Welcome to Willowvale

by Rebecca Johnson

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Abbey, Hannah and Talika are new recruits at Willowvale boarding school's Vet Cadets program. They are excited to learn all about caring for farm animals and the work that country vets do. Riding horses, shearing sheep and treasure-hunting for parasites are all just part of their normal school day. But when something starts attacking the school's sheep, the three vet cadets must their scientific skills, animal knowledge and teamwork to try and catch the culprit before it's too late.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 Fitting in

  Chapter 2 Dinner is served

  Chapter 3 Flocked

  Chapter 4 The horses are here!

  Chapter 5 A lesson in riding

  Chapter 6 Poor Poppet

  Chapter 7 Lambsitting

  Chapter 8 Scoffed

  Chapter 9 Plan B

  Chapter 10 Horrible Beasties

  Chapter 11 Secrets

  Chapter 12 Dobbed in

  Chapter 13 Ticked off

  Chapter 14 The lure

  Chapter 15 A dog and a bone

  Chapter 16 Itchy

  Chapter 17 Click go the shears

  Chapter 18 Bob

  Chapter 19 Trouble

  For my mum, Helen.

  My champion, my honest opinion

  and my ever-patient ‘draft’ listener.

  × R

  The first day was always going to be tricky. Everyone back at home had been full of advice about what to do, what to say and how to feel. But now, as Abbey unpacked her gear in the shared dorm at Willowvale Girls Grammar, none of that advice seemed helpful.

  It didn’t take a genius to see that her roommate, Hannah, and her family could not be more different from Abbey’s. After very awkward introductions, the two mothers made small talk for a while, chatting about the girls as if they weren’t there.

  ‘She’s been a bit unhappy about coming . . .’

  ‘She doesn’t know anyone here . . .’

  ‘Her horse will arrive tomorrow . . .’

  ‘We’ve got a long drive home . . .’

  Then both groups went about quietly setting up the room, with an imaginary line confining each girl’s space.

  Hannah was slumped awkwardly on a chair at her desk, watching her mother fuss over a framed picture of a magnificent stallion with a dark flowing mane.

  ‘It’s fine, Mum, just leave it.’

  ‘Just let me be, Hannah,’ snapped her mother, standing back again to test how level the picture was. ‘You know I like things to be perfect.’

  And from what Abbey could see of Hannah’s family, she wasn’t kidding. They looked like they belonged on television. They were all tall and slim, with long blonde hair, olive skin and perfect white teeth. Abbey noticed that Hannah didn’t help with the unpacking. When she did try to arrange some books on her desk, her big sister, who looked to be about sixteen, rearranged them. Hannah’s bed was draped in matching floral quilts and designer cushions, and her desk was lined with a row of matching stationery items.

  Abbey glanced at her own bed. Not only was it covered in a faded cow print quilt, but you could hardly see it for stuffed toys and bags of clothes. It had taken her dad and fourteen-year-old brother Jack three separate trips to lug it up to the room. In the end, she gave up trying to find a spot for it all, and shoved the rest under the bed.

  The posters of dirt bikes and rodeos on the wall behind her bed were tattered and faded. She’d ripped them off her walls at home at the last minute, and now, compared to the framed stallion opposite, they looked shabby and old.

  Abbey noticed Elizabeth, Hannah’s sister, looking down her nose at the cow quilt cover and toys on her bed, almost as though she could smell cow. Jack noticed it too. He let slip a slightly audible moo in Abbey’s direction, which made her snort when she laughed . . . something she absolutely hated doing!

  Tears stung the corners of her eyes as she hugged her family goodbye. ‘Head up, chook,’ said her father as she locked her arms around his waist. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow, remember?’

  When they’d gone, Abbey perched on the corner of her bed, looking at her phone and trying not to stare at perfect Hannah and her perfect family. She couldn’t help glancing in the mirror at her own muscular arms and solid build. ‘Strong and hardworking’ was how her mum always described her. And until now, Abbey had been proud of that.

  A tinkling noise made everyone look towards the door. There was an Indian girl standing there with a long string of tiny bells in her hand.

