Stables S.O.S. by Janet Rising

Well, almost.
    â€œMust you do that?” cried Katy, looking daggers at Bean.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œBite your nails?”
    â€œThey’re my nails!”
    â€œI can hear you crunching. It’s disgusting!”
    â€œYou’re in a great mood today!”
    â€œI’m stressed!”
    Bean looked skyward and stuffed her hands in her pockets.
    We stood around not saying anything, seeing as everything anyone said just fired up everyone else. The moments ticked by.
    â€œShe’s back!” yelled Cat, bounding out of the stable as Bambi returned to the yard with a clatter of hoofbeats. Aunt Pam was no longer in the saddle. Handing the reins over to Cat, we saw her say something—and by her body language, it wasn’t complimentary. Fingers were pointed at Bambi, then wagged at Cat as Cat’s face turned redder and redder.
    Eventually, Aunt Pam got in her car and whizzed off, and we all poured out of our hiding place now the enemy had retreated.
    â€œWhat happened?” I demanded.
    â€œThat showed her!” Bambi said, adding a humph! at the end.
    â€œAunt Pam’s furious!” Cat told us miserably.
    â€œWhy?” asked Katy.
    â€œBecause,” said Bambi defiantly, “I straightened her out!”
    â€œBambi dumped her,” Cat explained. “She’s not a happy camper.”
    â€œWhat did she say?” Bean asked. “Is she giving up her idea of having Bambi at home?”
    â€œOh yes,” Cat said, nodding, “she’s decided Bambi’s far too naughty for Emily after all.”
    â€œHurray!” yelled Bean, punching the air. “Our plan worked brilliantly!”
    I looked at Katy. She looked back at me. Something wasn’t right.
    â€œYou don’t look very happy about it, Cat,” I said. She looked anything but.
    Throwing her arms around Bambi’s neck, Cat began to cry. Bambi lowered her head and nuzzled Cat’s back in sympathy.
    â€œI overdid it, didn’t I?” Bambi said quietly.
    â€œAre you crying with joy?” Bean asked her hopefully.
    â€œNo!” came Cat’s muffled reply. “Not only has Aunt Pam decided she doesn’t want Bambi at home any more, she’s decided she doesn’t want her at all .”
    â€œBut that was the plan,” said Katy, confused. “That’s what you wanted—for Aunt Pam to continue letting you have her on loan.”
    â€œYou don’t understand,” Cat told us, between sniffs. “She isn’t going to let me have her. Aunt Pam is going to sell Bambi!”

Saturday dawned bright, sunny and warm. So why did I keep shivering?
    â€œWhat time is it?” James asked me, for about the millionth time.
    â€œHaven’t you got a watch?” I asked him crossly. Nerves are so getting to me , I thought.
    â€œI use my cell phone,” he explained.
    â€œWell, you’re not using it now!” I snapped. I’d lost count of the number of times I’d glanced down the drive, looking for Jessica Tamarad’s car, even though I knew she wasn’t due for another hour.
    Everyone but Sophie and Dee were at the stables. Mrs. Bradley was being dragged around, as usual, by her stubborn Dales pony. Nicky was keeping an eye on her daughter Bethany, who was dabbing her pony Pippin with a dandy brush while Pippin dozed in the sun. I think he was actually snoring. Cat had gone riding on Bambi. She had said she didn’t know how many more times she’d be able to do that, and she wanted to be alone.
    Drummer wasn’t speaking to me. He wasn’t speaking to me because of Aunt Pam’s plans for Bambi. He felt I’d let him down (and I could see his point) so I was getting the silent treatment. He pretended he was angry, but really, I think he didn’t trust himself to speak. He was awfully upset, and I had no words to console him. That was partly why I was being so bratty with James.
    I looked along the drive