Chapter Eight: Where is she?
Stevie approached Carole and Lisa. Her foot was sore, but she didn't complain.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey Stevie! How was it?" Carole asked.
Stevie gave a grumpy sigh. "I lost." She pouted.
"Hah! Even the everlasting champion has a bad day!" Carole smirked. Stevie made a face.
"So…..did you have to….you know?" Lisa asked grinning widely.
"What?" Stevie asked curious. "Did I have to what?"
"Did you have to kiss Phil?!" Lisa giggled.
Stevie blushed. "Yeah, so?"
"So…..was it….was it fun?" Lisa asked. Carole smiled.
"Lisa!" Stevie playfully slapped Lisa's arm. "I don't think I need to tell you that. Why do you need to know?"
"Oh, no reason! I was just curious!" Lisa said joyfully, obviously pleased. Stevie gave a sigh.
"Sometimes I don't believe you people!" She said with a laugh.
Lisa and Carole laughed as well. They headed back to the lounge for lunch. When they got there, Veronica and Kristi were talking on the couch, and Melanie and Ashley were sitting at the table looking at horse magazines.
Lisa pulled her lunch out of the fridge and sat down next to Stevie and Carole. Carole had already started eating, and Stevie had nothing, much to Lisa's disappointment.
"So are you guys ready for the show Sunday?" Lisa asked.
Carole nodded. "I couldn't be more ready!" She looked at Stevie who shook her head.
"No, I haven't gotten to practice for a while. I'm thinking about dropping out of the show." Stevie said sadly. "I just don't think I've had enough time to work on things!"
"Oh Stevie, don't do that!" Lisa cried. "You've worked so hard!"
"No, it's okay. I think I'll tell Drew later today. It's fine! I'll come and cheer you guys on, I promise." Stevie smiled.
"But you can't!" Lisa pouted. "It won't be the same without you!"
"Personally I could care less." Veronica said from the couch. "It won't matter anyways. Garnet and I are sure to take first place." She said smiling evilly.
"What about me? Don't you want me to win too?" Kristi asked from beside Veronica.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I want you to win, but with me in the show, you don't stand a chance! Just face the truth Kristi! You can't possibly think you can beat me?" Veronica said astounded.
Kristi leaned back on the couch folding her arms. "I can try!" She said angrily.
"Good luck with that," Veronica smirked.
Kristi scowled at Veronica and got up to leave.
"Wait, Kristi, I'm sure you'll get second!" Veronica cried, as she ran after Kristi who was heading out the door.
Stevie chuckled as they ran off bickering with each other.
"Those girls, I can't believe they call themselves friends! It's an insult to friends everywhere!" She laughed.
Lisa and Carole smiled in agreement.
"So about the show… Stevie, are you sure you want to quit?" Carole asked uncertain.
Stevie shook her head. "No Carole, you've got it all wrong!" She said getting up. "I'm not quitting, I'm dropping out!"
Carole rolled her eyes. "Hah, hah, very funny Stevie," She grinned. "Where are you going?"
Stevie had reached the door. "To tell Drew! I want to make sure he hasn't already signed me up!" Stevie laughed. She walked out the door and headed towards the office. When she got there, no one was there. Stevie sat down on the couch to wait for Drew.
About two minutes later Red walked in.
"Oh, hi Stevie, what are you doing here?" He asked.
"Waiting for Drew, there's something I need to talk to him about." She replied.
"Oh, I see. Can you tell me?" Red questioned.
Stevie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah right! Like I'd want to talk to you!"
Red's spirits fell. He knew she was still mad at him for what he had done.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what I did the other day. I just lost my temper." Red said, hoping to be forgiven.
"Yeah I know! And to think you're a stable hand! Aren't they supposed to be responsible? Do you call that responsible?" She cried.
Red hung his head. "I know, it was irresponsible, and I'm sorry. Will you please forgive me? Can things go back to the way they were?" He pleaded. Stevie looked at him for a second before sighing.
"Okay!" She laughed. "I couldn't stay mad at you for long anyways! Not after all you've done around here!"
Red smiled. "Glad we're friends again. So what did you need to talk about?" He tried again. Stevie glared at him.
"I'm still not telling you." She turned away. Red gave a sigh of frustration, when Drew walked in.
"What's happening in here?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing, Red's just being mean." Stevie smirked, sticking her tongue out at Red while Drew's back was turned.
"What?! No I'm not!" Red yelled, flabbergasted.
"Red, could you please wait outside for a minute while I sort things out with Stevie?" Drew sighed. Red left, throwing a look to Stevie. She smiled triumphantly as he closed the door. He leaned against it softly, hoping to hear their conversation.
