For Sale Or Swap (16 page)

It was the weekend before school. Shelby was going
with her mother to buy stationery, but Erin rang and
asked her to come to Pony Club instead. It would be
the first time she went back since Calvin Protheroe's
guest lesson and she was dreading it, but Erin was so
insistent that she agreed.

It seemed strange to be sitting up in the clubhouse
with the grown-ups while all the girls were down in
the arena. Shelby reached forward to help herself to
a piece of fruitcake that was on the bench. Mrs
Hockings gave her a stern glance and Shelby withdrew
her hand. Mrs Crook saw it.

'Oh, Joy, don't be so stingy. Let the girl have some
cake if she wants it!' She grabbed the plate and
plonked it on the bench right under Shelby's nose.
'You have a piece, love. Have two.'

Shelby grinned.

'Now go on outside and watch the others,
because it's time for our boring old meeting.'

Shelby took a slice of the cake, holding one hand
underneath to catch the crumbs, and sat out on the
front step to watch. She could hear the shuffling,
scraping sound as the parents moved their seats around
the little meeting table.

They must have thought that Shelby had moved
further away, because inside Shelby could hear Mrs
Crook talking. 'I've taken a real shine to the girl. I
wasn't so sure before, because she was such a quiet
little thing, but that Shelby's got spunk – and good
manners too.'

'Yes, well, that does quite neatly bring us to the
matter of late membership fees,' said Mrs Hockings.

Mrs Crook continued. 'I always thought her Mum
and Dad were a bit snobby not ever coming along to
any of our events, but I've met them and I think
they're genuine. Very down to earth.'

'You mean the sort of
down to earth
that have
to pay their membership in instalments,' commented
Mrs Hockings.

Shelby felt the blood rush to her face.

'That may be so, Joy, but I think we can all afford
to be a bit lenient, don't you? Let's just give her the
blessed membership. All in favour say aye.'

'Aye,' came a chorus of voices.

'Wait a minute, I'm the President here,' protested
Mrs Hockings. 'This is a matter of general business,
and we haven't got to that part yet.'

'Oh, Joy, hang your silly rituals. The motion has
been passed. Shelby's a member and that's that.'

'Hear, hear!' said another voice that Shelby recognised
as Erin's mother.

Shelby stood up and wandered down towards
the fence. It was nice that Mrs Crook and Erin's mum
had stuck up for her in the meeting, but it was too
late. Pony Club wasn't much fun if you didn't have
a pony.

At least Mrs Hockings will leave me alone now
,
she thought. That was one person that she wouldn't
miss at all.

She climbed up on the rail of the arena and looked
around her. It felt like her last day at primary school,
where she had walked around the old familiar playground,
knowing that it might be for the final time. She
had had some fun here. She had made some friends.
Erin would still be her friend. Mrs Crook might keep
her word and let her ride Echo at shows from time to
time, but Shelby wasn't holding her breath.

At lunchtime when all the members were assembled
at the picnic tables at the front of the clubhouse, the
committee made their announcement that Shelby was
an honorary member. Shelby stood up and bowed. Erin
and Hayley cheered.

At the end of the day she hopped in the car next to
Erin and watched out the window as the Pony Club
grounds slipped away behind her. Shelby was sad, but
endings were always beginnings too.

Maybe I'll get a pushbike. They're much cheaper
than horses.

She opened the front door and skipped down the
hallway. Usually at this time she would be pulling off
her grubby Pony Club uniform to throw into the
wash, but today she was almost clean.

'Hello!' she called out.

'We're in here,' her father called from the lounge
room. There was something in his voice that sounded
grim.

'What is it?' she asked, peering around the corner.
Her mother and father were sitting on the lounge.

'Come and sit down,' he said.

Shelby squeezed into the space between her
parents.

Her father began. 'While you were away today, we
had a phone call. It was Mr Olsen. Apparently a few
days ago his daughter was riding Blue and she took a
bit of a spill.'

'Is she OK?' Shelby asked.

Her father shook his head. 'That little girl won't be
riding again – at least not for a long, long time.'

'Was it Blue's fault?' Shelby asked.

