The Painted Horse by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant [Bryant, Bonnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-82576-6
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-02-06T05:00:00+00:00

“THIS IS NOT only unfair,” Stevie said, “it’s inhuman.”

Tickets for Skye’s show had arrived at the hotel, but Mrs. Martin wouldn’t let Stevie go.

“I told you Skye was going to send tickets, and he did,” Stevie said. “Nobody believed me, but I was right. So why can’t I go?”

“Because you still haven’t been taking this trip seriously,” said Mrs. Martin. “You haven’t been the least bit cooperative.”

Stevie opened her mouth, about to argue with Mrs. Martin, but then she realized that if Mrs. Martin knew what she had really been doing, she would be in trouble for life. “I guess you’re right,” she said miserably.

Mrs. Martin looked down at the tickets in her hand. “It’s true that Skye Ransom is your friend, Stevie. Without you we never would have gotten these tickets. If you like, I can return them to Mr. Ransom.”

“No way!” Stevie said. “His play sounds fantastic. There are thrills. There are chills. Plus, Skye is a great actor.”

“You’re a nice person, Stevie,” said Mrs. Martin. “You’re generous and sweet. But you have no discipline. You have no inner fiber. You’ll never get anyplace unless you change.”

“She will,” said Ms. Dodge, putting her arm around Stevie. “I know she’ll do better.”

“But Ms. Dodge will have to stay and watch me,” Stevie groaned. “It’s really not fair. She’s going to miss two plays in a row. I’m single-handedly wrecking her trip to New York.”

“I don’t mind staying,” Ms. Dodge said. “It will give us a chance to spend some time together.”

If only Ms. Dodge weren’t so nice, Stevie thought. She was making Stevie feel miserable.

“We’ll have a good time,” Ms. Dodge said to Stevie. “We’ll order dinner from room service and then we’ll watch TV.”

Stevie crumpled. This did not sound like a fantastic evening. “I’ve always wanted to go backstage at a Broadway show,” she said to Mrs. Martin. “It’s a lifelong dream. I promise …”

Mrs. Martin shook her head. “I’m sorry, Stevie.”

When the class had gone, Ms. Dodge got the room service menu and said, “What would you like, Stevie?”

“Bread and water,” Stevie said miserably.

“Don’t be like that,” said Ms. Dodge with a smile. “Take a look at the menu.”

On the menu there were good things like hamburgers and fries. And there was an array of tempting desserts. But Stevie knew that somehow or other she had to get herself under control. No way was she going to wander off in the park again. Maybe eating right would help.

“What are you having?” she asked Ms. Dodge.

“The sautéed filet of sole looks scrumptious,” said Ms. Dodge.

“Totally,” said Stevie.

Ms. Dodge waggled her fingers over the menu as if she were having trouble deciding. “How about some broccoli to go with that fish?”

“Fantastic,” Stevie said. Until this moment, she would rather have died than order broccoli.

Half an hour later, a man wheeled a table into their room. The plates were covered with metal domes to keep the food warm.

“Let’s dig in,” Ms. Dodge said happily.

When the waiter whipped the cover off her plate, Stevie nearly fainted.

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