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  I woke up in the morning ready to participate in the competition . . . and win . . . but that’s when I heard the bad news.

  Chapter 3

  When I got out of bed, my mom said to me, “Sweetie, one of the judges has died, so the show isn’t going to happen.”

  I immediately felt bad for the judge and scared for what that meant for me. “What?” I screamed. “This can’t happen! Today is the day, and the show has to go on! Okay, maybe not today, but it’s going to happen, right? Right?”

  All I heard was mumbling, because my confused thoughts didn’t let me hear the words. This cannot be happening, I thought. I had been waiting for this moment, and now the show had been canceled. I had to do something about this!

  I had some serious thinking to do, so I went where I think the best—down at the stables, deep in the hay with my horse right next to me— and pondered the situation. Miracle whinnied, and I could tell she wanted to go for a ride.

  Just as I was saddling up, Sandra and Felicity walked into the barn. I asked them to join me for a ride so we could talk together and figure out what we were going to do. It couldn’t end like this . . . it just couldn’t!

  Felicity didn’t mention the diary incident; I was either forgiven or she had already forgotten about it. As we rode, all we could talk about was the show and how unfair it was that it had been canceled like that. They couldn’t just do that to us after all the practicing we had done.

  We were so into our conversation that before we knew it we had been riding for an hour and had come to a dead end on the path with a brushy forest in front of us. We decided it was time to take a break, so we tied up our horses and pushed the branches out of the way so we could easily walk through the trees.

  What we discovered was beautiful. There was a meadow full of daisies outlined by the forest.

  It looked like a picture, and the view calmed us down and took our minds off of the canceled show for a little while.

  We realized that we hadn’t told our parents where we were going and knew we’d better head back and let them know we were okay. As we walked back through the thick forest to get our horses, we heard a lot of spooky sounds all around us. Suddenly, we were all scared out of our minds. We saw the bushes swaying and heard the crackling leaves under our boots. But some of the crackling wasn’t because of us; when we heard it, we froze in place. We saw the bushes sway again.

  Then it hit us, literally. It jumped out so fast we didn’t even see what it was. It just jumped out at us and made us scream and squeal and run for our lives. Then it disappeared into the trees.

  We quickly ran to our horses, untied them, and galloped off. We had a few scratches and scrapes from the prickly bushes, but other than that we were fine. As we quickly rode away, we looked back and all started to laugh uncontrollably as we saw the “hideous monster” coming out of the woods. It was a gray house cat. We all felt really silly but were glad that it wasn’t anything truly hideous.

  When we got back to the stables, our mothers were waiting for us. They didn’t look totally happy that we had been gone so long. But we hurriedly told them the whole story, and they said we did the right thing and that we were very brave. But we could see that they were trying not to laugh.

  We all went back to the hotel together. In all the excitement and silliness, we had totally forgotten the horrific news about the judge. After watching a sad movie, it hit us and we cried ourselves to sleep.

  Exhausted, I slept really hard. When I woke up, I wondered, Why are we still here? Wasn’t the show yesterday? Aren’t we leaving today? I suddenly felt sad all over again.

  I pulled on my favorite pink zebra-striped shirt and some Capri’s. I looked through my stuff, found my diary, and flipped to a page that just so happened to be yesterday’s entry.

  Dear Diary,

  I just heard the bad news from my mother. The show has been canceled because one of the judges died. I feel really bad for his family, but I have to do something, anything. I have been waiting for this moment forever.

  Sincerely,

  Sad Ellie

  So the show didn’t go on. If the show didn’t go on yesterday, or today, will it ever?

  Mom and Dad weren’t quite ready to go yet, and Miracle was still in the stables so I still had some time to figure out what to do. As I ran down to the stables, a plan came into my mind. I quickly saddled up Miracle and headed over to the arena and the judges’ trailer that was nearby. I could hear voices inside, so I knew someone was still there. I banged on the door and yelled, “Open up! Please! I want to ask you something.”

  One of the judges opened the door and let me in. “Can I help you?” he asked. I looked at him for a few minutes as I tried to think of what to say. Finally I just blurted it out, “Why is the show canceled just because one judge has died? Can’t you just get a new one? I was looking forward to the show. We all were. This is my life-long dream, but now it’s ruined.” I sputtered the words as tears started falling down my cheeks.

  I could hear the judges’ voices, but the words weren’t getting into my brain. I just stood there as they told me that the show was definitely canceled. I pleaded, but it didn’t work. The show would not go on.

  Five minutes later, I stepped outside, crying my eyes out. Why have they done this to me? It seems like nobody likes me anymore, I thought pitifully. I hopped back on Miracle and decided to ride all the way home to Cumming. I knew my parents would be mad, and it would be a long ride, but I needed to think.

  I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and called Sandra. She didn’t answer, so I left a message saying, “Hey, it’s Ellie. If you’re wondering where I am, then here it is. I became very upset and decided to ride home to Cumming. So bye.”

  So that’s all? I thought. This will be a great story to tell my own kids one day.

