Her school suspension was over and she was going back.  She was going to miss going out with Chevalier every morning.
     "Are you going to ride your horse to school?" Mrs. Tilssen asked when Stacy came down for breakfast.
     "Huh?  I can do that?"
     "I used to ride my horse to school," her mother said, sliding a fried egg onto a plate.  "That was a one-room country school, but Arrowhead High has a big grassy lawn that they don't use.  You should take a rope to tie him up, and a trash bag and a rake to clean up after him."
     Stacy smiled.  "Okay."  She thought Principal Marsh probably wouldn't allow her to bring the horse again tomorrow.  Even one day would be fun, though.  Too bad she hadn't managed to attack-train the horse.

     She enjoyed the stares of the kids in the school yard as she rode up the street.  When he felt like it, Chevalier had a pretty walk.  He picked his feet up nicely and curled them under like a show horse.  She supposed that was the Percheron in him; they really did used to carry knights in armor.  But Clydesdales could be showy too.  He was picking up his feet for the ladies today, for sure.  Stacy sat tall in the saddle as her white steed pranced across the lawn.
     Ed and George and some of her female friends gathered around, marveling at Chevalier.  Finally she slid off the horse's back, removed his saddle and bridle, got out his halter and a long rope from her book bag and tied him to the sycamore tree.  The warning bell rang in the school and she reached up to scratch that special spot on his neck.  "You just enjoy all this pretty grass," she told him.  "I'll bring you a drink of water at lunch time."  She slung his saddle and bridle over a low tree branch and then walked inside with her friends.
     Principal Marsh summoned her to his office during homeroom.  She went with a rebellious heart, expecting to be told that she shouldn't have brought her horse to school.  To her surprise, he said, "Stacy, I'm glad to see that you've found a more wholesome outlet for your energy than threatening people with a gun.  I remember when I rode my horse to school.  Caring for a horse is a good thing, it keeps a person out of trouble.  What did you do with the saddle and bridle?"
     "Um, I put them on a tree branch."
     "That sort of thing attracts thieves.  You might want to leave them in my office from now on."
     "Okay, thanks."
     "Your mother said you didn't bring a bucket.  You can get one from the cafeteria at lunch time."
     "Thanks."  Well, that explained why he was being so nice.  She remembered hearing that her mother used to go to school with Principal Marsh.  Emma Tilssen could charm pretty much anybody.  There was no denying it, her parents' peaceful methods could be useful... except when you had to deal with bullies.

     At lunch time, Stacy went to the cafeteria for a big plastic bucket which she intended to fill at the faucet outside.  She looked around for Nick and his friends but didn't see them.  She took the bucket outside, set it under the faucet and turned the water on.  While she waited for it to fill, she gazed across the lawn at her beautiful white steed.
     They were over there.  Nick, Roger, Murph and Will, they were over there doing something to her horse.  Chevalier's head jerked up and he shifted his feet nervously.  With a growl she sprinted across the school yard.

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