Authors: Bonnie Bryant
STEVIE
Me too. We should have known she would guess something was wrong and start to worry. And she did. She even guessed Jodi was part of it.
DINAH
She really did appreciate our stepping forward to save her parents, though. I’m glad we did it.
STEVIE
(nodding sincerely)
Me too. I guess this is why my teachers always tell me to tell the truth. I should have remembered that in the first place. After all, teachers are the wisest people in the world. Except maybe for headmistresses, whom I like to think of as superteachers.
SQUARE DANCE CALLER (offscreen)
Everybody grab a partner!
DINAH
Why don’t you go ahead and dance, Stevie?
I’m still way too sore to do-si-do, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun.
STEVIE
(blushing)
Thanks. But I don’t have anybody to dance with.
Suddenly at least a dozen very cute teenage guys rush over.
CUTE GUY #1
Did I hear you say you need a dance partner, Stevie?
CUTE GUY #2
(pushing Cute Guy #1 aside)
No way! I got here first!
CUTE GUY #3
You’re both wrong! I want to dance with Stevie.
Stevie waves her hands and smiles.
STEVIE
Guys, guys! You’ll all get your chance. I feel like I could dance all night!
CUTE GUYS (in unison)
Hooray!
Stevie grabs Cute Guy #1 by the arm, and they make their way to the dance floor.
MUSIC VIDEO SEQUENCE
Stevie square-dances with guy after guy. She is a natural on the dance floor. Even the caller looks impressed by her style, grace, and technique.
After music video ends, CUT TO
CLOSE-UP on Stevie, who has just finished square dancing with Cute Guy #47. The band starts another song.
MAN’S VOICE (offscreen)
May I have this dance?
PAN OUT to reveal that the man is MR. DAVIET, the owner of Sugarbush Stables. He is smiling at Stevie and holding out his arm.
Stevie takes it, blushing.
STEVIE
You really want to dance with me?
MR. DAVIET
Certainly. I wanted to ask you about your miraculous recovery. You know, from that injured leg you had when you first arrived.
STEVIE
(looking embarrassed as she remembers the fib she and Dinah and Betsy told)
Fresh air. Its the best medicine there is. Plus exercise. Shall we dance?
They begin to dance. Once again, Stevie is a paragon of grace.
MR. DAVIET
Don’t worry. I was going to offer you the sleigh anyway. Since you’ve never used snowshoes before, you would have been at a terrible disadvantage.
STEVIE
(smiling)
That’s very true.
[See, Miss Fenton? He really said that. I swear!]
FADE OUT on Stevie and Mr. Daviet do-si-do-ing.
FADE IN on WIDE-ANGLE SHOT of the party a few minutes later. Everybody is still having fun; the band is still playing; etc.
PAN IN to CLOSE-UP of Stevie and Dinah, who are hanging out near the refreshments table again. This time Stevie is also sitting, exhausted from all that dancing.
STEVIE
(happily)
This is wonderful!
She waves an arm to indicate the party.
DINAH
(smiling mysteriously)
Ah, and the best part is yet to come.
STEVIE
(confused)
What do you mean? Did you bring my math book along so that I could do those fraction problems? It’s a dream come true!
DINAH
No, no. Something even better than that.
STEVIE
(eagerly)
Better than fractions? What could—
JODI
(harshly; interrupts Stevie)
Dinah!
Dinah gulps and turns. PAN OUT to reveal JODI HALE standing in front of the girls, hands on hips, looking angry. She is dressed in dirty jeans, and her hair looks like a rat’s nest. Or at least not like she’s at a party. Standing beside her is DORKY BOYFRIEND, a rather unattractive teenage boy in equally messy old clothes.
JODI
(glaring at Dinah)
Proud of yourself?
DINAH
(clearly uncomfortable)
It was to help your parents. They could have gotten badly hurt—just like I was.
JODI
They’re better riders than you could ever be. Anyway, rocks fall on that trail sometimes, but not all the time. What’s the big deal?
Stevie’s jaw drops open in astonishment. She bites her lip to keep from yelling at Jodi. This is Dinah’s fight. Dinah stands up, ignoring her injuries. She looks angry. Her fists are clenched. She looks very noble. Jodi shrinks back a bit before her magnificence.
