Jade and the Stray

by Amy Brown

  ‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ Jade said. ‘But the shops won’t be open yet, will they?’

  ‘We’re not going to the shops. Do you remember your grandma’s friend Joan? She’s offered us her granddaughter’s old uniform. Still good as new apparently. Joan’s an early riser, so when you’ve finished your breakfast I reckon we’ll head round. That’ll give you more time with Pip, won’t it?’ Granddad smiled at Jade.

  ‘Yeah, it will. Thanks, Granddad.’

  It was a fifteen-minute drive to Joan’s. Her cottage was one block away from Flaxton’s main road and doubled as a second-hand book shop and haberdashery. Granddad was right: Joan was an early riser—at just eight in the morning, the sign in her shop door already said OPEN.

  Inside, the shop smelled mustily of roses. There were dusty dolls in the window display, baskets of skeins of wool in the corners, and shelves of books lining the walls. Behind the counter sat a woman about Granddad’s age, with hennaed hair and wearing a fluffy mauve cardigan.

  ‘Ed!’ she said, looking up from her book and putting down her coffee mug. ‘And you must be Jade—lovely to meet you.’ She held out a hand with long scarlet fingernails, and Jade shook it shyly. ‘Come out the back and I’ll show you the uniform. Tracey was about your size, perhaps slightly shorter. Coffee, Ed?’

  ‘No thanks, Joan. Just finished a cuppa at home.’

  ‘Are you sure? The kettle’s just boiled.’

  As Granddad drank a cup of coffee that he didn’t really want, Jade tried on a plaid, mustard-coloured summer tunic, a scratchy navy-blue jersey, and a blue-and-yellow tartan kilt with a fawn blouse for winter. As if that wasn’t enough, Joan also threw some blue woollen tights and a very faded PE uniform over the curtain for Jade to try on.

  ‘I made this little changing room for my clients; I also make ball dresses, you see. When you’re a bit older, you can come back for something a bit more glam than a kilt. Isn’t that right, Ed?’

  ‘We’ll see.’

  ‘Oh, that’s right—you might be back up in Auckland after this year, mightn’t you?’ Joan asked Jade as she emerged from the changing room, back in her own clothes. Joan’s face was grimacing sadly, ‘What a lot you’ve had to go through for one so young!’

  Jade didn’t know what to say to this, so she just gave a slight nod.

  ‘Oh dear, I hope I haven’t upset you, darling. You look like a strong wee thing and you’ve got a wonderful grandfather. Flaxton’s not such a bad place, either.’

  Jade objected to being called a ‘wee thing’, so decided not to dignify Joan’s speech with an answer.

  ‘Say thanks for the uniform, Jade,’ Granddad said quietly, as he tried to make his way to the front of the shop.

  ‘Thanks,’ Jade said, even more quietly.

  ‘A pleasure. Do come back if you need anything, dear. If you need a woman to talk to, I’m here.’ Joan’s beaming face seemed entirely unaware of Jade’s hostility.

  ‘She means well,’ Granddad said, as they drove to Mr White’s. ‘I know she could’ve been more sensitive, but you’ve got to realize that she’s a friend. And I couldn’t have afforded all of this new,’ he added, motioning to the bag of hand-me-down uniform at Jade’s feet.

  ‘I know, Granddad. I did try to be grateful, but if I’d opened my mouth I might’ve said something rude.’

  Granddad chuckled. ‘Just remember who your friends are and try to be polite. People will cut you some slack because we have been through a lot, but do try to be friendly. It’s the only way you’ll fit in.’

  After this uncharacteristically long lecture, Granddad was quiet until he dropped Jade off at the Whites’ gate.

  ‘Give me a call when you need a ride home—we can’t have Mr White ferrying you back and forth all the time.’

  ‘Thanks. I will.’

  Around at the yards, Jade found Brandy and Hamlet already tied to the fence. Up close they were huge. When Jade put out her hand to stroke Hamlet’s nose, it nearly disappeared into his mouth.

  ‘Keep your hand flat!’ Mr White called, as he came through the back gate from his house. ‘Ham’s greedy—he’ll nip if he gets the chance, but if you hold your hand flat he’ll just lick.’

  Mr White was right and Jade laughed as Hamlet slobbered over her hand and up her arm.

