Horse Capades (9 page)

The next item on the list was to come up with some kind of veil for the wedding scene. Stevie had toyed with the idea of asking Max’s wife, Deborah, if she could borrow her veil. But then she had decided that a piece of white netting and a little lace attached to a riding hat would work just as well. The only question was when she was going to have time to make it, especially
since she still had half a dozen other things on her list.

Stevie sighed and scratched her chin, where a little bit of glue was drying. She was running out of time. If she wanted this movie to be perfect, she wasn’t going to have any time at all to practice for the hunter competition. She hadn’t ridden Belle at all for the past week except in rehearsals and today’s lessons. And when the rest of the class had been clearing each fence in perfect form—except for Prancer, who was still hesitating before every jump—Stevie had been trying to remind Belle just what jumping was all about. The mare had been too frisky to pay attention to her rider’s instructions, and Stevie knew it was probably because she hadn’t been exercised enough lately.

All things considered, Stevie wondered if she should even bother taking part in the competition. Not only was there little or no chance she could place in the competition, but she could really use the extra time to work on her movie. Besides, she didn’t relish the idea of watching Veronica diAngelo ride away with the blue ribbon.

“Poor me,” she whispered, feeling very much like Cinderella herself. There was so much to do, and nobody was willing to help her. She had to do it all
herself, even if it meant missing the ball—or, rather, the Pony Club competition.

“Stevie?” Alex poked his head through her open doorway.

Stevie looked up. She was in no mood for her brothers that night. “What do you want?”

But instead of answering, Alex just grinned. “Say cheese,” he cried. Then, before Stevie could move, he leaped into the room and snapped a picture.

Startled and partially blinded by the flash, Stevie let out an outraged shriek. “What do you think you’re doing?” she yelled.

“Remember how I joined the staff of the school newspaper this term?” Alex said gleefully. “Well, I just snapped the picture that’s going on the front page of the next edition!”

“What?” Stevie cried. She jumped up and ran to the mirror over her dresser, blinking her eyes to get rid of the spots the flash had caused. Peering at her reflection, she saw that in addition to the spot of dried glue on her chin, she was sporting a red sequin right in the middle of her forehead and a splash of poster paint on her left cheek. Her hair was a mess, and a pen was stuck behind each ear. Worst of all, she was wearing her oldest pair of pajamas, which just happened to have pictures of baby bunnies all over them.

“Gotcha,” Alex said with a wink. He remained in the doorway clutching the camera, poised to run as soon as Stevie came at him.

But she didn’t. Instead, she just slumped back down in the desk chair. “Go ahead and print it,” she said tonelessly. “I don’t care.”

“Huh?” Alex looked surprised, then suspicious. He tucked the camera behind his back. “Is this some kind of trick?”

“No,” Stevie replied. “I don’t expect you to believe me, though. Nobody else does.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked. He still looked suspicious.

“I mean I’ve given up practical jokes. For good.”

Alex laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“That’s what everyone says,” Stevie said with a shrug. She listlessly poked at a stray paper clip. “But I don’t care anymore. It’s true, and
I
know it, even if nobody else does.”

“But why?” Alex asked.

Stevie quickly explained about her teacher’s speech and her own thoughts afterward. “So I figured I was better off playing it straight,” she said. “I didn’t want to get in any more trouble than I already had.”

“That doesn’t sound like you, Stevie,” Alex said.
“Usually trouble is your middle name. And I thought you liked it that way.”

“Maybe I used to,” Stevie replied. “But maybe I’ve changed.”

Alex took the camera out from behind his back. “You? Change? I doubt it,” he said skeptically.

“Believe it or not, I don’t care.” Stevie started picking the sequin off her face.

“Hmm,” Alex said, leaning against the door frame. “Your story really isn’t very convincing at all. And that makes me think it just might be true. But I can’t help thinking this could be some kind of a trap.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, Stevie. I want to believe you this time. I really do. But why should I?”

Stevie thought fast. She never would have expected it, but Alex sounded almost ready to believe her. “Well, for starters,” she said, “you should believe it because I knew you were going to the movies with your new girlfriend, Susie, on Sunday afternoon, and I didn’t even think about going to the same show and throwing popcorn. And I saw Chad practicing his soccer moves right below my window the other day after dinner, and I never for an instant considered filling a few of the balloons I have right here in my desk drawer with water and dropping them on his head.
And I noticed that Michael left his favorite football jersey lying in the living room last night, and I had absolutely no plans to throw it in the washing machine with my red socks so the numbers would come out pink.” Stevie paused and looked at her twin. “Should I go on?”

Alex held up his hands. “No, no,” he said. “I guess I’m convinced—for the moment, anyway. And if it’s true, I have to admit it’s too bad. You were good, Lake—really good. It’s a shame if you’ve really turned your back on all that talent.
If
you really have, that is. After all, you can’t blame me for still being a little suspicious.”

“I guess not,” Stevie said glumly. “Goodness knows you’re not the only one. Carole and Lisa don’t believe me, and neither does Phil.”

“Are you surprised?” Alex twirled the camera strap around his finger. “If you ask me, they’d be idiots to believe you, considering your record.”

Stevie sighed. “I know. And I guess it doesn’t help that I’m trying to convince them to wear weird costumes and act in a wacky movie at the same time I’m trying to get them to believe I’ve given up practical joking.”

“No kidding,” Alex agreed. He grinned. “Actually,
when you think about it, that’s kind of a practical joke in itself, isn’t it?”

Stevie looked up. Her brother had a very wicked look on his face. Stevie recognized the look, because it was one she had seen in the mirror many times. It meant his mind was working in a very interesting way. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Alex replied. “They’re probably going crazy right now trying to figure out what you’re going to do next. They’re so sure you’re playing a joke on them, when actually there’s no joke at all. So they can think about it twenty-four hours a day, but they’ll never be able to figure out what you’re really up to. Because what you’re really up to is … nothing. It’s brilliant!”

