Chapter 3
Carole and Stevie looked at Lisa.
"What's it?" asked Stevie
"Evie and Atlas!" said Lisa, "She's Atlas's rider."
"Maybe," said Max, "But let's not get ahead of ourselves."
Evie was still rubbing Atlas's muzzle and assuring him that the blonde meanie was gone. Atlas knackered happily in reply.
Evie said goodbye to Atlas and Max took him back to the paddock. Evie mounted back up and the 4 girls headed out on their hack.
They rode up the main trail. chattering on about school, horses, riding, and anything else that they could think of.
Just as they reached the quarry, Lisa remembered something.
"Hey Evie," she said as they dismounted and let their horses graze, "Earlier when you said you were half-Anterran, you said 'some powers' plural, does that mean you can do more than freeze time?"
Evie nodded as they sat down on a log.
"I have a couple other powers." She replied
"Like what?" asked Carole
"Like this," said Evie. She stood up and walked over to a slab of granite lying nearby that was about the size of a car.
To the girl's astonishment, she grabbed ahold of it and lifted it over her head effortlessly. Then she put it back down in the same spot.
"Wow, Cool," said Stevie, "Super strength!"
"Anything else?" asked Carole
"Yeah, this." Said Evie. She picked up a rock about the size of a baseball and threw it out over the quarry, then, she fired a bolt of energy from the hand and blasted the rock into dust.
She looked back at her friends afraid that they might be afraid of her now.
Instead, they applauded.
"Our friend is packing heat!" grinned Stevie.
Evie grinned, her fears disappearing.
"That's one way to put it." she chuckled
"And you mother has more powers than this?" Asked Carole
"Oh yeah," said Evie, "She's way more powerful than I am, but don't worry, she's also very, very nice."
Just then Carole's phone buzzed. She pulled it out, glanced at it and groaned.
"How did that weasel get my new number?!" she snapped
"Not Bryce again!" exclaimed Lisa
"Who else?" replied Carole. Stevie face-palmed
"Whose Bryce? asked Evie
"Just a guy at Carole's school who is smitten with her and won't take no for an answer." Said Stevie.
"She tries to avoid him," said Lisa
"Tries, being the operative word," muttered Carole
"Yeah," said Lisa, "She's changed her number twice trying to avoid him."
"Actually, I've changed it three times," said Carole, "but who's counting."
Carole suddenly stopped short and looked at her watch.
"Guy's we've got to get back for our dressage lesson. We'll deal with this Bryce business later." she said
"We'd better," said Stevie, "You can't keep putting this on the back burner, Bryce is practically stalking you!"
"I'll deal with it, I promise," said Carole, "And don't you guys say a word to Liam, I'm afraid he'd go after Bryce with a baseball bat!
The girls tacked up and mounted up again, then they headed back down the trail toward the stables.
When they got back to the stables, they stopped at the water trough to let their horses take a drink.
While they were standing there, Melanie came running up to them.
"Guy's guess what!" she said
"I'll bite, what?" asked Stevie
"Max suspended Veronica for three weeks for trying to ride Atlas without permission!" She Replied, "Which reminds me, Carole, Max said if I saw you before he did, he wanted me to ask if you could help take care of Garnet until Veronica's suspension is up?"
"Sure, no problem." Said Carole
While the girls went to their dressage lesson, Evie turned Comanche out and started looking around the stables. Being at a place like this again. made her miss her horse and riding in general.
She was wandering through the barn lost in her own thoughts when suddenly, something nudged her elbow. She turned and saw Atlas standing there behind her in the aisle between the stalls.
"How did you get out of the paddock!" Laughed Evie rubbing his muzzle.
She turned and walked over to where the feed boxes were. There on the wall was a bag of carrots. She took one out and gave it to Atlas.
He munched the carrot eagerly.
Max was in the middle of the dressage lesson when Desi suddenly gasped and cried,
"Max look!"
Max turned and his mouth dropped open.
Evie had come walking out of the barn with Atlas following right behind her.
"Max," said Evie, "You have a problem, Atlas has figured out how to open the paddock gate!"
Max quickly turned and saw that the gate on the nearby paddock that Atlas had been was indeed standing wide open.
Max chuckled
"I knew he was a smart one, but I never would've thought he'd figure out how to unhook a chain!"
Then max turned thoughtful. As he watched the way that Atlas followed Evie everywhere she went.
"Evie," he said after a couple seconds, "Would you like to help me work with Atlas?"
TO BE CONTINUED…PLEASE REVIEW