Chapter Four: Mysterious Behavior

Phil walked back into the lounge. Stevie had passed out across Lisa's lap. Lisa turned her head when Phil walked in.

"How did it go?" She asked.

"It was fine. Carole is really upset. She really wanted to apologize to Stevie, but Veronica didn't think it would help anything." Phil looked over at Veronica.

"What? It's true!" She said annoyed.

Phil ignored her and bent down and stroked Stevie's hair. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey Phil." She spoke quietly.

"Hey Stevie." He smiled. "Tired?"

"Yeah." Stevie smiled back at him and Phil was overjoyed. Lisa smiled too, and then looked at her watch.

"Lessons start in ten minutes, let's go tack up." She said quietly. Stevie nodded and got up. She was still dressed form yesterday, and so she and Lisa walked out of the lounge. As Lisa was shutting the door, she motioned for Phil to come along. Phil nodded, but had a few chores to do first.

Stevie and Lisa walked into the barn. Carole was with Starlight, but she paid no attention to them. Lisa was surprised to see Prancer already tacked up.

"How did this happen?" She asked Red as he walked by.

"Oh, I didn't want you to be late again so I tacked up for you. You can help Stevie if you want." Red motioned to Belle's stall.

"Okay, thanks Red!" Lisa smiled and guided Stevie towards Belle's stall. She stood while Lisa grabbed her bucket. "Come on, here Stevie." She handed Stevie the currycomb. "Why don't you start with that. I'll get her hooves!" Lisa bent over while Stevie brushed. About five minutes later, Belle was tacked up and groomed. Lisa handed Stevie the reins.

"Here you go! Would you mind stopping by Prancer's stall with me? We'll walk to the ring together!" Lisa said.

"Sure!" Stevie replied. She seemed to be in a much better mood, but she still wasn't herself.

Lisa and Stevie walked towards Prancer's stall. Prancer nickered to Belle as Lisa grabbed the reins. "Okay, lead the way!"

Stevie slowly walked Belle towards the ring. Carole was already mounted, and was warming up on the rail. Stevie placed her foot in her stirrup and hopped on. Lisa did the same. They warmed up on the rail together, but Carole wasn't with them.

"All right everyone, bring it in!" Red yelled from across the ring. Within a couple minutes, everyone was lined up in front of Red. "We're doing jumping today in practice for the show next Saturday. We only have a week and a half to practice, so let's make the best of it!" He numbered everyone off. "When I call your number, you'll enter the ring. You know the course. Everyone else may wait over on the rail by the gate." Red pointed at Lisa. "You're first!"

Lisa glanced at Stevie who was completely zoning out. She hoped Stevie had heard what Red said. Lisa was relieved when Stevie pulled Belle towards the gate. She had clearly been paying attention.

Stevie brought Belle to a halt near the gate. Carole was on one side of her, and Veronica the other. Veronica looked over at Carole who was watching Lisa. Stevie watched as Lisa cleared every jump perfectly.

"Way to go!" Carole cried as Lisa finished. Stevie remained silent.

"Nice one Lisa!" Red clapped. "But keep an eye on your diagonals; you were on the wrong one at jump 4."

"Oh, okay! Thanks Red!" Lisa said as she walked over to the gate. She brought Prancer to a halt next to Carole. Veronica was up next.

"Nice job Lisa." Carole said with a smile. Lisa nodded at looked over at Stevie. Stevie was watching Veronica, but seemed to be kind of zoning out as well.

Carole followed Lisa's gaze. "Is she alright?" She asked Lisa worriedly.

"Hmm?" Lisa snapped to attention. "Yeah, she's alright. It's just going to take some time."

Kristi clapped as Veronica finished, with only one pole knocked down. Veronica smiled and went to join her in waiting. Carole gripped Lisa's hand as Stevie approached the center. It was her turn. Lisa looked at her hand, and then at Carole.

"It'll be okay." She said with a smile. They returned to watching Stevie. Stevie had picked up a canter as her and Belle approached one of the jumps. Belle was on the wrong lead, but Stevie didn't seem to notice. They flew over the jump with ease, not hitting a single pole.

"Nice one!" Lisa called out. Carole almost said something, but figured it wouldn't be very appropriate of her. Considering how Stevie was feeling.

The rest of Stevie's jumps went alright. She only knocked down one pole, but her leads and diagonals were everywhere. She wasn't on the correct one once.

"Stevie, come here for a sec," Red called. He motioned for Carole to go ahead and jump. She gave a cluck and Starlight picked up a canter.

"Stevie, what's wrong with you?" Red asked. "First yesterday, now today! Is something wrong?" He looked up at Stevie but she didn't respond. Again, she was staring off into space.

