Ski Trip Trouble (8 page)

You walk into the café with Alex and take off your hat as you go over to the counter. “Wow, you've got nice hair,” Alex says, looking at you.

“Really?” you say, running your fingers through it. “I probably have hat-head right now—and static.”

“Well, compared to me,” he jokes, running his hand over his spiky black hair, “I think you look great,” he says, then turns to the guy behind the counter. “We'll have two hot chocolates with extra whipped cream.”

You sit at a table by the window so that you can look out onto the slopes and watch the skiers come down. Alex brings over the hot chocolates and hands you one.

“This is the best way to warm up—especially
after being hit hard with snow bullets! You've got quite an arm; do you play softball or something?” he flirts.

“Stop it.” You smile. “I didn't hit you that hard…did I?”

“I think I'll live,” he says, rubbing his shoulder. You love the way his dimples show up when he laughs.

You look down into your hot chocolate for a second, wondering if you should just clear the air and ask him about Sierra—how he knows her, and why she seems to dislike him so much. But you're having so much fun just sitting here, getting to know him, that you almost don't want to ruin it.

Suddenly you realize that there's an awkward silence between you—should you ask him about Sierra or just ignore it and make small talk?

You decide to ask him about what Sierra said.

You'd rather just ignore it.

“Sorry, I'm going to ski with my friends,” you tell Alex.

“Ouch,” one of his friends says, laughing, but Alex just shoots you a grin.

“Maybe I'll see you later?” he says as you walk away. You give him a little wave as you turn to catch up with Molly and Sierra.

“Good thing you didn't go with him,” Sierra whispers to you. “He's a real jerk.”

“Really?” you ask her. “He seems so sweet.” “Who seems sweet?” Molly asks, tuning in to the conversation.

“No one,” Sierra says fast. “Hey, let's go get in line!”

That night, after you've been skiing for hours, Sierra and Molly eat dinner with you, then join a bunch of other students from Marshall at the lodge fire. As soon as you settle into a comfy couch and enjoy the warmth of the fire, Sierra says, “You know what we need? Popcorn!”

“I'll Go to the kitchen and see if I can find some,” you volunteer. You head down the long hallway, back to the kitchen, but it looks like no one is around. It's kind of scary in there after dark, and most of the lights are out. “Hello?” you say, hearing your voice echo in the empty dining hall.

“Hey,” someone says, and you practically jump. “Oh, Alex! You scared me!” you say. He looks different out of his ski clothes—tall and thin in baggy jeans and a T-shirt.

“I was just looking for a snack,” he says, grinning. “What are you up to?”

“Popcorn. We're sitting by the lodge fire, and Sierra…” You stop yourself, suddenly remembering what Sierra said about him.

“Yeah, so you and Sierra are friends, huh?” he asks, looking down for a second.

“She say anything about me?” “Uh…” You don't know how to answer him, so finally you just tell the truth. “Yeah, she did.”

Alex nods and looks glum. “It was a bad breakup, what can I say? I tried to be as nice as I could,” he explains. “But I guess it's never easy. So I look like the bad guy, you know?”

“Wait, you and Sierra used to go out?” you ask him. That would explain everything!

“Yeah, she didn't tell you? We dated for two years, then when we started high school, I don't know, things changed,” he goes on. “I think she still hates me, but you know what? I'm not a bad guy. Things just didn't work out.”

You just nod. So
that's
why Sierra didn't want you to hang out with him.

“The truth is, since we broke up, I haven't even looked at another girl. Until today…,” he says, glancing up at you.

You don't know what to say, so you just smile, and he smiles back, a dimple showing in one cheek in the cutest way.

“So if I help you find the popcorn, will you promise to be on my team tomorrow for the rematch snowball fight?” Alex says.

“And help you guys win? I don't think so,” you joke.

“Well, then, will you at least sit with me at the lodge fire tonight?” he asks, and you can tell he's being totally sincere.

You know that Sierra won't like it, but it sounds like it's time for her to get over her ex and move on. “Sure,” you tell him, blushing.

“Then I guess we better find that popcorn,” he says, opening a big cabinet. Who would have ever guessed that one silly snowball fight could lead to a date with a super-cute guy?

END

You sit by the window, alone, and drink your hot chocolate, but it doesn't do a lot to warm you up. When you're done, you go upstairs to change, but once you get the wet, frozen jeans off, you're so tired, you just collapse into bed.

When you wake up, it's dark outside, and Sierra and Molly are just getting back from the slopes. “Are you okay?” Sierra asks, slipping out of her snowsuit.

“Ugh,” you moan. Your throat feels all scratchy and your nose is running like crazy. “I think I'm sick.”

“Oh no, I guess that means no karaoke for you,” Molly says, pulling out a hot outfit for the night.

“And probably no skiing tomorrow, either,” Sierra adds with a pout.

“We'll bring you back some soup,” Molly says as both girls go into the bathroom to do their makeup.

You get out of bed to grab a tissue and see your wet jeans and Sierra's silver jacket lying on the floor. “Ugh,” you say again, walking over to the
mirror on wobbly legs. When you look at yourself, though, you feel even worse. You may have looked hot on the slopes in that silver jacket, but right now you're paying the price!

