Free Charlie and Charm by Kelly McKain Page A

beads in, and she’s wearing a really cool pink tie-dye top. When I asked where she got it from she said she’d dyed it herself! I’m going to try dying a couple of my T-shirts when I get home.
    Then Millie, Jody’s daughter, came bursting in (turns out she’s the owner of the messy bed by the window!). She climbed up on my bunk, too, and soon we were all chatting about what riding and stuff we’d done.

    When Millie told us she had her own pony I ended up admitting that I used to have one.I wasn’t planning to tell anyone about Apple in case I got upset, but it just came out. Skye said she could imagine how I felt – poor thing, her mum gave her cat away because of her baby brother being allergic to it. And Millie said how she couldn’t even bear to imagine selling her pony, Tally. I’m so relieved they don’t think I’m spoilt for being upset when I’ve been lucky enough to have had my own pony in the first place. It’s great knowing they understand.

    Jody came up and sent us down to the yard then. The other girls were there and Sally and Lydia, and we had to go round in a circle and say our names and where we’re from.
    In the older girls’ room there are:

    Ricosha and Tameka are both 12 and they’ve come together from Croydon. Jemima is 11 and she’s really giggly and cheeky, and she says she’s always getting told off at school for talking in lessons!
    The girls in the younger room are:

    Yasmin is from Hounslow, and Ruby and Molly have come together and live nearby. They’re all eight.
    Sally gave us these timetables so we can see roughly what we’re doing each day, although she says it will change sometimes. In fact, it changed right away ’cos then we had a tour round the yard instead of a Pony Care lecture.

    Sally showed us round Sunnyside and we all wentwhen we saw the swimming pool and the games room. Then she took us into the main barn, where all the ponies who live out in the summer were waiting for us. Lydia was busy tacking them up ready for our lesson and the other girls got really excited, wondering which ponies they were going to get and saying how cute they looked.

    The barn smelt exactly like the one on my old yard, and without thinking I began looking for Apple among the ponies. With a start I realized what I was doing. That barn smell made me miss her so much! I was really relieved when we filed out again, to go to the fire drill meeting point.
    Sally also went over some other safety things like:

    1. How to tie a pony up properly.

    2. How important it is to put all the equipment away and not leave things lying around.

    3. How you must always tell someone where you’re going if you leave the group, even if it’s just to go to the loo or to get a different grooming brush from the tack room.

    4. The correct boots and hats and body protectors, of course!
    Then we all had to practise tying proper slip knots in our lead ropes. Molly got in a muddle, so I did hers, and then I did Ruby’s, too, because she was looking a little bit confused. I’ve tied up Apple so many times I can do it with my eyes closed, so it was no bother.
    Then it was time to meet our ponies. We collected our hats, gloves and crops and went out on to the yard. Secretly, I felt really sick.
    Sally said, “You’ll each have your own pony for the whole week. You’ll feed, groom and look after him or her as well as riding.”

    Everyone was grinning, and Ricosha and Tameka were actually jumping up and down with excitement, but I didn’t feel that way at all. I didn’t want a new pony to look after, even just for a week. I only wanted Apple.
    It was great to see Skye so happy, though. She got a beautiful bay Arab cross called Fisher, with a lovely tumbling mane that’s a bit like her own hair! They just seem to fit together, like me and Apple used to. Jemima got a palomino called Mischief, and she made us all laugh by saying, “Sounds like he’ll suit me! That’s what Mum would say, anyway … and my