A Winning Gift (2 page)

“Oh, it's nothing,” Maddie said. “We're just giving Cloudy a manicure.”

Seth glanced down at the pony's hooves, and his eyes widened. “Oh, man!” he said, snorting with laughter. “Does Ms. Emerson know you're doing that?”

“Good question.” Val looked concerned. “I didn't think of that.”

Maddie shrugged. “She let those little kids paint Wizard's hooves with that glitter stuff from the tack shop for the last show, remember? This is the same thing. Pretty much.”

“That's our Maddie,” Vic said. “Why ask permission when you can ask forgiveness instead?”

Seth laughed. “Good one.” He stepped over and gave Cloudy a rub on the neck. “Hope you like pink glitter, Cloudy.”

“Make sure you clean her stall extra well, okay?” Maddie told him. “She doesn't want to mess up her manicure.”

“You got it.” He grinned. “Speaking of which, I'd better get back to work. Later, guys.”

“See you.” As he walked off, Maddie returned her attention to Cloudy, scooting around to attack her other front hoof. “How about that, Cloudy? You're already turning guys' heads with your new look.”

Vic glanced after Seth to make sure he was out of earshot. “And a
cute
guy, too.”

Maddie shot her a smirk. “Uh-oh. Don't tell me you're going boy crazy on us!”

“You don't have to be boy crazy to notice that guy,” Vic protested. “I mean, I have eyes, okay?”

“Whatever.” Maddie feigned concern as she gazed at Vic. “All I know is that my friend Haley has these friends who got infected with the boy bug, and now they're totally impossible.”

The twins exchanged a look. “Haley?” Val said. “She's one of your Pony Whatsit friends, right?”

“Pony Post, yeah.” The Pony Post was a private website with just four members. Maddie had met the other three girls online and had bonded with them over their shared love of Chincoteague ponies. Haley Duncan lived in Wisconsin, where she competed a pony named Wings in the challenging sport of eventing. Nina Peralt owned a pony named Bay Breeze and kept him at a barn in New Orleans. Brooke Rhodes lived on Maryland's Eastern Shore, just a few miles north of Chincoteague and Assateague islands. She kept her pony, Foxy, in her rural backyard.

Even though they lived so far apart, the four girls had become fast friends since starting the website together. Maddie usually checked in with them at least once a day, sharing everything about her time at the barn with Cloudy—and the rest of her life, too.

That reminded her—she wanted to take some pictures of Cloudy's new look to share with the other Pony Posters. She quickly finished painting Cloudy's right front hoof, then fished her phone out of her bag.

“Oops,” she said. “Forgot to turn this back on after our lesson.”

When she clicked the power button, two new texts appeared. The first was from her older sister, Tillie:

Hey, do u have any idea what happened to my new nail polish? B/c it was VERY VERY $$$, and if u had something to do with it disappearing, u will be sorry!

“Uh-oh,” Maddie muttered.

“What?” Vic peered at the phone over Maddie's shoulder. “Yikes! Think she's talking about the Pink Twinkle?”

“Maybe,” Maddie said. “Um, probably. Okay, definitely.” She glanced at the nearly empty bottle of nail polish and winced. Tillie didn't have much of a sense of humor, and Maddie knew she probably wouldn't be at all amused by what had happened to her Pink Twinkle. “I suppose that's why this one was way at the back of her makeup junk,” Maddie mused aloud. “She probably didn't want Mom and Dad to notice it and guess how much she spent on it, since they keep bugging her about putting more money in her savings account for college. But whatever—I'll deal with her later.”

She clicked over to the other new text. It was from her friend Bridget:

Maddie!! Text me back as soon as you can. I need you!!!! My life is pretty much over, and I don't know what to do!!!!!!!! Srsly, text me back, OK????!!!??

“Uh-oh,” Maddie said again. Bridget tended to be pretty dramatic, but this was extreme even for her. Maddie quickly tapped the response bar to text her back. “Better find out what this is about . . .”

MADDIE LOOKED UP AS A
clatter of hurried footsteps rang out from the barn entrance. Bridget had just appeared in the doorway, slightly disheveled and out of breath. Even so, she still looked more stylish than most people ever did, in a brightly patterned skirt and her beloved chunky-heeled vintage sandals. Maddie had no idea how her friend could ride a bike in those shoes, but she knew better than to ask. Bridget would just make a joke about it being one of her many and varied talents.

Then again, she didn't look to be in a joking mood at the moment. Her eyes were red, and she was sniffling as she hurtled toward Maddie. Even her hair looked sad. Bridget liked to experiment with her long, straight black hair, sometimes piling it all on top of her head and stabilizing it with a sparkly clip or a pair of fancy chopsticks, and sometimes braiding it or pulling it up in a jaunty ponytail. But today it just fell loose around her shoulders and over half her face.

“OMG, Mads,” Bridget exclaimed, flinging herself at Maddie. “I'm soooo upset!”

Maddie staggered back slightly, but braced herself and hugged her back. “What's wrong, Bridge?”

Bridget sniffled loudly, then pulled away. “It's about Tony. He just totally d-d-
dumped
me!”

“Oh, Bridget.” Maddie wasn't sure what else to say. Tony was Bridget's boyfriend—well, ex-boyfriend now, it sounded like. The two of them had become an item at arts camp the previous summer. Even though they lived far apart, they'd stayed in touch after camp ended, trading daily texts full of hearts and other lovey-dovey emojis and weekly phone calls that Maddie could only imagine consisted mostly of dreamy sighs and kissing noises.

