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Authors: Bonnie Bryant
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about an infestation.
“I know you’re upset,” she said gently, “but I think Phil has a point, too. He’s spent a lot of time organizing this dance, and he’s probably worked very hard. Of course he wants to show it off to you. You’re the person whose opinion matters most to him!”
“My opinion is that he should come to
my
dance,” Stevie retorted. “I understand what you’re saying, Lisa, but I should be more important to him than any crummy dance, whether he’s worked on the committee or not. If he really, truly cared about me, he would skip his dance. What’s the point of Valentine’s Day anyway, if you can’t spend it with the person you care about?”
“Maybe you can do both dances,” Carole suggested. “Spend half the night at Pine Hollow, and half the night at his school.”
“We’d spend half the night in the car, going back and forth between dances,” Stevie said impatiently. “Besides, I wouldn’t get to hang around you guys very much. This isn’t just about our dances anymore. This is an argument about aprinciple. Phil should come to Pine Hollow because it’s important to me.”
Carole and Lisa sighed. Carole didn’t know what else to say. When Stevie went downstairs to get more sodas, Carole turned to Lisa. “You know, I bet Phil’s sitting at home right now, thinking, ‘Stevie should go to my school dance because it’s important to me. If she truly cared about me, she would skip her dance.’ ”
Lisa chewed a piece of the ice left in her glass. “I know. You and I can both see that Phil’s side of the story is just as good as—in fact, it’s probably identical to—Stevie’s, but Stevie can’t see it at all. I’m not sure we can convince her, either.”
Carole nodded. “Stevie really wants to get her own way on this. I don’t think we can do anything, except hang around to console her when she breaks up with Phil.”
Lisa shook her head. “Seems like a stupid reason to lose a boyfriend.”
“I’ve got it!” Stevie threw open Lisa’s door so hard that one of the open cans of sodas she was carrying spilled. The girls spent several minutes mopping Lisa’s carpet with some bathroom towels.
“Sorry,” Stevie said. “At least it was diet lemon-lime. No stickys, no stains. But I’ve come up with a really excellent plan!” She settled herself on the floor and took a long sip of one of the remaining sodas. “Tomorrow, after Horse Wise has finished helping Mrs. Reg decorate the hay bam, I’m going to invite Phil to come see it. When he sees how wonderfully, perfectly romantic it’s going to be—how much nicer than that smelly, linoleum-covered cafeteria—I know he’ll want to come to our dance.”
Lisa wasn’t convinced this scheme would work, but it was a lot less destructive than having Phil’s school condemned. She gladly offered Stevie her phone to call Phil right away.
Stevie called and hung up grinning. “He said he was happy to come,” she reported. “His mom’s taking him into town anyway so that he can put the finishing touches on his cafeteria. He’s coming at noon.” She laughed. “Carole, Lisa, I feel so much better! This is going to be a great Valentine’s Day after all!”
“W HAT A BEAUTIFUL morning,” Carole said. She paused to sniff the springlike air before helping Lisa push the two heavy doors of Pine Hollow’shay barn open. At the end of summer, the hay bam was filled top to bottom and edge to edge with bales of hay for the Pine Hollow horses. By February, however, the supply of hay was always getting low enough that the main floor of the old-fashioned barn was completely clear. Now Horse Wise was setting up for the evening’s festivities. Adam, Polly, and a few of the other Pony Clubbers climbed into the loft and threw some hay bales down. The rest of the kids stacked them at the sides of the barn to make seats and tables for the dance.
“Just angle those bales a little more to the left, Betsy,” Stevie directed.
“I know you’re upset,” she said gently, “but I think Phil has a point, too. He’s spent a lot of time organizing this dance, and he’s probably worked very hard. Of course he wants to show it off to you. You’re the person whose opinion matters most to him!”
“My opinion is that he should come to
my
dance,” Stevie retorted. “I understand what you’re saying, Lisa, but I should be more important to him than any crummy dance, whether he’s worked on the committee or not. If he really, truly cared about me, he would skip his dance. What’s the point of Valentine’s Day anyway, if you can’t spend it with the person you care about?”
“Maybe you can do both dances,” Carole suggested. “Spend half the night at Pine Hollow, and half the night at his school.”
“We’d spend half the night in the car, going back and forth between dances,” Stevie said impatiently. “Besides, I wouldn’t get to hang around you guys very much. This isn’t just about our dances anymore. This is an argument about aprinciple. Phil should come to Pine Hollow because it’s important to me.”
Carole and Lisa sighed. Carole didn’t know what else to say. When Stevie went downstairs to get more sodas, Carole turned to Lisa. “You know, I bet Phil’s sitting at home right now, thinking, ‘Stevie should go to my school dance because it’s important to me. If she truly cared about me, she would skip her dance.’ ”
Lisa chewed a piece of the ice left in her glass. “I know. You and I can both see that Phil’s side of the story is just as good as—in fact, it’s probably identical to—Stevie’s, but Stevie can’t see it at all. I’m not sure we can convince her, either.”
Carole nodded. “Stevie really wants to get her own way on this. I don’t think we can do anything, except hang around to console her when she breaks up with Phil.”
Lisa shook her head. “Seems like a stupid reason to lose a boyfriend.”
“I’ve got it!” Stevie threw open Lisa’s door so hard that one of the open cans of sodas she was carrying spilled. The girls spent several minutes mopping Lisa’s carpet with some bathroom towels.
“Sorry,” Stevie said. “At least it was diet lemon-lime. No stickys, no stains. But I’ve come up with a really excellent plan!” She settled herself on the floor and took a long sip of one of the remaining sodas. “Tomorrow, after Horse Wise has finished helping Mrs. Reg decorate the hay bam, I’m going to invite Phil to come see it. When he sees how wonderfully, perfectly romantic it’s going to be—how much nicer than that smelly, linoleum-covered cafeteria—I know he’ll want to come to our dance.”
Lisa wasn’t convinced this scheme would work, but it was a lot less destructive than having Phil’s school condemned. She gladly offered Stevie her phone to call Phil right away.
Stevie called and hung up grinning. “He said he was happy to come,” she reported. “His mom’s taking him into town anyway so that he can put the finishing touches on his cafeteria. He’s coming at noon.” She laughed. “Carole, Lisa, I feel so much better! This is going to be a great Valentine’s Day after all!”
“W HAT A BEAUTIFUL morning,” Carole said. She paused to sniff the springlike air before helping Lisa push the two heavy doors of Pine Hollow’shay barn open. At the end of summer, the hay bam was filled top to bottom and edge to edge with bales of hay for the Pine Hollow horses. By February, however, the supply of hay was always getting low enough that the main floor of the old-fashioned barn was completely clear. Now Horse Wise was setting up for the evening’s festivities. Adam, Polly, and a few of the other Pony Clubbers climbed into the loft and threw some hay bales down. The rest of the kids stacked them at the sides of the barn to make seats and tables for the dance.
“Just angle those bales a little more to the left, Betsy,” Stevie directed.
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