  It was a good plan, but I didn’t get very far before Mom and Dad pulled up next to me with the horse trailer behind the car. They had been frantic with worry when Sandra told them about my message! Even though my dad was mad, they were relieved to find me.

  My mother scolded me, “Don’t you ever do anything like that again!” But she hugged me anyway. We put Miracle into the trailer and headed home. As you can imagine, I was grounded for forever.

  When we got home, I took care of Miracle and checked my email (even though I wasn’t technically supposed to because I was grounded). But I was glad I did, because I had one message that was a really big relief to me.

  It wasn’t long, but it was all I needed to read. It said:

  Hey, Ellie, how are you? I thought about what you said, and I wanted to tell you that I understand. Even though the show still isn’t going to go on, I thought you would like to know that it was okay to ask. I know every girl wants to hear that they are right. Am I right?

  Your friend,

  Judge John Smith

  I liked that email, and the judge was definitely right about me wanting to hear I was right. I was still pretty sad that the show was canceled, even though I know we don’t always get what we want. But this was different; this was a life-long dream. I couldn’t just let go of a life-long dream!

  I quickly called Sandra and Felicity and told them to meet me at the barn right away. When they got there, I said, “Sandra, Felicity, saddle up! We are going back, and we are going to make them do the show.” I didn’t have a plan yet, but I knew I had to get back to the arena.

  “What? No! Jinx,” they both said at the same time.

  We saddled up our horses and made sure we had everything we would need. We traveled along the back roads. The whole way there, I couldn’t stop smiling because I knew this was the right thing to do and that I was going to be a hero. I kept thinking that everybody would be proud of me, that we were going to save the day.

  Then I looked at Felicity and Sandra and they seemed to be thinking, Uh oh. We shouldn’t have gone along with this. This isn’t right. Our parents are going to be sooo mad.

  “Uh, I think we are goin
g the wrong way.

  We should turn back,” Sandra said in a very frightened voice.

  I said, “Don’t be such scaredy cats. Have fun while you can.” They are still acting like little girls. It’s time to teach them to have fun. But even though I wouldn’t admit it, I felt a little scared myself.

  We finally arrived at the stables and settled our horses into the stalls that they had just left a few hours ago. Then we went back to the hotel. Boy, was I happy.

  I remembered Mom saying that we had paid for a couple more days, so we still had our hotel room. In her hurry to find me, she had forgotten to turn in the keys. I still had mine in my pocket, so getting back into the room was easy.

  In fact, everything was going really well until my cell phone rang and I remembered that Mom had no idea about this little plan of mine. Big trouble equals ME.

  Chapter 4

  Because I knew Mom was going to be really mad, I let the call go to voicemail as we tried to figure out what to do about the horse show. I decided Mom would be upset at first, but she’d get over it because she would be so relieved to find us.

  Next, we decided to go back to the arena to try to find the judges or someone we could talk into putting the show back on, but they were all gone. There was nothing more we could do until we came up with another plan, so we went back to the hotel. We had left so quickly that we didn’t have any luggage with us, so we didn’t have to worry about unpacking.

  Back at home, Mom was worried when I didn’t come down for dinner. She called Sandra’s and Felicity’s mothers, and when they discovered that our horses were gone, they decided that we had gone for a horseback ride. When nighttime came and we hadn’t returned, they knew something else was going on. At first they started to panic, and then Mom and Dad remembered how upset I was about the canceled horse show and how I had gotten on Miracle to ride all the way back home. Ellie would never try to ride Miracle back to Atlanta and she wouldn’t just leave without telling us . . . or would she?

  At the hotel, we decided to get some rest, but I couldn’t fall asleep. When I did, I slept horribly. I tossed and turned all night and woke up five different times. At one point, I fell off the bed and woke up with a huge bump on the top of my head.

  Finally, I decided to walk down the hall to the vending machine to get a Coke, and, as I did, I heard music coming from somewhere in the hotel. I’m just naturally curious, so I had to find out where it was coming from. I took the elevator down to the lobby, stepped out of the elevator, and saw people in the lobby, arcade, and even the snack room.

  I raced back up to our room, woke up Felicity and Sandra, and dragged them down to join the party in the arcade, playing PacMan and pinball. Finally, we were all so tired that we just went back to our rooms, fell into bed, and were quickly sound asleep.

  In the meantime, Mom was driving to get us. When she arrived, she found us sound asleep after an exhausting night. Remember how I said I thought she wouldn’t be mad?

  I was very wrong. Mom got so angry, she was like a monkey who had his banana taken away. She brought all three of us home and grounded me again, immediately. Sandra and Felicity were grounded too. I was grounded from television, computer, playing with friends, and, worst of all, Miracle for five weeks. I thought, I guess I’ll survive the whole five weeks.

  Who was I kidding? I could never survive five weeks without my Miracle.

  Chapter 5

  As it turned out, I did survive the five weeks, but just barely. I still had one problem: What about the show? I had come up with several ideas, but none of them worked for Mom. They either involved violence, or they were just not practical. Sigh. What was I going to do? I couldn’t just not do the show, but I couldn’t think of anything to convince the judges to actually do it either. Then all of a sudden a brilliant idea popped into my head.