By now, Stevie was grinning right along with her twin. “You know, you may be on to something, Alex,” she said. “In fact, you may have just given me a great idea about how to save my movie.…”

B
Y THE TIME
Carole, Lisa, and Phil arrived at Pine Hollow on Thursday afternoon, Stevie was ready for them. First, she had convinced Carole and Lisa to wait at their school for Phil’s mother to pick them up. That would give her a few more minutes, and it would also ensure that they all got to the stable at the same time. If they didn’t, her plan wouldn’t be nearly as effective.

Luckily the weather had turned rainy again, and Carole and Lisa had eagerly agreed to the ride. Stevie herself hardly noticed the rain as she raced over to Pine Hollow as soon as the final bell rang. She couldn’t wait to get there and find out if her plan was all set. It was.

“I don’t know, Lisa,” Carole said as she climbed out of Mrs. Marsten’s car. “She’s getting better, and she’s doing it at her own pace. I don’t know if we should rush her.”

They were talking about Prancer again. The mare was jumping almost every time Lisa asked her to now. She
was
getting better, but not fast enough for Saturday’s competition. The girls knew they were lucky Prancer hadn’t been scared off jumping for good, but they still couldn’t help wishing they had more time.

Lisa sighed. “Maybe I should just skip the show,” she said. “Or I could try another horse. Max offered to let me ride Delilah if Prancer isn’t in shape for Saturday.”

“You’ll never win a ribbon that way,” Phil pointed out. “Switching horses at the last minute will throw you off, won’t it?”

Carole nodded. “Phil is right. Prancer is the horse you work with the best. And she’s a much better jumper than Delilah.”

Phil waved as his mother turned the car around and headed back down the driveway. Then all three of them scurried through the drizzle and into the warm, dry stable.

“Whew!” Lisa said, shaking the water out of her hair. “What a day.”

“I hope it doesn’t rain on Saturday,” Carole said. The three of them went into the student locker room so that Carole and Lisa could change from their school shoes into their riding boots. “The weather has been so unpredictable lately.”

Lisa sat down on the bench and pulled off her sneakers. “If it rains, I’m sure Max will just move the competition to the indoor ring,” she said, tossing the sneakers into her cubby. “But it would be a little crowded.”

“Speaking of the indoor ring,” Phil said, “I guess that’s where we’ll be rehearsing today.” He was leaning in the doorway, waiting for the girls.

Carole nodded. “I wonder when we’re going to find out what Stevie’s really up to,” she said.

Lisa laughed. “I don’t know,” she replied. “But this has been quite a setup, even for her.”

“You don’t suppose she could possibly be telling the truth about this movie, do you?” Phil asked. “It wouldn’t be the first time she’s had to redo a project because a teacher didn’t appreciate her sense of humor.”

“It’s possible,” Carole said, pulling on her boots and standing up. “But even if the movie is for real, all her talk about giving up practical jokes has got to be setting us up for something.”

Phil chuckled. “I guess you’re right about that,” he said. “Well, come on. If you’re ready, let’s go tack up.”

“Not necessary,” said Stevie brightly, coming up behind him. She was holding her prop bag in one hand and the camcorder in the other. “I got here a little early, so I tacked up all your horses for you. They’re waiting in the indoor ring. So come on, let’s get started.”

Stevie’s friends exchanged glances as they followed her. Had she heard them talking about her? They hoped not. She had seemed a little edgy lately, and they didn’t want to make her angry. But if she had heard anything, she didn’t show it. In fact, she was whistling gaily as she walked toward the entrance to the indoor ring.

“Here we are,” she said, stepping back to let her friends enter first.

The moment Carole, Lisa, and Phil stepped through the doorway, they heard a man’s voice shout, “It’s about time! Do you think we have all day? We’ve got a movie to make here! Now hustle!”

Lisa jumped, startled. Prancer, Starlight, Belle, and Diablo were tied up on one side of the entrance, but she hardly noticed the horses. That was because there was a much stranger sight in the center of the ring. A tall man was striding impatiently back and forth, tapping
a riding crop on his thigh. There was a director’s chair behind him, with a bullhorn sitting on it. The man had a large, carefully waxed mustache, and he was dressed improbably in riding breeches, high boots, a blue silk shirt, and a beret. A bright red scarf was knotted around his neck. Strangest of all, he was wearing sunglasses, even though there was no hint of sunlight coming through the high windows from the gloomy day outside.

“Wha—” Carole began, but the man cut her off.

“Step lively, boys and girls!” he barked, slapping the riding crop on his gloved hand. “Mount up, and hurry up about it. There’s a lot to do. We’re running through the dressage ball scene first; then we’re going to practice the bowing entrance and the wedding parade. Move it, people!”

Carole, Lisa, and Phil automatically started hurrying toward the horses. Carole got there first and swung up into Starlight’s saddle. Phil followed suit with Diablo.

Lisa had one foot in the stirrup and was about to swing herself onto Prancer when she paused. What exactly was going on here, anyway?

“Hey, wait a minute,” she said. She turned to look at Stevie, who was still standing in the entryway, grinning
her head off as she filmed the whole strange scene with the camcorder.

Carole, who was in the process of leaning over to unhook Starlight’s lead rope, looked down at Lisa. She frowned. For the first time, she stopped to think. Who was the man shouting at them from the center of the ring?

Phil figured it out at the same time as the two girls. All three of them turned. And all three of them cried out the same name at the same time.

“Stevie!”

Stevie responded by starting to laugh. Soon she was laughing so hard that she could hardly hold the camcorder straight. A second later, the man in the sunglasses started laughing, too.