DINAH
Jodi, I used to think that all I wanted in the world was to be like you. I admired you more than anybody else I knew.
The sounds of the party fade away, and soft but dramatic MUSIC begins to play instead—something like “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” or the theme from
Rocky.
DINAH
I tried to be like you, but I’ve found in the last few days that I just can’t do it. I also don’t
want
to do it. There are differences between us. For one thing, I know the difference between right and wrong. I also know the difference between safe and sorry. For a while I forgot those things, but now I remember, and I’m not going to forget them again.
Dramatic MUSIC STOPS, replaced once again by the sounds of the party. Jodi steps forward, scowling defiantly, her hands on her hips.
JODI
There are other differences between us. The biggest one is that you’ll never be a good rider if you can’t stay on a skittish horse. I’ll always be better than you are.
She spins around and looks at her dorky boyfriend.
JODI
Come on, Mark. Let’s get out of here.
They EXIT. Stevie puts out a hand to comfort her friend.
MR. DAVIET (offscreen)
If it’s any comfort to you, Dinah, you should know that Jodi won’t be riding at Sugarbush Stables anymore.
Dinah and Stevie gasp and turn.
PAN OUT to reveal Mr. Daviet standing nearby. He has heard the entire exchange.
MR. DAVIET
You did something you shouldn’t have done, but Jodi did something inexcusable. She put my riders at risk. Even worse, she asked you to cover for her. She won’t ride any of my horses again. Ever. You, however, will have many opportunities to continue riding here. And I’m glad. You’re a wonderful student. I wish I had more like you. For one thing, you keep your head in an emergency. Now, the trick is to avoid emergencies in the future!
Dinah stammers, not knowing what to say. Just then the band starts a new, loud song. MR. SLATTERY approaches and bows before Stevie.
MR. SLATTERY
I heard you’re the best dancer the state of Vermont has ever seen. Will you dance with me, Stevie?
FADE OUT as Stevie accepts.
FADE IN on the bandstand, a few minutes later. Mr. Daviet is standing at the microphone.
MR. DAVIET
Your attention, please. We have a few ceremonial items to take care of, and then we can return to dancing. First of all, as many of you know, Mrs. Daviet has been at the Sugar Hut finishing the evaporation process on the final batch of sap. She’s also been making our first batch of sugar. It’s our tradition here to have our first sugar sampled by our newest worker. I have the sugar here, so will our newest worker please come to the bandstand?
PAN TO Stevie, who is watching the action from one end of the room, next to Dinah. She glances around, obviously wondering who will come forward. Everyone turns to look at her.
STEVIE
Me?
CUT TO Mr. Daviet onstage, smiling.
MR. DAVIET
Of course. Besides, you’ve got to have something sweet to give you energy so that you can keep dancing all night. Come on up here!
CUT BACK TO Stevie, making her way toward the bandstand. As she goes, everyone she passes smiles or congratulates her or pats her on the back. She is beaming with
happiness. Soon she reaches the bandstand, where Mr. Daviet is waiting for her. Just then MRS. DAVIET enters, carrying a platter filled with little chunks of maple sugar.
MR. DAVIET
(gesturing to platter)
Go ahead, Stevie.
Stevie takes a piece and drops it quickly. She blows on her fingers.
STEVIE
Ouch! It’s hot!
She picks up the sugar again and blows on it. Then she tastes it.
STEVIE
Delicious!
The crowd applauds. Mrs. Daviet and several ASSISTANTS begin passing out morsels of maple sugar to everybody in the place.
PAN BACK TO Mr. Daviet, still onstage. He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket.
MR. DAVIET
There’s one more thing. All the sap was gathered by my junior riders, and in order to get
them to do a lot of work for free, I make it into a contest.
The crowd laughs.
MR. DAVIET
(grinning)
Anyway, we’ve finished tallying up the amount of sap that was brought in by each team of three students. The team that brought in the most sap is guaranteed to have first pick of horses for classes all summer. This year one team was clearly superior: the team of Dinah Slattery, Betsy Hale, and our newcomer and star square dancer, Stevie Lake!