  ‘Right,’ Mr White said, approaching with a proper lead rope. ‘Shall we start with catching your pony, then?’ Jade nodded vigorously. ‘Jolly good. Perhaps just watch me this first time.’

  Jade watched as Mr White, with a carrot held out in one hand and the lead rope held behind his back in the other, walked towards Pip, who was in the far corner of the paddock, watching suspiciously.

  ‘Hello, girl,’ Mr White said softly as he got closer.

  To Jade’s relief, Pip stopped grazing and started trotting towards Mr White.

  ‘She wants to be caught!’ Jade said, pleased.

  ‘Don’t speak too soon,’ Mr White said as Pip trotted up to him and then cantered straight past and around him in a circle. ‘She’s playing with us.’ He stopped and stood still, waiting for the pony to settle down. Having completed a full circle around Mr White, Pip finally came over and nuzzled at the carrot. Mr White clipped the lead rope onto the halter and led the pony down to the yards, to tie her up next to the horses.

  ‘Just one night filling her belly with rich grass and she’s full of beans,’ Mr White said, patting the mare’s neck. ‘It’s good to see her with a spring in her step. Do you remember how I tied the lead rope in the float?’

  ‘Not really, sorry. You did it so fast.’

  ‘OK, watch me this time.’ Mr White proceeded to fold the rope back and forth through the twine looped to the fence and then pull it tight. ‘It’s called a quick-release knot. I do it this way so that in an emergency you can untie the horse quickly, with just a pull on this loose end here—like so.’ He pulled and the knot fell undone. ‘Hamlet over there knows how to untie this knot, don’t you, boy?’ Mr White said. Jade looked over and, sure enough, Hamlet had pulled his rope free and was wandering around the yard with it dragging in the dust. ‘You have a go now.’

  Jade copied Mr White exactly, and it worked.

  ‘Well done. Perfect,’ he said. ‘Now let’s get started on the grooming. This may take some time,’ he said, trying to run his fingers through Pip’s tangled mane.

  First, Jade learnt how to run the body brush over Pip, following the direction in which her coat grew. Pip enjoyed being brushed firmly and leaned into Jade’s hand. Great clouds of dust were coming from Pip’s back and rump, until both Jade and the body brush were grey with filth.

  ‘Now you’re just rubbing the dust back into her,’ Mr White said. ‘Try using this curry comb here to clean out the brush as you go. If there are any tough clumps of mud, like on Pip’s hock, you could use the curry comb to dislodge them too, if you like.’

  It took a long time and Jade’s arms were aching by the end of it, but Pip eventually scrubbed up nicely. Mr White had taught Jade how to move around a horse while grooming, how to lift up the hooves and remove the caked dirt with a hoofpick, and how to comb the mane.

  ‘She’s not like a person,’ Mr White said unnecessarily, as he encouraged Jade to pull out handfuls of mane while combing. ‘Notice that she’s actually enjoying it? It doesn’t hurt her like it would you or me.’

  Finally, Jade oiled Pip’s brittle hooves, trimmed the hairs at the back of her fetlocks, which Mr White said were called feathers, and even cut her tail which, until then, had been dragging along the ground.

  Pip’s black coat was finally shining and her four stockings were almost white.

  ‘I’m afraid you won’t be able to ride her today, Jade,’ Mr White apologized. ‘You may have noticed while you were picking them out, Pip’s hooves are not in good condition at all. The farrier’s coming around to do Ham’s and Brandy’s shoes this afternoon; I think we should get him to trim Pip’s hooves, too. While you’re just learning, she won’t need shoes
. But eventually…’

  Jade felt uncomfortable. ‘Farriers cost a lot, don’t they?’

  ‘It depends what they’re doing. Brian Finch probably won’t charge very much to trim Pip’s hooves today, as he’s coming anyway. But, yes, getting horses shod can cost a lot.’

  ‘I’ve decided to get a part-time job once I’m settled at school,’ Jade said firmly, but not managing to meet Mr White’s eye.

  ‘You just concentrate on learning about Pip and, as you say, settling in at school. You start on Monday, don’t you?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Only two more days of freedom. Jade hated being reminded of this.

  ‘You’ll be fine.’

