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feeling that there was something they weren’t saying—that somehow they were still being dishonest with one another.
    “You know—” said Stevie.
    “We could—” said Lisa.
    Both of them broke off abruptly and looked down at their empty dishes.
    “I guess I’d better get home,” Carole said finally.
    “That’s what I was going to say,” Stevie said right away.
    “Me too—got to get home and start that embroidery,” Lisa said, doing her best to smile at the prospect. After making a plan to meet at Pine Hollow the following afternoon, the three girls put money down for the check and left—even more quietly than they had come in.

“W HAT THE —?” Lisa sat up in bed, disoriented.
    “Are you all right, honey?” Mrs. Atwood knocked on the door and then poked her head in.
    “Oh, yeah, Mom.” Lisa rubbed her eyes. Scattered over the bed were scissors, needles, thread, and a paperback entitled
Embroidery Made Fun and Easy
. “I was just doing some background reading,” Lisa explained hastily.
    “All right, I don’t want to disturb you. I just wanted to tell you that dinner’s in half an hour, so you can set the table in fifteen minutes or so.” Mrs. Atwood began to close the door behind her.
    “Mom?” Lisa asked, remembering her thoughts before she had fallen asleep. “Do you think the bake sale will be a success?”
    “I hope so, Lisa. If I have anything to say about it, it will be. I called a few more mothers and fathers this afternoon, and everyone seems very willing to help. Oh, and I ran into Connie Atherton uptown, and she said that her son is—”
    “Connie
who
?” Lisa cried, fully awake at once.
    Mrs. Atwood gave Lisa a strange look. “Connie Atherton, sweetheart. You know the Athertons, don’t you? I think Simon is about your age. Anyway, they’re just back from Texas, and Mrs. Atherton said that Simon is very eager to start riding at Pine Hollow again, so I told her you’d give him a call.” Mrs. Atwood beamed at her daughter. “There’s a new Horse Wise member right there,” she said. “Right?”
    As soon as the door closed, Lisa lay back against her pillows and covered her eyes. Here it was, the first of January, and already the year was horrible! For starters, Max’s surprise announcement that Horse Wise was in jeopardy. Then her own stupid promise to embroider a whole tablecloth—not to mention a set of napkins—in two weeks. And now the whole world seemed to be conspiring to throw her back together with Simon Atherton. She was
not
going to end up calling him for a date, no matter what. Whoever did lose the bet, Lisa thought wryly, was going to be in for an evening she would never forget.
    First of all, to get the conversation going, Simon would probably want to talk about the advanced calculus class he was no doubt taking by now. And forget going to a movie—that was way too normal for Simon. Lisa was sure he’d suggest staying home and looking at the stamp collection he was so proud of.
    But there was something else bothering Lisa, too—something that, by comparison, made Simon Atherton seem like a pleasant problem to have. Lisa couldn’t quite put her finger on why, but it seemed as if Stevie and Carole were angry at her. But what had she done? Yes, she had suggested the resolutions, but they could have said no or backed out any time. And why should they care, when Lisa’s resolution was by far the most difficult? All Carole had to do was say no to chips and dessert; all Stevie had to do was treat Veronica like a normal human being. Yet they’d been acting as if they had agreed to run a marathon! Obviously, they just weren’t used to discipline.
    Lisa set her lips in a thin line. Let them keep uptheir complaining. Lisa, at least, was going to make something of this new year. She was going to get something accomplished and help Horse Wise while she was at it. She’d amaze Stevie, Carole, her mother, Mrs. Reg, Max—everyone—with how fast she’d learn to