"Drew, I think I'm going to drop out of the show on Sunday." Stevie said. Red gave a small gasp from his place outside the door.
Drew raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You've been working for it for a while now!"
"Yeah, I know, but I haven't been able to practice much lately." Stevie admitted. "I just don't feel ready."
Drew nodded slowly. "Alright. If that's what you want to do, I can't stop you. But I'd hate to see you give it up," Drew looked at Stevie.
She sighed. "I'm sorry to let you down Drew, but I really don't feel ready. Maybe next time." Drew turned and pulled out a list of students entering in the show. He slowly crossed Stevie's name out in pencil.
"In case you change your mind." He replied as she cast him a curious glance. Normally, he'd use his pen.
"Thanks Drew!" Stevie said happily. She walked towards the door. Red leapt up and dived into the hay loft as she walked off. He gave a sigh of relief, and got up. He shook hay off his jeans and his hair, as he walked back into the office.
Stevie walked over to Belle's stall. She seemed restless.
"I'm sorry Belle! I know you were looking forward for the show! We always have a great time, but I just can't go this time." Stevie sighed and buried her face in Belle's mane. Belle turned around and nuzzled Stevie's jeans for treats.
"Stop that!" Stevie shoved Belle's muzzle aside. "Here!" She handed Belle the treat that was in her pocket. "You deserved it."
Carole and Lisa walked by.
"Hey Stevie!" Lisa called. "How did your talk with Drew go?"
"It was fine!" Stevie replied as she made her way over to the stall door.
"Did he let you drop out?" Carole asked nervously.
"Yeah, he was pretty nice about it too. Disappointed, but nice." Stevie said, as she opened the stall door and walked out to join the girls.
"That's good. At least you got what you wanted. Although I'd love to have you in the show, if he'd made you do it, you probably would have just caused even more trouble" Lisa said smiling. "And we all know how that would've ended!"
Stevie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm glad he didn't enforce anything too." They continued walking and talking about the show, when Scooter ran out in front of them causing them to stumble back in surprise.
"Sorry girls! Hey, have you seen Red? I need to talk to him about something!" He smiled.
"Yeah, he was in the office last time I saw him." Stevie motioned in the direction of the office.
"Thanks!" Scooter ran off leaving the girls puzzled.
"What was that about?" Carole asked.
"I don't know, maybe he's planning something!" Lisa said hopefully. Stevie shrugged.
"Who knows? With them, it could be anything!" Stevie reminded them. Lisa and Carole nodded in agreement.
"Hey, want to go out on a hack?" Carole asked. "Starlight's been looking restless all day and could use a good gallop."
Lisa nodded. "Sure! Sounds like fun!" They turned to Stevie.
"Want to come with us?" Lisa asked.
Stevie shook her head. "Sorry, I can't."
Carole threw her hands up to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I totally forgot!"
"It's okay! No big deal!" Stevie attempted a smile. "You guys go ahead, I'll wait for you here! I'd hate for all three of us to be penalized for something that only affects me." Lisa looked at her funny.
"But we don't want to go without you!" She cried.
"Don't worry! I'll be fine! I'll find something to do." Stevie pushed them towards the tack room. "Go on!"
Carole turned around, "But-"
"No but's!" Stevie interrupted. "Just go! Have a good time! I'll be in the lounge when you're done!" Carole and Lisa grabbed their saddles.
"If you say so Stevie," Lisa shrugged. They walked over to their horses. After a few minutes, they were galloping off towards the fields. Stevie couldn't help but feel a twang of envy as she watched them go. She missed riding so much.
She stood there for a few minutes before deciding to head back to the lounge. Once there, she plopped down on the couch and rested her head in her hands. She couldn't help it, but she was bored.
Stevie glanced at her watch. It was 11:30. Almost lunchtime, but she wasn't hungry. She sighed. Maybe something was wrong with her. She hadn't eaten in so long, but wasn't the least bit hungry. She couldn't remember what had happened for those two days she was "ill". Stevie felt a few tears slide down her cheeks and she leaned into the couch. She couldn't start crying again.
With a half-hearted sigh, she got up and walked outside. She couldn't ride anywhere, but she could walk. Stevie headed towards the valley trail. It brought some bad memories, but she pushed them away. Hoping to get to the valley creek before Lisa and Carole got back, she walked quickly. It was about a mile away, but Stevie continued following the trail. After a while, she got tired.
Her foot was killing her, and she had to rest for a moment on a nearby log.
"Okay, this was a bad idea," Stevie thought aloud as she rubbed her aching foot. She felt a wave of drowsiness come over her and she yawned.
