Stevie

by Bonnie Bryant

  They were stunned at that, of course. Almost as stunned as I had been.

  “I saw them at school today,” I went on. “They were giggling. The only time Chad ever giggles is with his girlfriends.”

  “Maybe it’s just because he’s been in love with every other girl at Fenton Hall and the only one left was Veronica,” Lisa suggested.

  That made sense to me. But it wasn’t much comfort.

  “And the good news is,” Lisa continued, “it will only go on for another four days.”

  “Unless he marries her,” Carole chimed in, “in which case, the whole Lake family can retire on her money.”

  It was meant to be a joke, but I couldn’t help shuddering at the very thought. It was so awful that I could hardly concentrate on anything else all week. Not even my science paper.

  STEVIE,

  OKAY, ENOUGH JOKING AROUND. WE’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR LAME EXCUSES ABOUT HOMEWORK. WE WANT THIS COMPUTER.

  NOW!!!!

  IF YOU DON’T READ THIS AND SAVE YOUR REPORT IN THE NEXT HALF HOUR, WE WONT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR JAWBONE’S ACTIONS. HE MAY JUST DECIDE TO DELETE THE WHOLE THING WITH A MONSTER CHOMP OF HIS MASSIVE JAWS. JUST A BROTHERLY WARNING …

  CHOMPINGLY,

  CHAD

  DEAR CHOMPING CHAD,

  YOU CAN TELL MR. JAWBONE THAT IF YOU AND YOUR BROTHERS DON’T LEAVE STEVIE ALONE AND LET HER FINISH HER REPORT, HE’LL BE CHOMPING HIS WAY BACK TO THE COMPUTER STORE FIRST THING TOMORROW.

  JUST A MOTHERLY WARNING …

  MOM

  FROM: Steviethegreat

  TO: DSlattVT

  SUBJECT: Brothers and snobs

  MESSAGE:

  Guess what? My brothers just got busted! They’ve been leaving these snotty little notes stuck to the front of the computer all week, and Mom finally caught them at it. They haven’t so much as poked their faces into the den since.

  But that’s not really why I’m writing. I have another update on the Veronica saga. It’s a pretty annoying update, too, if you ask me. You see, this morning at Horse Wise I overheard some of the other girls talking about Veronica (who was late, as usual). Betsy said something about how she was so happy to run into Veronica at the mall yesterday after school, and how Veronica had about a million shopping bags stuffed full of things that she’d bought. Then Lorraine pipes up with some story about how she and Veronica went for a long bike ride a couple of days ago. And Meg Durham was acting all thrilled because it was warm enough this week for her and Veronica to hang out at Veronica’s pool all afternoon for two days in a row.

  Normally, none of that would be the least bit surprising. But this week it is. Because this week, as you will recall from my previous e-mails, Veronica is supposed to be spending all her spare time writing a report for Miss Fenton, just like I am!

  Part of me is really ticked off that’s she’s lounging around having fun while I’m killing myself working on my report. Another part is actually kind of glad about it, since it should mean that my report is guaranteed to be a million times better than hers.

  However, as you know, with Veronica there are no guarantees. Knowing her, she’s probably paying someone to write her report for her or something. Ha ha!

  Welcome to My Life …

  The day of the fox hunt came at last. My brothers still hadn’t made their move, but I figured I was safe for one day at least, since I’d be all the way over at Cross County. The hunt was promising to be quite dramatic. And in the spirit of that idea, I now present …

  OUTFOXED!

  A Thrilling, Action-Packed Movie Script by S. Lake

  FADE IN

  INTERIOR Cross County Stables, a little past seven in the morning.

  CLOSE-UP on STEVIE, an astoundingly good-looking girl in flawless hunt attire, as she hurries down the hallway. PULL BACK to reveal other riders bustling around. Stevie approaches CAROLE and LISA. They are both similarly attired. All three girls look a bit sleepy but excited.

  STEVIE

  (cheerful but a bit perplexed)

  Tallyho, girls! Did you see what I just saw?

