'Do you want a lift?' Kim asked.
Lindsey used Kim's stirrup to climb up behind the saddle. The girls set off across the back paddock.
'What's this about a video?' Kim asked.
Erin told the other girls about how Shelby's mum had unravelled the mystery, and how she and Shelby had designed the experiment. 'We were going to show you and your mum after we had finished,' she told Lindsey.
'You should have told us straightaway,' Lindsey grumbled.
'You wouldn't have believed us,' Shelby said. 'You weren't trying to find out what really happened. You'd already decided who was to blame.'
Lindsey opened her mouth and shut it again.
'She's right, Lin,' Erin said. 'It's like our assign-ment. You can have a theory, but you don't know for sure unless you test it. You would always have been suspicious of Chad and the troupe. And Diablo only got into the back paddock so it wasn't that bad.'
Lindsey frowned, but she didn't answer.
Erin continued to prattle on as they walked along the lane. 'You know, I never really got Science before. You do an experiment in class and everyone knows what's going to happen, because it's in the textbook, or the brainiacs do it faster, so by the time Shel and I finish we've seen it, like, fifteen times already, but this was exciting! When Diablo jumped that gate it was like, you know, discovering germs, or dinosaurs or something. I think I'm actually going to listen in class from now on, instead of just writing down stuff.'
Shelby smiled. She could imagine Erin's resolution lasting for about twenty minutes.
'You know in CSI when they do the experiments there's always funky music playing? I'm going to suggest that to Mrs Rowels. When we get out the bunsen burner she should put on something with one of those slap bass riffs, like the Seinfeld theme.' Erin did her best bass guitar impersonation. 'Dow, dow dowow. Do you guys remember that show? It was so unreal.'
They reached the wash bay and the girls dismounted.
'So your mum will drop the charges now, right?' Shelby asked Lindsey.
'I suppose she'll have to, but don't expect her to say sorry. She never will. Neither will I.' Lindsey stormed away.
Lindsey might not apologise, but Shelby thought Mrs Edel would. She was gruff, but in Shelby's experi-ence she was also fair.
While she hosed down Bandit Shelby could see Lindsey talking to Hayley. Hayley looked across to the wash bay, but Shelby couldn't see her expression.
'Don't worry about it, Shel,' Erin said with a sunny smile. 'Lin's just cranky because she doesn't like being wrong. She'll get over it. It'll all be coolies. You watch.'
'Maybe.'
As Erin washed Blue down she was trying to make the popping sounds from the Seinfeld theme. 'That was so unreal when Diablo jumped the gate,' she said. 'I can't wait to get home so I can watch it again.'
Shelby couldn't help but laugh.
35 Mrs Crook's Blessing
Shelby pushed on the pedals as she headed up the hill. A car slowed down behind her and she pulled in as close to the kerb as she could. The horn tooted and Shelby frowned. 'I'm over as far as I can, jeez!'
She looked around and was surprised to see Mrs Crook in her four-wheel drive, waving for her to stop. Hayley sat in the front looking tired and grouchy.
'Can we give you a lift?' Mrs Crook called out the window.
'No thanks,' Shelby answered, still pedalling.
'I'm giving you a lift,' Mrs Crook said, steering the car around in front of Shelby. The door at the back hissed as it swung open. Hayley slunk out of the passenger side to help Shelby with the bike.
'I'm sorry,' she murmured, lifting the front of Shelby's bike into the car.
'That's OK, Hales. I'm sorry too.'
'No, you don't even know yet. Just wait,' Hayley whispered.
Shelby slid into the back and strapped on the seatbelt as Mrs Crook pulled back onto the road.
'I understand that you're seeing Chad Hammond,' Mrs Crook said, looking at her in the rear-view mirror.
'Um,' Shelby began, not sure how to answer.
'Mum, please!' Hayley protested.
'I just think Shelby should know,' her mother said.
'Know what?' Shelby asked. 'Is this about him being Koori, because I do know and I don't think it matters. I can't believe you do.'
Hayley and her mother exchanged a glance.