'Not really. Mr Olsen said he shied away from
something and the girl wasn't expecting it,' said
Shelby's mother. 'It's very serious.'

'That's terrible,' said Shelby. 'I hope she'll be
all right.'

Shelby's father looked at his hands. 'It's a dangerous
hobby. We've always known that. That's why we say
you must always, always wear a helmet.'

'I do!' protested Shelby. 'Or at least I did.'

'Shelby, Mr Olsen rang because Blue is for sale.
He's offered him to us first,' explained Shelby's father.

'Really?' asked Shelby. She couldn't believe it.
After all this time things could go back to normal –
back to the way they were. 'Can we buy him?'

Her parents looked at each other. 'Shelby, Mr
Olsen wants three thousand dollars.'

Three thousand dollars.

Shelby's family struggled to scrape together the
eighty dollars for the Pony Club membership fees.
Shelby's brothers were wearing school shorts that had
patches on patches. Where on earth were they going
to get three thousand dollars?

Shelby sat on the edge of the water trough in Bandit's
yard.

'I can't ask them to do it. It's not fair. And even if
I did ask, they wouldn't be able to. It's a huge amount
of money – more than I can even think about.'

Erin tipped a bag of chaff into the bin behind
Shelby.

'Can't you get a job or something?' she suggested.

'Doing what? I can get a paper run, but even a
long one is only about twenty-five bucks a week. It
would take years even if I saved every cent.'

Erin frowned. 'Maybe we could hold a fundraiser
or something?'

'Three thousand dollars – that's an awful lot of
raffle tickets. No, Erin. I'm just going to have to live
with it. Nobody will ever love him as much as I do, but
there's probably lots of families who can look after
him just as well.' She thought about the Mulligans.

'Maybe even better. Maybe one day when I'm grown
up I can get another horse, but for now I'm just going
to have to find a new hobby – like collecting stamps.'
She stood up, sighing. 'I'd better get going.'

It was still early, but she had to walk home. Her
father had dropped her off at the stables in the
morning, but he wasn't able to pick her up again. He
said he had some chores to do. Shelby started the long
walk home across the gully.

It was a beautiful day. The sun shone down
warming her hair and face, but there was a cool
breeze blowing through the trees.

When she got to the causeway she took off her
shoes and splashed through the cool water, stopping at
the other side to wait for her feet to dry – waggling
her toes in the warm sun, before she put her shoes
back on. She saw a goanna scuttling away into the
bushes and she wondered if it was the same one that
had spooked Brat so much.

Shortly afterwards she heard the sound of hoof
beats coming along the path. She leaned forward to
see who it might be. It was Lindsey on one of the
riding school's horses – a big Clydesdale cross.

'Where are you headed?' asked Lindsey, smiling.

'I'm going home – up on the other side of
the gully.'

Lindsey tilted her head to the side. 'Do you want a
lift? I was going to head up that way anyway.'

'That would be great,' grinned Shelby.

Using the stirrup, Shelby climbed up behind
Lindsey onto the Clydesdale's broad back.

'Gee, he's big,' said Shelby, looking down over the
side. The ground seemed a long way away.

'Just like a great big rocking chair,' said Lindsey.
'Are you ready?' She squeezed at the horse's sides and
he set off at a lovely loping canter.

'Good, huh?' called out Lindsey. 'I'd never go back
to ponies now, not after riding the big ones.'

Lindsey pushed the horse on up the hill and then
slowed down to a walk at the top. 'I'm heading back
around now. Does that get you a bit closer?'

Shelby slid off the big horse's back. They were not
far from a trail that led out onto the road near
Shelby's house. 'Thanks heaps. It's just up the top of
the hill.' Shelby shaded her eyes as she looked up
at Lindsey.

'Thanks for helping me out that night too. It was
dumb, after all, and we both got in trouble, but you
were, kind of, there for me anyway.'

Lindsey nodded. 'That's OK. I would have done
the same thing. I'm glad you did it. I would have
thought you were a wuss otherwise.' She smiled.

'You should come over one day – when you've got
the day off.'

Shelby felt comfortable with Lindsey. She wouldn't
be embarrassed about the way that her family lived.

