by Cylin Busby
“You know what size board you need?” Travis says, looking over at you.
“I bet the Burton Fifty-six would work,” Mitch says. “I don’t know, a lot of girls like to use a kid’s board—softer flex, easier to trick on….”
You look at the two of them like they are speaking some foreign language.
“What do you usually use?” Mitch asks you. “You have snowboarded before, right?”
You answer him honestly and say:
“Yes, I’ve snowboarded before.”
“No, I’ve never snowboarded.”
Chapter 49
When you get down to the rental shop with Heather, you’re still a tiny bit bummed that you turned Mitch down. Oh well, maybe you’ll get a chance to see him later, and you know better than to choose a guy over your friends!
“Hello, ladies,” a guy behind you says to Heather. “What’s your poison today?”
“Huh?” Heather looks at him blankly. “He means are you skiing or snowboarding,” the guy’s friend says.
“Oh, we’re skiing,” Heather says. “What about you guys?”
“I’m snowboarding,” the redheaded guy says, “but my wimpy friend here is skiing. You want to go ski with these girls?” he teases.
“I wouldn’t mind,” the blond-haired guy says. “Hi, I’m Jim, and you’ll have to excuse my friend here, he doesn’t get out much.”
“Well, you can join us if you want to. We’re just renting some ski clothes, then we’re going to hit the slopes,” Heather says.
You’re next in line, and the girl behind the counter says, “What size are you? Shoe size, too, if you need boots.”
And you’re suddenly horrified—you don’t want to say your size in front of these cute guys! You’re so embarrassed!
You make up an excuse to step out of line.
You decide to just say it—you have to get your ski stuff!
Chapter 50
“I’m sorry, I just can’t,” you tell Travis, and he backs away from you.
“That’s okay,” he says. “I get it.” “It’s just that I…,” you start to explain, but Travis puts his hand up. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll get out of your way once we’re off the chairlift.” He looks so glum.
When the lift stops, you hop off and head over to meet Mitch, and Travis heads for another trail without saying anything to you.
Go to Chapter 29.
Chapter 51
“Okay,” you hear yourself say—and can hardly believe you’re going to do it! “Just let me grab my stuff and I’ll meet you downstairs.” You can’t really feel too bad about it, after all, he did like you first—even Heather knows that!
When you get back to the room to grab your coat, Heather gives you a confused look. “Where’s Mrs. Bulow?” she asks you. “You couldn’t find her?”
“Oh…right,” you start to say. You forgot all about the bed, and trying to find Mrs. Bulow.
“Where are you going—outside?” Carrie asks, pointing at your jacket.
“Actually…” You think fast—what can you tell them? Do you tell the truth, that you’re going to meet Dan, or make something up?
You decide to make something up.
You want to tell Heather the truth.
Chapter 52
“I know how to snowboard,” you tell Mitch, but inside you’re secretly hoping that you’re good enough to keep up with him and Travis. After you pick up your rental board, the three of you head over to the chairlift. When it’s your turn to get on the chair, Mitch steps up beside you, leaving Travis behind. This will be the first time you’ve been alone with Mitch in months, and you can feel your heart start to beat fast!
“I’m glad you decided to come with us,” Mitch says. “I know you had plans with your friends and everything….” He looks down, and his brown hair falls over his eyes.
You’re glad, too, but you don’t know what else to say, so instead you just point out the skiers on the slopes below you. “I love the chairlift—this is my favorite part. Just being up here, looking out over the mountain and everything…” You feel like you’re rambling.
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Mitch says, catching your eye. When it’s time to jump off the chairlift, you silently hope that you can get your back foot into your board and not look like a total amateur—and you do it on the first try! “Nice,” Mitch says, noticing. “That’s not easy—you really have snowboarded before.”
When you reach the snowboarding trail, he asks, “You want to lead?”
“Sure,” you say. But once you get started, you wish he had gone first, so that you wouldn’t feel his eyes on your back, watching your every move. You try to build up some confidence as you make smooth S-curves down the mountain, and you’re careful not to grind too much—you know how annoying it is to board behind someone who’s totally chewed up the snow.
When you reach the bottom, Mitch slides up beside you. “You’re really good!” he says, grinning, and you can tell he’s impressed. “Hey, let’s race the next run.”
You want to say yes—and you’re pretty sure you can keep up with him—but do you really want to race against your crush? What if you win, and he’s a sore loser? Or worse, what if you totally wipe out and make a fool of yourself?
You say yes to the race with Mitch.
You’d rather not race against your crush.
Chapter 53
“Actually,” you have to admit, “I’ve never snowboarded before.”
“Oh great,” Mitch says. “You’re just going to slow us down then.” He looks angry, and you’re so hurt. You thought he wanted to hang out with you!
“I can help you,” Travis says. “Let’s rent a board and I’ll give you a quick lesson,” he says. Your eyes meet his for a second, and you feel your face getting warm. Why is he being so nice to you?
“I don’t know,” you say, “I don’t want to keep you guys from having fun. My friend was telling me about this ski lesson that she was going to take, so maybe I’ll just rent some skis and go join her,” you tell him.
