Jade and the Stray

by Amy Brown

  ‘Jade, you’re doing very well—but I guess Jim has already taught you the basic aids. Just remember to keep your heels down and your legs back a little bit. Don’t shove them forward like a cowboy. That’s better.’

  There was no jumping or galloping around, but they did have a bending-and-turning race as a treat at the end of the hour. Jade had never tried this before, yet somehow Pip knew what to do, weaving nimbly between the white poles, turning sharply at the end and cantering towards the finish. Partly due to Pip’s prowess and partly due to her size next to the tiny ponies, Jade won the race. She did finish up on Pip’s neck, grabbing a fistful of mane to steady herself, but she won.

  ‘Pip’s done this before,’ the instructor said, smiling. ‘Come gymkhana season, you could be quite the winning team.’

  Jade beamed and was feeling happy until she and the littlies went for a warm-down walk around the paddock and passed Amanda and Ryan. As she watched the more experienced riders pointing their ponies at a terrifying jump—a large log at the top of a hill, followed by a ditch at the bottom of the hill—Jade was both intimidated and jealous.

  ‘That’s the C+-certificate group,’ Megan explained. ‘They’re doing some cross-country practice.’

  ‘What’s C+ Certificate?’ Jade asked.

  ‘Well,’ Megan said, ‘if you’re serious about pony club, you can take exams to test your horsemanship. The first is called the D Certificate—you’ll be ready for that soon. It tests your ability to control and care for your pony. Then, as you become more confident and knowledgeable, you can go for your D+, C, C+, B, A and H certificates.’

  On the way back to the Whites’, Jade was feeling tired and relaxed.

  ‘Did you enjoy that, Jade?’ Mr White asked.

  ‘Yes, I did. And I think I’d like to get my D Certificate.’

  ‘Excellent. I thought you might. Remind me to lend you Abby’s old Pony Club manuals; they’ll give you more information about that.’ Mr White winced.

  ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘Just a twinge. I’ll certainly be better in a fortnight for the next rally.’ He gave Jade a pained smile.

  ‘A fortnight? Rose will be here then!’

  ‘Bring her along. It might be interesting for her.’

  As Jade put Pip in the paddock and gave her some hay, she tried to imagine Rose enjoying pony club. For the first time, she started to realize what Laura was worrying about.

  7

  Becca’s birthday present

  Why don’t you go into town after school today and have a look? If you see something Becca would like, I’ll give you the money for it,’ Jade’s granddad said.

  ‘I don’t know what she’d like! And she’ll be with me after school,’ Jade shouted down the hallway from the bathroom. She was running late for school and trying to brush her hair and her teeth at the same time.

  ‘If she’s with you, you could ask her what she’d like.’

  ‘Granddad! It should be a surprise.’

  ‘Take your toothbrush out of your mouth while you’re talking!’ Granddad was feeling out of his depth discussing how much to spend on a birthday present for an eleven-going-on-twelve-year-old who wasn’t even his granddaughter. ‘What happened to it being the thought that counts?’ he said quietly, in a voice that made Jade feel guilty for fussing.

  ‘You’re right. I’m sure fifteen dollars will be enough—and I’ll ask Laura what she’s getting Becca. Anyway, whatever it is, it won’t be as good as what her parents are buying her.’

  ‘You and your ponies, I don’t know,’ Granddad said gruffly, pulling a twenty-dollar note out of his wallet. ‘You know where the saddlery is, don’t you?’

  ‘No! You never told me there was a saddlery in town!’

  ‘You haven’t needed one yet, the Whites have been so generous. If you come here straight after school today, I’ll take you. There might be something small there Becca could use.’

  When Jade told Laura about the saddlery at morning break, both girls got quite excited. Laura had been planning to give Becca a Horse and Pony magazine and some nail polish from the chemist, but dandy brushes, hoof oil and saddle soap seemed much more appropriate.

  ‘Are you sure she hasn’t got these things already? I mean, if her parents are buying Dusty for her, they’ve probably bought grooming tools, too,’ Jade worried.

  ‘We’ll have to do some detective work,’ Laura said.

