Free Star Dancer by Morgan Llywelyn

them. ‘And then what? It’s none of your bleedin’ business.’ He gave Danny a quick shove and brushed past him, running up the steps.
    When he had slammed the door in their faces, Ger stood for a moment with his back against it, breathing hard. He knew Anto. If he’d made the threat he would carry it out. He’d find out where Ger went and appear some day at the stables looking for a way to cause trouble.
    The door felt solid against Ger’s back, but it wasn’t solid enough.

9 – Big Dreams
    AS THE DAYS PASSED , however, there was no sign of Anto and the other boys at the stables. Each time Ger caught the bus he looked very carefully for them first. If they were watching him, they were doing it from hiding.
    He could imagine all too clearly the sort of trouble they would cause. They wouldn’t see the beauty of the horses, or the perfection of neat rows of saddles and bridles each in their own place in the tackroom, or the generosity and friendliness the other people at the stables had shown to Ger. No, the gang would only see The Enemy, and a thousand new ways to hit out at them.
    All the same, Anto and the others are my mates too, Ger told himself. Maybe I don’t really belong with Star Dancer. Maybe I belong with them. But Star Dancer had shown him a very different world, and he could not give it up.
    Once he got to the stables he could always forget about Anto and all his other problems. It was as if they didn’t exist. For a whole day at a time he was just Ger Casey who-was-learning-to-ride-horses. He didn’t have a mother who liked the drink, or a father doing time.
    One day Suzanne invited him to walk over to her house and have lunch. Her mother made chicken salad for them, and they ate on a table outside under some big old trees. The house wasn’t at all the way Ger had imagined. It wasn’t a mansion, just a bungalow with a B&B sign on the gatepost. But it was clean and smelled good, and nothing inside was broken.
    ‘You must be rolling in money to have so many new things,’ Ger remarked to Suzanne.
    She laughed. ‘Us? Not at all. My dad owns a newsagent’s. We’re just ordinary people.’
    ‘But you’ve got Star Dancer.’
    ‘A lot of people who aren’t rich own horses, Ger. I do babysitting to help pay for Dancer’s livery, you know.’
    ‘You work?’ Ger asked in surprise.
    ‘Of course. Same as you do. Well, not at the stables, but I work just as hard sometimes! Taking care of little kids isn’t always easy.’
    Suzanne took another bite of her chicken salad and swallowed a big drink of milk. ‘I’ll be glad when I’m older,’ she went on, ‘because then I can get a real job on the weekends. Maybe in the newsagent’s.’
    ‘D’you really need to?’
    ‘I do, of course. I … I have this dream, Ger. I’ve never told this to anyone but you. And Dancer. Someday I’d like to ride for Ireland.’
    ‘What d’you mean?’
    ‘Well … someday I’d like to be on an Olympic Team.’
    Ger stared at her. ‘You mean like the army?’
    ‘Not exactly. Civilians ride on Olympic Teams, you know. There are three equestrian teams, though we don’t have all three in this country yet. There’s showjumping and combined training, and dressage. Three different teams.’
    ‘They have dressage in the Olympic Games?’ Ger asked in astonishment.
    ‘They do, and it must be so beautiful! I’d give anything to seeit.’
    ‘Could Star Dancer be in the Olympic Games?’ Ger asked eagerly.
    Suzanne looked sad. ‘Not really. He’s a wonderful horse, but he’s not able for that level of competition. I’ll learn all I can from him, and then, if I can afford a better horse, I’ll move up to the next level.’
    ‘But what’ll you do with Dancer then?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ Suzanne replied. ‘I don’t want to think about that.’
    ‘Is it dressage you want to do in the Olympics?’
    Suzanne looked down at her plate. ‘I’d really like to jump,’ she admitted. ‘Maybe I could make the