Mystery Ride by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant [Bryant, Bonnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-82545-2
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-02-06T05:00:00+00:00

“PANDEMONIUM,” LISA GROANED.

“What?” said Carole.

“Chaos,” Lisa said. “I think I’ll go back to sleep.”

This, however, was not going to be possible. May, Amie, and Jackie were playing keep-away with a riding crop. The game involved a lot of jumping and shrieking. Corey was insisting that a thief had come during the night and stolen her toothbrush.

Lisa sat up, wishing—for only a second—that she was at home in her comfortable bed. But then she saw an amazing sight. Veronica was sitting at her portable dressing table staring at herself in the mirror. There was nothing unusual about this. Veronica spent half her life looking at herself in the mirror. But this morning she was staring at herself in dismay.

Veronica’s hair gel seemed to have attracted every seed and bit of hay in the loft. Her rollers were coated with prickly tidbits.

“Veronica, you look like a giant thistle,” said Stevie cheerfully. “And—to tell you the truth—the look suits you.”

“It’s not my fault,” Veronica said crossly. “If only Pine Hollow had showers.”

Corey and Amie were so amazed by Veronica’s new look that they started dumping hay on each other’s head, yelling, “We want to be beautiful like Veronica.”

With a scornful toss of her head, Veronica picked up her brush, saying, “Some of my best ideas come out of problem situations.”

“This I gotta see,” said Stevie, crossing her arms.

Veronica slipped the rollers out of her hair and began to brush. But the seeds and hay bits had turned Veronica’s hair gel into hair cement. As she brushed, her hair didn’t flatten and fall. It stuck out at weird angles.

“Not even Frankenstein would marry you,” said Corey. “In fact, he’d probably be scared of you.”

Veronica’s face turned pink. “This didn’t happen by accident,” she snapped. “It’s somebody’s fault. I heard people moving around last night.” She glared at Lisa, Stevie, and Carole. “Somebody did this to me, and I think I know who.”

The Saddle Club could hardly explain that they had gone downstairs to inspect horseshoes the night before, so they just shrugged.

The wake-up bell clanged. A minute later Deborah appeared at the head of the stairs. “Feed your horses, and then it will be time for breakfast,” she said. Then she saw Veronica. She blinked hard.

“Are you all right, Veronica?” Deborah asked.

“Of course I’m all right,” said Veronica, rising from her dressing table. “Or rather I would be if this dump had a shower.”

Deborah nodded solemnly. “If only we did, Veronica. But I guess you’re going to have to tough it out.” She turned to the other riders. “Your horses are hungry. They’re thirsty. Let’s get going.”

“Just like Max,” Stevie grumbled. “Horse care first, people care second.”

Lisa climbed out of her sleeping bag, rolled it up, and changed into her riding clothes. It felt funny to be getting dressed without taking a shower first—her mother would faint with horror if she knew—but it was fun. She went downstairs and waited in line at the bathroom until she got a chance to brush her teeth and give her face a quick wash.

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