The Saddle Creek Series 5-Book Bundle. Shelley Peterson

walked in silence to the front of the school. They started up the steps, heads down, arms clutching books.

      Sam stopped.

      “Can I give you a lift home? After school?” Sam looked at her earnestly. “I’ve got the truck, I’ll throw your bike on the back. We can talk then?”

      “Sure,” responded Abby. “Fine.”

      Sam smiled sadly.

      Abby’s insides melted. He has such a beautiful smile. But I can’t let myself fall for him again, she thought. What does he want to talk about? She turned and walked straight to her locker, never daring to look back at the young man who stood watching her go.

      “Abby! Good news!” Lucy yelled, wheeling around the corner. “Auditions! Tonight! Look! For the new theatre at Wick’s farm! They’re calling it ‘The Stonewick Playhouse’!”

      Clutched in her hand was a large green flyer. She thrust it at Abby.

      Abby uncrumpled it and read aloud, “Open auditions for the first production of The Stonewick Playhouse. Come one, come all.”

      “Didn’t I tell you? Isn’t this the best thing you’ve ever heard in your whole entire life? I’ll be a star! Can’t you see me as Maria in West Side Story? Annie in Annie Get Your Gun? Mary in Mary Poppins?”

      “I can see you as all of the above, Lucy, and you can throw in Juliet, too, in Romeo and Juliet. But what play are they doing? The flyer doesn’t say.”

      “Who cares? Let’s just go and audition!”

      “How?” asked Abby. “What does a person do at an audition?”

      “It says to sing a song that you know, and to recite something that you already know by heart, but I’ve never done an audition before, either. That’s where you come in, Abby.”

      Abby looked at Lucy. She knew with a growing certainty what Lucy was going to say. “You want me to put in a good word with Mrs. Featherstone, don’t you?”

      “The ‘Stone’ in ‘Stonewick’? And why not? You know I’d be fantastic in any part.” Lucy smiled devilishly, and winked.

      Abby laughed. “Actually I don’t, but you get top marks for trying. What I do know is you’d put everything you had into it.”

      “So you’ll do it?” Lucy put her hands together as if in prayer.

      “If I see her after school, which I might not, I’ll tell her you’re interested and ask her for suggestions, but it’s not like I have any strings to pull, and I don’t imagine she’s open to bribery.”

      “But you’ll talk to her about me?”

      “If she’s there.”

      “As soon as you get home?”

      “If she’s there.”

      “And call me the minute you do it? I need at least a few minutes to get my act together. I mean this is real short notice.”

      “Yes, Lucy, the minute I talk to her, if I talk to her, I’ll call you.”

      At this, Lucy started hopping around in a strange sort of victory dance, punching the air and racing her feet. “Hooray! I’ll be a star! I’ll be bigger than Julia Roberts!”

      “You look more like Snoopy!” Abby called as she raced to her first class.

      The three-thirty bell rang after a full day of classes. Abby packed up her books and strolled toward her locker. Will Sam remember he offered me a lift home? she wondered. She’d seen him a couple of times in the hall, and he’d hardly glanced at her. He did want to talk to me, she thought, but maybe he was only trying to see if I still liked him. She decided she’d slowly get her things ready to go, then amble out to the bike rack. She’d take a peek at the parking lot, and if Sam was around, and made the offer again, she’d consider it. She told herself to keep cool. Pam Masters was trying desperately to capture Sam’s attention, and Abby didn’t want to appear to be doing the same.

      Sam saved her the trouble. His tall, lanky frame was leaning on her locker as she came around the corner.

      “Ready to go?”

      “In one second, if you wouldn’t mind moving a little to either side so I can get my things?”

      “Oops! Not at all.”

      Again Abby wished that she didn’t blush so easily. She stuck her head right into her locker to hide until the red subsided, and noisily banged books around.

      “Hi, Sam,” said a smooth, seductive voice. Abby knew without looking that it was Pam. “What are you doing here?”

      This will be interesting, thought Abby.

      “I’m driving Abby home,” said Sam.

      “Can you drive me, too? I’m almost on the way.” Abby heard the girlish pout that Pam was affecting. She thumped her books a little more.

      “Maybe another time, Pam. I want to talk to Abby.”

      “Don’t hurt my feelings, Sam.” Pam sounded threatening to Abby, but she guessed that Pam knew how to handle men.

      “I don’t want to do that, Pam. Can I drop you off first, then drive Abby home?” Aha, thought Abby. I knew it. She’s getting her way. She pushed some button I didn’t even know about.

      “It makes more sense to drop her off first, but whatever you think. See you at the truck, Sammy.” Abby pulled her head out of the locker in time to see Pam saunter down the hall in tall strappy sandals, short red skirt swaying with an exaggerated motion. Every other pair of eyes in the hall was doing the same thing, including Sam’s.

      Abby couldn’t help laughing.

      It was Sam’s turn to blush. “Why are you laughing?”

      “I was thinking that I could use some lessons from Pam on how to handle men.”

      Sam shook his head. “She did it again. She’s making me drive her home, something I had no intention of doing.”

      “Your choice, Sam.”

      Sam stared at her. “You’re right. It’s my choice. I’ll have to remember that and not let her push me around.”

      Abby snorted. “Do you really mind so much? She made it look easy.”

      “You don’t need any lessons from Pam, Abby. You’re devious enough,” he retorted.

      The ice was broken, and together they walked to Sam’s truck. Pam was draped across the hood, shoulders hunched to show cleavage under her low-cut black camisole. One strap had dropped over her arm.

      “Pam!” shouted Abby. “I’ll buy one!”

      “Buy what?” asked Pam with a scowl.

      “Whatever you’re trying to sell.”

      Pam huffily slid down from the hood of the truck.

      Sam whispered in Abby’s ear, “I don’t think it was you she was trying to sell it to.” Abby laughed with Sam, making Pam even madder.

      “I want to sit beside Sam,” said Pam breathlessly, not ready to give up.

      “No,” answered Sam. “You’re first out, so you sit by the window.”

      “Maybe I’ll get a ride from Jonathon, then.” Pam winked tauntingly at Sam and ran her tongue over her lips as she turned to walk away, ignoring Abby completely.

      “Oh, Abby,” she called back. “Are you competing in the Grand Invitational?”

      “What? I haven’t heard about it,” Abby answered.

      “It was