Riding Lesson (11 page)

Because she knew more about horses than almost anyone else in Horse Wise, Carole was very good at the game. Normally she didn’t go out of her way to show off, but this time she thought she just might. After all, it was time she got a little positive attention. Maybe if she won the game, it would show her father that she could do something right, after all.

“All right, let’s begin,” Max was saying. “You’re first, May. What level question do you want?”

May Grover, a beginning rider who was a few years younger than the Saddle Club girls, thought for a second. “I’ll take a two-point question, Max,” she said.

Max nodded. “All right.” He glanced at the list of questions in his hand. “Name at least two things that can give a horse saddle sores.”

May thought for a second. “His saddle might not fit right,” she said. “Or it might be dirty.”

Max nodded. “Good. Two points.”

Meg Durham, a member who was about the same age as the Saddle Club girls, was next. “I’ll try a three-pointer, Max,” she decided.

“How can a horse best see objects that are very far away or very close to him, and why is this so?” Max asked.

“Um … by turning his head?” Meg said uncertainly. “Because his eyes are on the side of his head?”

“Sorry,” said Max. “Betsy, the question goes to you.”

Betsy Cavanaugh cleared her throat. “To see something far away, the horse would hold its head high,” she said. “To see something close, it would lower its head. And I think it is because of the way horses’ eyes are positioned—they don’t have very good depth perception.”

Max nodded. “Good. Three points.”

Carole nodded, too. She had known the answer—in fact, she didn’t really think the question was worth three points. She was a little surprised that Meg had missed it.

Max continued around the circle. Before long it was Lisa’s turn. She came up with the correct answer to a two-point question about leg bandaging. Carole was next.

“Four points, please,” she said confidently.

Max nodded. “Here’s a tough one, then. Name the three stallions from whom every modern Thoroughbred is descended.”

Carole thought for a second. “The Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian are two of them,” she said. For a second she couldn’t remember the third name. “Oh, and the Byerly Turk,” she finally recalled.

“Excellent,” Max said.

Lisa looked at Carole with respect. “I didn’t even know what Max was talking about,” she whispered. “Congratulations.”

Carole smiled, feeling proud of herself. She knew that it would have been a difficult question for most of the people
in the room to answer. However, Carole liked to read everything she could about horses, and she had recently finished a book about the three legendary sires who had founded the Thoroughbred breed. It wasn’t a fact that would make anyone at Pine Hollow a better rider, but it was an important point in equestrian history, and Carole thought the fact that she’d known the answer showed the depth of her knowledge.

Stevie got her question right, too, and then it was Marie’s turn. “How about it, Marie?” Max said. “I hope you’ll play our little game.”

“Sure, I’ll give it a shot,” Marie said with a shrug. “But I’d better stick to a one-pointer.”

“Okay,” Max said. “What is a ‘hand’?”

“Hey, I know this one—it’s four inches, right?” Marie answered. “It’s how you measure a horse’s height.”

Max smiled. “Excellent! That’s exactly right.”

Colonel Hanson gave Marie a pat on the back. “Good show, Marie,” he said.

Stevie, Lisa, and some of the others congratulated Marie as well.

“Thanks, everyone” Marie said with a grin. “It must be because of my birthday. I’m not only getting older, I’m getting smarter.”

Everyone laughed except Carole, who just rolled her eyes. It figured. Nobody except Max and Lisa had even bothered to comment on the difficult question Carole had
answered, but here everyone was congratulating Marie as if she’d just told them the meaning of life.

The next time around Marie was braver. “I’ll try a two-pointer this time,” she told Max.

“Okay,” he said. He glanced down at the list. “What are the bars?”

Marie shrugged. It was obvious that she had no idea. “Someplace a horse goes for a drink?” she guessed with a grin. Several people chuckled at the joke.

“That’s wrong,” Carole called out, forgetting for a moment that the question should go to the next person in line, who happened to be Adam Levine. “They’re the sensitive toothless gums in a horse’s mouth. The bit goes over them.”

“Thank you, Carole,” Max said, looking displeased. “You just earned two points for Adam. Please remember to answer only when it’s your turn.”