  ‘Hi,’ she said, hovering in the doorway. ‘I am Talika, your roommate.’ She looked down at the bells in her hand. ‘Sorry about these. My mother insisted on me bringing them. They are supposed to bring good luck if you hang them on the door. I can take them off if they annoy you.’

  ‘They won’t bother me,’ said Abbey.

  Hannah just shrugged, but Abbey saw Hannah’s sister roll her eyes at her mother.

  Talika’s mum came through the door and Abbey hid a smile. She was bringing in a lot more than just tiny brass bells. Soon, Talika’s desk was completely covered in sealed containers of strange snacks and biscuits that Abbey assumed were for her tuckbox. They smelled spicy and sweet and were unlike anything Abbey had seen before. Talika’s mum spent about ten minutes pointing to each one and saying something rapidly to Talika in a melodic language.

  Hannah’s mother finally introduced herself. She spoke very slowly and clearly, and slightly louder than usual.

  Abbey stifled a smile when Talika’s mother answered in perfect English. She looked down at the car park from the window. Talika’s family had arrived in a large, black, chauffeur-driven limousine. Abbey guessed it was Talika’s father giving directions to the driver, who then spent close to half an hour carrying fancy boxes up to the room. Talika’s bed was quickly covered in brightly patterned silk throws and cushions and there was even a silk net hung above, that could be drawn around it for privacy. The chauffeur had to drill a hole in the ceiling to hang it, while Talika’s mum gave him instructions.

  ‘Now, dear, if there is nothing else you need, we might head off,’ said Hannah’s mum, watching everything with raised eyebrows and straightening Hannah’s quilt and cushions for the fourth time.

  ‘Fine with me,’ muttered Hannah.

  Her mother hovered, like she was waiting for Hannah to stand up and hug her or something, but Hannah didn’t even look up. Finally, her mother patted her lightly on the top of the head with heavily ringed fingers and brightly coloured nails, then picked up her huge leather handbag and strode out the door.

  Hannah’s sister stared at Abbey for a second or two longer than seemed polite, then followed her mother. The little bells that had now been fastened seemed to tinkle happily as they left the room.

  Finally, Talika’s mother finished fussing, and after a teary farewell they left too.

  The three girls were alone. There was a long, awkward silence.

  Abbey went to the window and looked out again. All the other boarders were in double rooms, but because there was an odd number this year, the three of them had been bundled together. Sort of like leftovers, thought Abbey. The good thing was their dorm was a much larger room at the end of the hall, which was usually reserved for a teacher or house supervisor. It was right on the top floor of the building and had its own bathroom. From the window there was a great view of the long flowing paddocks filled with sheep, cattle and all kinds of animals. She could even see what she guessed to be the back of the stables.

  Before she came, Abbey had looked up everything there was to know about Willowvale Girls Grammar. The agricultural school had five hundred students, and
seventy-two of them were boarding this year. Nineteen of them were in year seven, like Abbey. The school was only ten minutes’ drive from a large town, and it was surrounded by cattle and sheep properties.

  A hand bell ringing in the corridor called the boarders out to the hall. It was the boarding house supervisor, Miss Beckett. She’d seemed very friendly when she’d met Abbey and her mother at registration that morning. As she’d directed them to Abbey’s dorm, she’d pointed out things like the laundry and suitcase room along the way. She had a strange habit of breaking out into little bursts of nervous laughter for no apparent reason, which Abbey had found particularly funny.

  The three silent roommates joined the noisy, chattering swarm of girls as they flowed down the stairs to the meeting room. Everyone else seemed to have made instant friendships.

  The girls were asked to sit in their year levels and everyone was given a name tag. Abbey noticed that both Talika and Hannah had the same code printed at the bottom of their tags as she did.

  VCP7.

  It meant all three of them were part of the year seven Vet Cadets Program that the school was famous for.

  Each year, students could apply for the program. It was considered the best preparation for students who wanted careers in the animal industries, such as becoming a vet, stud owner, grazier or researcher. Both day girls and boarders made up this special team, but you had to have excellent marks in science to be eligible.

