"Mary Catherine! There you are!" Mrs. Connie sighed in relief when Tracey returned with Mary Catherine. Behind him were the other helpers. He let them know he found the missing child.
Mary Catherine, still looking shy, lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Connie." She was too cute to get angry at.
Mrs. Connie gave her a small smile. "It's okay. Just make sure you stay with the rest of the group for now, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Why don't you get your riding helmet on? You're going to be riding in the first group."
Fear flashed across Mary Catherine's face. She grabbed Tracey's arm and asked, "Can Tracey walk with me?"
"Of course, he can. You don't mind, right, Tracey?"
"Not at all," Tracey spoke. He went with Mary Catherine to the Camper's Corner. It was in the barn's rest area, with a multi-shelf bookshelf. The campers had put their bags, helmets, and lunch bags on it.
Mary Catherine couldn't reach her helmet, so Tracey helped her. He put the helmet on her and tightened its straps, so it wouldn't slip while she rode. Mary Catherine was actually going to be on Monkey that day, so thank goodness Tracey was walking with her. The farm wanted to try him out in a few lessons and see how he did.
Monkey was already tacked up when Mary Catherine went to stand beside his stall. He was a bit antsy, but calmed down when he saw Tracey.
He pulled him out of his stall, letting him stand in the hallway. There were four children in Group One that day: Mary Catherine, Maisie Claire, Maria, and Tonio. Group Two wasn't going to ride until after snack.
Tonio had been to a few camps before, so he had somewhat of an idea of what to do. He could steer just fine. He didn't need a helper to walk with him.
That was both Maria's and Maisie Claire's first time on a horse, but they were just fine.
Out of the four children, Mary Catherine was the most frightened. She shivered when Tracey gave her a leg up onto Monkey's back.
"Don't worry, Mary Catherine. You can do it," he encouraged.
"But I'm scared, Tracey."
"That's why I'm here. Here, take your reins."
Mary Catherine did. She took her reins out of Tracey's hand.
He showed her how to hold them: fists sideways with the pinkie under each rein.
Before the horses went into the indoor for the lesson, the helpers checked girths and stirrups. After all, they didn't want any children falling because their saddle was too loose.
Corrine tried to help Tonio with his stirrups, but he smacked her hand and said, "I've got it." He did not have it. He accidentally took off the whole left stirrup.
Corrine caught it and put it back on.
Unlike Tonio, Mary Catherine didn't fight Tracey. She was too busy shivering with fear.
Tracey finished with her left stirrup and asked, "How's that feel?"
"Goo-Good." Oh, gosh. Mary Catherine already wanted to get off the giant animal. She shook her head and told Tracey, "I can't do it, Tracey."
"Yes, you can. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."
***
The horses went into the indoor ring one at a time. They lined up depending on how fast they were. Monkey was the fastest, so he took the lead. Tonio, who rode Bullet, followed. Behind him was Maisie Claire on Cherokee, and Maria was in the back on Haddie.
Group Two watched Group One with curiosity in their eyes. Leah stayed behind to help Mary Alice with them, and Tracey, Corrine, and Stacie went into the indoor to help Mrs. Connie.
Stacie was leading Haddie because Haddie was her favorite horse. Haddie was also the least behaved, so she needed a skilled student to lead her.
Corrine walked with Cherokee only because Tonio didn't need a helper, and Mrs. Connie didn't want Tracey to leave Monkey. Most horse camps started in the indoor ring so the children could learn the basics of horseback riding, and the next day they would start going down to the pony ring.
The first day was never the most exciting. Mrs. Connie started with a brief background on horseback riding. She taught the children about the saddle, girth, and reins, and then explained how to steer a horse: either the right or left rein is pulled off to the side. At least, that was how English riders steered. Helpers were not allowed to talk to the campers because they had to hear Mrs. Connie. They were mostly there to monitor the children.
Tracey didn't know what it was, but something was soothing about walking Monkey around and around in the indoor.
Monkey was fantastic. He listened to whatever Tracey and Mary Catherine said. Even Mary Catherine started to feel a little more comfortable.
She started to say, "I like Monkey," and Tracey giggled.
"That's good. You're getting more confident."
After Mrs. Connie's first two lessons, she played a game of Simon Says with the campers. "Simon says, 'Touch your horse's neck.' Simon says, 'Reach for your toes.' Tell your horse to canter." Luckily, no children tried that. Simon didn't say. Mrs. Connie was just cracking a joke.
