Carole (25 page)
Authors: Bonnie Bryant
| FROM : | | Steviethegreat |
| TO : | | HorseGal |
| TO : | | LAtwood |
| SUBJECT : | | We rule! (or at least we will) |
| MESSAGE : | | |
Okay, guys, are you psyched to beat Cross County (and the other teams, natch) in the second Pony Club rally? Because you know I am. Phil and the others won’t know what hit them. No-Name and I may have been a little off our game at today’s rally, but next time we’re going to be ready for anything!!!
| FROM : | | HorseGal |
| TO : | | LAtwood |
| SUBJECT : | | Stevie and Phil |
| MESSAGE : | | |
Hi, Lisa. You know I hate to go behind people’s backs. But I just had to ask you if you’re getting worried about Stevie like I am. You know she and Phil have had trouble in the past when they’ve gotten too competitive with each other. I thought they’d learned their lesson, but I’m afraid it may be happening again with this upcoming rally, especially since Cross County just beat us out for second place at the last one. Am I crazy? I hope so. Let me know what you think.
| FROM : | | LAtwood |
| TO : | | HorseGal |
| SUBJECT : | | Stevie and Phil (2) |
| MESSAGE : | | |
I don’t think you’re crazy at all to worry, but I think Stevie is just excited about these rallies because she’s so happy with how well No-Name is working out. I’m definitely going to keep an eye on her, and you should, too, just in case things get out of hand. But otherwise I think we should just sit back and let her enjoy herself—and No-Name. We’ll only say
something to her if she starts worrying so much about winning that she doesn’t seem to be having fun anymore, or if things start to get weird again between her and Phil.
Speaking of weird things, what did you think about that strange blond girl at the rally today, claiming that No-Name belongs to her? It’s hard to believe anyone could mix up No-Name with any other horse. She’s really one of a kind, from that crazy upside-down exclamation point on her face to her wacky, Stevie-like personality. But we all know that No-Name belongs to Stevie—heart, soul, and crazy personality. And we know her parents bought her from Mr. Baker fair and square. So I guess we shouldn’t waste any time worrying about it. Stevie certainly doesn’t seem to be.
Anyway, whatever’s going on with that girl, it can’t possibly be even half as weird as what we were talking about at lunch today. It’s hard to imagine that Mr. diAngelo’s bank could be in so much trouble that it could change Veronica’s whole personality. Can you believe how nice she was acting at the rally? And then afterward at TD’s, she sounded pretty serious when she said she might have to give up Garnet soon. If she’s thinking of selling the valuable purebred Arabian she’s always bragging about—and telling the three of us, of all people, about it—then she must be
really
worried about fitting in among us ordinary folk when she’s poor.
Then again, who knows? Maybe she’s just acting weird because it’s a full moon and she’s secretly a bizarre kind of werewolf who turns nice instead of shaggy! (I think that second possibility is actually a little easier to believe! Ha ha!)
I still can’t believe what happened today. It’s so bizarre and awful that it has to be a dream—or a nightmare. But I haven’t woken up from it yet, so maybe it’s true.
I guess it started back on Saturday, when that crazy blond girl at the first Pony Club rally was yelling about how No-Name belonged to her. At least we thought she was crazy then. Now nobody’s sure. Because today when Stevie got home from our extra rally practice session, her parents were waiting with some horrible news. That girl—her name’s Chelsea Webber—still believes that No-Name belongs to her. Her father sent the Lakes a letter claiming that Chelsea’s horse was stolen out of their barn a few months ago, and that No-Name is the same horse. And that her real name is Punctuation, for the mark on her face—Punk for short. Stevie called to tell Lisa and me the whole story right away, of course. She said that if Chelsea Webber can prove that Punk and No-Name are the same horse, she’ll be able to take her away from Stevie!
At least Stevie’s parents are lawyers. Maybe they can figure out what to do to keep No-Name where she belongs—with Stevie.
On the good news front, I got a letter from Kate, which I’ve pasted in.
Dear Saddle Club (c/o Carole),
Hi! I haven’t heard from you guys in a while, so I thought I’d drop you a note to ask what’s new. How are you doing? How’s
Stevie’s new horse adjusting to life at Pine Hollow? Does she have a name yet? Stewball seemed a little jealous when I told him about No-Name, but I’m sure he’ll get used to it if we give him enough time. Ha ha!
Anyhow, I also thought you might be interested in hearing the latest from the Bar None—namely, that we weaned Felix a few weeks ago. He was pretty upset at first (aren’t they always?) but he’s adjusted like a little champ. Now he’s back to being his usual lively, curious self again. I’ve started working with him on halter training, and he’s catching on really fast. He’s probably the smartest weanling west of the Mississippi!
