Hayride Read Free Page A

reminding me.”
    Stevie and Carole giggled softly.
    “Not your type, huh, Lisa?” Stevie commented to her friend.
    Lisa just groaned again.
    At that moment they reached a grassy stretch, and Carole urged Starlight into a trot.
    They trotted for several minutes until they came to a stream that had to be navigated at a walk. Starlight put up a fuss about crossing it. He was only four years old and could still be silly about some things. He dug his hoof in at the water, but Carole steadied him with her firm seat and hands and made him step into it. After the first step, he was fine. “Good boy,” Carole told him several times, patting his neck. It was just as important to praise a young horse as it was to correct his faults, and Starlight seemed to remember praise much better than punishment.
    Topside and Barq walked right through the stream, barely even noticing it. They were both old hands—Topside an ex-show horse and Barq an experienced school horse.
    When they reached the other side, Carole stayed at a walk so that talk of the party could continue.
    “Okay, so who’ve we got as definites?” Carole asked.
    Stevie was eager to reply. “The way I see it, it’s the three of us, plus Veronica, Betsy Cavanaugh—she’s really gotten nicer since she’s been going out with James Spencer—Helen Sanderson, and both Megs—Meg Robertsand Meg Durham from Pine Hollow. Plus maybe Adam Levine—he’s not that cute, but he likes Meg Roberts. I mean Meg Durham. And then from school—”
    “No,” Lisa interrupted. “You mean he likes Meg Roberts. I saw them holding hands at the mall.”
    “Really?” Carole asked. “Because I heard from Helen’s twin brother Tom—the one that used to ride Comanche till he quit—that Meg Roberts told Meg Durham that she—Meg Durham—could have Adam Levine if she wanted because she—Meg Roberts—had met A.J. at a Pony Club meeting and she liked him better.”
    “Oh, no!” Stevie shook her head. “That’s not what happened at all. John O’Brien is in Tom’s class, and I heard him tell Adam that Tom was just saying that Meg Roberts liked A.J. because he heard A.J. liked her, and Tom wanted to help get them together, so that Tom could ask Meg
Durham
out himself, but of course John has a huge crush on Helen, and Tom keeps getting in the way whenever Adam goes to see Helen, so since Adam is mad at Tom, you can’t trust what he says about Meg.”
    “Durham?”
    “No, Roberts.”
    “Oh.”
    Carole digested Stevie’s information for a moment. “Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “So how about inviting Meg Roberts and A.J.; or Meg Roberts and John, Meg Durham and Tom; or Meg Durham and John,Betsy and James, Adam and Helen. And if John doesn’t work out with either of the Megs, why not John and Amy Wilensky? She’s always liked him.”
    “Until Amy found out that John dumped Polly and Jen last summer after going out with both of them at the same time for two weeks,” Lisa reminded her.
    “True,” Carole said, sighing.
    “But,” Stevie piped up, “
Polly
totally fell in love with him
after
he dumped her and Jen, because she adores anyone who does anything nasty to Jen because of the Peter Schwartz incident.”
    “Right. So it’s
Polly
and John, Meg Roberts and A.J., Meg Durham and Tom, Betsy and James, Adam and Helen, Stevie and Phil, me and Cam and—” Carole paused and looked at Lisa. Although Lisa had occasionally dated—and had almost had a romance with a boy out West—she currently did not have a boyfriend. Stevie and Carole were always careful not to leave her out with boyfriend talk. Lisa didn’t seem to worry too much, but Carole thought it would be fun to arrange something for Lisa at the party and have it work out.
    “Is there anyone you have in mind, Lisa?” Carole inquired.
    “Yeah, this is the perfect opportunity. You can invite someone as your date without his even knowing it,” Stevie said.
    Lisa thought for a minute.
    “How about Simon