Fabulous Five 030 - Sibling Rivalry (6 page)

For the next couple of days the skiers in Beth's class
progressed well with their lessons. Marcel showed them how to parallel ski
instead of snowplowing and moved them from the beginner slope to the
intermediate. Beth was thrilled with her own improvement and felt she was
beginning to look as if she knew what she was doing.

Besides that it was thrilling to be on the mountain and look
down on the tiny lodge and miniature people far below.

Most days the air was chilly, but the sun was warm. She felt
vibrant and alive schussing down the slope with the wind in her hair and the
sound of the snow crackling under her skis. It was great, and even though she
was alone most of the time, The Fabulous Five were never far from her thoughts.
What were they doing? Were they having a ball at Winter Carnival? Did they miss
her?

Several times she had wanted to try phoning them again. But
each time, something had happened to prevent it. Once she had been called to
dinner, another time Alicia had needed help with her snowsuit, and just last
night Todd had walked in and seen her counting her money and had started
bugging her again for money to play video games. Maybe tonight, she promised
herself on the fifth day of the vacation, she would sneak off after dinner and
give one of them a call.

That afternoon, after they had returned to the lifts from
their lesson and lunch, Brittany said, "I know! Let's ride the lift all
the way to the top of the mountain!"

"That's a good idea," said Julie. "We rode to
the top last year, and you can't imagine how beautiful it is up there."

"There are lots of ski trails and different ways to
come down the mountain," Sarah chimed in. "We'll pick one of the easier
ones so you can handle it."

"Sounds good to me," said Brittany. "Just
don't take me down the Jaws of Death."

"Don't worry," Julie assured her. "I'm not
ready for a trail that's terrifying, either."

Beth gazed up at the mountain, and her heart thumped a
little harder. She'd love to go all the way to the top and ski down! That would
be something to tell her friends at home when they started talking about all
the fun they had had at Winter Carnival.

"How hard is it to ski down?" Beth asked.

"Well, it's a lot of hard work," replied Julie.
"You have to stop and catch your breath and rest your legs every so
often."

"Beth, why don't you stay here?" asked Brittany.
"It might be a little too hard for you."

"What are you talking about?" snapped Beth.
"I can ski as well as you can."

"Come on, Beth, you've been hanging out with us
constantly," Brittany complained. "Can't you find some kids your own
age to ski with?"

Beth smarted at her sister's words. Brittany knew there
weren't any kids her age around. Beth shot her an angry look.

"Oh, Brittany!" Sarah said. "It's okay if she
comes along. She might not get another chance."

Brittany let out an exasperated breath and looked at Beth.
"Oh, all right. Tag along if you have to, but don't expect me to watch out
for you."

"Do you ever?" Beth said crossly.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Come on, girls," she
said to Sarah and Julie. "Let's go."

They got in line for the chair lift, which would take them
to the top of the mountain. Brittany was first, so she rode up with a man who
was by himself. Julie and Sarah got on together, and Beth found herself riding
with a middle-aged woman.

Brittany turned around and yelled something at Julie and Sarah.
The two girls laughed and yelled back.

Beth couldn't hear a word they were saying. As usual she
felt totally left out while the three of them had a great time.

When they neared the top of the mountain, Beth spotted a
group of skiers maneuvering along a steep trail. One of the jackets looked
familiar, and she realized it was Todd's.

"Wow," Beth whispered as she watched her brother
jump over a ledge and land fifteen feet away without even slowing down. Todd
really was good. He was trailing his group of friends, but he was holding his
own. Beth felt a surge of pride. "Good for you," she said quietly, as
she watched him thread his way through the mounds of snow called moguls.

Beth wondered if the trail he was skiing was The Jaws of
Death. It certainly looked like an expert slope, but she hoped Todd wouldn't be
foolish enough to try The Jaws of Death. Everyone said that it could be
treacherous.

As the girls' chairs approached the lift house at the top of
the mountain, she could see skiers coming out the far side and heading off in
different directions. Their colorful jackets stood out against the stark
whiteness all around them.

Beth's chair moved into the building, and she inched toward
the edge of her seat. A lift operator grabbed the chair and raised the safety
bar from in front of her and the woman. Then Beth gently skied down the small
ramp and out of the building.

"That was a fun ride," said Julie.