Moonglow is fine, too, by the way. She missed her baby for a few days, but now that she’s settling down, Walter and John and I are starting to think about training her. It will probably be harder for her than for Felix, since she grew up in the wild. But she’s such a sweet horse that I’m sure we can get her to accept a rider. All we have to do is get her to really trust us—convince her we only want what’s best for her. And all it will take to do that, as John likes to say, is about eight tons of patience and a little good luck.
Write back soon!
Love,
Kate
Dear Kate,
It was nice to hear the update about Felix and Moonglow. I haven’t showed your letter to Stevie and Lisa yet, though. It’s been kind of busy around here lately, and not in a good way, either.
It has to do with No-Name, or rather, Punk. No, that’s not what
Stevie decided to name her. It’s what her old owner calls her. See, it turns out that No-Name was stolen from her last owner, a girl named Chelsea Webber. We’re still not sure how No-Name ended up in that bulk lot that Mr. Baker (Phil’s riding instructor) bought, but neither he nor anyone else had any idea that she’d been stolen. Now it seems she was, and that means she still belongs to Chelsea. Legally, that is. Because morally or emotionally or however else you want to look at it, she’s Stevie’s horse. Period.
Still, there doesn’t seem to be much any of us can do to help keep them together. Chelsea’s parents even got a restraining order to keep Stevie from riding No-Name until this is all settled. Isn’t that awful? She can still groom her and take care of her, but she can’t ride her or remove her from Pine Hollow’s grounds.
Stevie isn’t taking any of this very well, as you can imagine. I’ve never seen her so upset. It’s hard to know what to say to help her, so Lisa and I are just trying to be there to support her and listen to her and do whatever she needs.
It was so awful when Mr. Lake gave us the bad news yesterday. Chelsea had brought a vet to Pine Hollow to examine No-Name, and afterward their lawyer called the Lakes. After the preliminary examination, it looks as if No-Name and Punk are one and the same horse. Not only are the markings identical (I know Stevie sent you photos of her, so you know how unusual her markings are), but there’s also the matter of the identical weed allergy. Stevie was so proud of herself for figuring that one out, and now … Well, anyway, there’s also an old bone splint—perfectly harmless, as Judy Barker told Stevie when she bought No-Name. It turns out Punk had the same thing. So it looks as if No-Name Lake really is Punctuation Webber.
We’ve all been practicing for this Pony Club rally we’re in tomorrow, but somehow it hasn’t been that much fun since we
found out about Chelsea. Stevie was riding Topside during our practice today, and it didn’t go very well. He’s one of the best-trained horses I’ve ever seen, but he just doesn’t seem to like mounted games that well, at least not compared to No-Name (I still can’t think of her as Punk, no matter how many times people call her that!). So on top of all the other horrible stuff that was going on, we were starting to think we were going to come in last place at the rally, too. It’s not Topside’s fault, of course. He just doesn’t have the right kind of personality for those games.
But then Stevie came up with her new plan. Actually I think it was inspired by Veronica diAngelo’s hair—she just had highlights put in it. Stevie noticed that Topside and No-Name are both bays, and she came up with one of her usual crazy ideas. “That’s it!” she cried, staring at Veronica’s highlights. “That’s how I can ride No-Name in the rally tomorrow.”
“There’s no way,” Veronica said. (She’s been acting a lot nicer lately, by the way, because her family may be going broke—but I’ll tell you about that some other time.) “There’s no way you’ll be able to ride No-Name tomorrow. Chelsea Webber and her sister are both in Pony Clubs—their whole family will be there.”
Lisa and I had to agree. At least until Stevie told us her plan.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Lisa asked in amazement. “You want to dye No-Name’s hair?”
“You got it,” Stevie confirmed. “If I dye her socks and stripe, she’ll look like a solid bay, just like Topside. Nobody will recognize her.”
“Chelsea will,” Veronica pointed out. “After all, she’ll be watching you closely.”
Stevie shrugged. “Even if she does suspect, what can she do about it? It took a vet and an X-ray machine to prove No-Name’s identity even
with
her markings. She’ll never be able to prove a thing this way. And we’ll get to beat Phil in the rally.”
Somehow, when she said that, I suspected it was only part of what she was thinking. I think she really just wants to ride No-Name once more before Chelsea takes her away forever. With something like that at stake, I had to agree to give Stevie’s plan a try. So did Lisa, and even Veronica wants to help.
So now I’m just crossing my fingers that we don’t get caught before the rally tomorrow. Never mind how much trouble we’d get in if someone found out. I just couldn’t stand it if Stevie didn’t get to ride her horse—because that’s what No-Name is, no matter what some stupid law says—one last time.
Your sad and worried friend,
Carole
