind had wandered all the way back to Solano Stables. What was going on there today? Had Amber or Filly come to ride Cloudy? What if the Richardsons made an offer to buy her before Maddie got a chance to talk to Ms. Emerson about her own proposal?

  As soon as she got home, Maddie shut herself in her room and locked the door. Tillie was still at the mall, so she wouldn’t come pounding on the door anytime soon, but Maddie didn’t want any interruptions from her dad or the boys.

  Not bothering to change out of her sweaty soccer clothes, she flopped onto her bed and hit one of the presets on her phone. Vic answered on the third ring.

  “Hey, Maddie!” Her voice sounded cheerful, which gave Maddie hope that she hadn’t missed anything too dramatic—like the Richardsons loading up Cloudy and taking her away to some other barn. “What’s up? How’d your tryout go?”

  “Fine,” Maddie replied. “How were things at the barn?”

  “Hold on a sec.” Maddie could hear Vic talking to someone in the background—probably her twin. “It’s Maddie.”

  A second later, Val’s voice came on the line. “Hi, Maddie. We missed you in our lesson today.”

  “I missed you guys too.” Maddie pressed the phone tighter against her ear. “But listen, what else went on? Did the Richardsons ride Cloudy today?”

  “They were supposed to,” Val said. “Ms. Emerson was in a big hurry at first because Amber and Filly were scheduled to come ride Cloudy and Doodle right after our lesson. But they called while we were tacking up and canceled.”

  “Really?” Maddie said. “Why’d they cancel?”

  “I don’t know.”

  There was the sound of a scuffle and a peeved “hey!” from Val, and then Vic’s voice came back on the line.

  “Yeah, Ms. E was totally cheesed off. You could tell,” she said. “I mean, they called just as we were getting ready to go out to the ring—that’s only like an hour before they were supposed to be there!”

  Maddie felt a flicker of hope. Ms. Emerson didn’t have much patience for tardiness or no-shows or flakiness of any kind. Maybe she’d get fed up enough with the Richardsons to tell them to take a hike!

  Then again, maybe she’d decide it was easier to stop giving them lessons and just sell Cloudy to them and tell them to take her to another barn. . . .

  “So they didn’t say why they weren’t coming?” Maddie asked, trying not to dwell on that second possibility.

  She could almost hear Vic shrug through the phone. “If they did, Ms. E didn’t tell us,” Vic replied. “So anyway, Cloudy got the day off. She should be nice and rested for the Snack and Swim ride tomorrow.”

  “Yeah.” Suddenly Maddie had another thought. “Wait, did Ms. E tell the Richardsons about the Snack and Swim? What if they show up tomorrow expecting to have their lesson then?”

  “Tough luck if they do,” Vic replied. “She’s not theirs yet, right? And you’re already signed up to ride her tomorrow.”

  “Right.” Maddie felt a little better. Ms. Emerson wouldn’t pull the pony out from under Maddie after promising she could ride her on the Snack & Swim. Cloudy would definitely be all hers tomorrow.

  Maddie just hoped it wouldn’t be their last ride together.

  CHAPTER

  11

  SUNDAY MORNING DAWNED BRIGHT AND sunny and not too hot—a perfect summer day. Maddie woke up before the alarm went off, feeling excited even before she remembered why.

  Then she glanced at her swimsuit, which was hanging over the back of a chair near the bed, and remembered. It was the day of the Snack & Swim ride!

  Hopping out of bed, she shut off the alarm and glanced across the room. Tillie even looked tidy and perfect when she slept—she was on her back, her dark hair perfectly arrayed on her pillow like a halo. Her pink silk eye mask covered half her face, and her sheet lay flat and straight over her body.

  On another day, Maddie might have been tempted to mess with that perfection somehow—maybe put goofy eyeball stickers on the mask or hide a fake spider under the sheet. But she didn’t have time for that sort of thing today.

  Grabbing the clothes she’d set out on her chair the night before, she headed across the hall to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she pulled on her swimsuit and then her riding clothes. She gathered her hair into a ponytail without bothering to dry it—after all, it would only get wet again later.

  Tiptoeing back into her room, she grabbed her laptop. Tucking it under her arm, she headed down to the kitchen.

  “Morning, Mads,” her father greeted her as the two of them passed on the stairs. “I’m going to jump in the shower; then I can drive you to the barn. Make sure you eat something before we go.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Maddie continued into the kitchen. It was deserted, though she could tell by the coffee cup in the sink that her mother had already been there and left.

  Maddie poured herself a bowl of cereal, then logged on to her laptop as she ate. When she loaded the Pony Post there were several new messages waiting for her.

  [NINA] Good morning Maddie! Post something when u see this, because SURPRISE!—we’re all here waiting to wish you well today!

  [BROOKE] Right! For the Snack & Swim, and also your chat w/Ms. E.

  [HALEY] I’m here too! Hope you check in before you leave for the barn or we’re all going to feel rly stupid, lol!