"Yeah," agreed Brittany, "what a view!"

"And those trails are pretty incredible," added
Sarah. "But don't worry. There are plenty of easier ones."

Beth wanted to tell Brittany that she'd seen Todd skiing on
one of those trails, but she was still fuming over what Brittany had said to
her earlier. Instead she just gazed silently at the view below her. It was fantastic.
If only her friends were here to see it with her. Beth glided down a slight
incline away from the girls to a place where she could see better. There were
several people nearby, some talking, some preparing to start down the mountain.
Beth noticed several paths and wondered which one Julie and Sarah had meant for
them to ski down.

She glanced back at Brittany and the others. They were still
talking and giggling. When Brittany noticed Beth, she called, "The
entrance to the trail we're taking is on your right. Go ahead. We'll catch up
with you."

"Down through those trees?" Beth called back,
pointing into a wooded area.

Brittany turned back to her friends and didn't bother to
answer.

Beth shot a nasty look at Brittany's back. She was sick of
her sister's treating her like a pesky tag-along. Who wants to wait for her
anyway, thought Beth. I've been alone most of this vacation; I'll just meet up
with them on the trail.

She pushed off and headed into the woods along a narrow
sloping trail. She found herself on a gentle incline that let her glide along
without using her poles. Beth looked up into the trees above her. There were
tall pines, mostly, with a scattering of white paper birches. The deep blue sky
was visible through the branches overhead. Its brilliance was startling behind
the greenish-black of the pine needles.

She heard a chattering off to one side and saw two squirrels
chasing each other through the branches. This is so beautiful, she thought. I
really
wish Jana and Melanie and Katie could see this. And Christie, too. I'll bet
there's nothing like this in England.

Beth came to an opening in the trees that overlooked a slope
and stopped above it. Turning, she looked back up the empty trail to see if
Brittany, Julie, and Sarah were coming. She couldn't see or hear them. Suddenly
a suspicion entered her mind. Bad Brittany sent her off in another direction so
she wouldn't be following her and her friends?

"I don't know why I'm so surprised," Beth said in
disgust.

Well, I can either stand here and be angry, or ski by myself
and have a good time, Beth thought.

"Who cares about Brittany! Here goes," she said,
sliding over the ledge she was standing on.

Beth carved a trail across the wide slope, turned and headed
to the other side, making her way down the slope gradually. She felt good, and
she was proud of the way she was handling her skis. If The Fabulous Five could
only see me now! she thought jubilantly.

After several minutes of easy skiing, Beth could tell the
slope was getting steeper. She had to fight hard to keep control, and she kept
glancing ahead to see where it would get easier.

She skied down one slope, found a place to stop to catch her
breath, and then took the next. She did this several times before she came to
an abrupt halt on a ledge that dropped down sharply. A shiver went through Beth
as she looked down a slope only an expert could take.

Oh, no, she thought. This looks like The Jaws of Death. But
it couldn't be. How could she have missed the sign warning that it was an
expert slope? Why had Brittany let her go this way?

A feeling of panic gripped Beth as she looked down the slope
again. What was she going to do?

She looked back at the mountain. It loomed above her. There
was no way she could climb all the way back up to the lift house, and there was
no one else around.

"There's only one thing I can do," she whispered.
"I have to ski down. But how can I without killing myself?"

Then she remembered seeing Marcel standing on a slope
watching the class taking turns coming down. Every once in a while he would
slide sideways several feet down the hill to get a better position. The move
had fascinated her, and she had watched carefully to see how he was doing it. His
skis were pointed across the slope and his knees were bent slightly. When he
wanted to stop sliding, he dug the edges of his skis into the side of the hill.
With that, and the old faithful snowplow, maybe she had a chance.

Taking a deep breath, Beth let herself slide sideways over
the ridge. She slid almost twenty feet and was on the verge of panic before she
was able to dig the edges of her skis into the hill and stop. All of a sudden
she realized she was soaking with perspiration.

"So much for being cold," Beth said out loud.

Then she slipped another ten feet and stopped. Then fifteen
more feet.

It was going to take her hours to get to the bottom! Beth
was frightened, but there was nothing else she could do. She forced herself not
to think of the danger. Instead she told herself the mountain was made of lots
of little slopes and she could take them one at a time.