“It’s not a big deal,” Travis says, shrugging. “Really, don’t listen to him,” he adds in a whisper. “Everyone has to learn sometime, right? Why not now?” You’re about to say something back to Travis when Mitch cuts in.
“Come on, if you’re going, let’s do it. I don’t want to miss out on any more slope time,” he says. You look from Mitch to Travis. What is going on here? You wanted to spend time with Mitch, but he’s being a real jerk, and Travis is being so sweet. Taking a lesson from him would probably be a lot of fun, and you do want to get to know him better. But he’s your crush’s best friend! You feel really confused. Maybe this whole snowboarding thing is just a recipe for disaster? Maybe you should just forget these two and go join Heather at the lodge ski lesson?
If you decide to say goodbye to the guys and head to the ski lesson, go to Chapter 23.
If you’d rather stay with them and snowboard, go to Chapter 61.
Chapter 54
“Oh, I…um…have to go to the bathroom,” you say suddenly, and dash out of the rental shop.
“Hey, wait!” Heather yells after you, but you keep going. You just couldn’t say your size in front of those guys—it’s too embarrassing! After a few minutes in the bathroom, you go back into the shop, but your friends have already picked up their stuff and gone. You get back into the line—which is now really long—and call Heather on her cell.
“Where are you guys?” you ask her.
“We’re waiting for you, outside—what’s the holdup?”
“I’m back in the line to get my stuff, and it looks like it’s going to be a while,” you admit.
“Well, I guess we’ll go to the chairlift. Call me when you’re ready to ski and we’ll look for you,” Heather says, and hangs up.
What a bummer. After what feels like forever, you finally get to the front of the line. “Size, shoe size, too,” the girl behind the counter says, and this time you tell her. “Yeah, a
ctually, we’re out of that size. Here, try these,” she says, pushing a pair of ski boots across the counter to you.
“These are two sizes too small,” you tell her. “Sorry, that’s all we’ve got left,” she says, and turns to help the next person. You go to try on the boots and your feet are so squished, there’s no way you can wear them. And without ski boots, there are no skis—and no skiing! There goes your chance to ski with the cute boys—or to ski at all!—argh!
END
If you want to rewind your trip to the ski rental shop, go back to Chapter 49.
Chapter 55
You tell the girl your size. If Jim and his friend notice, they don’t say anything, and you secretly breathe a sigh of relief! The girl behind the counter hands you your stuff just as Jim says, “So, seriously, can I meet you guys and ski with you?” You turn to look at him. He’s got a bit of a bad-boy look, with short blond hair and a devilish smirk.
“Yeah, sure,” you tell him, and look over at Heat her to see what she’ll say.
“Fine with me”—she grins—“I just hope you can keep up.”
“That’s a challenge I can’t pass up,” Jim’s friend says. “Forget snowboarding, I’m coming, too.”
You and Heather exchange a quick smile. So far this ski trip is turning out pretty great! “We have to go change, but we’ll meet you guys out at the chairlift,” Heather tells them as you walk off. When you’re out of earshot, you both start giggling. Then, as you head down the hallway to your room, you run into some of Heather’s friends.
“Hey, Jenny!” Heather gives one girl a big hug.
“So cool to run into you—we just met some guys from your school!”
“Oh yeah, who?” the other girl asks. “One guy named Jim, and a friend of his,” you offer.
“Uh-oh,” Jenny says. “Did the other guy have red hair, freckles?”
“Yes,” Heather says quickly, “why, bad news?” Jenny leans in. “They kinda have a reputation at school for being players.”
“Oh no—we told them we’d meet them!” you say. “Well, there is that ski lesson… we could go and do that instead,” Heather points out. “We could just tell the guys we forgot that we’d signed up for it. ”
“Better hurry,” Jenny says, walking away with her friends. “That class starts in five minutes!”
Heather looks over at you. “What should we do?”
“They didn’t seem like jerks,” you say, “but maybe we should trust your friend?”
You want to meet the boys and decide for yourself.
You’d rather just take the ski lesson.
Chapter 56
Mrs. Bulow explains that there’s a small clasp at the top of the Murphy bed that holds it closed. “Here, you just undo this,” she says, opening the clasp, “and the bed comes right down.” She pulls the handle and a bed folds out.
“Thank you so much,” Heather says. “Please remember, girls, that I’m here to help you out with any problems, okay?” Mrs. Bulow says. You’re glad she’s the head chaperone on the trip because she’s always so nice. “Now you better hurry or you’ll be late for Bryce Karr’s first lesson of the day,” she adds with a smile.
“Who’s Bryce Karr?” Carrie asks. “You don’t know who Bryce Karr is?” Mrs. Bulow looks surprised. “He’s a former Olympic champ, and now he teaches lessons here. I thought for sure all you girls would be signed up by now…,” she says.
“Why? Do you think we need a ski lesson that badly?” you ask her with a laugh.
“No, because Mr. Karr is so…well, let’s just say he’s very, very handsome. ” Mrs. Bulow blushes. Could it be that your teacher has a crush?
