Horse Fever (8 page)

Alex appeared in a moment, bearing snacks. He and Stevie had gotten into a screaming, biting, clawing fight during
Starship Attack
. Now the air was clear. This was a pattern in the Lake household: After a big fight, the two feuding siblings would get along fine. Fortunately, the Lake parents were at work. Otherwise Stevie and Alex would have been sent to their rooms.

“Sour cream and onion, or barbecue?” Alex inquired.

“Barbecue, thank you,” said Stevie. “Shhh … Dr. Bob is about to propose to Maria.”

Two hours later, Stevie still had not moved. The phone rang and she grabbed the receiver. “Who would have the nerve to call during
Truth or Rumor
?” she said indignantly. “Hello?”

It was Lisa. “Have a good day?” she asked.

“Except for one thing,” Stevie said. She recounted the morning race. “And so there’s a rematch the Saturday after next,” she finished, somewhat glumly.

Lisa, however, was all enthusiasm. “Stevie, that’s great! You can start a fitness program tomorrow and beat him!”

“Hmmm,” said Stevie, getting an inkling of what was coming.

“In fact,” Lisa said, “I’ll do it with you! I can be your coach—your personal trainer—your workout partner!”

“Great,” said Stevie, dreading the thought. She knew all too well how Lisa loved a project, especially anything to do with self-improvement.

“It’ll be fun! I can’t wait to start, can you? Why don’t I come over tomorrow morning?”

“I don’t know about that, Lisa …” Stevie thought fast and came up with the perfect excuse. “Shouldn’t we ride tomorrow morning?” she proposed.

“We can ride afterward—after the training session. In the afternoon if we have to.”

“Is that when you rode today?” Stevie asked suddenly. “In the afternoon?”

“Why?” Lisa said warily. “Did you ride in the morning?”

“No. Remember? I was worn out from racing Alex.”

“Well, I, uh, had a lot to do—homework, thank-you notes …”

“So you went in the afternoon?” Stevie repeated.

There was a pause at the other end. “All right, if you have to know, I didn’t ride today, okay? Maybe it seems—”

“I didn’t ride, either!” Stevie interrupted.

“You didn’t?” said Lisa.

“Uh-uh. I, uh, had a lot of shows to watch.”

Lisa laughed. “I went to TD’s with my mom,” she confessed.

“TD’s!” Stevie exclaimed. “Without us?” The ice cream parlor was a favorite Saddle Club hangout.

Lisa laughed. “Sorry. Hey, let’s conference-call Carole and see if she went to Pine Hollow.”

“Are you kidding? Of course she went,” Stevie said.

“You’re probably right,” agreed Lisa.

Stevie put Lisa on hold and dialed the Hansons’ house. Sure enough, Colonel Hanson answered and said Carole wasn’t home yet.

“Thanks,” said Stevie. “I’ll try her later.”

“Naturally,” said Lisa when Stevie told her. “She’s probably helping Red muck out.”

There was a silence. Each girl knew what the other was thinking. They ought to have gone to Pine Hollow, not only to ride but to help Red and Mrs. Reg with the stable chores. Stevie spoke first. “Uh, I better hang up. My mom will be home soon, and I’ll be in big trouble if she thinks I watched TV all day.”

“I have to go, too,” Lisa said. “I’ve got to finish my English reading, needlepoint— But, hey,” she added, remembering her new role as Stevie’s coach, “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early!”

After putting the phone down, Lisa stared up at her picture of The Saddle Club. Horse-crazy? she thought. They sure weren’t acting like it. Willing to help each other out in any situation? While Carole was helping out Red and Mrs. Reg, the two of them were sitting at home. “But we always help out!” Lisa wailed. “Why can’t someone else help out for a while?” The picture didn’t answer. It just stared back at her accusingly. How long would she and Stevie go, it seemed to ask, breaking both rules of The Saddle Club?

I
N HER DREAM
Stevie was running. She was running along a road. She was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She had no memory of putting them on. And Lisa was there, too, running beside her. Lisa was saying something. What was it? Over her own panting breaths, Stevie could just make out her words. “Pick up your knees! Look sharp! Come on, here we go! One, two, one, two!” Stevie looked at her surroundings: bare trees, gray sky, houses, mailboxes. “It’s not a dream!” she yelled.