  Dusty, a pretty dun pony of about 14 hands, was going to be Becca’s big birthday present. Her mother had driven her to Dannevirke twice to try the pony, which used to belong to the McAlpine family, Olivia McAlpine specifically. Olivia was, according to Becca, one of the best young riders in the province.

  ‘It was scary having to ride her pony in front of her. But Dusty was beautiful! I’m so lucky…’ Becca, reluctant to brag, tended to trail her sentences off these days with ‘I’m so lucky…’

  The perfect pony would arrive at Becca’s farm on Saturday, her birthday, which meant that Jade would have a friend at pony club on Sunday. To top it off, Rose would also be arriving, on Friday in the evening.

  ‘I hope Rose likes horses,’ Laura said to Jade as the bell rang and they wandered back to their classes, ‘because I doubt we’ll be talking about much else at the party.’

  ‘I hope so, too,’ Jade replied, uncertainly.

  During the lunch hour, Laura, who was good at that sort of thing, managed to charm the office lady into letting her use the telephone to call Becca’s mother and ask about grooming tools. Jade stayed in the quad with Becca, so as not to rouse suspicion.

  ‘Are you riding Pip this afternoon?’ Becca asked, as she unwrapped another ham and tomato sandwich. ‘Because if you are, I’d love to come too.’

  ‘Um, no, not this afternoon. I’ve got to run an errand for my granddad,’ Jade lied terribly.

  ‘Really?’ Becca asked. ‘What errand?’

  ‘Just something boring for the garage.’

  ‘Oh.’ Becca sounded disappointed. ‘You can still come to my party, though?’

  ‘Yeah, of course! And, if you wanted to go around and ride Pip by yourself, that’d be fine. Mr White won’t mind.’

  ‘Thanks—I’m tempted, but it might be a bit weird without you there.’ Becca turned to Laura as she sat down next to them. ‘Where have you been?’

  ‘Top-secret business,’ Laura said, tapping the side of her nose.

  ‘You two are so mysterious today,’ Becca said, laughing.

  Although Jade had been keeping up with her homework, so far this year schoolwork hadn’t been one of her priorities. She’d done slightly more than the bare minimum in order to spend most of her time riding without angering her granddad, Mr White or Mrs Crawford. Balancing the load of schoolwork and horses was tiring, though, and Jade was very much looking forward to a break from book reports, maths sheets and science projects over the holidays. So that afternoon, when Mrs Crawford wrote HOLIDAY ASSIGNMENT on the board, Jade’s blood ran cold. She wasn’t alone: there were groans from all around the class. Ryan Todd, sitting next to her, looked fairly unimpressed too.

  ‘That’s enough, everyone! A holiday assignment isn’t something to be dreaded, particularly not this one. I hope you’ll each enjoy it, because I’m making the topic fairly flexible. You are to choose,’ she said slowly, writing on the board at the same time, ‘a famous person whom you admire—’

  ‘Zac Efron!’ Maria yelled.

  ‘Yes, even Hollywood actors and musicians are allowed as subjects,’ Mrs Crawford said, although with some distaste. ‘But, you must be able to write a detailed biography of their life and work. There are four parts to this assignment: first, you must state why you admire your subject; second, you need to research your subject’s early life, before they became famous; third, you should list their great achievements; and lastly, I’d like you to conduct an imaginary interview with your subject.’

  ‘What if my subject’s dead?’ Lucy asked. ‘Like Marilyn Monroe.’r />
  ‘That’s not a problem, Lucy. That’s why I said an “imaginary” interview,’ Mrs Crawford said, wearily. ‘Now, everyone, during the rest of the week, please think of who you’d like to research. When you’ve decided, write their name next to your name on this piece of paper. The assignment is due on the first day back after the holidays.’

  Laura and Granddad seemed to be in a good mood during the drive to the saddlery, which irritated Jade. They were both singing along to Johnny Cash, oblivious to her worries.

  ‘I fell into a burning ring of fire!’ They both bellowed for the third time. Jade couldn’t resist. She pushed the eject button and the tape popped out, leaving only the crackle of a lack of radio reception.

  ‘Jade! What did you do that for?’ her granddad scolded.

  ‘I’m sorry; I just can’t stop worrying.’

  ‘What are you worrying about?’ Laura reached over the front seat and patted Jade’s shoulder.