  The rest of the lesson was filled with learning about tack. By one-thirty, Jade could throw the saddle and saddle blanket onto patient Pip’s back in one graceful motion, then reach under her pony’s belly and fasten the girth. She could also ease the snaffle into Pip’s mouth and gently pull the head piece over her ears, remembering to arrange her forelock over the brow band.

  ‘So, how do you tell if the throat lash is too tight?’ Mr White tested, as he helped Jade untack her pony.

  ‘If you can’t fit four fingers held sideways,’ Jade said, as if she’d been learning about bridles for years.

  ‘Very good. You’re a quick learner, Jade. And I’m also very impressed at Pip’s behaviour today. Usually ponies will play up for new owners, nipping and stamping, but Pip’s been an angel. I think she deserves a feed. In fact,’ he said, running his palm over Pip’s ribbed side, ‘she needs one.’

  Before going in for lunch with Mr and Mrs White, the last thing Jade learnt for the day was how to prepare Pip’s feed. She took a double handful of chaff, mixed it together with a big handful of a sweet, slightly sticky mixture that smelt like cereal, which Mr White called cool feed, and added a bit of water, to stop the dust in the chaff from getting up Pip’s nose.

  While Pip gobbled her bucket of feed, Jade shyly sat at the Whites’ table and had a ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwich, with a glass of juice, an apple, and a big slice of chocolate cake to finish.

  After lunch, Mrs White insisted that Jade try on some riding clothes. Abby White’s hand-me-downs fitted even better than the second-hand school uniform, and, looking in the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the Whites’ spare bedroom, Jade felt a lot horsier. The pale fawn jodhpurs and shiny brown leather ankle boots suited her. Even the black helmet fitted well.

  ‘I can’t thank you enough for these, Mrs White. They’re perfect,’ Jade said, almost overcome.

  ‘You look wonderful. It’s a pleasure to see them being used again. And, you know, just between you and me,’ Mrs White whispered, ‘I haven’t seen Jim look this satisfied since he retired. You’re doing us a favour, too, Jade.’

  At dinner, Jade told her granddad in great detail about her day at the Whites’. Predictably, he wasn’t all that happy about her accepting the riding clothes and letting Mr White pay for the farrier.

  ‘But, remember what Mrs White said: I’m doing them a favour, too.’ Even Jade wasn’t really convinced by this, but she couldn’t bear the thought of not going back the next morning and learning to ride Pip properly.

  ‘Of course you can go back tomorrow, Jade. As long as the Whites are happy to have you, I don’t mind. It’s just that a pony’s a big responsibility—I don’t quite know what we’ve got ourselves into.’

  That night, Jade took a long time getting to sleep as she wondered about money-making schemes. A 40-hour famine? A raffle? Giving pony rides? Working at Joan’s shop? She knew these ideas were terrible, but hatching ridiculous plans was better than worrying about school or her dad.

  When she finally slept, she dreamt about galloping Pip across a big open field, up and down hills. But she didn’t have a saddle and kept feeling like she was going to fall off. Eventually she did end up slipping. As she fell, she woke up with a start.

  ‘She’s missed you,’ Mr White said, as he and Jade watched Pip trot over to the yard to greet them. ‘That’s good to see—it means that she probably won’t mind you having a ride today. And her hooves are much better now, too. Aren’t they, girl?’

  Jade groomed, saddled and bridled Pip all by herself, while Mr White got a long white rope and a whip out of the shed.

  ‘What’s that for?’ Jade asked, putting her helmet on and, once again, admiring her jodhpur boots.

  ‘This is a lunging rope and this is a lunging whip,’ Mr White said, mysteriously.

  ‘What’s lunging?’

  ‘Lunging is an excellent way to exercise a horse if, for some reason, it can’t be ridden. It’s also a good way of easing a horse back into riding. We don’t know when Pip was last ridden, so we’ll try her on the lunge first. I don’t want you breaking your neck before we’ve even started.’

  Jade watched as Mr White buckled the lunging halter and rope over Pip’s bridle. Pip flicked her head up irritably but allowed Mr White to lead her into the paddock and walk her in a circle around him. He would use the long end of the whip to tickle at Pip’s heels to get her to speed up, and tug gently at the rope to get her to slow down. After a bit of cajoling, he managed to get Pip going from a shambling walk to an elegant trot, though soon she broke into a canter and became over-excited. However, after turning her around and doing the same thing methodically in the other direction, Pip calmed down.