  [NINA] She’d better check in, or she’s in big trouble! Ha ha!

  “Aw, you guys!” Maddie murmured, touched that her friends had gone to the trouble of figuring out when she’d be likely to check in and making sure they were all online. How could she ever have doubted their love and loyalty? She quickly opened a new text box.

  [MADDIE] I’m here, I’m here! U guys are the best! But don’t u have anything better to do on a Sunday morning than sit around waiting for me, lol?

  She sent the post, then sat back and waited. It only took a moment for the responses to start coming.

  [B
ROOKE] What could be more important than u?

  [HALEY] Yeah. Besides, my uncle made pancakes & venison sausage for breakfast, and I’m too stuffed to move, lol!

  [NINA] OK, enuf about what u all had for b’fast! I want to hear what Maddie decided about talking to Ms. E.

  [MADDIE] To be honest, I haven’t decided yet. When do u all think I should talk to her?

  [BROOKE] I think you should just enjoy the S&S ride, then talk to her afterward.

  [HALEY] I dunno . . . I’m not sure u should talk to her until you’ve saved up more $$$. Otherwise, she might not take u seriously, u know?

  [BROOKE] But what if the R’s make an offer in the meantime? My stepdad would say “The early bird makes the sale.”

  [HALEY] LOL! What does that even mean?

  [BROOKE] I dunno, but he says it a lot, lol!

  [NINA] Whatev, if it were me, I wouldn’t be able to wait. I’d probably talk to Ms. E as soon as I saw her and get it out of the way so I could relax and enjoy the ride. That’s just me—but I think Mad might be the same way, maybe???

  Maddie bit her lip. Was Nina right? If she didn’t talk to Ms. Emerson right away, would worrying about it ruin the ride?

  Then again, the other two had good points as well. All along, Maddie had figured it might be better to wait until after the Snack & Swim, when Ms. Emerson would probably be much more relaxed. Or maybe Haley was right and she should wait even longer. . . .

  Hearing her father’s footsteps in the hall upstairs, Maddie quickly shoveled the last few bites of soggy cereal into her mouth. Then she typed another response.

  [MADDIE] Not sure what I’ll do yet—but I’ll let u know this afternoon. Gtg—I don’t want to be late!

  [BROOKE] Have fun! And don’t worry, everything will work out.

  [NINA] Ya—the spirit of Misty is looking over u and Cloudy!

  [HALEY] Wish we could all be there w/u!

  [MADDIE] Me2! Will check in later. Bye!

  She logged off and carried her bowl and spoon to the sink. By the time her father came into the kitchen, she was tying her boots.

  “Ready to go?” her dad asked, grabbing the car keys off the counter.

  Maddie felt a tiny shiver run down her spine. “I’m ready.”

  The barn was buzzing with activity when Maddie walked in. Just about every horse and pony was scheduled to go on the Snack & Swim ride—that meant nearly twenty riders would be getting ready at one time. Luckily, only about half of those riders had arrived so far, but the place was already a madhouse!

  The twins were grooming their mounts in side-by-side crossties. Vic spotted Maddie and waved. “You’re here! Hurry and put Cloudy in the crossties next to us.”

  “Okay.” Maddie took two steps toward the mare’s stall, then stopped and turned around. “Actually, see if you can save the spot for me, okay? I—I need to talk to Ms. E about something first.”

  “Really?” Val said. She traded a look with her twin.

  “You mean—the talk?” Vic added.

  “Yeah.” Maddie swallowed hard. “I’ll be right back.”

  She hurried toward the office. Nina had been right—Maddie couldn’t wait until after the ride. The suspense would only distract her from the day’s fun. No, she had to talk to Ms. Emerson about buying Cloudy right away.

  The barn owner was helping a teenage boarder untangle a bridle. She glanced up when Maddie approached.

  “Oh, good, you’re here,” Ms. Emerson said. “Cloudy’s waiting for you in her stall.”

  “Okay.” Maddie took a deep breath. “Um, can I talk to you about something first? It’s important.” She glanced at the teen, who was fiddling with the bridle’s throatlatch. “And sort of private.”

  Ms. Emerson looked surprised. She led the way to a quiet spot over by the wash stall. “Is something wrong, Madison?”

  “No, not really.” Maddie’s mouth went dry and her heart started pounding. “Uh, it’s just that I’ve been thinking about Cloudy, you know, and the Richardsons wanting to buy her? And I—well, I think I want to buy her myself instead. If that’s okay.”

  Ms. Emerson’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, Maddie . . . ,” she began.

  “No, listen, I’m serious about this,” Maddie hurried on. “That’s why I’ve been trying to earn money—I’ll have enough for a down payment soon. And then I was thinking maybe we could set up a payment plan? Like, I could pay you a certain amount every week or every month or whatever until she’s all paid for. Oh! And I would want to board her here, of course—um, I guess I’d have to work out a payment plan for that, too. . . .”

  “Maddie. Hold up for a second.” Ms. Emerson put a hand on Maddie’s arm. “Do your parents know about this plan of yours?”

