by Mari Mancusi
But then the question above the school gates came rushing back to me.
What would you attempt to do, it asked, if you knew you could not fail?
I knew the answer.
I tucked down. Knees bent, board flat. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the lip, ready to pop and soar and win this thing once and for all.
I soared through the skies.
I didn’t fall.
And a moment later I crossed the finish line first.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Oh my gosh, Lexi! You were amazing! Totally amazing!”
I looked up to see Caitlin barreling toward me, arms open wide, and I had to plant my feet firmly on the ground to prevent myself from being bowled over by her enthusiasm. Brooklyn and Jessie and Jordan and Jennifer soon joined her, and a moment later we were all jumping up and down in a big group hug. Dante hovered nearby, watching us with an embarrassed smile on his face.
“Thanks, guys,” I said when we finally parted, my face still flushed with excitement. “It feels good to be back!”
“Not only back, but winning!” Brooklyn reminded me. “You totally crushed them all!”
“Even Olivia!” added Jessie. “At one point I was so sure she was going to win!”
“But then you just zoomed past her!” added Caitlin, her eyes flashing her excitement. “I’d say that’s a little karmic justice right there,” she added with a smirk.
My hands involuntarily wrapped around the gold medal hanging from my neck, as if I was afraid it’d be taken away if I breathed wrong or something. “I’ll catch up with you guys later,” I told them. “And we can celebrate properly.”
They all hugged me again and continued to yell their congratulations across the mountain base as I walked away, which made me smile. Not because I was proud of having won the race, but because I was lucky enough to have such good friends. As Caitlin had said, not everyone at Mountain Academy was out to win at all costs. Most were still decent kids who just loved the sport of snowboarding.
From now on, that would be me, too.
I stepped into the locker room, preparing to put away my board so I could join the others at the after-party. It was only after I closed my locker that I realized I wasn’t alone. I whirled around. Becca stood in the doorway. Her hand was still bandaged from the frostbite she’d suffered. But she was smiling.
“You were awesome out there today,” she said. “Really great. I bet it’ll take no time at all for you to get back to where you were.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I agreed with a shrug. “But if not? That’s okay too. I’ll be fine either way.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I know you will.” Then she drew in a breath. “I only wish I could be around to see it.”
I cocked my head in question. “What do you mean?”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the thumb drive. “I’m going to give this to the school board,” she told me. “I’m going to confess what I did, and then I’m going to withdraw from Mountain Academy. I had a long talk with my parents—they’re disappointed, of course, but I think they’re starting to understand. They’re packing up my room now. We’ll be heading back to Boston in a couple hours.”
I stared at her, hardly able to believe what she was saying. “You’re going to turn yourself in?” I asked. “Are you sure?” Suddenly, I realized, I didn’t want her to do anything of the sort—even if that was why I’d given her the thumb drive to begin with.
I had wanted her to do the right thing.
But now I didn’t want her to leave.
“It’s time, Lexi,” she told me. “Actually it’s way past time. But it has to be done. To be honest, even knowing that I’m going to do it feels like this huge weight being lifted from my shoulders. Like I can actually breathe properly for the first time all year.” She gave me a regretful look. “Thank you for letting me do it myself. You could have turned me in—you had every right to, in fact. But somehow it feels better to be able to stand on my own two feet.”
“Oh, Becca,” I said, my heart melting at the regret I saw on her face. This was my best friend. My brave best friend. I took a hesitant step forward, then threw my arms around her, pulling her to me. At first she felt stiff and unyielding—as if she were afraid to hug me back. But eventually she gave in, melting into my arms.
“You should hate me,” she choked out as we hugged and cried together. “You should be, like, hitting me instead of hugging me.”
I shook my head. “No way. We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all fallen—in a way. But now it’s time to get back up and move on. It’s the only thing we can do.”
EPILOGUE
Three Months Later
Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the first-place winner of the Littleton Junior High fourth annual Battle of the Bands . . . Manic Pixie Dream Girl!”
The crowd went wild. Scarlet and Lulu and I squealed in unison, locking arms and jumping up and down—hugging each other with wild abandon. We grabbed Roland and ran onstage, accepting the absurdly large trophy presented to us by the announcer. Then we headed back to our setup and gave the crowd one last rousing victory song—Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” It was fitting, to say the least.
As I screamed into the microphone, my voice echoing through the gymnasium, my eyes scanned the audience. There, at the back of the room, stood my dad, bobbing his head awkwardly to the music. I grinned and gave him an enthusiastic wave. It was funny—at first he’d been so against my singing. But since our whole heart-to-heart talk he’d become my biggest fan, even getting me special permission from the school board to travel off campus to practice once a week, as long as I kept up with my studies.