The next activity was a steering exercise. Everybody lined up at one end of the ring. The exercise went like this: the children had to steer their horses through the line of cones in the middle of the ring. It was a very basic exercise, perfect for beginning riders.
Mary Catherine, who was first in line, gulped. "Walk with me, Tracey," she begged.
Tracey already had to. He tugged on Monkey's bit and led him forward, but stopped when he thought he heard a voice.
Even Monkey paused in his tracks.
The horse and the fairy listened. The voice sounded like that of a witch.
A wave of tension overthrew the atmosphere. Tracey felt that he and Monkey were being watched, and not by someone good.
He started to pull out his ninja star, but the voice of Mrs. Connie snapped him out of his trance. "Is everything okay, Tracey?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah." Tracey knew he was blushing. He tried to shake off the strange phenomenon and led Monkey forward again. He led Mary Catherine through the first two cones, but from there, he wanted her to try it herself. Therefore, he started to let Monkey go, but the horse angrily huffed. Tracey ended up standing beside him while he went through the rest of the cones.
Mrs. Connie watched the two with a curious look. She rubbed her chin, starting to make guesses to herself about why Monkey and Tracey got along so well. It wasn't because their names ended in "ey."
Tonio was jealous. And there he thought he was the best horse tamer and rider in the room. He was going to prove it right there and now.
Tonio tried trotting through the cones, but that didn't go so well. His feet slipped out of his stirrups, and he ended up landing with a ka-plop on the ground.
Mrs. Connie glared at him. "Tonio, why would you do that?" She hurried to Bullet and helped Tonio to his feet. "Are you okay?"
Tonio was fine. He just had a little dirt on the back of his pants.
The other children's mouths dropped. Oh, so that was what falling looked like.
Bullet didn't move. He didn't have a care in the world for what was going on. He merely stared at the bleachers and rubbed his nose on his left front leg.
Mrs. Connie helped Tonio back into his saddle. That time, she ensured Corrine walked with him while he did the cones again. Another important thing about horseback riding was that whenever someone fell, unless they couldn't, they got back on and tried the obstacle again. That was one of the mottos of the barn: Falling is learning.
Over where Monkey stood, Mary Catherine asked, "Why did Tonio run, Tracey?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted.
Monkey stood behind Haddie.
She tried to bite Stacie, but she pushed her head away.
Monkey wished he could fly instead of doing that, but he couldn't. He didn't have his wings. He lost them when he crash-landed in the Human World two years ago.
Before things got too boring, Tracey and Monkey heard the voice again. There was another wave of tension. That one smacked Tracey in the head.
Closing his eyes, he clutched it with his free hand. The feeling was strongest in that part of the indoor. Beside Tracey and Monkey was a wagon filled with hay bales.
"What's going on?" Tracey whispered to himself.
"Are you okay?" Mary Catherine worriedly asked.
The pain grew worse. Yep, there was definitely something evil in the barn. Honestly, Tracey felt a little bit nervous.
Concerned for her friend, Mary Catherine called Mrs. Connie, "Mrs. Connie, something's wrong with Tracey!"
"What?" Mrs. Connie asked.
"He's in pain," Mary Catherine continued.
The rest of the group turned their head in the direction of the fairy and alicorn, including the helpers.
Tracey opened one eye and stated, "I'm fine," but Mrs. Connie had already moved toward him.
Monkey did not let her get close to him. He grabbed the back of Tracey's shirt with his teeth and hid him behind his right side.
"What's going on?" Mary Catherine asked nervously.
"Calm down, Monkey, I just want to look at him," said Mrs. Connie.
Every time she came close to Monkey, he snapped at her.
Finally, Mrs. Connie lifted her hands and stepped back from him. "Fine, fine. Tracey, will you be okay for the rest of the lesson? You may just be a little dehydrated."
The headache was starting to ease, but Tracey still felt tension. "I'll be fine," he promised.
"Okay." Mrs. Connie turned on her heel and started toward Haddie. She still waited for her turn with the cones.
Back at Monkey, Tracey stepped before his nose. He rubbed it, but Monkey still looked angry.
One thing was for sure: there was definitely something amiss at Grove Station Farms.