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Authors: Bonnie Bryant
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the show. I’m sure you’d enjoy that. You always seem to like doing it here, right?”
“Veronica,” Lisa said in her most controlled voice. “Go jump in a lake.”
Veronica looked puzzled, clearly not understanding why Lisa wasn’t excited about the opportunity she’d offered her.
“Is that a no?” Veronica asked.
“I think class is about to begin,” Lisa said. “You ought to see to it that Red has Danny saddled up properly.”
Veronica turned on her heels and walked off to find Red.
A S FAR AS Stevie was concerned, her entire day was pretty much a loss. First she’d had to go to school, and she wasn’t at all sure her science teacher believed there had been a flood in her bedroom that had destroyed her lab report. The woman obviously had a suspicious mind, because she’d asked Stevie three times if her bedroom was on the second floor of the house. She wasn’t having much more luck convincing Belle that she wanted her to change leads at the crossing point in the ring.
“Stevie!” Max said, exasperated.
“It’s not me, it’s Belle!” she said, knowing as the words came out of her mouth exactly what Max was going to say. At least she was right about that.
“There are no bad horses, just bad riders!”
“Yes sir,” she said, and returned to the corner to try again.
Finally she finished the course and was relieved when it was Carole’s turn for humiliation. She and Belle stood on the sidelines with the other riders. Unfortunately she ended up next to Veronica.
The last person she wanted to be anywhere near wasVeronica. It was the only possible way to take a bad day and make it worse. She’d heard Veronica whining in Max’s office when she’d arrived. Veronica was hard to take even when she was in a good mood. There was no telling what could happen when she was feeling cranky.
Then something nice did happen. Veronica looked at Stevie’s boots.
“Can’t keep your eyes off them, can you?” she asked.
“You bought the last pair in that size,” Veronica said accusingly.
“We wear the same size?” Stevie asked. She was a little surprised to have anything in common with Veronica.
“I could have gone to the mall last weekend,” Veronica said. “And then I’d have them.”
“Give me a break, Veronica,” Stevie said.
“But I don’t think I’d like them anyway. The heels are too high.”
Stevie didn’t say anything. It was all she could do to keep from whooping with laughter. If Veronica couldn’t have something, it had to be bad. Even though she was having a rough day, the fact that Veronica envied her boots was almost enough to make up for it.
For the rest of the class, Veronica could barely keep her eyes off the boots, and Stevie felt like she was floating on air.
S TEVIE ALWAYS SAID that her favorite part of Christmas was opening presents, but it wasn’t really her favorite. Not that that was an easy choice. Christmas at the Lake household was always a wonderful day. Everyone woke up early and the kids got to open their stockings. When Stevie was little, she and her brothers were usually up before dawn. Now that they were older, they would stay in bed until a time their parents considered more reasonable, like seven o’clock.
This morning Michael had gotten up at six-thirty, but Stevie threatened to turn him to stone if she couldn’t get more sleep. Seven o’clock was as late as she could hold him off. It was as late as she wanted to stay in bed, anyway.
Present opening happened after breakfast, and it wasalways a spirited occasion. Then the Lakes telephoned distant relatives to thank them for their presents and catch up on news. This part was sometimes fun, depending on the relative and the gift that Stevie had to thank them for. Then came lunch, a casual meal for the Lakes on Christmas. And then came Stevie’s favorite part.
It seemed to happen every Christmas. Her parents would get sort of droopy and tired and start talking about naps. Everyone would
“Veronica,” Lisa said in her most controlled voice. “Go jump in a lake.”
Veronica looked puzzled, clearly not understanding why Lisa wasn’t excited about the opportunity she’d offered her.
“Is that a no?” Veronica asked.
“I think class is about to begin,” Lisa said. “You ought to see to it that Red has Danny saddled up properly.”
Veronica turned on her heels and walked off to find Red.
A S FAR AS Stevie was concerned, her entire day was pretty much a loss. First she’d had to go to school, and she wasn’t at all sure her science teacher believed there had been a flood in her bedroom that had destroyed her lab report. The woman obviously had a suspicious mind, because she’d asked Stevie three times if her bedroom was on the second floor of the house. She wasn’t having much more luck convincing Belle that she wanted her to change leads at the crossing point in the ring.
“Stevie!” Max said, exasperated.
“It’s not me, it’s Belle!” she said, knowing as the words came out of her mouth exactly what Max was going to say. At least she was right about that.
“There are no bad horses, just bad riders!”
“Yes sir,” she said, and returned to the corner to try again.
Finally she finished the course and was relieved when it was Carole’s turn for humiliation. She and Belle stood on the sidelines with the other riders. Unfortunately she ended up next to Veronica.
The last person she wanted to be anywhere near wasVeronica. It was the only possible way to take a bad day and make it worse. She’d heard Veronica whining in Max’s office when she’d arrived. Veronica was hard to take even when she was in a good mood. There was no telling what could happen when she was feeling cranky.
Then something nice did happen. Veronica looked at Stevie’s boots.
“Can’t keep your eyes off them, can you?” she asked.
“You bought the last pair in that size,” Veronica said accusingly.
“We wear the same size?” Stevie asked. She was a little surprised to have anything in common with Veronica.
“I could have gone to the mall last weekend,” Veronica said. “And then I’d have them.”
“Give me a break, Veronica,” Stevie said.
“But I don’t think I’d like them anyway. The heels are too high.”
Stevie didn’t say anything. It was all she could do to keep from whooping with laughter. If Veronica couldn’t have something, it had to be bad. Even though she was having a rough day, the fact that Veronica envied her boots was almost enough to make up for it.
For the rest of the class, Veronica could barely keep her eyes off the boots, and Stevie felt like she was floating on air.
S TEVIE ALWAYS SAID that her favorite part of Christmas was opening presents, but it wasn’t really her favorite. Not that that was an easy choice. Christmas at the Lake household was always a wonderful day. Everyone woke up early and the kids got to open their stockings. When Stevie was little, she and her brothers were usually up before dawn. Now that they were older, they would stay in bed until a time their parents considered more reasonable, like seven o’clock.
This morning Michael had gotten up at six-thirty, but Stevie threatened to turn him to stone if she couldn’t get more sleep. Seven o’clock was as late as she could hold him off. It was as late as she wanted to stay in bed, anyway.
Present opening happened after breakfast, and it wasalways a spirited occasion. Then the Lakes telephoned distant relatives to thank them for their presents and catch up on news. This part was sometimes fun, depending on the relative and the gift that Stevie had to thank them for. Then came lunch, a casual meal for the Lakes on Christmas. And then came Stevie’s favorite part.
It seemed to happen every Christmas. Her parents would get sort of droopy and tired and start talking about naps. Everyone would
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