“Let’s go!” Heather says, grabbing her coat.
Carrie quickly looks over her ski schedule. “Class starts in fifteen minutes!”
“’Bye, Mrs. Bulow,” you turn and say as you race down the hall. But as you round the corner, you run right into…Mitch!
“Hey, slow down!” he says, laughing and catching you by your shoulders. “What’s up?” He grins, and you feel your heart start to race.
“Um, uh, we’re…well…” Your brain feels all scrambled. Why does he always have this effect on you?
“If you’re not doing anything, besides racing in the hallways, do you want to come snowboarding with my friend and me?” He motions to the dark-haired guy standing next to him. You look over at your friends for a second—should you take the lesson with them or hang out with Mitch?
You decide to take the ski lesson.
You’d rather change plans and snowboard with Mitch.
Chapter 57
“Here you go,” you tell Jim’s friend, Henry, as you push him in front of you. “Why don’t you ride up with your friend and I’ll go with Heather.”
“We’ll meet you guys up there,” Heather says cheerfully.
As soon as the guys are on the chairlift, you turn to Heather and whisper. “Let’s head over to the ski lesson and ditch these guys—I’m getting a bad vibe from them.”
“Me too!” Heather exclaims. “When you weren’t looking, that Henry guy tried to kiss me!”
“Ewwww, creep!” you say as you two step out of the line and head over to the ski lesson.
“I forgot my gloves, I’m going to run to the lodge first, then I’ll meet you there,” you tell her. You hope Jim and Henry won’t be too upset when they find out you totally stood them up!
Go to Chapter 23.
Chapter 58
“Honestly?” you say, turning to face Heather. “I ran into Dan in the hallway and he asked me to go skiing with him.”
“What do you mean, like a date or something?” Heather looks crushed.
“He said he still likes me and wants to hang out with me,” you admit, grabbing your gloves and hat.
“But…he likes me!” Heather says. “And I like him, too. How could you do this to me?”
You just look at her for a second. She has been kind of mean to you this entire trip, but maybe you’re just lashing out at her—maybe you don’t really even like Dan that much.
“He told me he was just using you to get close to me,” you tell her.
“What!?” Heather screams. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She picks up her duffel bag and throws it against the wall, clothes flying everywhere. Then she sits on the bed and starts crying. “Why would he do this to me?” she says, and Carrie sits beside her.
“Look, just because Dan is a jerk, that doesn’t mean you guys have to fight over him,” Carrie points out. “Maybe neither one of you should date this guy. I mean, listen to the stuff he’s saying—using one friend to get to another? That’s just plain creepy.”
You have to admit that Carrie is right. You sit on the other bed to think for a second. It’s flattering that Dan is so into you, but do you really want to do this?
If you decide to meet Dan, go to Chapter 63.
If you’d rather blow him off and patch up your friendship, go to Chapter 64.
Chapter 59
“Race…okay, why not?” you tell Mitch as you two line up at the top of the slope.
“On three,” he says, and counts off, “one, two…” He pushes off.
“Hey, no fair!” You race after him. He’s ahead of you, but you can tell he’s boarding too fast and tight. You loosen up your S-curves and make a big loop around him, taking the lead. When you reach the bottom, you pretty much tie.
“I would have won—if you hadn’t cheated,” you say, catching your breath.
“Cheating? Me?” Mitch smiles at you. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you want a rematch, it can be arranged!”
You catch the chairlift up together again, chatting and laughing the whole way. You’d forgotten how much you like Mitch. “You know,” you tell him as you head over to the slope again, “I really miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” he admits, catching your eye before you both head down the steep slope again.
When you reach the bottom, Mitch sl
ides over to you and grabs your arm. “Come on, they’re about to close this place down,” he says, pointing to where the sun is setting behind the mountain. “Let’s go one more time.”
You’re starting to feel really tired and cold. And you’d like to just hang out with Mitch inside and catch up—something that’s pretty hard to do when you’re snowboarding. “I don’t know…,” you say. “My feet are freezing.”
“Don’t get all girlie on me now!” Mitch taunts you. “Night snowboarding—it’s the best! Just a little bit longer….”
You agree to board down one more time.
You’d rather try to get Mitch to come inside.
Chapter 60
“Oh, I don’t know if I’m good enough to race you,” you tell Mitch, acting coy. Guys don’t like girls who are too competitive, right?
“You’re pretty good—c’mon!” he urges you. “Loser buys the winner a hot chocolate later at the café.”
As much as you want to snuggle with him at the café and sip hot chocolate together, you just can’t race against him. “No, you’re way better than me,” you say shyly, hoping to stroke his ego.
“Okay,” Mitch says, moving into position to go down the slope again. A cute freckle-faced girl in a white baseball cap moves into place beside him. She’s got on a great snowboarding outfit.
“Race you down?” she turns to Mitch and challenges. She gives him a flirty smile.
“You’re on!” he says, and pushes off down the mountain without even looking back. As you watch them race down the slope, you can’t help wondering if he’s going to end up drinking hot chocolate with her in the café—argh! That girl is racing off with your crush, and you have only yourself to blame!