I was sweating like crazy when we finished the last number and finally managed to crawl offstage and into the packed auditorium. As I wove my way through the crowd, I was assaulted with congratulations from strangers, friends, and fellow Mountain Academy students. When Coach Basil had learned of the gig, she’d rented a bus and offered a ride to anyone who wanted to watch me sing. Pretty much the whole school had gotten on board. Even Olivia, though she claimed she just wanted to hear with her own ears how much we stunk.
But I didn’t care. Because the one person I wanted to be there more than anyone else suddenly stepped into my line of sight. As sweaty from dancing as I was from singing. And just as happy.
“Becca!” I cried, waving my hands wildly to get her attention.
“Lexi! That was amazing!” she squealed as she bounced over to me. “I just knew you guys were going to win the second you got onstage. You totally blew everyone else away.”
“Thanks,” I said, accepting her congratulatory hug. “It was pretty awesome, I have to admit.”
Becca shook her head proudly. “On the slopes and onstage. You truly are a golden girl,” she teased.
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved her off, but inside I was dancing.
I hadn’t seen Becca since the day of the race three months ago, when she came to my dorm room to say good-bye. Her meeting with the school board had gone as well as could be expected, she’d told me. They’d accepted her resignation and thanked her for being brave enough to come forward.
“So how have you been?” I asked, looking her over. “Do you like your new school?”
“I love it,” she replied. “It’s actually refreshing to have friends who have no ambition whatsoever.” She laughed.
“As long as you don’t start joining them.” I gave her a wink.
“Please. I could never,” Becca assured me. “In fact, I already have a huge thing lined up, I’ll have you know.”
“Oh?”
“Girl’s hockey!” she exclaimed. “They have this league in my hometown. It’s so much fun. You know I’ve always been into team sports. But with my schedule here I never got a chance to play much. But I tried out and somehow I made the team. I’m going to be their new goalie.”
“That’s awesome!” I cried. I raised my hand to give her a fist bump. “I can’t wait to
see you play!”
We talked a little more and then hugged and parted ways. Becca’s parents were waiting outside to drive her back home. I felt the tears spring to my eyes as we said good-bye. But I knew it was for the best. After all, she had her own dreams to follow.
And I had mine. As I watched her go, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whirled around to see Logan standing behind me, a big grin on his face.
“You were amazing,” he said. “But you already know that, don’t you?” He reached over and pulled me into a sweaty hug.
“No more amazing than you,” I reminded him. “After all, I’m not the only one who scored a win today.”
Logan had also competed that morning—on the slopes, that was—and managed to walk away with first place on the half-pipe. A first place that came with a season pass to Green Mountain, I might add. Meaning no more dead-of-night stealth snowboarding. We could ride together anytime we liked.
Logan blushed. “Yeah, that was pretty cool,” he admitted. “I was glad my mom could be there to see it, too.”
“You should have seen her face,” I exclaimed. “She was so proud.” I grinned. “Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll both be up there on that podium, winning Olympic gold.”
“Maybe so,” he said. “Or maybe you’ll win a Grammy someday.”
“Ooh. That’d be cool,” I agreed. “Or maybe a Nobel Peace Prize? Or a Pulitzer?”
“What about an Emmy? Or at least a Golden Globe?”
I laughed. “How about all of the above?”
“Why not?” he declared. “I mean what is that saying above your school again? ‘What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?’ ”
“Oh, I know very well I can fail,” I said with a laugh. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop attempting anytime soon—whether it’s on or off the slopes.”
“I know you won’t,” he assured me. “And for that—no matter what happens—you’ll always be a golden girl to me.”
Mari Mancusi grew up in New England, where she spent her winters snowboarding in the mountains of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Today she resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and young daughter, writing snowy stories to stay cool. A graduate of Boston University and a former Emmy Award–winning TV news producer, Mari has written numerous books for children, teens, and adults. When not writing, she enjoys traveling, cosplay, watching horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure—video games.
If you liked Golden Girl, then you’ll love Queen of Likes.
ALADDIN • Simon & Schuster, New York
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin hardcover edition December 2015
Text copyright © 2015 by Marianne Mancusi Beach
Jacket illustration copyright © 2015 by Lucy Truman
Also available in an Aladdin M!X edition.
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Jacket designed by Jessica Handelman
Interior designed by Hilary Zarycky
The text of this book was set in Goudy Oldstyle.
Library of Congress Control Number 2015933119
ISBN 978-1-4814-3763-9 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-3762-2 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-3764-6 (eBook)