"Stevie?" Red shook Stevie's leg gently. "Stevie, answer me!" But Stevie failed to do so. Instead, she gave Belle a squeeze and walked over toward Lisa. Carole had just finished her round perfectly. No mistakes at all.

Red turned to Carole. "Nice job! You're sure to place first in all the classes at the show!" He said with a smile. "And if you talk to Stevie, tell her to meet me in the office after the lesson. We need to have a talk." He said angrily.

"Um…..okay." Carole replied. She and Starlight walked over to Lisa and Prancer. She told Lisa what Red had told her. "Can you tell Stevie for me? I don't think she'll listen to me." Carole asked. Lisa frowned.

"No, you should do it! Red asked you, not me!" Lisa gave Carole a nudge with her fist. "Come on, you can do it!" Carole sighed and walked over to Stevie.

"Hey Stevie,"

"Hey Carole,"

"Um…." Carole held her tongue, unsure of what to say. "Red asked me to tell you that…..that he wants to talk to you?" Carole said hesitantly.

"Mmm, okay." Stevie replied. She didn't look at Carole once.

"Okay than, um….yeah." Carole sighed and walked back to Lisa.

"How did it go?" Lisa asked.

"It was fine, she didn't seem upset at all. But she didn't even turn her head when I spoke to her. It's like she's in a trance." Carole replied.

Lisa nodded. "She's been like that all morning." Red waved his hand signaling that the lesson was over. Everyone dismounted. Lisa and Carole walked over to join Stevie.

"Hey, I heard what Red said." Lisa told Stevie. "If you want us with you, just ask!"

"No. I'll be fine." Stevie replied. She turned to Carole. "Starlight looks good today. You two are definitely ready for the show." She smiled and walked off. Lisa and Carole turned to each other with wide eyes.

"She…..she didn't seem mad." Carole said excitedly. "Maybe she's okay now!"

Lisa frowned. "Hmm…I don't know if she's back to normal or not. But I know how we're going to find out." Lisa cupped her hand to Carole's ear. "Let's spy on her when she talks to Red! If she act normally, than she's fine!"

Carole smiled and nodded. "Okay, but what if she doesn't talk again?"

Lisa gulped. "Then we'll have some serious work to do." With that, she and Carole walked off to quickly groom. They had some spying to do!

Stevie approached Max's office. Max was gone, and Drew was out with students, so it would be just her and Red. She sighed, and slowly opened the door.

Red turned at the sound of the door. Stevie walked in and sat down without speaking.

"Thanks for joining me Stevie." Red said. Stevie continued staring across the room.

"Okay…um…I need to discuss your behavior with you." He scratched his head, uncertain of how to say it. "It's just….um….well, what you did today was extremely rude. I'm afraid I might have to cut you out of the show next weekend." Red looked up worriedly. But Stevie didn't respond. Outside the door, Carole and Lisa sighed.

"Stevie? Is something wrong?" Red asked. He sat down on the couch next to her. She didn't even turn around. "Stevie? Are you okay?" Red shook her gently.

"Hm?" She turned.

"Are you okay?" He repeated.

"Mmmm…." She sighed and turned away.

"Is that a yes? No?" Red asked impatiently. He was getting worried. Stevie never acted like this.

"Stevie, answer me!" He shook her harder, but she still didn't respond. Red sighed and got up and started pacing. Lisa decided it was a good time to, "Walk in casually", and she opened the door.

Red turned. "Lisa, I need your help." He gave a relieved sigh.

"Yes?" She asked, as if she didn't know she was needed. Carole snuck her a thumbs up from behind the window.

"There's something seriously wrong with Stevie." He pointed to the couch and Lisa sat down. She looked at Stevie.

"She seems fine to me." Lisa replied matter-o-factly.

"She won't answer me. And she didn't even look at me as I spoke. She's clearly not herself."

Lisa looked at Stevie again. "Stevie, are you okay?"

Stevie turned to Lisa. "Yeah, why?" She asked quietly.

Red clenched his hands into fists. He was a bit frustrated. "Are you sure?" He asked. Stevie turned to him.

"No." She replied casually.

Red got up and kneeled in front of her. "Stevie, what's wrong?" She looked down at him and closed her eyes. She than got up and walked over to the chair, where she sat down. Lisa sighed.

"We don't know Red. She's been like this all morning." Lisa replied.

Red sat down next to Lisa and she told him about what happened. Stevie started shaking again, and Lisa rushed over to her.

Red sat stunned. He thought the Saddle Club girls were friends, but apparently not anymore. "Stevie, I am so sorry. I didn't know."

Stevie turned to him. She had stopped shaking. "It's okay." She said quietly. Red got up and went over to her as she stood from the chair. "My mom's expecting me soon." She said. Then, without warning, she got up and walked out the door. Red and Lisa stood there, staring. After a few minutes, Red turned to Lisa.