  ‘Now, she’s moving really nicely. See how her back hooves are reaching the spot where her front hooves used to be—that’s called tracking up. In another life, Pip was probably a very well-schooled pony.’

  Bringing Pip back to the yard and removing the lunging halter, Mr White finally asked the question Jade had been waiting for: ‘Right, are you ready to mount up?’

  ‘Yes,’ Jade squeaked.

  ‘OK, just do as I say and you’ll be fine. I think Pip’s been looking forward to this, too.’

  Mr White showed Jade how to lift each of Pip’s forelegs to stretch the skin smooth under the girth. He helped her adjust the stirrup leathers—‘make sure they’re the length of your arm’—and showed her how to use an up-turned bucket as a mounting block. As carefully as she could, Jade gathered the reins and a handful of mane in her left hand, put her left foot in the stirrup-iron, held the cantle of the saddle with her right hand and threw her left leg over.

  Before she knew it, Jade had both her feet in the stirrups and was sitting as straight as she could in the saddle. Pip hadn’t even turned a hair.

  Over the next two days, Jade learnt how to hold the reins correctly and sit in the saddle securely with her heels down and her knees in. Mr White and Pip were patient and encouraging teachers, which meant that Jade’s confidence grew quickly.

  ‘I reckon I’ve learnt more in the last two days than I will during this whole year of school,’ Jade said, in the midst of a ravenous mouthful of sausage and mustard.

  ‘Don’t be sulky about it, Jade, and what would your mother say if she saw you talking through a mouthful of food?’

  Granddad’s mention of her mum took Jade by surprise—or, rather, she was surprised that she didn’t mind Granddad mentioning Mum.

  ‘She’d tell me off,’ Jade said slowly. ‘She’d say, “Manners, miss!”’ Jade and her granddad both smiled.

  ‘Your school uniform ready for tomorrow, then?’

  ‘Yep. All laid out by my bed.’

  ‘Good girl. You’ll be fine, Jade. I know you will.’

  4

  Humiliations galore

  In Joan’s granddaughter Tracey’s old Flaxton School tunic and a pair of brown roman sandals, Jade walked gingerly towards a building with a sign that said Administration on its side.

  A woman with a perm and an impatient voice told her to go to the assembly hall (‘Turn left as you leave, then walk straight ahead until you get to the quadrangle, then turn left and walk for about 20 metres, then turn right. You can’t miss it.’) and, after the introductory message from the principal, to go to Room 13 in Block G.
/>   ‘That’s Mrs Crawford’s room; she teaches the Year 7s.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Jade said in a small voice, trying to remember the directions and stop her heart from beating so fast.

  In the assembly hall, which wasn’t really hard to find at all, Jade saw the mean girls who’d rollerbladed past her and Pip at the pound. They were shrieking with laughter again. As she walked past, one of them stuck out her foot. Jade was watching, though, and didn’t trip. She paused and gave the girl a withering look.

  ‘What are you looking at?’ the girl said.

  Jade just rolled her eyes and kept walking. I don’t know anyone here, she thought despondently. All I know is that I don’t want to sit anywhere near those girls. As she walked to the back of the hall and found an empty bench, she felt unfriendly eyes following her. She tried smiling at a group of girls who looked less intimidating. They smiled back briefly, then turned away and started whispering.

  Mrs Crawford’s room wasn’t much better. There were about twenty-five boys and girls of Jade’s age, who all seemed to know each other well, yelling across the room. Jade sat at the desk next to the door and pretended to look for something in her school bag. A shadow soon fell over her. Looking up, Jade saw an enormous girl, bulging out of her uniform.

  ‘You’re not from Flaxton, are you?’ she said slowly.

  ‘No,’ Jade answered, not sure if this was a genuine question or an insult.

  ‘My name’s Luana.’ The rest of the class had gone quiet and appeared to be watching now.

  ‘Hi, I’m—’ Jade began, but was cut off.

  ‘I’m in charge here. You don’t mess with me, OK? You know what happens if somebody messes with me?’

  Jade shook her head.

  ‘Beats! You gonna mess with me?’

  ‘No,’ Jade said softly, embarrassed that the whole room was staring at her.