Horsing Around (3 page)

“Heather, leave that hat on,” Suzanne scolded her sister.

“No like!” Heather shouted back. She threw the hat at Suzanne.

Suzanne made a face. “You see what I mean, Katie?” she asked. “Heather does that all the time.”

Just then George peeked his head into the house.

“Bye, Mrs. Lock,” he shouted from the front door. “I’m done and I have to be home before six.”

Uh-oh. Katie looked at the clock. It was 5:45. She was supposed to be home by six o’clock, too!

“I gotta go, Suzanne,” she said, jumping to her feet.

“You’re going to leave me alone with
her
?” Suzanne asked, pointing to Heather.

“Heather’s not so bad,” Katie replied.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Suzanne told her.

Katie picked up her clarinet and her book bag and opened the front door. But before she could even walk outside, Heather toddled past her into the front yard.

“Leaves!” Heather shouted. She ran as fast as her little legs could take her.

“Heather, get back here!” Suzanne shouted. She started to chase her sister.

BAM!
A minute later, Suzanne and Heather had both pounced on the neat pile of leaves George had raked up. Yellow, brown, red, and orange leaves scattered everywhere.

“What are you doing?” George shouted angrily. He started running back. “I just raked those up.”

Katie looked at George. He seemed really mad.

But not as mad as Mrs. Lock. She had just come outside. “Suzanne Elizabeth Lock!” she shouted.

Katie gulped.
Uh-oh.
Mrs. Lock had just used Suzanne’s full name. When parents did that, it was never good.

“I cannot believe you just did that,” Mrs. Lock continued. “George worked very hard.”

“B-but Heather . . .” Suzanne began.

“Don’t blame this on your little sister,” Mrs. Lock warned. She scooped up Heather in her arms. “Help George rake up the rest of these leaves right now.”

Katie looked at her best friend. Suzanne was angry now, too. Katie didn’t blame her. None of this was really Suzanne’s fault. It was Heather’s. But a baby couldn’t help rake leaves.

Katie watched as Suzanne got an extra rake and began working with George. This sure wasn’t going to make Suzanne like her little sister any better.

George wasn’t too fond of Heather either at the moment. Katie wasn’t sure which made him more angry—having to rake the leaves up again or having to rake them up with Suzanne.

Either way, George wasn’t happy. And neither was Suzanne. Mrs. Lock had no idea what she’d just done. Making Suzanne and George rake leaves together was a recipe for disaster.

Which was why
Katie
was happy—to get going!

Suzanne wasn’t thinking about Heather or George when she got to school the next morning. She was too busy being annoyed with Becky Stern. Becky had worn her riding helmet to school. The girls were circled around her, admiring it.

Katie knew how much that must bug Suzanne. Suzanne was used to being the one in the middle of the circle. She was sure to say something to bring everyone’s attention back to her.

“Becky, why are you wearing that?” Suzanne asked. “It’s not like there are any horses on the playground.”

“Everyone was so curious about my riding clothes, I thought I’d show them the helmet,” Becky explained.

“
Everyone
wasn’t curious,” Suzanne told her. “I wasn’t curious. Katie wasn’t curious.
Jeremy
wasn’t curious.”

Katie scowled. Why was Suzanne dragging her into this?

But Becky wasn’t upset about Suzanne mentioning Katie. She was more hurt that she’d mentioned Jeremy.

“Jeremy,” Becky called across the playground. “Do you like my new riding helmet?”

Jeremy just rolled his eyes. Becky frowned. That obviously wasn’t the reaction she was hoping for.

“They’re never going to let you wear that thing in school,” Suzanne continued. “And when you take it off, you’ll have helmet hair.”

Becky looked like she was going to cry. Especially when she took off her helmet and felt the top of her head. Sure enough, her hair was all flat.

“I hope Jeremy doesn’t think I look ugly,” she moaned.

At the moment Jeremy wasn’t looking at Becky at all. He was on the other side of the playground. Far away from Becky.

Katie pulled Suzanne by the arm. “Why are you being so mean?” she asked her.