END

Want to change that ski outfit? Go back to Chapter 19.

You look around and finally see a really adorable guy with spiky dark hair whom you recognize from the chairlift. Sierra and Molly introduced you to him, but he was in a group of guys, so you don't really know him. You walk over to his table. “Hi,” you say softly, and he looks up.

“Hey, you're Sierra's friend, right?” he says. “I'm Alex. You wanna sit?” He motions to the empty chair.

“Thanks,” you say, wrapping your hands around your hot chocolate mug. “It sounds silly, but I didn't realize it was going to be this cold here—I'm freezing!”

“Really? You looked great out there—that jacket is awesome.”

“Oh this?” You look down at Sierra's silver coat. “Actually, it's not mine. And I'm totally freezing because I wanted to wear it.”

“Well, it does look good on you,” Alex says, and gives you a dimpled grin.

“I just came in to warm up, then I'm going back out to ski with my friends,” you tell him.

“I have a better idea,” he says. “Why don't you change into something warmer and we'll go sledding—it's about to get dark out, and the night sledding is amazing!”

Your only option for warmer clothes is renting one of the hideous snowsuits from the lodge— they're big, bulky, and totally unflattering. But you're so cold, there's no way you can go sledding—especially at night—in what you're wearing. Do you dare to hang out with this cutie in a big goofy snowsuit? Or should you tell him you're not in the mood to go sledding?

If you decide to join Alex for night sledding, go to Chapter 46.

If you're too embarrassed to wear a snowsuit in front of him, go to Chapter 47.

There's no way you can go ski with Mitch now— checking in on Zac and making sure he's okay is the right thing to do. You make your way down to the infirmary and start looking for him. When you find him, his face totally lights up.

“What are you doing here? You didn't have to come,” he says, but you can tell he's psyched that you did.

“So what's the diagnosis?” you say, looking down at his swollen ankle.

“Just sprained. They're going to wrap it up. And I'll have crutches,” he explains.

The nurse comes by. “It's going to be a couple of hours before the doctor can get here to look at your ankle,” she says. “Do you want me to get you a book or a magazine? We have some games over here….” She points to a pile of old board games. You hear Zac let out a sigh.

“Hey, let's play Scrabble!” you say, and quickly set up the board on his bed, pulling a chair over for yourself. Before you know it, an hour has passed and Zac has beaten you—badly—at the game.

“The least you could do is let me win,” you tease him. “I mean, I am taking time out from the slopes to hang with you!”

Out the window, you can see that the sun is going down behind the snowy mountain. No more skiing for you today, but you don't mind—you're having a great time hanging out with Zac—he's so smart, and super funny, time just flies by when you're with him.

The doctor finally shows up and sets Zac's ankle. “Obviously, no skiing tomorrow,” he adds when he's done wrapping it in a bandage.

“That's okay,” you tell Zac. “I hear they have a whole computer room in the lodge stocked with video games.” But he doesn't look too happy.

“I was looking forward to hanging out with you,” he admits. “Now I'm going to be stuck in the lodge all day while you're on the slopes.”

You love that Zac isn't scared to tell you how he feels about you. For a guy who's a year younger, he's very mature! “Look,” you tell him, “Why don't I ski for half the day, and spend the other half with you?”

His face lights up. “You'd do that for me? But wait—do I have to let you win?” he asks, smiling.

“No way, I want a fair rematch,” you tell him.

“But if I do win, it might encourage me to spend less time on the slopes and more time with you. You take his hand in yours and look up at him.

“You've got yourself a deal,” he says, grinning. And suddenly, you feel those sparks you thought were missing. Who needs skiing, anyway, when you can hang out with your new boyfriend all day?

END

“I think I need someone to get out and push the van,” Bryce says, turning to Aiden and Jon. “That will help get it started.”

The guys get out and go around to the back of the van as you scoot over by Heather. “This is crazy,” you whisper to her.

“And fun!” she says back.

The van starts moving, and Bryce leans down under the steering wheel, messing with the wires again. “Uh, babe,” Amanda says, reaching over for the wheel. “Look out—guys, stop pushing!” she yells as Bryce pops his head up and grabs the wheel.

Too late! The van tips down into a ditch at the edge of the parking lot with a loud
THUMP
, and you and Heather are almost thrown out of your seats.

“Uh-oh,” you hear Bryce say, just as an ear piercing beeping starts up—the van's alarm is going off!

“Let's get out of here!” Heather yells, trying to
open the sliding door on the side of the van. When you get outside, you can see that Jon and Aiden are already halfway across the parking lot, running. You grab Heather's hand and start off after them. But before you can get even a few steps, you see some figures coming toward you in the dark—it's the lodge director, and he's got Mrs. Bulow with him!

“What on earth?” Mrs. Bulow starts to say.

The director just looks at the van and shakes his head. “It's not the first time for these guys,” he says, looking over at Bryce and Amanda. “You two, in my office, now,” he orders.

“Girls, I can't believe you would help someone steal a car!” Mrs. Bulow says.