Carole sat back and stared at the ground, her face flaming, as giggles erupted from other players. She glanced at Marie out of the corner of her eye, but Marie wasn’t one of the gigglers. In fact, her face was red, too, and she was staring at the ground just like Carole.

After a few more rounds Carole was so far ahead of the others that Max declared her the winner, ending the game. She had taken a four-point question every time and gotten all of them right.

“Nice work, Carole,” Max told her. “I hope everyone
has learned something new today. That’s it for our Horse Wise meeting; those of you who are in the flat class, go get tacked up and meet me in the outdoor ring in fifteen minutes.”

Stevie, Lisa, and Carole were all in the flat class, as well as the jump class that followed it.

“Marie, you’re going to join the class, aren’t you?” said Stevie. She glanced at Carole out of the corner of her eye as she said it. Carole had been acting so unpredictably lately—Stevie was afraid she’d get her head bitten off for even talking to Marie. Then Stevie immediately felt guilty for having such thoughts. She wasn’t going to be mean to Marie just to make Carole happy, but Carole was her friend and she was obviously miserable. Stevie couldn’t help feeling sorry for her, especially since she knew what it was like to be in the grips of an extreme case of sibling rivalry.

In any case, Carole didn’t seem to be listening to Stevie or anyone else. She appeared to be lost in thoughts of her own, her face set in its now-familiar frown.

“Sure,” Marie said in answer to Stevie’s question. “Max said it would be okay to take the flat class. He’s not even going to charge me for it—it’s his birthday gift to me.” Her words were light, but Stevie couldn’t help noticing that her tone was softer and more serious than usual.

“Great,” Stevie replied. “Come on, I’ll help you tack up.” She threw one more worried glance at Carole before following Marie toward the tack room.

Fifteen minutes later the flat class began. For most of the class time Max had the students work on posting and sitting trots. Even though they were good things for riders of all levels to practice, Carole couldn’t help wondering if Max was taking it easy that day because of Marie. Still, she was glad to notice that he barked orders at Marie just as if she were a regular member of the class.

The jump class began as soon as the flat class ended. The riders who weren’t taking the jump class, including Marie, headed inside to untack their horses. If Max had been taking it easy during the flat class, he seemed determined to make up for it now. For the next hour Carole was too busy to think about Marie at all.

“T
HAT WAS A
great class,” Lisa commented as she, Stevie, and Carole led their horses inside after the class had ended.

Carole nodded. The jump class had improved her mood immensely—she realized it was the first time all week that she had really concentrated on something other than Marie Dana. Reminded of her houseguest, Carole looked around, expecting to see Marie hanging around somewhere waiting for them. But she was nowhere in sight.

“Hey, where’s Marie?” said Stevie, as if reading Carole’s mind.

“I don’t know,” said Carole. “Maybe she went home.” She couldn’t help hoping she was right. The girls had planned to stay at Pine Hollow all day—Carole’s father
was supposed to come back later with their sleeping bags and suitcases for the sleepover. Maybe Marie had forgotten all about their plans. Still, Carole knew that her father would have a fit if she didn’t try to track her down.

So after Starlight was comfortably settled in his stall, Carole called home. Her father answered.

“Hi, Dad,” Carole said shyly. She hadn’t really spoken to her father much since Thursday night. It was the longest she’d ever stayed angry with him, and it felt strange and unpleasant.

“Carole?” Colonel Hanson said. “Is anything wrong?”

“I don’t think so,” Carole replied. “I just wanted to check to make sure Marie is there with you.”

“Marie?” repeated Colonel Hanson, obviously confused. “But she’s at Pine Hollow with you.”

“No, she isn’t,” Carole said. “I thought she went home after the flat class.”

“She isn’t here,” Colonel Hanson replied. He sounded worried.

Suddenly Carole was feeling worried, too. If Marie wasn’t at home and she wasn’t at Pine Hollow, where was she?

“Well, she must be around here someplace,” Carole said, trying to sound reassuring. “I’m sure I just missed her.”

“Do you think so?” Colonel Hanson didn’t sound convinced. “Well, call me back if you don’t find her soon.”