Beth side-slipped several more times, stopping to catch her
breath and rest her legs. They were starting to quiver from the exertion.

Finally she came to an area that wasn't quite so steep. She
looked above her, hoping to see skiers who could help her coming down the
mountain. But no one was there. She had never felt so scared and desperate in
her life.

It's all Brittany's fault, Beth thought angrily. She hasn't
given me a break since we arrived at Stony Lookout. And this is the absolutely
meanest thing that she has ever done. How could she send her own sister to The
Jaws of Death?

Beth pushed Brittany out of her thoughts and took a deep
breath. Then she snowplowed down the slope and came to another sharp drop-off.
She rested for a moment, but knew she had better keep moving. The sun was
starting to get low, and it wouldn't be long before it disappeared behind the
mountain. She would have to be at the bottom by then. She certainly couldn't
ski this slope in the dark, and she'd freeze if she had to stay on the mountain
all night.

She pushed herself gently over the edge and side-slipped
downward. When she reached a resting place, her legs were aching badly, and
steam from her jacket was rising in the cold air.

She allowed herself less than a minute to rest and then
moved toward the next incline. Suddenly she stopped.
Had she heard
something? Someone?
It had sounded like a voice.

No, now there was nothing. Maybe it had been the wind in the
trees or more squirrels. Maybe she wanted so badly to see someone who might
help that she had fooled herself.

But just as she was about to side-slip over the next ledge,
she heard it again. Someone was calling.

"Hello!" she yelled back.

"Help," came a faint answer. "Over
here."

The voice seemed to be coming from a wooded area to her
right.

"Keep calling!" Beth yelled. "So I can find
you!"

"Over here," came the voice again.

And that's when she spotted him sitting in the snow, leaning
against a tree. It was Todd, and he looked hurt.

"Todd!" Beth struggled to turn her skis in his
direction. "Are you okay?"

As she hurried toward her brother, she realized he
definitely was not okay. One of his skis was lying broken nearby, and he was
gripping his ankle. His face was twisted in pain.

Todd managed a small smile. "Boy, am I glad to see
you."

"What happened?" Beth asked as she released her
ski bindings and knelt beside her brother.

"The other guys got way ahead of me, and I was trying
to catch up. I crashed and hurt my ankle. I think it's broken."

"Let's get your ski off," Beth said.

Todd squeezed his eyes shut and moaned softly as she gently
removed his remaining ski and stretched his hurt leg.

"Easy, easy," Beth said soothingly. "What
made you think you could ski The Jaws of Death? You could have killed yourself."

Todd rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it." then a
confused look came over his face. "What're you doing here, Beth?"

"I took a wrong turn," she answered. "I'll
tell you about it later. Now we'd better concentrate on getting you warm."

Beth unzipped her jacket and spread it out on the snow next
to him. "Can you move over onto my jacket?" she asked. "I don't
want you to catch cold."

"What about you?" Todd asked, scooting onto the
jacket and carefully dragging his hurt ankle along.

"I'm wearing long underwear, two shirts, and a
sweater," Beth answered. "Besides, I can move around to stay warm.
You have to stay put."

"Thanks, Beth," he said softly.

She picked up her skis and made her way back onto the slope.

"What are you doing?" called Todd.

"I'll be right back," replied Beth. She jammed one
ski in the snow in an upright position and then stuck the other in beside it.
Then she forced them to cross the way Marcel had done when Charles had fallen.

"Good idea," commented Todd when Beth had
returned. "There's only one problem, though. Not many people come down The
Jaws of Death. Most people aren't good enough to tackle it." He paused for
a moment. "Including me," he added in a small voice.

"You're a great skier, Todd," Beth said
reassuringly. "But maybe you're just not quite ready for this slope."

"Yeah," Todd said. "I sure am glad you came
along. I was getting scared."

Beth smiled, but didn't say anything. Todd seemed so
convinced that she could help him. But deep down she wasn't sure she could even
get down off the slope by herself.

She looked up at the mountain. Todd was right; hardly anyone
skied this trail. There was still no one in sight, and the air was totally
quiet. Except for the sound of her own breathing in the thin air, all she could
hear was the wind rustling lightly through the tall pine trees. Would anyone
ever find them way up here?

