Beginner's Luck Read Online Free PDF Page A

Shelby's room. Her mum
and dad had invited some friends over for dinner.
    Shelby's mum asked if she could clean her room
before they arrived. She didn't say anything about the
rest of the house and Shelby didn't either. It had to be
a quick clean so she shoved as much as she could in
her wardrobe and under the bed, and arranged the
rest into neat piles.
    When the friends came, Shelby made up the plates
of nibbles and then she went into the boys' room to
keep them occupied as much as she could. They
played Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Uno, and then
Shelby painted their faces. They both wanted to be
Spiderman, but Shelby ran out of red so she painted
Blake with orange instead.
    They went out into the lounge room to show the
grown-ups. Her mum's friend said, 'Marie, your
children are so beautifully behaved!' Shelby's mum
smiled, but she didn't answer.
    On Saturday morning Shelby fed Blue a biscuit of
hay, and then she stayed in her bedroom until ten. She
was dying to ask if she was still allowed to go to Erin's
party, but she was afraid that the answer would be no.
There would be a speech, maybe even two. Shelby could
hear them in her head already. At five past ten she took
a deep breath and proceeded out into the dining room.
    'Do you think I should let you go?' her mother
asked.
    Shelby shook her head. 'But I'd really like to go.
Erin would be sad if I didn't.'
    'This is not about Erin's happiness.' Shelby's
mother didn't burst out shouting like Dad sometimes
did when he was cross. Shelby's mother saved all her
grumpiness up and then spoke quietly.
    If Shelby had to make a choice she would pick
Dad's shouting, because it was over sooner, and
besides, her mum always had a logical argument.
Sometimes when her Dad started yelling he didn't
make any sense, and then they would both giggle. One
time he shouted, 'Don't you yell at me, or you'll go
over my knee!', and then he paused for a second and
added, 'And that rhymes!' A moment later his chin
started to wiggle, he pursed his lips, and soon they
were both hooting with laughter.
    When Mum was going off Shelby never felt like
laughing.
    She sighed. The speech was coming. She could feel
it brewing in the air, like an electrical storm.
    'Shelby, you are asking this family to completely
change the way it operates for your hobby, but you're
not willing to give anything in return. You've had five
whole days to show us that you can be responsible, and
so far you've done half the dishes, which is less than you
are supposed to do, even without Blue in the equation.
I'm not willing to live in a sty. I've explained to you that
I can't take on a job and manage here at the same time.'
    'I know.' Shelby hung her head.
    'And this is only week one. How is it going to be a
few weeks – months – down the track?'
    'I know,' Shelby said again.
    'You can go to Erin's party, but I want you to
think about what I've said.'
    Speech two came in the car on the way to the
party.
    'I don't think you appreciate what a strain a job
can be,' her father began.
    'I know, Dad,' she said.
    'No, you don't know. It's tiring physically and
mentally. We all have to do our bit around the place.
At the very least you could clean up your own mess,
and you don't even do that.'
    'I'm sorry. I'll try harder.'
    'This thing with Blue is getting worse every day. I
want you to talk to your horsey friends at this party
and get some phone numbers.'
    'Yes, Dad,' she said.
    At Erin's place he pulled up the handbrake and
frowned at her.
    'He has to go, Shelby.'
    She nodded. Aside from general worrying, Shelby
hadn't thought much about what to do with Blue over
the past week. She decided to put together a plan for
action as soon as she got home from the party. She
would read the livestock section in the newspaper and
ring the saddlery to see what they had available on
their notice board. Hopefully her parents would drive
her around to look at some places if she found any
that were suitable.
    Shelby could hear the music as soon as she