Horse Power by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page A

talking.
    “I just can’t wait to see Kate again,” Carole began.
    “She must be neat,” Stevie said.
    “Oh, yes, she is! And she’s
different
, somehow, too.”
    “Different from whom?” Lisa asked.
    “Everybody,” Carole said. “She seems so sure of herself, so confident. But it’s not off-putting, if you know what I mean.”
    “I guess you have to be pretty sure of yourself ifyou’re going to be in tough competitions like she has,” Lisa observed.
    “I guess you do,” Carole said. “But she’s not snooty, like you might think she could be.”
    “We’ll see for ourselves soon enough,” Stevie said.
    “Just about twelve hours from now,” Lisa piped in.
    “I can’t wait,” Carole said again.
    “So we heard,” Lisa said.
    “Have I been talking about her too much?” Carole asked. Lisa could hear the hurt in Carole’s voice and was ashamed of herself for her thoughtless remark.
    “Oh, I didn’t mean it that way,” she said, trying to comfort Carole. “I was just teasing. But—”
    “But what?” Carole asked.
    “Sometimes you do go on a bit,” Lisa said. “But it’s okay. It’s you and that’s the way you are—like how you sometimes lecture a bit on horse care. That’s okay, too, because your friends really learn from you, you know? So now you’re excited about Kate—”
    “Sure I’m excited about her arriving, but maybe I’m talking about it so much because, in a way, I’m dreading it, too.”
    “You could fool me!” Stevie said. “Why are you nervous?”
    “Well, it’s that thing about how I kept sort of giving her that beginner lesson in horses last week—and then I learn that she’s an expert! What do you suppose she thinks of me? I made such an idiot of myself!”
    “You’re not an idiot,” Lisa assured her. “And besides, the big question here is,
why
didn’t she tell you? It’s not as if she could have just expected you to know about her blue ribbons—”
    “Not just blue ribbons,” Carole interrupted. “She’s got to have a roomful of silver cups!”
    “But she couldn’t expect you to know about them. So
why?
”
    “I don’t know why, but I do know
what
. The what is that as soon as I see her tomorrow, I have to apologize.”
    “I bet she apologizes first,” Stevie said.
    “What does she have to apologize for?” Carole asked. “She didn’t make a fool out of herself.”
    “No, but she made you feel embarrassed, and that’s worse,” Lisa said. “If she’s as nice as you say, there’s got to be a reason. The big mystery for tomorrow is going to be finding it out.”
    “Maybe,” Carole said.
    Lisa could tell, though, that she still felt bad about the whole mix-up. But they couldn’t solve the mystery until Kate arrived. In the meantime, Lisa had to get Carole’s mind off it. “Time to change the subject,” she announced. “Anybody have something else to talk about?”
    “I do,” Stevie said. “I want to talk about B-O-Y-S.”
    “Yes?” Carole said, obviously relieved to have the focus off herself. “Anyone in particular?”
    “Sort of,” Stevie said. “I was wondering what it’s liketo have a boy have a crush on you. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me,” she said. “I thought maybe Lisa …?”
    Lisa was quiet for a moment. She hadn’t been terribly comfortable this week, being sure Chad was sort of lurking around, thinking about her. She
wanted
to talk about it, but, after all, Stevie was his sister. She took a deep breath. Lisa didn’t think she’d ever be able to talk about Chad, or any other boy, in the daylight. But, somehow, when the lights were out and they couldn’t see one another’s faces, it was easier to share.
    “It’s kind of strange, to tell you the truth. I mean, it’s like—well, he must know that I know he has a crush on me, but still nothing has happened.”
    “Do you want something to happen?” Carole asked.
    “Oh, yes!” Lisa said. “I’ve never had a date. I can hardly wait