“Of course it’s not!” Lisa replied. “I just got you up and out running before you had time to realize you were awake.”

“Gosh.” Stevie was dumbfounded. She tried to sound
nonchalant when she asked, “What, ah—What time is it?”

“Six-forty-five! Hey, no lagging on this hill!” Lisa barked. “Move it! Move it!”

At the word
hill
Stevie felt her feet start to drag. Or maybe it was the realization that she was awake at the same time she normally got up for school. Either way, she slowed her pace. She was suddenly aware of a cramp in her side, a burning sensation in her lungs.

Lisa looked over at her trainee. She had to think of a way to keep her going. “Stevie?”

“Can’t talk,” Stevie panted. “No breath.”

“Just nod then. You see that big oak tree way up in the distance?”

Stevie nodded.

“Imagine that tree is Alex. And he just insulted you. He told you riding wasn’t a real sport. He told you—Hey!” Lisa yelled as Stevie lunged forward in a great burst of speed. “Wait for me!”

Back at the house, Lisa critiqued Stevie’s performance. They had jogged two miles. Stevie had moaned and groaned for one and a half. “But you did it without stopping,” Lisa conceded, “and I’m proud of you.”

Stevie couldn’t answer. She was too busy draining a huge plastic jug of water. “Pheweeeee! That wasn’t so bad. Now let’s eat.”

Lisa looked doubtful. “You want to eat before your push-ups and sit-ups?” she asked.

“Push-ups?” said Stevie, refilling her jug. “And sit-ups?”

Before Lisa could answer, Alex, Michael, and Chad traipsed into the kitchen. Alex was all in spandex. Michael and Chad were in pajamas, rubbing their eyes. “Do you always have to wake us up?” Michael grumbled at Alex.

“Yeah, with all that
whistling
?” Chad said disgustedly.

“It’s just I have so much energy that I wake up in a good mood and I—
Hel
-lo!” Alex said, taking in Stevie and Lisa. The three boys stared at them.

“I didn’t know you slept over, Lisa,” said Chad.

“I didn’t,” Lisa said, giggling at Chad’s sheepish look. She and Chad had once gone on a couple of dates. Nothing had come of it, but it still made for the occasional awkward moment. Especially, Lisa thought, when she caught Chad in his pajamas!

“You see,
we
don’t have a problem getting up early,” Stevie said pointedly. “We’re used to it—from going to horse shows.”

“Ha, ha,” said Alex. “What did you do, Lisa, pour a pitcher of water over her head?”

“Actually I—”

“Pitcher of water? Don’t you mean jug?” Stevie cried.
In a flash she dumped hers over Alex’s head. “Come on, Lisa!”

The two girls thundered up the stairs. They ran into Stevie’s room and slammed the door. A moment later there was a knock. “You can’t come in!” Stevie yelled.

“Oh, can’t I?” said a stern voice.

Grinning wanly, Stevie opened the door. “Ah—Hi, Mom.”

Mrs. Lake stood there dressed for work. Somehow she managed to frown at Stevie and give Lisa a welcoming smile at the same time.

“I thought I heard your voice, Lisa. And what, may I ask, are you two doing up to so early?” said Mrs. Lake.

“Working out, of course,” Stevie answered. At her mother’s surprised look she added, “It so happens that Alex and I have a little contest in two weeks.”

“Aha! So that’s why you’re preoccupied with athletic activity,” Mrs. Lake said knowingly. “Good old sibling rivalry.”

“Oh, no, Mom,” Stevie said sternly. “I’m getting into shape because, uh, everyone ought to exercise regularly. Good for the heart—you know—lungs, respiratory tract, calf muscles. Et cetera.”

Mrs. Lake smiled. “Try my abs and arms video,” she offered.

A vivid image came to Stevie’s mind of her mother panting on the family room floor, cursing at a leotard-clad woman on TV. “I don’t know, Mom. It’s nice of you to offer, but—”

“That sounds great, Mrs. Lake!” Lisa broke in. “Is it hard?”

“It’s a killer,” Mrs. Lake promised. She wished the girls a good day and turned to go. “Oh, and Stevie,” she added, “after that video?”

“Yeah, Mom?”

“The TV goes off!”

