Hide & Seek - Alyssa Brugman [16]
'Not really. Just . . . Well, I did meet this guy on the beach when we were up at Aunty Jenny's place.'
'A guy?' asked Hayley.
'A beach guy!' added Erin.
'What's this about a guy?' asked Lindsey, tucking the last of the money into a bumbag around her waist.
'No, it wasn't like that!' Shelby protested. 'We just had some hot chips.'
'Ooh! Hot chippies!' Erin teased.
'She's gone red!' said Hayley.
'I have not!' Shelby said, blushing even more.
All the trail riders were mounted now. The begin-ners clung to their saddles and lurched awkwardly as the horses milled around in the yard. The four girls moved among the riders adjusting girths or stirrups, checking straps and explaining the squeeze-go and pull-stop concepts.
Hayley opened the gate and the trail riders headed out in single file, led by one of the regular riders.
Shelby strapped a halter over Blue's bridle and knotted his reins. 'Anyway, you two know him. He goes to your school.'
Erin jumped aboard her horse, Bandit, and Lindsey swung onto a beautiful but skittish young Arab mare called Lyrical.
'Who is it?' Hayley grinned.
'His name is Chad.'
'Not Chad Hammond?' Lindsey asked.
'I don't know his last name,' Shelby said, slipping her toe into Scooter's stirrup. 'Like I said, it was just about the chips.'
Lindsey and Hayley exchanged a glance.
'What?' Shelby asked.
'You know he's Aboriginal, don't you?' Lindsey replied.
'Is he Koori?' Shelby said. It made sense, though, she thought as she led Blue through the gate.
'And he rides trail bikes in the Gully,' added Hayley.
'So?' Shelby asked.
Hayley shut the gate behind them. 'I have to go back to the show now.' She rolled her eyes.
'See you later, Hales! Have a snow cone for me,' Lindsey called out over her shoulder as she trotted to the front of the group.
'Good luck!' Erin smiled at her friend.
Erin and Shelby rode side by side, with Blue and his tiny rider a few paces behind.
'So what happened with this guy then?' Erin asked.
'Nothing. Really! I was at the chip shop, and Chad was there too and we talked while we ate hot chips. No biggie.'
Erin grinned, and then they rode for a while in silence. The young girl on Blue stroked his neck care-fully, and Blue gave Shelby an indulgent look that made her smile.
At the end of the laneway Lindsey opened the gate to the back paddock and the trail riders rode through, waiting in a loose group on the other side. Several of the horses reefed the reins from their riders' hands and grazed. Shelby shook her head. Such bad manners!
They set off again, riding along the fence line. Erin looked at Shelby over her shoulder. 'I have been meaning to ask you something, Shelby.'
'What's that, Erin?'
Erin frowned towards the horizon. 'If mouses are called mice, and louses are called lice, how come houses aren't called hice?'
Shelby shook her head. 'I don't know, Erin. It's a mystery.'
Soon they were busy as Lindsey took the more experienced group for a canter and Erin rode at the head of the beginner group. Shelby stayed at the back looking after the stragglers.
Many of the younger girls had questions, which Shelby was happy to answer, but she was a little dis-tracted. She wondered what that traded glance between her two friends was about. Thinking back, Lindsey had said 'You know he's Aboriginal,' more like an accusation than an observation, and then Hayley added trail bike riding as though they were ticking off a list of faults.
11 Equus Caballus
Later in the afternoon while Erin had her lesson with Miss Anita and Lindsey took new clients on a tour around the property, Shelby saddled Blue and took him out into the Gully alone.
They headed down the hill and across the causeway. On the other side they stopped. Shelby had the choice of the left trail that led to the Pony Club, or the right, which brought her up to the streets behind her house, or she could head straight across to the far side of the Gully.
'Which way do you think?' she asked the pony.