  ‘Just school and Rose and stuff. I’m scared I won’t have enough time for everything. I wanted the holidays to be full of riding, and it looks like I’ll be stuck inside doing homework or watching videos with Rose.’ Saying it out loud made it sound small and insignificant. Jade felt silly.

  ‘What’s all this schoolwork, then?’ her granddad asked, parking the car outside the saddlery. ‘Have you not been keeping up?’

  ‘No, it’s not that at all. Mrs Crawford’s just given us this big assignment: we have to write about a famous person who we admire and I can’t think of anyone.’

  ‘What about her?’ Laura said, pointing, as they all walked into the saddlery, at a poster of a pretty blonde woman wearing a jacket with a New Zealand flag sewn onto the lapel.

  ‘That’s a good idea, Laura,’ Granddad said. ‘Michaela lives quite nearby too. You could pay her a visit, Jade.’

  ‘Is that Michaela Lewis?!’ Jade had obviously supported the New Zealand equestrian team at the last Olympic Games and knew that Michaela Lewis had won a gold medal for showjumping, but she’d never seen the rider’s face close up and without a helmet before. ‘Does she really live near here?’

  ‘Well, it’s about half an hour’s drive. Lovely big property. The post-and-rail fencing must have cost an arm and a leg, let alone the animals inside the fences. She’s turned her riding into quite a business.’

  ‘Oh my goodness.’

  ‘You’re star-struck!’ Laura laughed. ‘If you make her your assignment, your holidays will still be pretty horsey. And, if you’re worried about Rose getting horsed out, she can hang out at the café with me.’

  ‘Thanks, Laura,’ Jade said, suddenly feeling unburdened, as they entered the saddlery.

  Becca’s mother had said that, while they had all the grooming tools that Becca would need, extra things like horse mints, new riding gloves and horsey books would be much appreciated.

  After spending much longer than Granddad had expected, Jade and Laura finally decided to pool their money and buy a beautiful red-and-white saddle blanket that had fifty per cent off. Laura, who liked doing such things, offered to take it home and wrap it.

  The next day at school, before she’d even put down her bag, Jade made a beeline for the front of the class and wrote Jade Lennox—Michaela Lewis on the assignments list, before anyone else could steal her idea.

  ‘You’re keen, Jade,’ Mrs Crawford said. ‘Let’s have a look at your subject.’ She slid her glasses up the bridge of her nose and picked up the piece of paper. ‘Excellent idea!’ she said, beaming. ‘Your interview might not have to be imaginary.’

  Because the class was so disappointed about having to work over the holidays, Mrs Crawford gave them time each afternoon that week to begin their assignment; this meant that, for Jade, the days flew by. She googled Michaela Lewis’s name and found articles dating back to her early years as a young rider, representing the province at the National Pony Club Showjumping Championships. She found photos of Arius, the beautiful flea-bitten grey Olympian, and details of how to buy other horses Michaela had trained.

  When she’d gathered enough background information, Jade started drafting a list of interview questions. Although the prospect of talking to such a star was daunting, Jade couldn’t stop fantasizing about visiting Michaela’s farm and being shown the paddocks full of perfect horses.

  On Friday afternoon, Jade spent a couple of hours with Pip before racing home to prepare for Rose’s arrival. While she was sluicing the sweat mark off Pip’s belly, Jade told Mr White about her assignment on Michaela Lewis.

  ‘Do you know her very well?’ Jade asked, hoping he’d say yes.

  ‘Only in passing. We used to see her at shows with her daughter quite a bit back when Abby rode. But, no, sorry, she’s not really an acquaintance. However, I’ve heard that she’s very nice, so I imagine she’d certainly agree to an interview.’

  ‘Do you think she’d give me a riding lesson?’

  ‘I think that might be asking a bit much, but you never know.’

  Back at home, Jade found that her granddad had already made up the camp bed in her room.

  ‘Sorry, Granddad, I should’ve been home earlier and done that myself,’ Jade said.

  ‘It’s no trouble. Just don’t neglect Rose while she’s here in favour of that pony.’

  ‘I won’t.’

  ‘Good girl. How about we get fish and chips for tea after picking Rose up from the bus stop?’

  Jade grinned. ‘Sounds perfect.’