Stevie had never known exactly where her abdominals were. After the video, she still didn’t know: Her entire torso was in agony. So was her neck. Even one of her ankles felt odd. And her arms felt like dead weights. “I think I’m gonna puke,” she said hoarsely.

“Nonsense!” said Lisa, all business. “Here. I have a pad of paper.”

“What else is new?” Stevie muttered.

Lisa was known for her organizational skills. She whipped out a ballpoint pen. “Tell me what your fitness goals are and I’ll make a list.”

“I have only one goal,” Stevie whispered. “To live till tomorrow.”

In spite of herself Lisa laughed. While Stevie lay bellyaching on the couch, Lisa mapped out a schedule of everything
they had to do over the next ten days to beat Alex. On one level Lisa was worried: Stevie’s inherent laziness wasn’t going to help matters. But in the end they’d be just fine. Stevie’s insane competitive streak would win out.

“All right, jock, time for breakfast.”

Instantly Stevie revived. “Let’s make bacon!” she yelled.

The girls fried some bacon and tried to make omelettes, which quickly turned into scrambled eggs. They were talking and laughing. But the moment they sat down to eat, both of them got very quiet. Lisa noticed that they were avoiding each other’s eyes. She had the feeling they were both thinking the same thing—the same thing as each other, and the same thing as last night on the phone.

“I guess we really ought to map out a schedule for Belle and Prancer, too, huh, Stevie?”

Stevie nodded. Lisa was right. Here it was, their third day of not riding. Carole probably thought they were lazy beyond belief. But still, Stevie reminded herself, the day was young. “Look, we can go to Pine Hollow right after
Priced to Sell
.”

Lisa perked up at once. “Excellent idea. We’ll take a little break and then head out. After that workout, we deserve a break!” They cleaned up and headed into the family room.

Chad, however, had already claimed the TV. He was watching music videos.

“But
Priced to Sell
is on!” Stevie wailed.

“Tough. I hate game shows,” Chad said. “And I’ll be gone in an hour. Dan’s coming over and we’re going to the mall to get computer stuff.”

“Dan’s driving you to the mall?” Stevie said plaintively.

“Yup.”

Stevie and Lisa looked at one another. An excursion to the mall would be fun!

“Can we come?”

Chad took his eyes off the screen to survey them briefly. “Okay. As long as you don’t say
one
word about working out! Alex is already driving me crazy with his power shakes and his body mass index. I just don’t care, got it?”

“Got it,” Stevie said solemnly. She turned to Lisa, all thoughts of riding forgotten. “Come on, let’s go call Carole and see if she can come!”

C
AROLE FOLLOWED THE
horse and rider with her eyes. They were going at a trot. The horse was moving well; the rider rose naturally in the saddle. “Nice job, Pat!” she called. “Why don’t you try a canter?”

“Great!”

Carole saw Pat sit down to ask for the transition. She
leaned forward slightly and Starlight broke into a canter. Pat’s face lit up. “Gosh, he’s well-behaved!”

“Knock on wood!” Carole joked.

Twenty minutes later Pat rode into the center of the ring, her face still ecstatic. “You’ve trained him so well!” she exclaimed. “He’s perfect!”

Carole smiled. “I don’t know about perfect,” she said, “but thanks.”

“Say, would you mind if I tried a jump?” Pat asked.

“Not at all,” Carole replied readily. It would be good for Starlight to hop over a few fences. “I’ll drag that cross rail and vertical into place.”

While she set up two low jumps, Carole saw Pat rubbing Starlight’s neck and praising him. Starlight pranced along happily. It was strange, but for a moment, watching them, Carole felt left out. A twinge of sadness passed through her. Pat’s enthusiasm reminded her of how she used to feel about Starlight. Lately she couldn’t seem to make him do anything right. What had changed?

Jumping Starlight only made Pat more enthusiastic. She trotted the cross rail and cantered over the vertical a number of times. “I just can’t get over how great this horse is,” she gushed, pulling up and dismounting. “Are you going to ride now? I’d love to see what he can really do.”

Carole hesitated. She was tired; she’d had a fitful
night’s sleep and didn’t feel much like riding. But what could she do, say no? To riding her own horse?
That
would look strange. And Carole wanted to explain her mood even less than she wanted to ride. Reluctantly she traded places with Pat.