The crowd erupts into loud cheers.
PAN TO Stevie, looking thrilled as she hugs Mr. and Mrs. Daviet and anybody else who happens to be standing nearby.
PAN TO Betsy, out in the crowd, jumping up and down excitedly.
PAN TO Dinah, sitting in her chair near the refreshments table. CLOSE-UP on her face. She looks stunned. Slowly her mouth forms a single word.
DINAH
(whispering)
Goldie!
QUICK FADE TO BLACK
So as you can see, Miss Fenton, my trip to Vermont was very eventful. Not only did I get to see my friend Dinah (and make some new friends, like Betsy, Evergreen, and the Daviets), but I also learned some valuable lessons about loyalty, honesty, risk-taking, and of course, square dancing. In addition to all that, I learned practically everything there is to know about the extremely fascinating and scientifically important process of sugaring off. Unfortunately, all that learning didn’t leave me much time for doing homework. Actually, it didn’t leave me any.
So naturally, my unfinished assignments were very much on my mind when I arrived at Pine Hollow the day after my return. I found Carole and Lisa in the paddock, working Starlight on a longe line. As soon as they saw me, they tied up Starlight and we had an impromptu Saddle Club meeting—our first in more than a week, which has to be some kind of record.
“We’re so glad you’re back!” Lisa exclaimed. “We have the most wonderful news!”
“It’s a big secret, but you’re going to love it,” Carole assured me.
I groaned. I’d had enough of secrets for a while, and I said so. But as soon as they told me what the secret was, I felt a whole lot better about it. Of course, before they told me, they had to go into this whole long speech about Phil inviting them to his Pony Club meeting and their not being sure whether they
should go, blah blah blah. Before long I felt like just shaking the secret out of them. But they finally got to the point.
Carole grinned. “Does the word ‘tallyho’ mean anything to you?”
I could hardly believe my ears. “A hunt?” I exclaimed. “There’s going to be a fox hunt?”
“And we get to be in it!” Lisa said.
“It’s going to be at Cross County in a few weeks,” Carole explained. “It’s an annual hunt for all the young riders, and this time they’re allowed to invite friends.”
“And that means us?” It was just too incredible for words. We were all going to get to ride in a real fox hunt! It would be so exciting—hounds, horns, the thrill of the chase.…
It was such thrilling news that all thoughts of Paul Revere, fractions, and
To Kill a Mockingbird
flew straight out of my head. And so we come to the next part of my story.…
| FROM: | | DSlattVT |
| TO: | | Steviethegreat |
| SUBJECT: | | Your assignment |
| MESSAGE: | | |
Okay, it’s like midnight and I’m so sleepy I’m about to drop. At least it’s Saturday so I don’t have to get up for school tomorrow. I can’t wait for summer!
Anyway, the reason I’m writing is that I’ve been thinking about your report all day. I was also thinking about Miss
Fenton, and how she’s always getting worked up about telling the truth and being careful and all that kind of stuff. So the point is, I started getting worried that when you tell her what happened up here in Vermont, she might get the wrong idea about you, and then you’d be in more trouble than ever. So I got inspired, and I wrote a short essay about you, explaining all the good stuff you did up here just in case she misses the point. Here goes:
Stevie Is:
The Perfect Friend
Why is Stevie such a good friend, you ask? Allow me to list just a few of her many fine qualities, in alphabetical order for clarity and organization, since this is a school project.
Stevie is BRAVE. She raced in to save me from a horrible rockslide, even though it meant risking her own safety.
Stevie is CAREFUL. She didn’t want to canter in the snow because it was too dangerous.
Stevie is HELPFUL. She pitched in with all the hard work of sugaring off.
Stevie is HONEST. She didn’t want us to keep my accident a secret because she always likes to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Stevie is LOYAL. She kept my secret even though she didn’t feel right about it.
Stevie is RESOURCEFUL. She figured out a way to keep my secret for days and days, even though it seemed
impossible. And even though, like I said before, she’s so honest that she didn’t want to do it.