Maddie’s Dream (11 page)

Maddie rubbed her eyes again, stifling a yawn. “Huh? Who?”

“Me and the girls,” Nina replied. “Well, mostly Brooke to start. You know how that girl notices everything, right?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“Well, she e-mailed me and Haley the other day to ask us if we thought you were acting weird. And once she
mentioned it, I realized she was right—since when do you ever go like four days without a peep on the Pony Post?”

“Um . . .” Maddie wasn't sure what to say to that.

“Brooke was also the first one to see your latest post this morning.” Nina laughed. “I guess that makes sense, right? She's a whole hour ahead of Haley and me. Anyway, she e-mailed us as soon as she saw it.”

“Um, saw what?” Maddie asked, trying to focus her sleep-muddled mind enough to remember what she'd posted.

“Your desperate cry for help,” Nina replied with a touch of drama. “It was, like, the last straw. Haley decided we needed to find out what was going on with you.”

That sounded like Haley. She was a straightforward person—an action girl, as Nina had jokingly dubbed her once.

“So I volunteered to call you,” Nina went on before Maddie could say anything. “I've got unlimited long distance on my cell phone, so it made sense for me to do it. So that's our story. What's yours? Spill it, Maddie—we're worried about you.”

Suddenly Maddie couldn't hold back any longer. She
had to talk to someone who could understand what she was going through, and who better than one of her fellow Chincoteague pony lovers?

“It's Cloudy,” she blurted out. “It all started on Saturday when I showed up for my lesson and found out I was on the list to ride a different pony. . . .”

The story spilled out of her in a torrent of words. Nina stayed pretty quiet through it all except for a few exclamations here and there. When Maddie finished, there was silence on the phone for a second.

“Wow,” Nina said at last. “I can't believe this! I'm so sorry, Maddie—no wonder you were freaked out! I can't even imagine someone coming in and buying Breezy out from under me. It's horrible! Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?”

Maddie bit her lip, not sure Nina would understand the next part. She always seemed so confident, so carefree—the type of person who marched to her own beat and didn't worry about what other people thought of her. “Um, I guess I was worried about what you guys would think,” Maddie said hesitantly.

“What do you mean? It's not like it's your fault those people want to buy Cloudy.”

“No, not that.” Maddie took a deep breath. “I just—I was afraid that if you knew I might not have a Chincoteague pony anymore, maybe I wouldn't be, you know, welcome on the Pony Post anymore either.”

“What?” Nina's indignation was unmistakable even over the phone. “Are you crazy, girl? You really think we'd ditch you even if you
did
lose Cloudy? Not that that's going to happen,” she added hastily. “We're going to help you fix this mess,
tout de suite
.”

“Toot what?”

“Tout de suite.”
Nina laughed. “That's just something our maid says all the time. It's French for ‘right away.' ”

Maddie felt a fresh spark of optimism. “So you'll help me come up with ways to make more money?”

“For sure!” Nina exclaimed. “That way nobody will ever be able to even
try
to take Cloudy away from you again. So what have you done so far?”

“Well, yesterday my dad paid me to clean out the garage, and then I went around to ask all the neighbors
if they had anything they wanted me to do.” Maddie gave her friend the short version of her long workday. “But I think I've done all the odd jobs my neighbors have right now. And Mom and Dad won't let me knock on the doors of people we don't know.”

“I hear you.” Nina sounded thoughtful. “Anyway, odd jobs will only take you so far. You need, like, a real business plan. Something that will net you some serious moolah.”

Maddie smiled. Nina was always coming up with crazy words and phrases like “
tout de suite
” and “moolah” that most kids their age would never think to use. Maybe it was because her mother was an artist, or because she lived in New Orleans, which had always seemed a bit like a whole different country.

“Okay,” Maddie said, leaning back against her pillow and switching the phone to her other ear. “Like what?”

“Didn't Haley post something about dog-walking?” Nina asked. “That could work, right? There's this guy my dad knows who totally supports himself by walking people's dogs all over the Garden District. He takes them out in shifts—six or eight dogs at a time, all day long. The
dogs love him, and so do their owners. He's got a waiting list a mile long.”

“That's cool. But remember, I need money fast,” Maddie said. “It would take a ton of time to build that kind of business.”

“True, true. But listen, that gives me another great idea. Why don't you talk to Ms. Emerson about setting up a payment plan?”

“A what?”

“A payment plan,” Nina repeated. “You know—like when people buy cars and houses and stuff. They don't usually have all the money up front, so they borrow part of it from the bank or whoever.”

Maddie wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Are you saying I should ask the bank to loan me money to buy Cloudy?” she said. “I don't think that will work—I'm just a kid, remember?”