“I’m not mean,” Suzanne said. “I’m just sick of Becky being such a show-off.”

Before Katie could say anything, a fight broke out on the other side of the playground!

“That was my idea!” Kadeem yelled. “I told you yesterday that my mom paid me a dollar to rake our lawn.”

“Big deal,” George screamed back. “That was for your mother. It doesn’t count. I have a business. I rake leaves for lots of people. And I’m making a lot of money, too. In a few weeks I’ll have saved up enough for a new skateboard.”

“I’ll bet I can earn more money than you can,” Kadeem told George.

“Yeah, right,” George huffed. “You’re not the one with a leaf-raking business.”

“I have one now,” Kadeem insisted. “I’m starting right after school.”

Katie looked around the yard and sighed. Things sure were a mess.

Suzanne was angry about not being the center of attention.

Becky was crying about her hair.

Jeremy was hiding from Becky.

And George and Kadeem were arguing.

Katie didn’t know whether George or Kadeem was going to earn more money raking leaves. But one thing was a
sure
bet.

Trouble was definitely brewing in the fourth grade.

“Pssst. Katie Kazoo, come here.” Jeremy was hiding behind a tree when Katie arrived at school Wednesday morning. He was wearing dark sunglasses and a baseball hat.

“Jeremy, what are you . . . ?” Katie began.

“Shhh!” Jeremy shushed her. “I’m hiding from Becky.”

“What did she do now?” Katie asked him.

“This is the worst thing
ever
,” Jeremy told Katie. “She’s in a horse show on Saturday
and she invited me
!”

Katie looked at Jeremy strangely. That didn’t sound so bad.

“Just tell her you can’t go,” Katie suggested.

“I can’t,” Jeremy insisted. “That’s the
really
bad part. She asked me in front of my
mother
.”

“Oh.” Now Katie understood.

“We were having dinner at Louie’s Pizza Shop. Becky and her mom came in,” Jeremy explained. “That’s when Becky invited me to the horse show. And my mom said yes without even asking me first.”

Katie frowned. “I hate when parents do that,” she said.

“Now Becky is telling everyone I’m going to be her
special
guest.” Jeremy groaned. “You gotta help me, Katie.”

Poor Jeremy. Katie wished there was a way she could help him out. She always tried to be there for Jeremy when he needed her.

Be there for him
. . . That was it!

“How about if I go with you?” Katie asked Jeremy. “And we can get some other kids to go, too. Then it will be a bunch of us. There won’t be anything
special
about you being there.”

Jeremy’s face brightened. “Do you think other kids will come?” he asked hopefully.

A horse show sounded fun. But Katie wasn’t so sure. Becky had been bragging a lot. People were getting kind of sick of that. Katie didn’t say that out loud. She just said, “Let’s hope so.”

 

The first person Katie asked was Emma W. Emma was nice about it. She said she would try her hardest to come to the horse show.

“It’s my big sister’s turn to watch Matthew and the twins,” Emma W. told Katie and Jeremy.

“Great!” Jeremy exclaimed excitedly.

“Thanks,” Katie told Emma W.

Next Katie and Jeremy went over and asked Mandy, Emma S., Jessica, and Miriam to come to the horse show. Emma S. had a skating lesson, and Miriam had to go into the city with her parents. But Mandy and Jessica both promised to show up.

So far lots of girls were coming to the horse show. But Jeremy was the only boy. That still made him kind of special. And Katie didn’t want that. She had to get some boys at the horse show as well.

“George, come here,” Katie called across the playground.

George began walking toward Katie and Jeremy. He moved really slowly. His legs seemed stiff. And he was holding one of his arms.

“What’s the matter with you?” Jeremy asked George.

“I raked a lot of leaves yesterday,” George explained.

“You did a great job at our house,” Jeremy assured him.

“Thanks,” George answered. “After your lawn, I raked Mr. Brigandi’s front
and
back yards.”

Katie was impressed. Mr. Brigandi lived on her block. He had a lot of trees in his yard. That meant a lot of fallen leaves.

“No wonder you’re sore,” she said.