Saddles were hung up every which way, reins and parts of bridles lay on the floor, and there was a pile of bandages that needed rolling.
“What day is today, Veronica?” Stevie asked suddenly.
“It’s Monday. Why? Do you have a date? Ha, ha.”
“Monday? Oh, great. Red O’Malley leads a beginner Horse Wise unmounted session in here on Monday afternoons,” Stevie said almost to herself. Red O’Malley was Max’s head stable hand. A wonderful rider himself, Red preferred exercising horses, teaching, and barn work to competing in shows. He was truly Max’s right-hand man.
“So what if there’s a meeting here?” Veronica demanded.
“So look at the place!” Stevie exclaimed. “It’s a complete mess. If Max sees this, he’ll want to forget about the trial period and end Horse Wise today!”
Veronica’s expression changed from smugness to shock. “End Horse Wise? What are you talking about?”
Stevie looked at Veronica. It seemed impossible, but Veronica actually seemed serious. “You mean you don’t know?”
“Know what?” Veronica demanded. “Stevie, tell me!”
“At the meeting yesterday, which you missed, Max put Horse Wise on trial. We have to prove to him that we’re dedicated to keeping the club going. Otherwise, he might put an end to the club. We need more members, and more money, too. That’s why we’re having the big bake sale.” At Veronica’s inquiring look, Stevie explained about Mrs. Atwood’s idea for the bake sale. She could hardly believe that she was having a normal conversation with Veronica. But despite Veronica’s lack of interest in most of Horse Wise, she seemed genuinely concerned about Max’s threat to put an end to the club. “Anyway, the sale is on Saturday in twoweeks, at the shopping center,” Stevie concluded. “Lisa is going to embroider a tablecloth and napkins to raffle off at the end of the sale.”
“A bake sale?” Veronica sneered. All at once she sounded like her true, snobby self again. “Embroidery? Isn’t that kind of small-town?”
Stevie was about to turn away, disgusted, but something—Horse Wise, her resolution—made her try again. “We
live
in a small town, in case you’ve forgotten. And it would be great if you could help. We need every last person if we’re going to keep this club alive.”
With that, Stevie picked up the nearest saddle and replaced it neatly on its rack. She could feel Veronica’s eyes on her as she began to clean up the tack room. It was almost as if Veronica wanted to help but didn’t know how. Strangely enough, Stevie didn’t feel as annoyed by her as she usually did.
“Stevie?” Veronica said. “I’ve got to go meet a friend for a ride now, and I don’t know how to bake anything, but I’ll talk to my father. He could donate something to raffle off—something really good, not just some embroidered tablecloth. Hey, I know: a helicopter ride over the city like the one I took on New Year’s Eve.”
Stevie paused in the middle of rolling a bandage. In the space of about ten seconds, Veronica had managed to be rude and thoughtless as well as polite and generous. Stevie hardly knew how to respond. Then she thought of the perfect answer. She grinned and said, “That’s nice, Veronica. Very nice.”
W HISTLING , C AROLE JOINED the hot-lunch line in the cafeteria. It was always a relief when the morning was over and it was time for lunch period—especially when she spotted Lisa, as she did just then. Lisa had finished loading her tray and was heading toward an empty table. “I’ll save you a seat!” she called when Carole got her attention.
“Great!” Carole called back. Because Lisa was in a grade higher than Carole, the two girls had different groups of friends. But Lisa’s lunch period had recently been switched to the same time as Carole’s, so now they liked to eat together when they could. The Saddle Club was a stronger bond than Willow Creek Junior High, after all.
“Boy, am I glad
“What day is today, Veronica?” Stevie asked suddenly.
“It’s Monday. Why? Do you have a date? Ha, ha.”
“Monday? Oh, great. Red O’Malley leads a beginner Horse Wise unmounted session in here on Monday afternoons,” Stevie said almost to herself. Red O’Malley was Max’s head stable hand. A wonderful rider himself, Red preferred exercising horses, teaching, and barn work to competing in shows. He was truly Max’s right-hand man.
“So what if there’s a meeting here?” Veronica demanded.
“So look at the place!” Stevie exclaimed. “It’s a complete mess. If Max sees this, he’ll want to forget about the trial period and end Horse Wise today!”
Veronica’s expression changed from smugness to shock. “End Horse Wise? What are you talking about?”
Stevie looked at Veronica. It seemed impossible, but Veronica actually seemed serious. “You mean you don’t know?”
“Know what?” Veronica demanded. “Stevie, tell me!”
“At the meeting yesterday, which you missed, Max put Horse Wise on trial. We have to prove to him that we’re dedicated to keeping the club going. Otherwise, he might put an end to the club. We need more members, and more money, too. That’s why we’re having the big bake sale.” At Veronica’s inquiring look, Stevie explained about Mrs. Atwood’s idea for the bake sale. She could hardly believe that she was having a normal conversation with Veronica. But despite Veronica’s lack of interest in most of Horse Wise, she seemed genuinely concerned about Max’s threat to put an end to the club. “Anyway, the sale is on Saturday in twoweeks, at the shopping center,” Stevie concluded. “Lisa is going to embroider a tablecloth and napkins to raffle off at the end of the sale.”
“A bake sale?” Veronica sneered. All at once she sounded like her true, snobby self again. “Embroidery? Isn’t that kind of small-town?”
Stevie was about to turn away, disgusted, but something—Horse Wise, her resolution—made her try again. “We
live
in a small town, in case you’ve forgotten. And it would be great if you could help. We need every last person if we’re going to keep this club alive.”
With that, Stevie picked up the nearest saddle and replaced it neatly on its rack. She could feel Veronica’s eyes on her as she began to clean up the tack room. It was almost as if Veronica wanted to help but didn’t know how. Strangely enough, Stevie didn’t feel as annoyed by her as she usually did.
“Stevie?” Veronica said. “I’ve got to go meet a friend for a ride now, and I don’t know how to bake anything, but I’ll talk to my father. He could donate something to raffle off—something really good, not just some embroidered tablecloth. Hey, I know: a helicopter ride over the city like the one I took on New Year’s Eve.”
Stevie paused in the middle of rolling a bandage. In the space of about ten seconds, Veronica had managed to be rude and thoughtless as well as polite and generous. Stevie hardly knew how to respond. Then she thought of the perfect answer. She grinned and said, “That’s nice, Veronica. Very nice.”
W HISTLING , C AROLE JOINED the hot-lunch line in the cafeteria. It was always a relief when the morning was over and it was time for lunch period—especially when she spotted Lisa, as she did just then. Lisa had finished loading her tray and was heading toward an empty table. “I’ll save you a seat!” she called when Carole got her attention.
“Great!” Carole called back. Because Lisa was in a grade higher than Carole, the two girls had different groups of friends. But Lisa’s lunch period had recently been switched to the same time as Carole’s, so now they liked to eat together when they could. The Saddle Club was a stronger bond than Willow Creek Junior High, after all.
“Boy, am I glad
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