  LISA

  What?

  STEVIE

  Veronica diAngelo.

  CAROLE

  (scoffing)

  No way! Even Veronica wouldn’t have the poor judgment to try to get in on the hunt at the last minute—not after she was so officially disinvited a week ago. Are you sure it was her?

  Stevie rubs her forehead and shakes her head in confusion.

  STEVIE

  It’s early and I could be wrong. But I don’t know another chauffeur-driven Mercedes in this area, and I know I saw one. It was pulling out of a parking lot not far from here. It was heading back toward Willow Creek when I saw it.

  CAROLE

  I’m sure it was all in your imagination.

  CUT TO

  EXTERIOR Just outside the stable. A large truck is pulling into the driveway. A terrible din comes from the back of it—barking and baying. Students, including Stevie, Carole, Lisa, and PHIL, pour out of the building to see.

  PAN TO

  CLOSE-UP on Phil, who is smiling gleefully. The three girls are standing near him.

  PHIL

  Methinks the hounds have arrived!

  CUT TO

  STEVIE

  (whispering to herself in happy disbelief)

  This is real! The hunt is really real!

  FADE OUT

  FADE IN ON

  EXTERIOR Cross County Stables. It’s a short time later—the sun is a bit higher—and the Pine Hollow horses have been unloaded from vans and the students are in the process of saddling them. Everyone is rushing around getting ready or helping others get ready. Stevie is helping a cute little girl, MAY, tighten the girth on her pony’s saddle.

  STEVIE

  … and that’s why it’s so important to always do your homework, May.

  Stevie gives a last pull on the girth, then steps back and brushes off her hands.

  STEVIE

  (kindly)

  That should do it. Wait here, okay? I’m going to go get Topside. We can start out together in the hunt if you want.

  MAY

  (thrilled)

  That would be great! You’re the coolest, Stevie. And thanks for all the tips about doing my best in school. You’re a true inspiration.

  Stevie smiles and walks across the crowded stable yard. On the way, she passes a small paddock where the HOUNDS are milling around, making a lot of noise. The hounds’ owner, CHESTER, is standing nearby talking to MAX, who looks slightly worried. Stevie pauses nearby, sensing that something is going on, and listens.

  MAX

  Why are they making so much noise?

  CHESTER

  The fox must have been right through here. They’ve picked up a scent for sure, and they’re ready to go. If they’re this excited, the fox must be nearby. This may be a short hunt.

  Stevie frowns at that. Then she moves on toward TOPSIDE.

  FADE OUT

  FADE IN ON

  EXTERIOR Same location a little while later. All the RIDERS are mounted and gathered in one area. Max is walking around inspecting them. MR. BAKER is also present, as are Chester and his hounds.

  CHESTER

  (addressing the riders and indicating his hounds)

  These guys are ready to go. Are you?

  The young hunters all nod and/or cheer.

  CHESTER

  Then let’s be off!

  PAN TO Max. He pulls a short brass horn out of a bag, raises it to his lips, and blows a rapid one-note call. As he finishes, Chester releases the hounds. The hunt begins. The hounds leap forward dramatically. However, they soon pull up and start retracing their steps. Soon all the hounds are running around in circles in the stable yard, yipping and barking and howling, dashing beneath the horses, and generally going crazy. Stevie approaches Chester, who is riding near her.

  STEVIE

  What’s the matter?

  CHESTER

  (looking confu
sed)

  It’s the hounds. They should be following the scent, and Mr. Baker was sure it would head over to the east.

  PAN TO

  CLOSE-UP on one particular hound. He puts his nose to the ground, takes a few tentative steps forward, and begins a new kind of bark.

  CUT TO

  CHESTER

  (excited)

  He’s got something! It’s a find!

  CUT TO the hounds. They are all beginning to follow the first hound’s lead. They all follow their new trail—right into the barn!

  CUT TO the astonished faces of Mr. Baker and Chester.

  MR. BAKER

  (indignant)

  No way was a fox in there!