'Sounds good,' said Lindsey, turning the horse
away and trotting down the trail.

Shelby waved goodbye and then headed along the
trail to the road.

As she walked down her street she noticed that her
Dad's car was not in the driveway. He mustn't have
come home yet. She wondered where he had gone that
had taken so long.

She pushed open the screen door and walked
down the hallway into the kitchen. Her mother was
sitting at the dining room table going through some
papers.

'Guess what? I just had a ride on a Clydesdale.
So much fun! I might get one of those when I
grow up.'

Her mother nodded, but kept concentrating on her
paperwork. Shelby looked out the window to the
garden. Her father was tending to his vegetables.
Sliding the back door open, Shelby slipped out onto
the back patio.

'I had a ride on a Clydesdale,' she told him.

Her father shoved his trowel into the soil and
wiped his dirty hands on the back of his shorts. He
gathered up a handful of vegetables that he had picked
from the garden and walked around its wooden
border. 'Really? That's one of those big ones, isn't it?'

'Yeah, he was huge! We doubled,' she said.

'Is it for hire?' he asked. 'You kids can ride it to
school when you miss the bus,' he said, smiling.

Shelby shook her head. 'So where's your car
anyway?' she asked him.

Shelby's father put his hands on her shoulders.
'I sold it to get your horse back.'

'Dad! Don't be silly!' Sometimes his jokes weren't
funny at all. As if he would ever sell the Spyder.

Her father followed her, turning into the kitchen to
wash the carrots he had picked. He shook the water
from them over the draining board and twisted their
green tops off.

'Want to see a magic trick?' he asked.

Shelby shrugged.

He held the carrots up in his hands, two in one
hand and one in the other. Then he twisted them
around. 'Presto magico,' he said, then he tucked the
carrots into Shelby's pockets. He waved his hands at
her, palms out. 'They've disappeared!'

'Yeah, good one, Dad,' she said, pulling the carrots
out and throwing them on the bench.

'Don't you want to give them to your horse? I'm
offended. I grew them myself. They're organic, you
know.' He picked up the carrots and juggled them.
'You know, with all the fuss you've made about
getting him back, I thought you'd be more excited.'

'You didn't really sell the Spyder,' she said.

He sighed 'No. It's at the mechanics, so we might
not need the sulky after all, as long as your Aunt is
happy to double.'

'What are you going on about?'

'Your Aunt Jenny just bought your horse, so you'll
have to share him now.'

'No way! You're not being serious!'

If it was a joke it was an awful one.

'No. I'm just kidding. I don't think Aunt Jenny will
want to ride him. She lives too far away.'

'Did she really . . .?' she asked, not trusting herself
to finish the question.

'She did,' her father replied.

It couldn't be true. 'Really? Really?'

'Really, truly!'

Shelby turned to her mother. 'Is this a joke?'

Her mother shook her head. 'No joke, Shel, he
arrived about an hour ago.' She smiled. It was such a
lovely, sunny smile.

Shelby jumped up and hugged her dad, and then
she jumped up and down on the spot. 'Oh my God!
You're the best!' Then she turned on her heel and ran
back down the hallway and out the door.

'Me?' he called after her. 'I had nothing to do
with it!'

She heard the screen slam as it hit the wall at the
front of the house, but she was already halfway down
the driveway and onto the road.

She sprinted faster than she could have imagined,
taking the corner, and then heading down the home
straight. Looking ahead she could see the sliprail
across the front of the paddock, just the way it should
be, and behind it she could see a shaggy, blunt face
attached to a long thin ewe-neck.

'Blue!' she called out.

He stepped forward and leaned over the rail
waiting for her, just like he always had. Shelby threw
her arms around him. 'It really is you!' she said,
rubbing her hands along his neck, as though she
couldn't believe he was real.

Blue pushed his nose towards her pockets looking
for something sweet to eat.

'Oh, Blue. I don't have anything for you.'

Blue nudged at her again and when she looked
down she saw in her jacket pocket three small carrots.
Her dad must have slipped them into her pocket when
she hugged him.

'I will never, ever let you out of my sight again!'
she said, squeezing Blue. 'Hayley's not the luckiest girl
in the world – I am.'