Episode
3
A
Home and a Problem
Mother’s Voice: Aaah!
There’s a horse in our back yard!
Noelle! Zaisan! Get down here!
Zaisan: Great. First thing on a Saturday morning and we get
yelled at about some dumb horse…woah!
There really is a horse in the backyard!!!.
Noelle: (coming
downstairs) What’s going on, Mother?
Grandmother: There
seems to be a horse in our backyard.
Does anyone knows where it came from?
It better not eat my carrots…I just planted them!
Noelle: (grumbles)
How should I know?
Zaisan: Guess
it escaped from some animal shelter or something. Can we keep him?
Mother: Of
coarse not! We can’t afford a
horse! I’m going to call the animal
shelter.
Zaisan: Well,
if that’s all, then I’m going back to bed.
Grandmother:
You should have more respect for your elders, young man. Go out and make sure the horse isn’t eating
my carrots. (Zaisan groans and leaves)
Noelle: (thoughts)
Oh, no. Not another problem. Somehow I have to get him out of here without
anyone knowing!
Grandmother:
Noelle, you go help your brother, too.
Noelle:
What? (shocked) Well…I was going to…talk to Tsuta! She’s probably waiting for me; we already
made plans for today. Got to go! (quickly leaves with grandmother shaking her
head.)
**********************************************
Noelle: (hand
on horse’s muzzle trying to get it to follow her) Come on, now. I have to find a hiding place for
you…somewhere.
Tsuta: (comes
in riding a white horse) Good-morning, Noelle!
Wow! That sure is a beautiful
horse.
Noelle: Well,
sort of…wait. When did you get a horse?
Tsuta: Oh,
my uncle just came by today to drop her off.
She’s a real beauty. I’ve had her
for 6 years now. How long have you had
yours?
Noelle: Well,
actually…I just found her today. My Mother
won’t let me keep it, so I’m trying to find a place it can hide. I think its original owners abused it or
something. Hey, do you think…
Tsuta: No
way! Horses are a big
responsibility. You can’t just take it. How do you know it was abused?
Noelle: Its
back left hoof looked swollen. (Noelle
slowly backs to the hoof and tries to kick it)
Tsuta: I
know a lot about horses. Why don’t you
let me take a look…
Noelle:
(horse stomps foot angrily as Noelle kicks it again) I don’t think
so. It’s so sore, it doesn’t like anyone
to bother it.
Tsuta: Yeah,
I can see. Doesn’t seem to be too happy
when your shoe even touches it (teardrop on Noelle’s head)…perhaps you are right. Hmm…maybe we could find some deserted
building or something to keep it in temporarily. And when it’s hoof is better, and there’s no
sign of the master, you can keep it and we can go riding together.
Noelle: Hey,
there’s this old cabin up on that hill over there. It’s really run down, so perhaps it’ll be a
good place for it to stay. I don’t think
anyone will bother it there.
Tsuta:
Oh, that’s great, Noelle! Let’s
go check it out.
Noelle: Ok. (gets on horse. The 2 horses start trotting up the hill; Niji
and 2 other girls start walking behind them and they’re talking loudly)
Girl 1: So,
Niji, what are your plans for today?
Girl 2: Want
to go shopping with us, or are you going to hang out with that loser Noelle?
Niji: (laughs) No way!
Let’s go to the mall.
Girls: Sure! Great!
(all 3 leave laughing to themselves)
Noelle: (angrily)
Niji! I have ears you know! (they keep going, ignoring her)
Tsuta: Don’t
worry about them, Noelle. They’re just
snobs.
Noelle: Niji’s
been my best friend since we were little…(throws fists in air) wait until
tomorrow, Niji! You know I’ve been
training! (Daraku comes in)
Daraku: Noelle! What are you yelling about?
Noelle: (startled) Daraku?
(turns her anger to him) What do you think you’re doing talking to
me? Get lost you jerk!
Daraku: Oh,
come on Noelle! You don’t have to be so
rude!
(Noelle makes a leap off
her horse and kicks Daraku right in the face who falls with a red shoeprint on
his face; bitterly) You know, you didn’t have to do that.
Noelle: Just
stay away from me, got it? (gets back on horse)
Tsuta: Noelle? What was that all about?
Noelle: Long
story. Let’s go check out that old cabin
now.
************************************************************
(both girls look around
the old, deserted cabin)
Noelle: It’s
a good size cabin. I’m sure my horse
will love it.
Tsuta: Hey,
what is the name of your horse, anyway?
I forgot to ask before.
Noelle: (baffled) Name?
Well..um…it’s…Stardust.
Tsuta: Stardust? That’s a nice name. I named my horse Glory.
Noelle: That’s
nice too. (to Stardust) So what do you think, Stardust? Will this be ok to stay in for now? (Stardust neighs happily) I’ll take that as a “yes!”
Tsuta: This
is great! You have some nice grass for
it to eat right outside. You just need
some supplies now.
Noelle: Supplies?
Tsuta: Yeah,
supplies. You have to groom it and make
sure it’s healthy and eating right. It
takes a lot of work to take care of a horse.
(looks up at Glory) With some exceptions! (gives a little giggle)
**************************************************************
(at Tsuta’s front yard)
Noelle: Apples? Brushes?
Straw? Where am I going to get
all that from? I don’t even have any
money!
Tsuta: My
uncle has plenty of straw that he gets from his farm. You can borrow my brushes. Here’s an old bucket for water. Apples don’t cost much. She’ll need to have one every now and then so
you don’t have to buy one everyday. I
have to admit, my horse doesn’t eat much and doesn’t get real dirty; it’s like
it can take care of itself. So I’m not
much of an expert on caring for horses.