  CHESTER

  (a bit irritated)

  Something was in there.

  PAN OUT to WIDE-ANGLE SHOT of the barn.

  In a FAST-MOTION ACTION SEQUENCE, all the riders urge their horses forward and follow the hounds into the barn. For a moment, they disappear from view. Then we see the hounds emerging from the far end of the barn, with forty riders just a few steps behind them. The camera PANS to follow the action as the hounds next lead the riders up onto the front porch of a nearby house, stopping just short of going inside, and dashing off the far end of the porch. Then they dash around the rear of the house, through a flower garden and under a clothesline full of flapping white sheets. The riders follow, accidentally crushing most of the flowers and trampling the sheets in the mud, as MRS. BAKER emerges from the house and shakes her fist at them. The hounds are still running, scurrying under a swing set and through a vegetable patch. The riders follow, dodging the swings and most of the vegetables.

  CAMERA returns to NORMAL SPEED and PANS to CLOSE-UP on Chester’s confused face.

  CHESTER

  Something’s definitely wrong.

  PAN OUT to show entire scene again as the hounds run toward the road. They stop dead at the roadside and begin sniffing around aimlessly. Then one hound crosses the road and howls. He has picked up the scent again. The hounds follow it along the edge of the road for about a hundred yards as the riders follow. The hounds stop again.

  CUT TO

  CLOSE-UP on Stevie.

  STEVIE

  Let’s see if it picks up on the other side of the road.

  Another FAST-MOTION ACTION SEQUENCE. The hounds follow the track as it zigzags, jumping back and forth from one side of the road to the other. This goes on for about half a dozen jumps. The riders look more and more perplexed as it continues.

  Return to NORMAL CAMERA SPEED

  PAN TO Chester.

  CHESTER

  This is weird. Smells don’t leap across roads. Something’s fishy.

  CUT TO Stevie’s face. She looks a bit suspicious, and a bit unhappy. She is wondering exactly what is going on.

  FADE OUT

  FADE IN on

  EXTERIOR Near Cross County. Actually, just a little way down the road from previous scene. The hounds are sniffing about, still following the bizarre trail near the road. The adults in the group (Max, Mr. Baker, Chester) all look very perplexed and disgruntled. Stevie still looks slightly nervous and confused. All the other young riders look happy—they are having fun, joking and racing back and forth after the hounds. It is evident from their frequent glances at the adults that they are amused at the adults’ obvious confusion.

  CLOSE-UP on Stevie.

  STEVIE

  (muttering)

  This has been going on for half an hour. I have a bad feeling about this.…

  PAN TO

  CHESTER

  The hounds have the scent again!

  PULL OUT to reveal the hounds. They are racing in a straight line, dashing along the edge of the road. The forty riders follow, looking gleeful (except for the adults and Stevie, who still look perplexed). The hounds run along the road for a minute, then take a sharp right turn into a parking lot. The only vehicles parked in the lot are a bunch of trucks and trailers labeled EMERSON CIRCUS.

  CLOSE-UP on Stevie bringing Topside to a halt on the edge of the lot and looking around.

  STEVIE

  (muttering)

  This is the same parking lot where I saw that dastardly Veronica diAngelo’s Mercedes this morning.

  (looks at the circus trucks and gulps)

  What if the hounds wreck the circus like they did Mr. Baker’s garden?

  PAN TO the hounds. They are not going anywhere near the circus trucks. Instead, they are dashing wildly up to a lamppost in the center of the lot. Then they stop.

  PAN TO the riders, with Max near the front.

  MAX

  (sarcastically)

  Are we to assume the fox climbed the lamppost?

  CHESTER

  (unapologetically)

  They just follow their noses, Mr. Regnery. Their noses tell them something stopped here.

  MR. BAKER

  (also sarcastic)

  If the fox went to ground here, we’ve got a new burrowing and digging tool that the construction industry is going to want to know about.

  CLOSE-UP on Stevie, who is beside Carole and Lisa. She is listening to every word the men say, clearly very uncomfortable and anxious about what is happening. Her great sense of responsibility is telling her that she may, somehow, have had something to do with what is happening.