"No! I can't fall asleep, I need to get back!" Stevie scolded herself. She got up and limped back the way she came. After a while she realized why these were called horse trails. They were too long, and too rough for most people to attempt on their own. And to think she thought she could have gotten there so quickly.
After about ten minutes Stevie had to sit down again. Her foot hurt worse than before, and she could barely walk on it. The noon sun peeked from behind a thin layer of clouds warming up the area where Stevie sat. It was almost like a blanket of warmth.
Stevie leaned against the tree she was sitting under, and closed her eyes. Ignoring the voice in her head that was telling her to get up, she drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile…
After about an hour, Lisa and Carole returned to the barn laughing. They had raced back, Lisa being the winner.
"I'll bet it's only because Prancer's a racehorse!" Carole joked.
"An ex-racehorse!" Lisa cried, "She's not one anymore!"
Carole rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but she's still genuinely faster!"
Lisa sighed as she dismounted. "Carole, that's so juvenile! She hasn't raced for real in so long, she's probably forgotten how to!" She laughed.
Carole smiled. "I know, I was just teasing!" They lead their horses into the barn.
Drew approached them. "Hey, have you girls seen Stevie?"
Lisa and Carole shook their heads in unison. "No, we've been out for an hour." Lisa said truthfully. Drew gave a worried sigh.
"I haven't seen her around either. I was hoping you knew." He turned to leave but Carole stopped him.
"Did you check the lounge?" She asked.
"Yes! As I said before, Stevie is nowhere around here! I was hoping she was with you." Drew replied.
Lisa threw Carole a worried glance. "She wouldn't go out riding would she?" Lisa asked her. "She's supposed to wait until Thursday!"
Carole shook her head. "No, on our way in I saw Belle in her stall." They looked at Drew.
"I don't know girls, maybe you could ask around." He said. "I need to alert her mother. Maybe she went home?"
"Maybe…." Carole trailed off. They all knew that's not what happened. Drew left and headed towards the office. Lisa and Carole looked at each other for a moment.
"Hey, let's tie our horses up outside. We could need them later, so we won't untack right now." Carole said. Lisa nodded and they left their horses outside. They walked over towards Melanie and Ashley.
"Have either of you seen Stevie?" Lisa asked. Both girls shook their heads.
"No, is she gone?" Ashley asked. Carole shrugged.
"We don't know." She said.
"She's been acting so weird lately, is everything okay?" Melanie asked.
"Yeah, it's fine." Lisa said grumpily. They ran off to find Red and Scooter.
Melanie turned to Ashley. "I hope we don't have problems like that when we're older." She said. Ashley nodded in agreement.
Carole and Lisa ran through the barn, bumping into Scooter and Red along the way. Neither of them had seen Stevie. They called Phil, but he hadn't seen her, or heard from her. He offered to help but Lisa hung up before he could get an answer.
"Where is she?" Lisa cried. "I'm worried about her Carole! She hasn't been herself lately, and something horrible could have happened!" Carole grabbed Lisa's shoulders and shook her hard.
"Lisa! Snap out of it! This is Stevie we're talking about! I'm sure she's fine!" Carole yelled.
"Yes, she is Stevie, and Stevie is pretty good at fending for herself," Lisa started. "But-"
"But what? She'll be fine! You said so yourself!" Carole interrupted.
"But that was when she was herself!" Lisa sobbed. Carole sighed. Veronica walked by.
"What's her problem?" She asked.
"We can't find Stevie anywhere!" Lisa whimpered.
"Stevie? I saw her walking towards the Valley trail earlier," Veronica frowned. "Is something wrong?"
Carole gave a frustrated sigh. "Come on Lisa! Let's go!" They ran off towards their horses. Veronica shrugged and continued walking towards the lounge. She needed to talk to Kristi about the horse show on Sunday.
Lisa and Carole jumped up on their horses. Lisa gave Prancer a firm kick and they galloped off on the Valley trail. Carole and Starlight followed close behind. They galloped through the trees until they got to the meadow.
"She's not here!" Lisa cried. "Where is she?!"
Carole shrugged. "I don't know, maybe we passed her! I doubt she came all the way to the valley on her ankle!"
Lisa gave a small nod and turned Prancer around. She followed Carole at a controlled canter.
"Why are we going so slowly? We need to find Stevie and fast! Before something bad happens, if it hasn't already!" Lisa shrieked.
Carole rolled her eyes. "We missed her once before, we obviously needed to slow down to find her! If we go any faster it raises our chances of missing her again! Do you want that to happen? Our horses are tired enough as is!" Carole scolded Lisa. She was getting a bit too worried.