  I would email all the girls who were invited to the show. Together we could think of something. We were sure to find a way. But how was I going to find out who all the girls were, and how would I get them all together? I wasn’t sure, but I did know one thing: I was going to ask Mom first. I remembered what happened last time.

  Mom suggested we call them, but we couldn’t find their phone numbers. Then I remembered the email from Robin. I thought their email addresses might be on the invite. I checked, and sure enough they were.

  To: Felicity, Sandra, Hannah, Rachel, Ellie, Jessica, Erin, Mary, Lola, Summer, Tatum, Sherry, Sharon, Victoria, Brooke, Ava, Faith, Morgan, Kimberly, Shelly, Amanda, Chloe, Abby, Andi, and Isabelle . . .

  Beside each girl’s name was her email address. I asked Mom if I could have twenty-four girls over for the weekend. I had to to do a little explaining, but I was capable of doing that. All I had to say was that it was for the horse show. She understood why I was trying so hard, and that I wouldn’t give up until I got what I wanted.

  Mom agreed but on the condition that some of the girls slept in the guest room, some in my room, and some in the family room. I emailed each girl and most of them replied instantly. Others replied a few hours later, and they all replied by the end of the day. They came over late in the afternoon on Friday, and we figured out where everyone was sleeping. We had nine people in the family room, eight in my room, and eight in the guest room. It was super crowded, but I was so happy they all came.

  I had made a fun plan for the night.

  Slumber parties are the best time for pranks. I told Felicity and Sandra about it, and they said “Of course!”

  First we sat in a circle and did each other’s toe nails and finger nails. We did them all the same, with horses on the big toe. After that, we talked and watched movies. Finally, we all went off to bed.

  In the morning, when the other girls sleeping in my room woke up, Sandra, Felicity, and I laughed because they were all drizzled with honey. Guilty as charged.

  After they washed off and we woke up the girls who were sleeping in the other rooms.

  We gathered in the kitchen for breakfast. I said, “OK. Let’s get to the point. The state equestrian show was canceled, but I want to get it back on the road, and I need your help. Ready or not, here we come. Right girls? Now, anyone have any ideas?”

  The room was absolutely quiet except for the sounds Mom made while she prepared breakfast. Then Brooke slowly raised her hand into the air. I pointed to her, and she quickly said, “We could do a protest outside the arena.”

  I nodded, thinking of how that could work. It could work in many ways, and I thought we should do it. We needed to do anything we could. So, we spent the morning making our plans. Our biggest problem was figuring out when we would find all of the judges together at the arena. Mom overheard us talking and said that they were all there today because of a special event that was going on. Yay! Yay! Yay!

  We asked Mom to drive us to Atlanta to the judges’ trailer. We also convinced four other moms to drive their SUVs, so we would all fit.

  We quickly made our signs and figured out our plan. We all piled into the vehicles a little after lunch. OMG, were we excited! We just knew this would work! I was a genius! I would get my life-long dream. I just knew it.

  When we got to the arena, we parked, grabbed our signs, and jumped out of the cars. Our moms weren’t sure it would work, but I was. We stood in front of the door to the judges’ trailer, and the judges stepped out, chuckling.

  Right then we started chanting, “Get the show on the road. Get the show on the road.” After a while, we stopped and stood in a straight line, waiting patiently for an answer.

  My mom was thinking all along that there was no way this could work, but like a loving Mom, she let me try. I should have listened to her. When we stopped, the judges smiled and started chanting, “No, no, no. But we do like your persistence.”

  We all looked at each other, walked back to the cars, and quietly climbed in. It was silent the whole way home. Everyone was upset. I thought, I shouldn’t have gotten them into this. It’s my fault that they are upset. I should have just gone with
Felicity and Sandra. Then only three girls would have been upset. I felt so guilty.

  What did we have to do to get the judges to agree to hold the show? Every single time we asked, the answer was no. I didn’t understand it. Was this about more than the judge who died? I just couldn’t figure it out.

  Then I thought, I will keep trying. They can try to ruin my dream, but they will never, ever destroy my spirit and love for horses. No one will. I hope that is the same with my dream.

  Chapter 6

  Because we had a break from school, our moms agreed that all twenty-five girls could stay at our house for the next week, giving us time to discuss more things we could possibly do. Brooke had the most ideas, but the best words came from Summer. It wasn’t an actual idea, but what she said made me feel good. She said, “No matter what, we are going to do the show.”

  I already believed that, but it felt good to hear it from someone else. Just hearing those words gave me another idea.

  “You know what?” I said, “I don’t care if we have judges or not, I am doing the show. No matter what anyone says or does, I am doing the show. I don’t care if everyone in the world tries to stop me, it still won’t demolish my dream. Nothing will. I will keep trying.“

  I didn’t know what to do or what to say. It was just so hard having so many people depend on me. I felt like I had the world resting on my shoulders. I was trying to find my way through the problem, but I felt like I was trying to find a needle in a haystack. I couldn’t be held under this much pressure. Then it hit me.