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They stopped at the supermarket on the way home. Shelby helped her mother select the week's groceries. She persuaded her mum to buy tacos. The whole family loved them, although Shelby's brothers generally wore more than they ate.

They played a game where Shelby had to add up each item as they went around, and if she got the total right at the end she was allowed to have a Chupa Chups. She was out by four dollars, but her mum let her have the lollipop anyway.

As she helped her mother load the bags into the boot she noticed that her mother was smiling.

'What?' Shelby asked.

'I was a bit worried when Brenda first offered you the job at the stables. I didn't think you were mature enough. There have been times in the past when you've been impulsive and not thought your actions through, but you seem to have settled down and started making sensible decisions recently. I was wrong. This job has been really good for you.'

'Mm, yeah,' Shelby replied. 'I'm looking forward to those tacos!'

9 Gwen's Pony

The next day at school before the lessons began, Erin ran towards Shelby in the quadrangle, her bag bouncing on her back. Even from a distance Shelby could see her grinning. It seemed as though Shelby's tantrum had been forgotten.

'We're going to give CC to Gwen Stefani,' Erin puffed when she reached her friend.

'What?' Shelby scooted along the bench to give Erin some room.

'If Lindsey's mum sees this horse that doesn't belong to anyone, then we're in all sorts of trouble, so we've decided that we are going to give her to Gwen Stefani. Lindsey came up with the idea. The girl's a genius.'

'What are you talking about?'

Erin sighed, as though she was explaining something obvious to a small child. 'If Lindsey's mum sees CC, she'll want to know who owns it. We can't just say it's yours or mine, because Mrs Edel needs to charge someone for the agistment. When the money is due she'll ring our parents. But if Lindsey goes into the computer files and makes up an account then Mrs Edel can bill any expenses to it. We can pay it off between ourselves. Lindsey can say that the client gave the cash to her, and Mrs Edel won't know the difference.'

Shelby nodded. It was an ingenious plan.

The bell rang for first class and the two girls followed the jostling crowd into the corridors. Shelby had to raise her voice to be heard.

'Won't her mum be suspicious? She knows all the horses.'

'Remember when Lindsey broke her collarbone? She and her mum swapped jobs and Lindsey did all the paperwork for the business. Lindsey said that at the beginning she made heaps of mistakes and it got a bit messy until she figured out how to work the computer program properly. If she backdates the entry to somewhere around then, her mum will think it slipped through in all the confusion.'

'That's a great idea!'

They reached the science lab and filed in behind a group of boys. Shelby picked a desk in the middle of the room and perched on the wooden stool. She took out her books and pencil case from her bag. 'But why Gwen Stefani? Shouldn't we use a plain name?'

Erin giggled. She placed her pens in a row on the desk, selected a bright pink one, and drew a neat margin on the next blank page in her exercise book. 'You know how hopeless I am! If we pick an ordinary name and Mrs Edel asks me about it, I'm sure to forget, and I'll say, "Who's that? I've never heard of them!" and then a few seconds later I'll go, "Oh! I remember," and we'll be busted like custard. But if she says, "Gwen Stefani's horse," we'll all know straight away who she's talking about.'

Mrs Singh hurried into the room with a pile of folders under her arm. All the students hushed.

'That's a good idea.' Shelby whispered. She kept her eyes to the front of the room and murmured to Erin from the side of her mouth. 'Are you sure Mrs Edel doesn't know who Gwen Stefani is?'

'No chance! I had to explain who she was to Lindsey!'

Shelby turned to a new page, creasing it in place with the heel of her hand. 'That sounds about right!'