  Lisa leans over to whisper to both her friends.

  LISA

  (amused)

  Boy, this fox is cleverer than you were, Stevie!

  Carole laughs. Stevie doesn’t.

  STEVIE

  (with a gulp)

  It’s not a fox.

  CAROLE

  (confused)

  If it’s not a fox, what is it?

  STEVIE

  (grimly)

  It’s my brothers and Veronica. I don’t know what they’ve done, but it’s something. This whole thing just smells of trouble, and I’m the cause of it.

  LISA

  (dismayed and disbelieving)

  No way. They promised!

  Stevie turns to give her a sharp, suspicious look.

  STEVIE

  What do you mean, “They promised”?

  Carole gasps, looking guilty. Lisa looks guilty, too. She gulps.

  LISA

  (slowly and reluctantly)

  Carole and I were worried about them. We met them and asked if they were plotting revenge.

  STEVIE

  (with disbelief and dismay)

  You talked to my conniving brothers?

  CAROLE

  (naive and earnest)

  Yes, we did. We wanted to be sure they wouldn’t do anything to ruin the fox hunt. They said they weren’t mad at you. They promised they wouldn’t do anything. In fact, they were really interested to learn about the hunt. They asked us all kinds of questions.

  CLOSE-UP on Stevie. We should be able to see her heart sink, almost literally, as she realizes the huge mistake her trusting friends have made.

  STEVIE

  Exactly what did you tell them?

  LISA

  Everything. We explained the differences among a mock hunt and a real hunt and a drag hunt—you know, that kind of thing.

  Understanding dawns on Stevie’s face. Then guilt and dismay as she realizes that she has ruined the fox hunt for everybody just because of her silly feud with her idiot brothers.

  STEVIE

  I have to go talk to the adults. It’s the responsible thing to do.

  She leaves her confused friends behind and rides toward Max, Mr. Baker, and Chester, who are still arguing and look quite angry.

  STEVIE

  (interrupting)

  I know what’s happening here.

  The three men fall silent and turn to look at Stevie. She looks nervous but brave. The light of responsibility is burning in her eyes.

  STEVIE

  It’s all my fault. My brothers and Veronica are angry with me, and this is their way of getting revenge. You see, my brothers know all about drag hunts. An
d I saw Veronica’s family’s car in this parking lot early this morning. I’m sure what she did was to take a bag of something that would draw the hounds and pull it behind her, on foot or maybe by bicycle. Can’t you just see her laying the trail across Mr. Baker’s porch and under the clothesline?

  MAX

  (nods slowly)

  I guess I can.

  He turns to Chester, looking apologetic.

  MAX

  And I guess we owe you an apology. Your hounds weren’t the problem here after all.

  CHESTER

  I knew there was something fishy about it all. These hounds will always follow a good line—unless something distracts them, like a fresh drag.

  Mr. Baker turns toward Stevie with a serious look on his face. Stevie gulps, then looks sad, suspecting she is about to be formally disinvited from the rest of the hunt.

  MAX

  Would you excuse us for a moment, Stevie? We need to talk.

  Stevie turns Topside and rides away from the adults and all the other riders. She looks very sad. Aimlessly she watches the activity going on near the circus trucks.

  STEVIE

  (softly, to herself)

  I guess I might as well see what I can of the circus right now. Because once Mom and Dad hear about what happened, none of us will get to go.

  She sighs sadly.

  PAN TO an area in Stevie’s line of sight, just behind one of the larger trucks. An animal handler is guiding a big old BULL ELEPHANT as it works to set up a tent. First the elephant picks up a long pole and carries it to the center of the parking lot, where the circus’s roustabouts are waiting to set it upright.

  PAN BACK TO Stevie, who is watching the whole thing with a smile on her face, enjoying the sight. Then, a moment later, her nose suddenly wrinkles. She leans forward to pat Topside, addressing the following comment to the horse.