Lisa hung her head. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry."
Carole gave a sigh. "It's fine Lisa! I'm glad you're worried, I am too, but you need to focus a bit more."
Lisa nodded and they slowed to a trot. They trot through the trees for about three minutes before Carole spotted a small speck of blue near one of the trees.
"Is that her?" Carole asked Lisa, but Lisa had already cantered towards the blue. Carole cantered after her. Finally she brought Starlight to a halt as Lisa dismounted.
"It is her!" Lisa gave a happy cry. She ran over to Stevie, who was knocked unconscious under the tree. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing shallow.
"Is she alright?" Carole asked hesitantly. Lisa shrugged.
"I think so. It looks like she's just sleeping. She must have been tired after walking so far." Lisa slowly stroked Stevie's hair.
"Well, we need to wake her up and get her back. Drew will be glad to know she's alright." Carole said, kneeling down next to Lisa.
"But I don't want to wake her up! You know what she's like in the mornings!" Lisa cried.
Carole sighed. "Fine, I'll do it." She gently shook Stevie's shoulder. Stevie's eyes fluttered open.
"Errrrrr….." Stevie groaned and rolled back over.
"Stevie, come on! Wake up! We need to get you back to Pine Hollow!" Carole whined.
"Huh?" Stevie sat up. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. How long have I been gone?"
"I don't know, a good hour I guess." Lisa replied. "We were so worried about you!" She flung her arms around Stevie's neck. Carole joined in.
"Don't ever run away from us again Stevie!" Carole said.
Stevie frowned. "I didn't run away, I just took a walk. But my foot started hurting, and so I took a break. I must have fallen asleep, sorry!"
Carole glared at her. "Drew was really worried about you! He thought something really bad had happened! And don't get me started about Lisa!" Lisa hung her head and blushed slightly.
"Yeah, we were all pretty freaked out." Lisa said quietly.
Stevie smiled. "I'm really sorry, I didn't know." She got up and immediately winced as she set her foot down.
Lisa smiled at her. "Need a lift?" She asked.
Stevie shook her head. "No, I'm not supposed to ride until Thursday."
Carole nudged her softly. "Oh, come on! It'll be okay! Or do you want to walk all the way home?" Stevie shook her head rapidly.
"No way! I'm coming with you!" She took Lisa's hand as she was pulled onto Prancer's back. "I do not want to walk all the way back!"
Carole and Lisa laughed as they walked off towards Pine Hollow.
When they arrived back, Drew was waiting for them. He helped Stevie dismount Prancer, making sure to be careful with her foot.
"Stevie, I need to talk with you. Immediately." Drew walked towards the office. Stevie hung her head and followed him, stealing a glance at Lisa and Carole.
They gave her a sympathetic look as she walked off.
"Will she be alright?" Lisa turned to Carole.
"Yeah, she'll be fine!" Carole smiled. "She's Stevie, remember!"
Stevie slowly walked into the office. Drew motioned to the couch, and she sat down.
"What were you doing?" He asked. His voice full of concern and anger.
"I…I um…I was taking a walk. My foot started to hurt, and so I sat down. I fell asleep." Stevie said quietly. Drew gave a sigh of frustration.
"You know better than to go running off on your own! Especially with your current condition-"
"Current condition? I'm not sick!" Stevie shrieked. Her voice rose as she got mad. "I was fine Drew!"
"Yes, but your friends and fellow riders were not. We were all worried about you. Nobody knew where you had gone, and what you were doing. We were lucky Veronica saw where you went or we might not have found you in time!" Drew yelled. Stevie hung her head.
"I'm sorry. I know what I did was…..a bit foolish…but I'm okay now!" Stevie said.
Drew sighed. "I know that now, but we thought something bad had happened to you earlier. Next time, please tell someone where you are going! And it would be nice if you took someone with you so we weren't as worried! Who knows what could have happened to you while you were out there alone." Drew looked Stevie in the eye. "This is a rule for everyone, not just you. Please don't get frustrated, it's for the best."
Stevie nodded slowly. "I understand. Sorry for making you worry."
Drew smiled. "It's fine, at least you're okay!" He walked towards the door. "You can leave now."
Stevie remained seated, she felt her face get hot and she turned away.
"Stevie? What's wrong?" Drew asked. Stevie gave a small sigh.
"I don't think I'm going to get up for at least twenty minutes." She laughed. "My foot is so sore, I don't think I could get up even if I wanted to!"
Drew chuckled quietly. "I'll leave you here then. Shall I send Lisa and Carole up?" Stevie nodded quickly as Drew walked out. She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she had dozed off again.