'That's my opinion.' Shelby folded her arms.
The car moved from side to side as Mrs Crook weaved her way through the traffic. They would be home in no time at this speed.
'I can't believe you haven't told her!' Mrs Crook said to Hayley.
'Told me what?' Shelby said, exasperated.
'Can you ever let this go?' Hayley wailed.
'Chad Hammond broke Hayley's heart at the Myuna Bay camp!' Mrs Crook blurted.
Hayley covered her eyes with her hands. 'Mum! We were in year four.'
'Hayley and Chad had been going out for two months, and then at the Myuna Bay camp, Chad went kayaking with Olivia Dunstable, so Hayley told Cody Burnett to tell Chad he was dropped.'
'It was Logan,' Hayley corrected.
They stopped at a traffic light.
'Logan, Cody, whatever. It turned out that Olivia was Chad's cousin, and then, you know what? He wouldn't have Hayley back. Hayley rang me on her mobile. The crying! So I rang Chad and begged him to reconsider.'
'You rang him? At the camp?' Shelby asked.
Hayley groaned. 'Wait, Shelby, just wait.'
The light changed and Mrs Crook zoomed off again.
'And you know what? He said to me, "Mrs Crook, I am so disappointed that Hayley didn't trust me." I tried to reason with him, but he's never forgiven her! The whole school knew about it. Everyone on the P&C was talking about it.'
'Mum! It was five years ago!'
They turned onto Shelby's street.
'When everyone at the stables was saying that he had something to do with this Diablo business I knew it couldn't be true. He might have broken Hayley's heart, but he's a good boy deep down,' Mrs Crook insisted. 'And then when Brenda Edel told me about your video, and how she'd been wrong, I knew it. Just knew it. So I got on my mobile and I rang Chad straightaway.'
As they pulled up in front of her house, Shelby suddenly felt a sense of dread.
'And you know what? He told me that his brother had been to the police and confirmed that Chad was up the coast on Good Friday. So there. That's over and done with.' Mrs Crook nodded with satisfaction. 'So you know what I did then, Shelby?'
'What did you do?' Shelby asked.
Hayley covered her ears and moaned.
'I said to him, "Chad, I know we've had our dis agreements in the past, but if you want to go out with Shelby Shaw you have my blessing."'
'You didn't!' Shelby whispered.
'She did,' Hayley sighed.
36 Shelby's Destiny
Shelby woke up in the morning to the merry and persistent chirping of a willy wagtail. It was the time of morning just before dawn when the quality of light through the window is grey and misty, and you're not sure yet if it's going to be a rainy day.
She lay snuggled in her doona in that moment between wake and sleep; relaxed, and content to let thoughts drift across her mind like clouds, or smoke, like daydreams.
Tonight, after work, she was going to sleep over at Erin's and they would edit their assignment video. The assignment asked them to reflect on what they had learned, and they hadn't filmed that part yet. Neither of them had ever come first in an assign-ment before. Shelby thought this time they would. They'd put quite a lot of work into it already, but it was enjoyable, mostly. Shelby hoped she could find ways to do video assignments in other subjects. It was much more fun than writing.
She'd never finished an assignment early before either. Now she had another whole week of holidays stretching out in front of her.
Tonight, Shelby had decided, she would tell Erin all about Aunt Jenny's trip and how the troupe had asked her to join them for th
e winter tour. Erin wouldn't want her to go, but maybe there was more to her perspective that Shelby hadn't thought of. If Shelby could trust Erin for anything, it was having a different perspective!
Shelby rolled onto her stomach, resting her chin on her forearms.
She was going to ring Chad as well, and ask him to come over for a barbecue. It would be embarrassing, especially after Mrs Crook ringing him, but she would like to see him again, and so she would have to get over that embarrassing part some time.
Dewdrops clung to the cobwebs in the trees, making them look like dream-catchers. The little bird sat on the fence swinging its hips, swaying its long, black tail, and chirruping.