“I promise.” Carole hung up and went to find Lisa and
Stevie. They also seemed to have disappeared, although Carole wasn’t really worried about them. She just wished they were there to help her search for Marie.

Carole sat down to think. Where would Marie go? She tried to put herself in the other girl’s place.

As she did, she slowly began to realize why Marie must have disappeared. Carole had spent so much time that day trying to avoid Marie that she hadn’t stopped to think that Marie might also be trying to avoid
her
. After all, she’d been pretty mean to her for the past few days. Why would Marie want to spend her birthday with someone who couldn’t speak to her without snarling?

Carole had the sinking feeling that Marie had probably disappeared to nurse a set of very hurt feelings. And she also suspected she knew where Marie might have disappeared
to
.

“Sorry, boy,” she told Starlight as she slipped on his bridle a moment later. “I know you earned your rest for today, but I just need you to take me one more place.” She stuck a lead rope in her pocket, then led the horse to the mounting block and climbed onto his bare back. “I just hope Max doesn’t see us riding out by ourselves,” she muttered, more to herself than to the horse. Then she put that thought out of her mind. She didn’t have time to worry about Max right now. She gave Starlight a nudge with her heel, and he obediently set off across the fields behind Pine Hollow.

When Carole and Starlight reached the Danas’ house, which was just a few minutes’ ride from the stable, it appeared to be silent and deserted. Carole slid off Starlight’s back and clipped the lead to his bridle. After securing him to a nearby tree branch, she walked up to the house’s front door and tried the handle. Locked.

She walked around to the back of the house. The back door was locked, too. But as Carole was turning away, she thought she heard a noise coming from the side of the house.

She walked quietly around the corner of the house and saw a small garden shed in the side yard. The sound seemed to be coming from the shed. And it sounded like someone crying.

“Marie?” Carole called softly.

The crying sound stopped immediately.

“Who is it?” Marie’s voice called suspiciously.

Carole breathed a sigh of relief. She had been right. Marie had come to the most comforting place she could be right now—home. “It’s me—Carole,” Carole said, opening the door to the little shed.

Marie was inside, her face wet with tears. She was frowning. “What do
you
want?” she demanded angrily. “Did you track me down so you could yell at me and humiliate me some more?”

Carole looked at the ground. “I guess I deserve that,” she said. And she meant it. She’d been mean and spiteful
toward Marie all week. Somehow, despite all her good intentions at the beginning of Marie’s visit, Carole had ended up doing more harm than good. Marie must be feeling terribly lonely and hurt right now, and it was all Carole’s fault.

Carole gulped. “Marie,” she began hesitantly, “I think I owe you a big apology. I mean a
really
big apology.”

Marie looked wary as she swiped her tearstained face with one sleeve, then folded her arms across her chest. “I’m listening,” she said coldly.

“I guess I haven’t been seeing your point of view this whole week,” Carole said. “I’ve been so busy being jealous of all the attention you were getting that I forgot what it’s like to be in your situation. I couldn’t understand why my father was treating you better than he was treating me.”

“Jealous?” Marie repeated. “You were jealous of me?” She seemed honestly surprised. “But your dad is crazy about you. How could you think those things?”

Carole shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “It was mostly stupid little things that made me crazy, like the two of you eating those cookies.”

Marie almost smiled. “Yeah. You seemed pretty upset about that,” she said. “You must have been really hungry.”

“Hungry for attention, I guess,” Carole admitted. “The funny thing is, I’ve always wanted a sister or brother, but now that I’ve actually had the chance to have one, I’ve
realized that I’m just not used to sharing my dad with anyone. Apparently I’m not very good at it.”

“Well,” Marie said thoughtfully, “I guess I wasn’t really going out of my way to look at things from your point of view, either. I was pretty busy worrying about how I’d be able to deal with my mom’s being gone and all. So I didn’t stop to think about how you’d have to deal with having me in your house.”

Carole took a deep breath and gave Marie a tentative smile. “Well, I’m willing to try to do better from now on if you are. How about it?”

“Deal,” Marie said. She stuck out her hand.

Carole shook it, feeling a little awkward. “Oh, by the way, happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” Marie replied.

Carole bit her lip. “I’m really sorry, Marie,” she said quietly. “About everything.”