Hobbyhorse by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page B

to hear what Jasmine said. She sighed. She could guess that Amelia was bragging about herself, her riding skill, and her horses again, but she decided to ignore it. She’d been thinking during her lesson, and she’d decided that what she really needed to do was somehow inspire Amelia to behave. The problem was, she couldn’t come up with anything inspirational to say.
    To her amazement, Amelia turned on her before she could even open her mouth. “You lied to me!” Amelia said. “You said Delilah was a great horse, just like Star!”
    “She probably is like Star,” Lisa said. “And what difference does it make? You liked her, and you had a nice ride. And while we’re on the subject of lying—”
    “You’re not nice, Lisa! I’m going to get you for this!”
    “Oh, brother,” Lisa said. “Who cares?”
    “Not me!” Amelia pulled on the reins and led Delilahinto the stable. Lisa stared. After only one day in Amelia’s company, she was entirely drained of energy.
    Stevie walked up and shook her head. “Is she going to have to be a Saddle Club project?”
    Lisa nodded. “Is she ever.”

B Y THE TIME Lisa got Prancer untacked and settled, her mother had arrived to drive her and Amelia home. Lisa was silent during the trip. She wanted to tell her parents all about Amelia’s behavior, but she wasn’t comfortable bringing it up in front of Amelia. The girl would probably start World War III, and Lisa didn’t have the energy for combat just then.
    She wished she’d had a moment to talk with Stevie before she left. She hadn’t come up with any good ideas for dealing with Amelia, but Stevie’s creativity could usually be counted on.
    “I’m going to change,” Amelia said, running up the stairs of Lisa’s house. Lisa followed more slowly. Amelia shut the door of Lisa’s room and locked it.
    “Hey!” Lisa shouted. “Let me in!”
    “I’m getting dressed!” Amelia called back.
    “I want to change, too!” Lisa pounded on the door. “Let me in!”
    “Just a minute!” Amelia shouted.
    Lisa’s mother came up the stairs with a basket of clean laundry. “Here,” she offered, “take some clothes and use the bathroom. Don’t worry about Amelia.”
    Lisa locked herself in the hall bathroom and yanked a clean sweatshirt over her head. If she found her reading her letters again, or messing with any of her stuff, Amelia was going to catch it good.
    Lisa washed her hands and face and combed her hair. When she heard Amelia leave her room and go downstairs, she sighed with relief and began to plan. First she was going to tell her parents how Amelia had behaved in the pasture. Then she was going to call Carole. She went downstairs and poked her head into the living room to see if her mother was there.
    Lisa gave a squeak of horror. Amelia was climbing onto the hobbyhorse!
    “Get off that!” Lisa shouted. She rushed across the roomand grabbed Amelia, lifting her just as she was about to sit down. “I told you not to play with it! You’ll break it.” She tried to pull Amelia away.
    Amelia resisted. “I want to! Leave me alone!”
    “You can’t!” Lisa said. “Nobody is allowed to play with it.” She tugged at Amelia’s arm, but Amelia tugged back. “It’s made for really little kids,” Lisa said. “You’re too big.”
    “You just don’t want me to play with it because you don’t like me,” Amelia retorted. “You don’t want me to have any fun at all. You hate me!”
    Lisa gave Amelia’s arm another jerk. She was thoroughly fed up. “What do you expect?” she asked. “After the way you acted toward Carole, one of my best friends? After the way you talked to the Pony Tails? After the way you carried on about Prancer? You’re the biggest brat I’ve ever met!”
    Amelia let out an anguished howl and threw her weight backward, tearing herself out of Lisa’s grasp. She stumbled against the hobbyhorse, and it crashed to the floor under her.
“Ow!”
Amelia cried.
    Lisa rushed to