You might want to check out some books at the library for more
information.
Noelle:
Well, you sure know quite a deal about horses already.
Tsuta: (giggles) Yeah, well, my uncle taught me
everything I need to know. When I was
little (little flashbacks scenes) I use to go to his farm and ride the
ponies. I always wanted a pony of my
own. Instead, as a birthday present, he
gave me my very own horse. And since
then, Glory and I have been best buddies.
(flashback over) I couldn’t ask
for a better horse.
Noelle: (stands
up) Well, thanks for everything,
Tsuta. I’m sure my Butter…I mean
Stardust will greatly appreciate it.
Tsuta: Butter?
Noelle: (blushes
nervously) Well, I have a craving for
bread and butter and it just slipped out.
Tsuta: Bread
and butter? You sure are different
Noelle. (Noelle laughs nervously; her
laugh is quickly broken by a scream.
“NOELLE!”)
Noelle: Ut
oh. That’s my Mother. I better get going. Talk to you later, Tsuta!
Tsuta: Ok. Bye!
(Noelle runs back home)
**************************************************************
Noelle: I’m
here, I’m here. What’s wrong?
Mother: The
horse. Where is it?
Noelle: How
am I suppose to know where it is?
Probably went back to it’s owner.
(little teardrop is on her forehead)
Mother: Well,
it can’t be back to its owner since the owner is inside the house.
Noelle: The
owner is here? (thoughts) What in the world
is she talking about? Could I have taken
the wrong horse?
Mother: He’s
inside. I have the strangest feeling you
know where that horse went to. You
better go in and talk to him. Your
grandmother has been trying to calm him, but the both of them are losing
patience.
Noelle: What
makes you think I know where the horse is?
Mother: Because
the last time I saw the horse, YOU were there!
Noelle: So? I was just petting it. I mean, where would I even hide it?
Mother: Go
inside and talk to them before you get in even deeper trouble with your
grandmother.
Noelle: Fine,
fine! (walks inside in a huff)
Grandmother: About
time you got here, young lady. This is Mr. Darren. He’s the horse’s owner. Noelle, where is his horse?
Noelle: I
have no idea. Why does everyone think I
know where it is? It probably took off
again because it doesn’t like you.
Mother: Noelle!
Mr. Darren: You
do know where it is. Now tell me you
little lying brat!
Mother: Excuse
me? Whether my daughter is telling the truth
or not does not give you the right to call her a brat!
Grandmother:
It makes you no better than an 11 year old. (sips tea)
Mr. Darren: How
can you be so naive? She knows where it
is. She just thinks that she can keep
the horse for herself. You should really
teach her to not be so selfish. (gets
up)
Grandmother: Sir,
when a man is no better than a child, than that man should have no right to
stay in this house. It is time for you
to leave, Mr. Darren.
Mr. Darren: I
am. But if I don’t find my horse, I will
be back. (glares at Noelle; as she
glares back. she looks at him and realizes she has seen those evil eyes before)
*************************************************************
(Noelle and Tsuta are in
the cabin)
Noelle:
And I found this old blanket to keep her warm at night. (puts the blanket down on the floor) It gives
a soft area for it to rest.
Tsuta:
This really looks like a little cozy stable. We did a good job.
Noelle: So you think hiding her will work?
Tsuta:
Yeah, I think this will work. You
have everything you need to take care of her…but I’m not really bit into
keeping secrets…
Noelle:
Oh, please! If you tell my mother
or my grandmother, they’ll get rid of her for sure! This can be our little secret…it’ll be fun,
don’t worry.
Tsuta:
(grumbles) It better not give any problems. (Noelle giggles as she pets
Stardust’s muzzle)
****************************************************
(Nova and Tsuki are
outside by the cabin. There is a stuffed
dummy hanging from the tree with a glued picture of Daraku’s face)
Nova: Come
on, Stardust! Concentrate on the
dummy. Use your jewel power, or your
unicorn power, or your whatever power!
(Stardust tries. A small red
streak of smoke quickly dissolves.
Noelle groans.) This is getting us nowhere. Perhaps you can do some sort of flying
attack.
Tsuki: It won’t be able to fly. It doesn’t have that capability yet.
Nova: It
has wings and it can’t even fly? What
attacks can it do then? (the picture of
Daraku’s face falls off in the background)
Tsuki: Be
patient about the wings. It’ll be able
to fly when it gains more power. As for
attacks, try Attack Power.
Nova: Attack
Power! (a bright red light comes out
from the star on Stardust’s head. It
hits several feet above the dummy and hits a tree branch that falls on Nova’s
head. Noelle falls) OW!!!!!!
Tsuki: (trying
not to laugh) It’ll take a lot of
practice to get stronger. My Unijewel
and I have been practicing for quite some time.
And don’t forget, it is not just your Butterjewel fighting, but you as
well. If you put your own power with
your Butterjewel’s power, you’ll be able to control the attack better and
perhaps hit the dummy.
Nova: Hey! That’s not funny! (shoves branch aside as she slowly gets
up) Tsuki? Can I ask you something?
Tsuki: Sure,
what?
Nova: Some
guy today said that he was the owner of my horse.
Tsuki: Really???
Nova: Yeah. I managed to get rid of him…well, by
grandmother did. But he said he was
going to be back. What should I do?
Tsuki: (in
thought) Well, whatever you do, don’t
EVER let him have the horse. (thinks to
herself for a moment) That’s really odd, Nova.
Be careful, Nova…be very careful.