  The bus was on time for once. Jade was standing in the car park by herself because Granddad had popped down the road to the fish and chip shop. She was leaning on the Falcon just as her granddad had when she’d arrived in Flaxton. That felt like a very long time ago now.

  ‘Jade!’ Rose ran towards her, as fast as she could while dragging a suitcase on wheels behind her. She flung her arms around Jade’s neck. ‘I’ve missed you heaps!’

  ‘I’ve missed you too,’ Jade said, realizing it properly for the first time in weeks.

  ‘Wow, that was a long trip. I’m famished.’

  ‘That’s good ‘cause Granddad’s gone to buy fish and chips,’ Jade said, looking at Rose, trying to see if anything had changed since Christmas. Her hair was longer and had a pink highlight.

  ‘How have you been managing in this place?’ Rose asked, looking around at the empty streets and tiny, closed shops.

  ‘Better than I thought I would when I first arrived! Pip has made it easier,’ Jade said, trying not to sound too pleased.

  ‘That’s right—the pony!’ Rose said. ‘I can smell fish and chips.’ They both turned around and saw Granddad carrying two big, steaming parcels.

  At Granddad’s house, they opened the parcels on the dining table.

  ‘I got us some ginger ale, too,’ Granddad said, going over to the fridge.

  ‘Thanks, Granddad! This is lovely.’ Jade was relaxing, until she saw Rose get up and fill her glass from the cold tap.

  ‘You don’t want ginger ale?’ Jade asked.

  ‘I’m fine with water,’ Rose said. ‘Carbonated drinks are a bit unhealthy.’

  Granddad had bought three pieces of fish, two scoops of chips, two sausages and two pineapple rings. He began dividing it out equally onto plates. ‘You’ll have a sausage, won’t you, Rose?’ he asked.

  ‘Actually no, sorry. I’m vegetarian.’

  ‘Since when?’ Jade asked, shocked.

  ‘Just after Christmas. It was my New Year’s resolution.’

  ‘That’s OK,’ Granddad said, sensing Jade’s tension. ‘There are plenty of chips and pineapple rings.’

  Jade fell asleep before Rose, who had resorted to texting friends in Auckland when she and her old friend ran out of conversation. Rose had wanted to talk about a boy called Matt at her new school in Auckland, Jade had wanted to talk about Michaela Lewis; Rose had wanted to know if Jade missed her mum and when she’d last heard from her dad, Jade had wanted to read the Pony Club manuals she’d borrowed from the Whites.
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br />   Jade woke up less than fresh the next morning, but cool autumnal sunlight was streaming through the curtains and it was, after all, the first day of the holidays. Rose was still sleeping with the blanket over her face, so Jade tiptoed to the bathroom, had a quick shower, dressed in her jeans that were good for riding and a red cable-knit jersey, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

  When by eight Rose still hadn’t stirred, Jade decided to bring her breakfast in bed. She made a cup of tea with milk and one sugar and, remembering Rose’s sudden health-consciousness, put two Weetbix, milk and a sliced banana in a bowl.

  ‘Wakey wakey,’ Jade said softly, as she put the breakfast next to the camp bed.

  ‘What time is it?’ Rose said huskily, blinking.

  ‘Nearly quarter past eight. I’ve brought you some breakfast.’

  ‘Wow, since I quit netball I haven’t been up before ten on a Saturday.’ Rose looked suspiciously at the bowl and ate a mouthful gingerly.

  ‘Have you stopped eating breakfast now, too?’ Jade asked.

  Rose laughed guiltily. ‘I have a bit, yeah. Sorry, I’m being so rude. Thanks for making me breakfast; it’s very sweet of you.’

  ‘Not really,’ Jade said tersely. ‘I just wanted to go and see Pip before Becca’s birthday party and didn’t think I should leave you behind.’

  ‘The party’s not until eleven, is it?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then we’ve got plenty of time. Don’t stress. Just give me half an hour to shower and dress then we’ll visit the prodigal pony.’

  ‘The what?’

  ‘Oh, never mind.’

  By the time they’d walked to the Whites’, Rose and Jade had stopped bickering. Rose was enjoying the fresh air and exercise, and Jade was relieved that the weather was so perfect.