“I thought he was the one!” Bridget wailed, grabbing Maddie for another hug. “I can't believe he'd do this to me!”

Maddie held back a sigh. Bridget was only a year ahead of her in school, which made her almost thirteen. How could she think she'd already found “the one”? It just didn't compute.

Still, Bridget was her friend, and Maddie hated to see her hurting. “Come on,” she said, gently disentangling Bridget's arms from around her neck and grabbing her by the hand. “Vic and Val are here. They're good listeners, so you can tell us all about it and we'll try to help, okay?”

“Okay.” Bridget sniffled and followed Maddie down the aisle to the grooming area.

When they got there, Val was touching up Cloudy's hooves with what was left of the Pink Twinkle, while Vic leaned against the wall and watched. They both looked up when Maddie and Bridget appeared.

“Hey, guys,” Maddie said. “You remember Bridget, right? Bridge, it's Vic and Val.”

“Right, hi,” Bridget said vaguely. All four girls attended the same enormous public middle school, but Bridget was a grade ahead of Maddie and the twins. Bridget probably wouldn't have known Vic and Val at all if Maddie hadn't introduced them a few times at the barn. Bridget lived less than a quarter of a mile away from Solano Stables, and even though she'd never shown much interest in horses, she sometimes came to hang out with Maddie or watch her ride. Likewise, Maddie tried to attend most of Bridget's plays and art shows.

Sometimes Bridget joked that Maddie had tricked her into becoming friends by pretending to be an artsy type instead of the jock she really was. The two of them had met soon after Maddie had moved to the area three summers earlier. Her mother was career Air Force, which meant the family moved around a lot. Maddie was used to making friends fast and had immediately signed up for summer day camp as a way to meet other kids. The soccer and rock-climbing camps had been full already, so she'd ended up in a session sponsored by a local theater group. The campers had put on a production of
Alice in Wonderland
, and Bridget and Maddie had been cast as Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Ever since, they'd been the best of friends despite their differences.

“So what's wrong?” Vic asked Bridget in her straightforward way. “You look kind of upset.”

“That's an understatement!” Bridget flopped down dramatically onto a hay bale, earning a surprised snort from Cloudy. “My boyfriend just dumped me.”

“They've been a couple since the summer,” Maddie told the twins.

Val's eyes widened. “Wow! That's a long time.”

“Four months, three weeks, and five days,” Bridget announced. “But who's counting?” She sighed loudly. “I can't believe he did this to me! I thought everything was fine.”

“So what did he say?” Maddie asked. “Maybe you misunderstood him or something.”

“No way.” Bridget sat up straighter and glared at her. “He said the long-distance thing was just too hard, and so he decided to go to the school dance next weekend with some stupid girl from his math class. Can you believe that?”

“Wow,” Vic said. “That's harsh.”

“I know, right?” Bridget's big brown eyes welled up. She gazed forlornly at Cloudy, who was still eyeing her curiously. “Maybe I should give up on boys, dedicate my life to my art. Or to saving animals, or something. You know—something worthwhile. That'll show Tony he made a mistake!”

Maddie traded an uncertain look with the twins. None of them had much experience with boys yet. Not in the romantic sense, anyway. Maddie had tons of guy friends, but nobody she'd ever even slightly considered might become a boyfriend.

“Look, Bridge,” she said. “You're amazing, and if Tony didn't appreciate you, maybe it's better that he set you free, you know?”

“Are you crazy?” Bridget sniffled and glared at her again. “Tony is am-am-a
maz
ing!” A single tear leaked out and trailed its way down her face.

Maddie hurried over and sat down on the hay bale beside Bridget, giving her a hug. “Don't cry,” she exclaimed. “Seriously, he's not worth it.”

“No boy is worth crying over,” Vic added with a decisive nod.

“Yeah,” Val added, though she didn't sound too sure. “Anyway, he lives pretty far away, right?”

“Utah,” Bridget sobbed. “I was already trying to convince my parents to let me go visit him there over winter break. It was going to be totally romantic.”

“Look.” Maddie gave her one more squeeze, then grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. “Whenever I'm feeling down, I just come here and hug Cloudy, and that always makes me feel better. Why don't you give it a try?”

“Cloudy?” Bridget eyed the mare dubiously. “What do you mean, hug her? How do you hug a horse?”

“Like this.” Maddie demonstrated, throwing her arms around Cloudy's neck and burying her face in her mane. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the familiar scent of the warm pony. Then she stepped back and waved Bridget forward. “Go ahead—give it a try.”

“I don't know.” Bridget took half a step forward. “Will she bite me?”

Vic laughed. “Not unless you smell like hay.”

“Don't worry,” Val added. “Cloudy's really sweet. She doesn't bite.”

Bridget took a deep breath and stepped even closer. “This is weird. . . .” She gingerly snaked her arms around the pony's neck, imitating what Maddie had just done. Cloudy turned her head and snuffled at the girl's hair, and Bridget leaped back with a shriek. Cloudy threw her head in the air, rolling her eyes in surprise.

“It's okay,” Maddie said, trying not to laugh. “She was just saying hello.”

“If you say so.” Bridget smoothed down her hair, surveying the pony from a safe distance. Then she let out a long sigh. “Anyway, hugging a pony isn't like hugging your boyfriend.”

“If you say so,” Maddie echoed.

“It's kind of hard to hug someone who lives in Utah, isn't it?” Vic added.