  Maddie gulped. “Um, not exactly. I mean, not yet. I mean, I was going to—that is, they think I—”

  Ms. Emerson cut her off. “That’s what I suspected. Look, Maddie, I appreciate how much you care about Cloudy. But you have to realize it’s not as simple as paying her off with your babysitting money.”

  Maddie frowned. “But I can get the money!” she protested. “Like I said, I’ve been looking for odd jobs, and I might start a dog-walking business, and . . .” Her voice trailed off as the barn owner held up a hand.

  “Maddie, the thing is, you’re a minor,” Ms. Emerson said. “I would absolutely need to involve your parents before even considering selling her to you.”

  Maddie’s heart dropped. “But—but you can’t just let the Richardsons buy her instead,” she argued. “You can’t! Cloudy can’t leave!”

  The barn owner sighed, her expression softening. “Look, I really don’t want to lose Cloudy, either.” She shook her head. “That’s why, when Mr. Richardson called me on Friday afternoon, I quoted him what I thought was a ridiculously high price.”

  “He called?” Maddie gulped. “So they definitely want to buy her?”

  Ms. Emerson shrugged. “They seem quite determined. He was a bit taken aback by the price, I think, but he said he was sure we could work something out. Still, I—”

  Just then a little girl rushed over, looking frantic. “Ms. E, Peaches won’t let me catch her in the paddock, and I’m already late, and . . .”

  “All right, all right. I’m coming.” Ms. Emerson glanced at Maddie, looking concerned. “We can talk more later, Maddie. Just try not to worry about it, okay?”

  Maddie nodded without speaking, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. As soon as Ms. Emerson hurried off, Maddie raced in the other direction, not stopping until she reached Cloudy’s stall.

  The mare looked up from her hay and nickered. That was more than Maddie could take.

  “Oh, Cloudy . . . ,” she said, her voice wobbly and thick.

  Burying her face in the pony’s silky mane, she let the tears come. How could this be happening? It just wasn’t fair. . . .

  A few minutes later, she heard voices pass by right outside the stall, sounding happy and excited. That snapped her out of it. Sniffling back the last few tears, she wiped her face and forced a smile as Cloudy snuffled at her chest.

  “Okay, got that out of my system,” she told the pony as brightly as she could. “Now I might as well get over it and at least try to enjoy the ride.”

  Especially if it’s the last chance I get to ride the best pony ever, she added silently.

  To Maddie’s surprise, she actually did manage to mostly forget the Richardson Situation and enjoy the ride. The Snack & Swim was just as much fun as she’d always imagined. The entire group, led by Ms. Emerson and Kiana and a couple of the adult boarders, headed out past the ring and down the hill to the trail winding between acres of irrigated farmland. They all laughed and talked and occasionally burst into song as they rode, and the horses and ponies seemed just as happy to be out as the humans.

  Maddie and Cloudy were near the back of the group when they passed a house with a chain-link fence around the yard. Suddenly a flap in the front door opened and a wiry little do
g raced out, barking at the top of its lungs.

  The pony right in front of Cloudy spooked to one side, nearly unseating its rider, the little girl with the black braids.

  “Whoa! Are you okay, Prisha?” Val called out from behind Maddie.

  The little girl let out a shriek as her pony backed away from the barking dog. “Stop, Tucker!” she cried, sounding scared. “Oh no!”

  “It’s okay, Prisha,” Maddie called, urging Cloudy forward. The Chincoteague mare was staring at the dog too, but she seemed more curious than frightened. “Wait until I catch up, okay?”

  She rode Cloudy up between the fence and the other pony. Prisha was clutching Tucker’s mane, looking terrified.

  “It’s okay,” Maddie said, reaching out to grab the little girl’s rein. “We’ll help you past it. Easy, Tucker—there’s nothing to be worried about. . . .”

  She kept talking soothingly to girl and pony as she legged Cloudy forward. Cloudy responded instantly, walking calmly past the noisy dog.

  By this time, the riders ahead had stopped, realizing something was happening. Ms. Emerson was standing in her stirrups, peering down the line.

  “Is everything okay back there?” she called.

  At that moment the house’s front door opened and a college-age girl came out. “Spot!” she called. “Bad dog! Come!” As the dog stopped barking and bounded toward her, wagging its tail, the girl waved at the riders. “Sorry about that!”

  Maddie smiled and dropped Cloudy’s reins to wave back. “It’s okay! Thanks!”

  Soon the dog was inside and all the riders were safely past the house. As soon as the trail widened enough, Kiana caught up to Maddie.

  “Well done, sweetie,” she said, smiling down from her tall bay Thoroughbred’s back. “You saved the day back there! It would’ve been a bummer to lose a rider this early, eh?”

  Maddie grinned. “Not on my watch—or Cloudy’s, either.” As she bent to pat the steady little mare on the neck, the Richardsons crept back into her mind and her good mood wavered slightly. But she quickly banished them again, determined not to let them ruin the day.