Nina laughed. “No, no. I'm saying you should ask Ms. Emerson if you could make payments to buy Cloudy—say, a certain amount each month until the whole amount is paid off. If you come up with a real plan, with numbers
and everything, it'll totally make you seem grown-up and serious about the whole deal.”

“Do you think so?” Maddie hadn't really thought about it that way.

“Sure. It might even be exactly what she needs to decide to sell Cloudy to you instead of those other people.” Nina sounded confident. “Besides, it means you don't have to wait any longer to tell her you want to buy her.”

“That's true.” Maddie chewed her lower lip, thinking it over. “I guess maybe it's worth a try, anyway.”

“For sure,” Nina agreed. “You don't want her to finalize a deal with the other people while you're out somewhere pulling weeds or whatever.”

Before Maddie could respond, there was a knock on the door. Her father stuck his head in. He looked surprised to see her still in bed.

“Better shake a leg, lazybones,” he said. “We're supposed to leave for your soccer practice in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, right. I'll be down in a sec.” When Maddie's father disappeared, she spoke into the phone again. “Sorry, Nina. I have to go get ready for soccer. But I'm really glad you called.
And I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was going on right away.”

“You're forgiven—this time,” Nina said with a laugh. “But don't let it happen again.”

“I won't. Um, can you let Brooke and Haley know what's going on for me? And tell them I'm sorry too?”

“Sure. Post later and let us know how things are going, okay?”

“Definitely. Thanks, Nina.” Maddie hung up the phone and jumped out of bed, already feeling much more optimistic about the whole situation. She also felt silly for not telling her friends what was going on until now. She should have known they'd want to help—and that they'd never turn their backs on her, no matter what.

Knowing that made her feel like she could do anything.

“Thanks for the ride, Dad.” Maddie unsnapped her seat belt. She could see her teammates milling around on one of high school playing fields. The grass looked extra-bright against the sere browns of the summer-scorched hills beyond.

“Hang on a sec.” Her father put the car in neutral. “Did you ever call the coach back about that tryout on Saturday?”

Maddie gulped. She'd been hoping he'd forgotten about that.

“Um, not yet,” she said. “But I'll talk to her now.”

Her father frowned. “Maddie, this Cascade League thing is a big deal,” he said. “If you don't start taking it seriously . . .” He sighed, letting his voice trail off. Then he cut the engine.

“What are you doing?” Maddie asked as he opened his door.

“I'm going to talk to your coach,” he said. “I want to make sure all the arrangements are set so I can take time off work if necessary.”

“You don't have to do that.” Maddie hopped out of the car, hurrying around to his side. “Seriously, Dad. I'll talk to her, I swear!”

“It's no trouble, Mads. I'm already here.” Her father strode off toward Coach Wu, who'd just appeared at one end of the field.

Maddie grimaced, hoping her father wouldn't embarrass her too much in front of the team. In any case, it looked like she was stuck—she would be going to that try-out whether she liked it or not.

CHAPTER

AFTER SOCCER PRACTICE, MADDIE STOPPED
at home just long enough to change clothes, then grabbed her bike and headed to the barn. When she arrived, the parking lot was full. Thursdays were always busy—there were two back-to-back group lessons, followed by several privates.

“Hi, Maddie!” a high-pitched voice called out as soon as Maddie entered the barn.

Maddie squinted, trying to force her eyes to adjust from the bright sunshine outside. A little girl with sleek black braids was waving at her from the doorway to the tack room, grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, you!” Maddie called back brightly. “How's it going?”

She recognized the girl, though she couldn't remember her name. A couple of weeks earlier, Maddie had been passing by the grooming area on her way to see Cloudy. She'd noticed that the little girl was having trouble convincing Wizard to pick up his feet so she could clean them out with the hoof-pick. Maddie had stopped and showed her how to get the pony to pick up by gently squeezing his chestnuts, the calluses on the inside of his legs. Ever since, it was obvious that the girl was Maddie's biggest fan.

“I'm riding Peaches today in my lesson!” the girl announced now, sounding excited. “I never rode her before.”

“You'll love her,” Maddie assured her with a smile. “She's a sweetheart.”

“Cool.” The girl grinned. “Are you riding Cloudy today?”

“Not today.” Maddie's smile faded slightly. “I just decided to stop by and visit her. I'd better go do that now. Have a good ride, okay?”

She hurried off toward Cloudy's stall. The mare heard her coming and stuck her head out, nickering softly.

Maddie let herself in and gave the pony a hug. “Hey, girl,” she said softly. “I'm glad to see you, too. And don't worry.” She leaned closer, whispering into Cloudy's fuzzy ear. “I have a plan. Soon we'll never have to worry about being separated again.”

That reminded her of the real reason she'd come to the barn today. Giving Cloudy one last hug, she let herself out of the stall and hurried back up the aisle. She spotted Ms. Emerson helping a tiny kid lead the barn's smallest pony, Peanut, out of his stall.