There was a rabbit on the back lawn. It was a greyish brown colour and lean, with large black eyes. Every few seconds it would lift up its head and turn its ears independently, like two radar dishes. Shelby couldn't decide if it was cautious or bold, and decided it was both at the same time. So far the bunny seemed content with the lawn, but Shelby would have to wake her dad soon, before it discovered his precious vegie patch.
There were hundreds of bunnies in the paddocks at the stables. Mrs Edel was at constant war with them – terrified that one of the horses would step in a burrow and break its leg. That hadn't happened yet, but so far the rabbits were winning.
Shelby closed her eyes again.
Before she met Erin, Shelby had sat in the play-ground with a girl called Maddy – a slow-talking mouth-breather. Maddy had loved horses too, but her parents said she wasn't allowed to, so she loved them in secret. She drew pictures of them in the back of her exercise books, but they were always stylised and mystical looking – not like real horses at all. Some-times Maddy tore the pages out and burned them in case her parents found them.
Shelby wondered what sort of parents would say you're not allowed to love something. They can say you can't own a horse, but they can't be the boss of your feelings.
Why wasn't Maddy allowed to love horses? She'd never met them, but Shelby imagined Maddy's parents with pinched faces, and squinty, close-together eyes. Besides, it just didn't work. Maddy loved horses more than ever.
Once upon a time Shelby had wished to be one of the Crooks, but now she could see Mrs Crook ran Hayley's life to a tight schedule. Hayley didn't get to make her own decisions, even about her boyfriends! Brenda Edel lived her life in constant hard work every daylight hour, and some of the night, and Lindsey had to work too, whether she wanted to or not. Shelby guessed Lindsey had never had a holiday, or even two days off in a row. Both of those girls had inherited horses in their lives.
Erin, on the other hand, didn't come from a horsey family. She got a horse because Shelby had one. It wasn't a deep, long-standing passion like it was for Shelby or Maddy. Shelby thought it was almost too easy, and Erin could probably give it away tomorrow. Shelby could imagine some time in the future Erin would find a boyfriend, and then Bandit would sit in a paddock, dumped, like Lyrical and those other riding school ponies.
Shelby's own parents let her make mistakes. They trusted her to make decisions. They respected her. Shelby didn't have to pretend to be a different person when she was around them, like Maddy did. Shelby wasn't their puppet, or their slave.
She stirred again. The sun slanted across the yard, making long shadows, and glinting on the leaves. It wasn't going to rain after all.
It seemed so obvious to her now in this moment. She didn't need lists to know her destiny. The choice was simple, given who she was and what she believed in – given how she had been brought up.
The bunny must have heard something. It sat up on its hind legs, nose twitching. She could see the fur on its belly and imagine, if she stroked it, how soft and warm it would be. Before long another one lolloped into view. The two rabbits regarded each other with a seriousness out of keeping with their cute appearance.
Soon she would tell her father about the rabbits. Shelby smiled thinking about her dad in his pyjama shorts in the backyard, waving his arms and shouting at the bunnies – an effective but short-term solution.
First she would show her little brothers. Connor and Blake probably hadn't seen a real bunny up close before. Shelby climbed out of bed and tiptoed down the hallway.
Back in her room, Connor was still rubbing his eyes and complaining. Shelby shushed him. Blake's hair stood on end; his face was puffy with sleep. He peeked out the window.
'Awesome!' he whispered.
There were three now. One was only small, with its back to them, as if showing off its cotton ball tail. They nibbled and crept across the lawn, moving one at a time, and always watchful, like pioneers taking new territory.
She smiled. It seemed to Shelby that a cautious boldness was the secret to success.
About the Author
Other books by Alyssa Brugman about Shelby and her friends include For Sale or Swap, Beginner's Luck and Hot Potato.
Alyssa's earlier novels are Finding Grace, Walking Naked and Being Bindy, which are distributed around the world. Alyssa's books have been shortlisted for numerous literature and children's choice awards in Australia and overseas.
Alyssa lives in the Hunter Valley with her partner and their seven horses. She writes full time. You can find more information about Alyssa, her books and her horses at www.alyssabrugman.com.au
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