Read Online Best Friends by Bonnie Bryant - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bonnie Bryant
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take their gifts to their rooms and play with them, try them on, or read them—depending on the present. It was a quiet time, perhaps the only quiet time of the whole year at Stevie’s house. And one time a year, she loved it.
She settled onto her bed and thought about the busy days she’d had leading up to that afternoon. Pine Hollow had had its traditional Starlight Ride on Christmas Eve, and this year had been just as much fun as ever. The snow was still on the ground from the storm the week before, and that seemed to make everything glisten. The horses always loved the Starlight Ride, and the ride at night by torchlight was a very special time for the riders. There was always a bunch of people to welcome the Starlight Riders when they emerged from the woods and paraded to the park in the center of town. Everybody sang Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs and drank cocoa. And after the Starlight Ride, Stevieand her family had gone to the midnight service at church. It was always wonderful, especially the part when they lit candles and sang
Silent Night
. That was the one song Stevie always sang in tune.
Present opening had been good this year, too. Her parents loved the portrait of the four kids, and even Stevie thought it was a good picture of all of them. Somehow the photographer had managed to take a picture when Michael was not making faces at the camera. She wondered if professional photographers took classes on how to get kids to behave. It was probably a big trade secret, like how magicians saw people in half.
Her brothers had given her cool things. Chad had gotten her a CD and Alex had found a horse poster she really loved. Michael had made her a spoon rest. It was better than the ones she used to make, and she swore she’d keep it until she had her own apartment and needed it. He seemed pleased by that. Her parents had given her mostly clothes, and they were all nice. She was going to be well dressed for the rest of the school year.
Her brothers had liked the things she’d given them, too: a sci-fi book for Chad, a CD for Alex, and a baseball poster for Michael.
Only year or two earlier Stevie had discovered it was more important to her to give other people things theyliked than to get things she liked. Christmas had taken on a whole new luster since then, and she felt especially good about this year.
Then she looked at the gifts she’d gotten from her relatives. Her New England relatives had sent her some fancy soap. An aunt and uncle in Delaware had sent her a copy of
Misty of Chincoteague
. It was sweet of them to remember her interest in horses, but Stevie had had a copy of
Misty
since she was seven years old, and she practically had it memorized. Another miss was the sweater her grandmother had sent her. It was angora, and Stevie didn’t wear angora. It would look silly on her, and she couldn’t even bring herself to try it on. The good news was that Granny Lake lived
very
far away and would never know. The better news was that Lisa was practically born to wear angora. Stevie made a note to remind herself to ask Lisa if she’d like it.
Stevie picked up the novel her parents had given her. It was a mystery by Dick Francis, who wrote about horses. She opened to the first chapter. By the end of the page, her mind was totally on horses, but not totally on the story.
The bad news of the day was that nobody, nobody at all, had given her money. She had absolutely no cash left and nothing at all to pay for the CI. There was no way she was going to be competing at that show, even if she owned the most beautiful boots in both the Carolinas. She’d hinted to her parents thatthere was one tiny thing more, but when they realized what she was hinting at, they’d said no. It felt bad, but Stevie knew it was fair. They paid for Belle’s boarding and vet fees and Stevie’s classes. Horse shows were extra and were up to her. What had happened to all that baby-sitting money?
Christmas and riding boots and
She settled onto her bed and thought about the busy days she’d had leading up to that afternoon. Pine Hollow had had its traditional Starlight Ride on Christmas Eve, and this year had been just as much fun as ever. The snow was still on the ground from the storm the week before, and that seemed to make everything glisten. The horses always loved the Starlight Ride, and the ride at night by torchlight was a very special time for the riders. There was always a bunch of people to welcome the Starlight Riders when they emerged from the woods and paraded to the park in the center of town. Everybody sang Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs and drank cocoa. And after the Starlight Ride, Stevieand her family had gone to the midnight service at church. It was always wonderful, especially the part when they lit candles and sang
Silent Night
. That was the one song Stevie always sang in tune.
Present opening had been good this year, too. Her parents loved the portrait of the four kids, and even Stevie thought it was a good picture of all of them. Somehow the photographer had managed to take a picture when Michael was not making faces at the camera. She wondered if professional photographers took classes on how to get kids to behave. It was probably a big trade secret, like how magicians saw people in half.
Her brothers had given her cool things. Chad had gotten her a CD and Alex had found a horse poster she really loved. Michael had made her a spoon rest. It was better than the ones she used to make, and she swore she’d keep it until she had her own apartment and needed it. He seemed pleased by that. Her parents had given her mostly clothes, and they were all nice. She was going to be well dressed for the rest of the school year.
Her brothers had liked the things she’d given them, too: a sci-fi book for Chad, a CD for Alex, and a baseball poster for Michael.
Only year or two earlier Stevie had discovered it was more important to her to give other people things theyliked than to get things she liked. Christmas had taken on a whole new luster since then, and she felt especially good about this year.
Then she looked at the gifts she’d gotten from her relatives. Her New England relatives had sent her some fancy soap. An aunt and uncle in Delaware had sent her a copy of
Misty of Chincoteague
. It was sweet of them to remember her interest in horses, but Stevie had had a copy of
Misty
since she was seven years old, and she practically had it memorized. Another miss was the sweater her grandmother had sent her. It was angora, and Stevie didn’t wear angora. It would look silly on her, and she couldn’t even bring herself to try it on. The good news was that Granny Lake lived
very
far away and would never know. The better news was that Lisa was practically born to wear angora. Stevie made a note to remind herself to ask Lisa if she’d like it.
Stevie picked up the novel her parents had given her. It was a mystery by Dick Francis, who wrote about horses. She opened to the first chapter. By the end of the page, her mind was totally on horses, but not totally on the story.
The bad news of the day was that nobody, nobody at all, had given her money. She had absolutely no cash left and nothing at all to pay for the CI. There was no way she was going to be competing at that show, even if she owned the most beautiful boots in both the Carolinas. She’d hinted to her parents thatthere was one tiny thing more, but when they realized what she was hinting at, they’d said no. It felt bad, but Stevie knew it was fair. They paid for Belle’s boarding and vet fees and Stevie’s classes. Horse shows were extra and were up to her. What had happened to all that baby-sitting money?
Christmas and riding boots and
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