question-and-answer sheets, but it wasn’t as if The Saddle Club hadn’t been working. “Lisa’s right, you know,” Carole said finally.
That was what sealed it for Lisa and Stevie. Before Carole had spoken, they’d each had some doubtsabout what they were doing. When it came to fun, Stevie was their leader. If the issue had to do with logical thinking, they turned to Lisa. But in the matters of horse care, Carole was definitely ahead of her friends and they respected everything she had to say on the subject. If Carole thought that studying from the question-and-answer sheet was all right because it was the most important information, that was good enough for them.
“Max would be furious if he found out,” said Stevie. Since she was the acknowledged expert at adults getting annoyed, her friends had to agree.
“And besides,” Lisa said, suddenly finding a third compelling reason for them to keep their advantage to themselves. “Think of all the work that’s involved.”
“How’s that?” Stevie asked.
“It must have taken Max an awfully long time to put this together,” Lisa said. “If we tell him what happened, not only will he be angry but he’ll also have to make up a whole new set of questions and answers. That’s hard work!”
“And they won’t include the most important information,” said Carole.
It was decided, then. The girls had considered every single aspect of the whole situation and had come to the logical conclusion. They hadn’t meant to get theactual questions and answers for the Know-Down, but it had happened by mistake. Trying to rectify that mistake would just cause a lot of people, especially Max, a lot of trouble. And since the purpose of the Know-Down was to make them learn the important things and they
were
learning the important things, the whole world would be better off if they kept their secret to themselves.
Carole glanced at her watch. “Yikes, My dad’s waiting for me at the grocery store. I’ve got to go,”
“So we’re all in agreement?” Stevie asked.
Lisa and Carole solemnly nodded. Then the three of them shook hands and left the stable.
“S TEVIE , IT ’ S FOR you,” her brother Chad grumbled. The grumble from her older brother meant two things. First, it meant Chad was disappointed the phone call wasn’t for him. Second, it meant it was Stevie’s friend, Phil. When Chad’s girlfriend
didn’t
call but Stevie’s boyfriend
did,
Chad tended to grumble in a particularly obnoxious way.
“Hi,” Stevie said cheerfully into the phone. Chad’s grumbles always made her particularly cheerful.
“How can you be so happy?” Phil began. “From the moment I opened the envelope you sent me with the study sheets, I’ve been tearing my hair out. I can’tbelieve how much material your Max wants us to learn in ten days!”
Stevie’s first inclination was to gloat. Instead she tried to be encouraging. “Oh, don’t worry about it, Phil,” she said. “You already know about half of that stuff, maybe more. If you get half the questions right, you’ll be doing pretty well. And, then whatever you learn from the sheets between now and then will make you do better.”
“Half?” he responded. “Is that all you expect? I’ll have you know that when the Cross County Pony Club had a Know-Down last year, my team got the highest overall score.”
That was the sort of information that usually made Stevie cringe. But this time she had an advantage he’d never know about.
“I’m sure you’ll get more than half the questions, Phil,” Stevie assured him. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you’ll do very well. I have to warn you, though, Lisa and Carole and I have been studying like mad. So, though you’ll do well, you shouldn’t expect to do as well as we will.”
Phil knew a challenge when he heard one. “You think so? You think that just because you invited me, I won’t try to beat you?”
“Not for a minute,” Stevie said. “It’s just that Ihave
That was what sealed it for Lisa and Stevie. Before Carole had spoken, they’d each had some doubtsabout what they were doing. When it came to fun, Stevie was their leader. If the issue had to do with logical thinking, they turned to Lisa. But in the matters of horse care, Carole was definitely ahead of her friends and they respected everything she had to say on the subject. If Carole thought that studying from the question-and-answer sheet was all right because it was the most important information, that was good enough for them.
“Max would be furious if he found out,” said Stevie. Since she was the acknowledged expert at adults getting annoyed, her friends had to agree.
“And besides,” Lisa said, suddenly finding a third compelling reason for them to keep their advantage to themselves. “Think of all the work that’s involved.”
“How’s that?” Stevie asked.
“It must have taken Max an awfully long time to put this together,” Lisa said. “If we tell him what happened, not only will he be angry but he’ll also have to make up a whole new set of questions and answers. That’s hard work!”
“And they won’t include the most important information,” said Carole.
It was decided, then. The girls had considered every single aspect of the whole situation and had come to the logical conclusion. They hadn’t meant to get theactual questions and answers for the Know-Down, but it had happened by mistake. Trying to rectify that mistake would just cause a lot of people, especially Max, a lot of trouble. And since the purpose of the Know-Down was to make them learn the important things and they
were
learning the important things, the whole world would be better off if they kept their secret to themselves.
Carole glanced at her watch. “Yikes, My dad’s waiting for me at the grocery store. I’ve got to go,”
“So we’re all in agreement?” Stevie asked.
Lisa and Carole solemnly nodded. Then the three of them shook hands and left the stable.
“S TEVIE , IT ’ S FOR you,” her brother Chad grumbled. The grumble from her older brother meant two things. First, it meant Chad was disappointed the phone call wasn’t for him. Second, it meant it was Stevie’s friend, Phil. When Chad’s girlfriend
didn’t
call but Stevie’s boyfriend
did,
Chad tended to grumble in a particularly obnoxious way.
“Hi,” Stevie said cheerfully into the phone. Chad’s grumbles always made her particularly cheerful.
“How can you be so happy?” Phil began. “From the moment I opened the envelope you sent me with the study sheets, I’ve been tearing my hair out. I can’tbelieve how much material your Max wants us to learn in ten days!”
Stevie’s first inclination was to gloat. Instead she tried to be encouraging. “Oh, don’t worry about it, Phil,” she said. “You already know about half of that stuff, maybe more. If you get half the questions right, you’ll be doing pretty well. And, then whatever you learn from the sheets between now and then will make you do better.”
“Half?” he responded. “Is that all you expect? I’ll have you know that when the Cross County Pony Club had a Know-Down last year, my team got the highest overall score.”
That was the sort of information that usually made Stevie cringe. But this time she had an advantage he’d never know about.
“I’m sure you’ll get more than half the questions, Phil,” Stevie assured him. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you’ll do very well. I have to warn you, though, Lisa and Carole and I have been studying like mad. So, though you’ll do well, you shouldn’t expect to do as well as we will.”
Phil knew a challenge when he heard one. “You think so? You think that just because you invited me, I won’t try to beat you?”
“Not for a minute,” Stevie said. “It’s just that Ihave
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