anything to prove, but it
would
be nice to show Tec that she wasn’t exaggerating. She talk with him about it tonight and they could practice together tomorrow. It might not be exactly like a picnic on an almost-deserted beach, but it would mean being together and working together. She got excited just thinking about it.
“Okay, that’s it. Rehearsal’s over. See you next time!” Jane said. “And Lisa, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning on the trail ride, right?”
“Of course,” Lisa said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
She wouldn’t—and she had no intention of letting Tec miss it, either.
Lisa hopped down off the stage and headed back out into the bright tropical sunlight. It was just after five o’clock, and the afternoon seemed even hotter than it had before. She became aware of her overall exhaustion, recalling the nap she’d promised herself for the afternoon, now mostly gone. She was expecting to see Tec at eight. That gave her two and a half hours to rest and a half hour to freshen up and change before he came to pick her up for dinner. She glanced at the pool as she walked past it, wondering if she would see the guy whoreminded her of Tec, but there was no sign of him or the skinny girl in the skimpy bikini.
“She probably got a terrible sunburn,” Lisa told herself, and then realized she was being unnecessarily mean. She needed a nap.
“I THINK THERE ’ S a way to do this on the computer, but I don’t know what it is,” said Carole, glaring at a sheet of paper. What she held in her hand was a list of names. It seemed like everyone in the stable wanted to help with the painting, and that was good news. It also seemed like they all had different schedules.
“Why don’t we just tell everybody to come whenever they can?” Stevie asked.
“Because then we’d end up with fourteen people in a room that can hold only four. Anyway, we only have six paintbrushes.”
“And two cans of paint.”
“That, too,” Carole agreed. “So you had this bright idea to ask everybody when they had time. Some ofthem wrote times they were available; others just said when they were busy. I think if we look at this carefully, we can figure out Dr. Faisal’s entire schedule for the week.”
Dr. Faisal seemed to be everybody’s orthodontist, and apparently every single rider at Pine Hollow was getting his or her braces tightened during school vacation.
“Well, his office is between school and the stable,” Stevie reminded her.
“I know. It’s just funny to see it on this paper. Now, how do we organize?” Carole asked.
“We think what Lisa would do,” said Stevie.
“Ah, yes,” said Carole.
Stevie perched on the desk next to where Carole had placed the sheet of paper. The two of them studied it for a while.
“Okay, first we have to reorganize this list,” said Carole.
“Just what I was going to say.”
Stevie pulled a fresh sheet of paper out of the desk drawer, turned it sideways, and made six columns. The first one was NAMES and the rest were the days of the week, Tuesday to Saturday. Then she broke the days into thirds and called those MORNING , MIDDAY , and AFTERNOON . This was for them to work out who was available at which times. Once they knew that, theycould then begin to assign times on a second sheet of paper.
“This is just what Lisa would do,” Carole said, beaming.
“Sure,” Stevie agreed. “But she’d know how to do it on the computer.”
Carole shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Lisa’s not all that hot with the computer. It’s Phil who could figure out how to do it on a computer.”
Stevie looked at the handmade chart and smiled. “Computers? Who needs ’em? Not me!”
L ISA ’ S EYES FLUTTERED open. She was aware of little more than the total darkness of her room. At first, she wasn’t even aware of what room it was, but then the soft breeze coming through the light cotton curtain reminded her she was on vacation, at a resort on San
would
be nice to show Tec that she wasn’t exaggerating. She talk with him about it tonight and they could practice together tomorrow. It might not be exactly like a picnic on an almost-deserted beach, but it would mean being together and working together. She got excited just thinking about it.
“Okay, that’s it. Rehearsal’s over. See you next time!” Jane said. “And Lisa, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning on the trail ride, right?”
“Of course,” Lisa said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
She wouldn’t—and she had no intention of letting Tec miss it, either.
Lisa hopped down off the stage and headed back out into the bright tropical sunlight. It was just after five o’clock, and the afternoon seemed even hotter than it had before. She became aware of her overall exhaustion, recalling the nap she’d promised herself for the afternoon, now mostly gone. She was expecting to see Tec at eight. That gave her two and a half hours to rest and a half hour to freshen up and change before he came to pick her up for dinner. She glanced at the pool as she walked past it, wondering if she would see the guy whoreminded her of Tec, but there was no sign of him or the skinny girl in the skimpy bikini.
“She probably got a terrible sunburn,” Lisa told herself, and then realized she was being unnecessarily mean. She needed a nap.
“I THINK THERE ’ S a way to do this on the computer, but I don’t know what it is,” said Carole, glaring at a sheet of paper. What she held in her hand was a list of names. It seemed like everyone in the stable wanted to help with the painting, and that was good news. It also seemed like they all had different schedules.
“Why don’t we just tell everybody to come whenever they can?” Stevie asked.
“Because then we’d end up with fourteen people in a room that can hold only four. Anyway, we only have six paintbrushes.”
“And two cans of paint.”
“That, too,” Carole agreed. “So you had this bright idea to ask everybody when they had time. Some ofthem wrote times they were available; others just said when they were busy. I think if we look at this carefully, we can figure out Dr. Faisal’s entire schedule for the week.”
Dr. Faisal seemed to be everybody’s orthodontist, and apparently every single rider at Pine Hollow was getting his or her braces tightened during school vacation.
“Well, his office is between school and the stable,” Stevie reminded her.
“I know. It’s just funny to see it on this paper. Now, how do we organize?” Carole asked.
“We think what Lisa would do,” said Stevie.
“Ah, yes,” said Carole.
Stevie perched on the desk next to where Carole had placed the sheet of paper. The two of them studied it for a while.
“Okay, first we have to reorganize this list,” said Carole.
“Just what I was going to say.”
Stevie pulled a fresh sheet of paper out of the desk drawer, turned it sideways, and made six columns. The first one was NAMES and the rest were the days of the week, Tuesday to Saturday. Then she broke the days into thirds and called those MORNING , MIDDAY , and AFTERNOON . This was for them to work out who was available at which times. Once they knew that, theycould then begin to assign times on a second sheet of paper.
“This is just what Lisa would do,” Carole said, beaming.
“Sure,” Stevie agreed. “But she’d know how to do it on the computer.”
Carole shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Lisa’s not all that hot with the computer. It’s Phil who could figure out how to do it on a computer.”
Stevie looked at the handmade chart and smiled. “Computers? Who needs ’em? Not me!”
L ISA ’ S EYES FLUTTERED open. She was aware of little more than the total darkness of her room. At first, she wasn’t even aware of what room it was, but then the soft breeze coming through the light cotton curtain reminded her she was on vacation, at a resort on San
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