"What should we do?" He asked. Lisa shrugged and walked out the door, leaving Red completely confused.

Carole joined Lisa as they walked out of the barn. "This is going to be hard." She said plainly. Lisa nodded in agreement.

"At least we have a while to work it out." Lisa pointed out. It was winter break and all. Carole smiled and they walked off to find their parents.

The next day was much better. At least, so Carole and Lisa thought at first. Stevie arrived with a smile and she ran over to meet Carole and Lisa. "Hey guys!" She said happily.

"Hey! How are you feeling today?" Lisa asked. "Much better I presume?"

"Uh huh," Stevie nodded and handed Lisa a bag. "Do you like peanut butter and jelly?" She asked hopefully.

Lisa cautiously took the bag. "Yeah, why?" She peered inside. It was Stevie's lunch.

"Cause' I don't want it." Stevie replied.

"But it's your lunch," Carole piped up as Lisa showed her the contents of the bag.

"Yeah, but I'm not hungry."

"But you might be hungry later!" Lisa replied, handing Stevie back her lunch.

"No. I won't." Stevie pushed the bag into Lisa's hands. "But thanks for asking!" She turned to Carole. "Hey, guess what?" She asked excitedly.

Carole cowered away. "What?" She asked nervously.

"IT'S GOING TO SNOW TODAY!" Stevie yelled happily. Carole jumped. She wasn't expecting that kind of response.

Lisa nodded slowly. "Yeah…..and?"

"And snow is wonderful!" Stevie said smiling. Lisa looked at Carole. Their eyes met and they clearly agreed on one thing. Stevie had changed for the better, but it honestly wasn't much better. She'd gone from being in a trance, to now being overly peppy.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Carole asked hesitantly.

Stevie laughed, which creeped Carole and Lisa out. "Of course! I'm just so excited it's going to snow!" She smiled. "Aren't you?"

"Uh huh, yeah, we're so excited too!" Lisa replied. She was obviously lying, but Stevie didn't notice.

"Great! We'll all enjoy it together!"

Phil walked up to them. "Hey Stevie, how are you?" He asked.

"Great!" She replied smiling.

Phil shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That's….. great?" He replied.

"Yes it is!" Stevie ran up and hugged him. Phil tensed up. Something was clearly wrong. "Hey, guess what?" She asked him.

"What?" He replied.

"It's going to snow today!" She laughed and ran back over to Carole and Lisa.

"Um….sure," Phil looked at Carole and Lisa but they shrugged. Nobody knew what was going on. Red motioned to Stevie and Lisa from across the road. He wanted to talk to them again, in private.

Lisa grabbed Stevie's hand. "Let's go! Red wants us!" They ran across the road and into the office.

"What did you want Red?" Lisa asked.

"I just wanted to know how things were going." He motioned to Stevie who was staring intently at the coffee maker.

"Why don't you ask her for yourself." Lisa grabbed Stevie's arm and dragged her away from the coffee maker. Stevie gave a small sigh.

"Um, how are you today Stevie?" Red asked nervously.

"Very good and getting better!" She smiled and turned to Lisa. "Can we go back outside now?" She asked, glaring at the coffee maker from the corner of her eye.

Red stood open mouthed. He wasn't expecting her to be so joyful. "That's great Stevie! Glad to hear!" He said after a while.

"Hey Red, guess what?" Stevie asked excitedly. Lisa rolled her eyes.

"It's going to snow today!" Stevie yelled. She didn't even wait for a response. Lisa pulled Stevie towards the couch.

"You don't have to tell everyone it's going to snow!" Lisa whispered harshly.

"But everyone should know!" Stevie clapped happily. Lisa stood dumbfounded. She pushed Stevie onto the couch.

"Sit…..stay," Lisa said cautiously. Stevie watched her with curious eyes before returning to glare at the coffee maker. She let out a small growl. Lisa shook her head.

"Sorry about that Red." She said.

"Oh, it's fine." He was staring at Stevie as she watched the coffee maker. "What's wrong with her?" He asked. "She's acting like she's four!"

Lisa frowned. "I know, it's a bit creepy. But we don't know what's wrong with her. She's completely different than yesterday."

"Huh. I can see that." Red sighed. "Oh, look!" He glanced out the window. "It is snowing!"

Stevie suddenly got up and ran to the window. "SNOW!" She yelled. "What did I tell you?"

She grabbed Lisa's hand and dragged her out of the office and down the steps. They ran outside gleefully.

"Stevie, slow down!" Lisa cried.

Stevie stopped suddenly and held out her hand. A single snowflake landed in the center of her palm. Stevie gave a yelp of surprise, and her body shivered.

"Stevie?" Lisa asked cautiously.

Stevie froze and was staring at her hand. Her body shivered again. Then, without warning, Stevie collapsed onto the ground.