  Abbey looked around. She counted nine other VCP7 boarders. She could see why Hannah might be part of this group, but not why she would be boarding. When the huge shiny four-wheel drive had pulled up in the drop-off zone that morning, the name ‘Willowvale Thoroughbreds’ emblazoned on its side could be clearly seen from their dorm window. Hannah obviously came from a family that dealt in expensive animals and perhaps they wanted her to learn the trade. But what Abbey couldn’t fathom was, why would you board at Willowvale Girls Grammar when you lived in Willowvale?

  Hannah’s sister Elizabeth was a boarder too. Abbey could see her just a couple of rows over. She had changed into her year twelve uniform and proudly displayed the School Captain’s badge on her lapel.

  As to why Talika was in Vet Cadets – that was a complete puzzle to Abbey. There was no sign of anything to do with animals in her stuff. And her parents certainly didn’t look like they were off the land. Her father had been dressed in a black suit, and her mother wore a fine silk sari over silk trousers, her shiny black hair pulled back in a neat bun showing a small red dot painted in the middle of her forehead.

  ‘Good morning, students of Willowvale Girls Grammar.’

  The voice of Ms Sterling, the principal, interrupted her thoughts. The tall woman, dressed in a dark blue suit with a colourful scarf, stood before them.

  ‘May I have the roll, please, Miss Beckett?’

  Miss Beckett, sitting to the side, jumped up as if she had been zapped by a cattle prod, which made Abbey snort. Hannah and Talika giggled.

  Elizabeth shot them all a warning glance from across the room.

  ‘Whoops. Looks like we’re in trouble already,’ whispered Abbey.

  ‘Year seven Vet Cadet boarders,’ said Mr McPhail, standing in front of the stables, ‘part of your responsibilities at this school will be the care of our animals.’

  Mr McPhail was the animal husbandry teacher and was giving them a tour of the school’s farm. He had obviously spent many years outdoors and Abbey thought he looked more like one of the cattle hands on her parents’ station than a teacher. She liked him instantly.

  The girls followed him from pen to paddock and stall, as he spoke about each of the animals, and what they would be required to do to care for them. After they had looked at the sheep, poultry and cattle, they stopped at the pig stalls.

  ‘These are the school’s pigs, Henrietta and Boris. If you look at the clipboard on the wall of their stall, you’ll see what they are to be fed, how much and how often. The feed is stored in the next stall over and they are also fed the kitchen leftovers. There will be a roster drawn up assigning each dorm its jobs. This will change fortnightly.’

  Hannah was holding her fingers to her nostrils, and Abbey saw Talika had her notepad out and was madly writing down every word.

  ‘I hope none of you are going to get too fussy about which jobs you’re prepared to do,’ said Mr McPhail, glancing in Hannah’s direction. ‘This is a working property, and there’s always plenty to be done, not all of it pleasant.’

  ‘A bit of dirt and mud isn’t going to bother me,’ said Abbey as they walked off. ‘At my old school they made fun of you if you or your horse were too clean!’

  ‘So you do like horses, then?’ said Hannah, sounding surprised. ‘I thought you must have been into cows and dirt bikes.’

  She had a very posh way of speaking and Abbey had trouble trying to work out if she was as stuck up as she sounded.

  ‘Oh, I love horses!’ replied Abbey. ‘There’s nothing I’d rather do than spend the day on Pepper, my stock horse, rounding up cattle. Don’t get me wrong though – I like dirt bikes too. Our cattle station, “Pollara”, is over three thousand hectares. Sometimes, if the cattle are way out the back, it’s just quicker to take the bikes and it’s so much fun.’

  ‘I love horses too,’ chimed in Talika, ‘but until now I have never owned one and I am only really just learning to ride. I begged my mother to let me have lessons in India, but I have not really ridden out in open paddocks like these.’

  ‘So you have a horse?’ asked Hannah.