Beth glanced back at her brother. For the first time in
hours she could feel her anger at Brittany subside a little. While Brittany had
done an incredibly mean thing, it was lucky that Beth
had
gotten on The
Jaws of Death. Otherwise Todd would have been up here hurt and totally alone.
Deep down Beth knew that Brittany loved her and wouldn't hurt her for anything
in the world. She couldn't possibly have realized that Beth was going to take
The Jaws of Death. It was my fault, too, thought Beth. I was angry and
distracted, and I didn't pay any attention to where I was going.

"What will we do if no one finds us?" Todd asked,
interrupting her thoughts.

Beth didn't speak for a moment. She had been wondering the
same thing.

"Someone will find us," she said, trying to sound
confident.

She looked up and saw that the sun was starting to touch the
tip of the mountain. It would start getting dark soon. What
should
she
do? Should she leave Todd here and go for help?

But what if she couldn't make it to the bottom by dark? Or
what if she got lost? What if she fell and couldn't get help for either of
them? The questions rushed in on her.

"Hey, Beth," Todd called. "You know what I'd
like right now?"

"A blanket?" she asked.

Her brother laughed. "Yeah, that would be great. But I
was thinking about some of that fried chicken the lodge makes. And mashed
potatoes and gravy and hot rolls. Yum."

"Mmm," Beth agreed. "You're making my mouth
water!"

"And sweet corn, and hot chocolate," he continued,
grinning.

Beth covered her ears with her hands. "Stop. I'm not
going to listen to you."

"And it would be nice if I could have an aspirin,"
Todd added, his face sobering.

"I wish I had some to give to you," replied Beth,
her heart aching for her little brother. She stared at him thoughtfully.

"Maybe I could at least get us out of the wind."
Especially if we have to spend the night on the mountain, she thought. Of
course their parents would report them missing when they didn't show up later.
And the ski patrol would search for them. But the mountain was huge, and the
ski trails wound in and out of deep woods. It might be morning before anyone
came near to the area they were in.

She started searching around. "There. That's a good
place!" she said, pointing to a small cleared area that was protected by a
cluster of trees.

At the clearing Beth dropped down on her hands and knees and
began scooping out the snow in the center.

"What are you doing?" Todd called.

"You'll see," Beth called back.

When she had dug a hole in the snow big enough for her and
Todd to lie in, she sat down in it. The ground was frozen hard.

She looked around. There were lots of leaves caught in the
brush nearby. She began gathering bunches in her arms and tossing them into the
hole.

Before long she had lined the bottom and sides of the burrow
with leaves. Todd and she could lie in it and pull the rest of the leaves over
themselves. It would be better than being out in the open. And they would be
able to hear any members of the ski patrol who came close and see their
searchlights.

Beth stood up and looked around. Was there anything else she
could do to protect them from the night wind? There was one more thing.

She started gathering broken limbs from the pine trees and
poking them into the ground all around the nest she had made. This would serve
as a fence to block the wind. Next she yanked small clumps of brush out of the
ground and packed them all around the makeshift fence. After that she threw the
snow she had scooped out of the hole onto the brush.

"What are you doing?" Todd asked.

"Making a windbreak," she panted as she got back
to her feet. "I read about it once in a novel about a pioneer family going
west in a wagon train. Their wagon broke down in a snowstorm in the mountains.
I always thought it sounded like a neat thing to do to keep warm in the snow,
but I never dreamed I'd get a chance to try it."

When she was satisfied with what she had done, she went back
to Todd. "Now," she said, "we've got to move you. I'm going to
drag you on my coat. Push with your good foot, but be careful of the one that's
hurt."

"Okay," Todd said.

Beth grabbed the shoulders of the ski jacket Todd was lying
on. "Ready?"

"Ready," he answered.

Beth tugged with all her might, and Todd pushed as best he
could with his one foot. Gradually, working together, they eased him along the
path and into the burrow.

Once Todd was settled on the leaves, Beth took her jacket
and put it back on. "It's really getting cold," she said, shivering.

Todd silently agreed. A few minutes later he told her,
"I don't think anyone is going to find us tonight."

"Sure someone will," Beth responded firmly.
"It's only a matter of time."

But inside she was not at all sure. She hoped that Brittany and
her friends would realize what had happened and send someone to look for her
right away. Still Beth couldn't help remembering that it would be pitch black
in half an hour. And by then they would be nearly impossible to locate.