  ‘Oh yes, I do,’ said Talika excitedly. ‘His name is Pudding and he is very, very fat and greedy. I think my mother has decided that if all he thinks about is food, he will be less likely to run away with me on his back! I cannot wait until he comes tomorrow.’

  ‘So if your mother doesn’t like horses, what on earth are you doing at a school like this?’ said Hannah. Abbey had been dying to ask the same thing.

  ‘I begged them to send me,’ beamed Talika. ‘I made such a fuss and told them I would be entirely miserable for the rest of my school days if they did not let me experience what it was like to live in the country in Australia.’

  Abbey laughed at the thought of this pint-sized girl kicking up a fuss.

  ‘You see,’ said Talika, ‘in India we lived in an apartment. I have no brothers or sisters, and my parents are always very protective of me. To be honest, I just wanted to have an excuse to go to boarding school when we came to live in Australia so that I could have a break!’

  ‘It’s the last place I want to be,’ said Hannah miserably. Abbey and Talika looked at each other, but Hannah didn’t say any more.

  ‘Do you have a horse, Hannah?’ said Talika.

  ‘I have a thoroughbred called Bedazzled,’ said Hannah.

  ‘I am going to have so much to learn,’ groaned Talika. ‘I have no idea what sort of horse Pudding is, only that he looks as wide as he is tall. I think that was another reason my mother liked him. There is less distance for me to fall!’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ laughed Abbey. ‘Hannah and I will teach you to ride, won’t we, Han?’

  ‘Oh, that would be so kind,’ said Talika. ‘Thank you.’

  Hannah looked at Abbey and smiled for the first time. ‘No one has ever called me Han before,’ she said.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Abbey.

  ‘Don’t be,’ said Hannah quietly. ‘I like it.’

  That night at dinner the girls met Mrs Bristow, the head of catering, for the first time.

  There had been a rumour spreading among the girls that afternoon that Mrs Bristow could hear a pea drop on the floor from twenty paces away.

  Looking at her now, as she lectured the girls next to them on their table manners, Abbey could totally believe that rumour.

  ‘I’m guessing by the look of her she won’t be handing out seconds on dessert!’ sh
e whispered to the others.

  Mrs Bristow spun around faster than you could crack a whip. Her beady eyes scanned the group of girls and locked on Abbey.

  ‘What did you say?’ she bellowed.

  Hannah and Talika looked like they were going to faint, but Abbey piped up brightly.

  ‘Oh, I am so sorry, Mrs Bristow. I was just saying that I had heard somewhere that your kitchen makes the best desserts.’

  Mrs Bristow glared down at Abbey’s nametag. Abbey’s face glowed with admiration.

  ‘Well . . . yes . . . it does,’ she finally said. She turned away from them and stalked off.

  Abbey glanced at the others and crossed her eyes and wiped her brow. Hannah and Talika burst into giggles. Luckily Miss Beckett had begun announcing which tables should line up first for food, and their laughter went unnoticed.

  But not by everyone.

  Hannah’s sister made a beeline to their table and grabbed Hannah by the arm, yanking her to the side of the hall. She was obviously not happy. Talika and Abbey watched as Elizabeth delivered what could only be a warning, her face just a few centimetres from Hannah’s.

  When Hannah came back to the table she was close to tears.

  ‘Sorry if I got you into trouble,’ said Abbey.

  ‘I’m always in trouble with her. Now she’s made up her mind that you’re a bad influence on me!’

  ‘Well, I am!’ laughed Abbey. ‘I think from now on we should refer to Elizabeth as the Sheriff. And Mrs Bristow can be Chuckles.’

  Hannah was smiling again now, wiping at her eyes.

  ‘I grew up with three big brothers,’ said Abbey. ‘Nobody takes themselves too seriously around those boys.’

  ‘Oh, you are so lucky,’ said Talika. ‘When my mother and father are not travelling, they have no one else to nag but me! The Sheriff and Chuckles will be a dream compared to my mother, trust me.’

  ‘I can’t sleep,’ whispered Abbey that night as they lay in their beds.

  ‘Me neither,’ whispered Talika.