“Loser,” said Jeremy.
“Leave me alone,” I grumbled.
“Well, maybe Phil or his son will be around,” offered Dad with a shrug. “He told me at breakfast that they were leading a hike for anyone who stayed behind.”
Ugh. Not exactly what I had in mind.
“Come on, Dad. I wanna get going before the lines get too long,” said Jeremy, walking away.
“Okay, well, see you later …?” started Dad.
His face looked long and droopy.
Levy, don’t be a total ass.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll go.”
As it turned out, lots of people had heard about Sugar Peak. The parking lot was full of ski racks and bumper stickers. There were people in line for the lift that took them up to the top, and bright jackets were already zigzagging down in all different directions. They looked so graceful and sure of themselves.
Dad led the way to a little chalet that had a snack bar, wooden picnic tables, a huge Christmas tree and, of course, another crackling fire in the middle with couches around it. It smelled like pine needles and hot chocolate.
There was a big mess of people in the far corner, waiting to get rental equipment. We got in line. Everybody seemed to have on a sporty outfit with long dangling pom-poms and furry hoods. Lots of matching ski pants and striped leg warmers. I looked down at my navy jacket, which my mom and I had gotten on the clearance rack at the end of the season last year, and the red-and-blue-striped mittens that Phoebe and I had picked out together. My scarf was purple, my favorite color, and I had a green hat that looked like a turtle’s back and had earflaps. I was also wearing my favorite Levi’s with long johns underneath. Look out Kate Moss, there’s a new girl in town.
“Yeah, I heard it’s really icy right now. Superslick,” one of the guys in front of us was saying. He was shaped like a big rectangle with huge shoulders and a tiny head on top.
“Yeah, we were going down the Falcon Trail at, like, thirty-five miles an hour yesterday!” said the other. He was more of a pear shape, with huge legs. “That’s when Seth bit it hard,” he added. The two of them laughed a little. Then the third guy spoke up. He was definitely about half their size, and sounded a little worried about the whole thing.
“I feel kinda bad leaving him back there,” he said.
“Nah, it’s a hospital!” said Rectangle. “There are plenty of nurses and stuff to check up on him. Besides, you heard him. He’s gonna be in traction for at least a month. We can visit anytime.”
“Yay, Brad. You gotta feel this ice, man, it’s incredible!” said Pear.
“All right, all right. This one’s for Seth.”
“Yay, Seth!” they cheered and then high-fived each other.
That was enough for me. I turned to Dad. “That’s where I’ll be,” I said, pointing to one of the couches by the fire, and then I walked away.
I didn’t know mornings could last that long. I drank three and a half cups of cocoa, bit off all my fingernails, and went to the bathroom five times. But mostly, I met Margie. Margie had decided to stay in the chalet that morning, too, just to “let her butt take a break,” as she explained. She was from Albuquerque. She lived there with her husband, Stan, and their two ferrets, Elvis and Priscilla. Margie and Stan were retired but they kept very active in the community with their neighborhood watch group, their public transit committee, and their mah-jong league. Margie had a sweater with felt teddy bears that were gathered around a Christmas tree, and she insisted that I try pulling them off and moving them around. (They were attached with Velcro.) She showed me pictures of the ferrets dressed up for Halloween, and the tree house that Stan had built for the grandkids. She really was a sweet lady. But by 10:30 I was seriously considering breaking into sign language to see if she took the hint.
Finally, people started coming in for lunch, their faces flushed, their jackets dusted with snow, their eyes big and bright with excitement.
“Well, I guess I should go try to find my brother and stuff,” I said, standing up and stretching. Margie stood, too.
“You sure you don’t want to join us? I know Stan would love to meet you,” she said.
“Yeah, my family said we’d meet up, you know …” I lied.
“Of course. Well, see you after lunch then, huh?” She smiled and looked at me eagerly.
“Yeah, maybe …” I said, backing away into the crowd forming around the grill now.
“Hey, loser,” said Jeremy, poking me in the back with his cafeteria tray. “These slopes are amazing! You totally missed out.”
“Yo Jer — I’m gonna find us a table near the back, ’kay?” I heard someone say behind us. I turned around. There was a really tall guy, maybe 6'3", with a nest of crazy brown curls and hazel eyes. His shoulders kind of sloped forward, like he was afraid of hitting his head on the ceiling.
“Sure,” said Jeremy. “Meet you there.”
“Who is that?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
“Oh, that’s Aaron. We met on the slopes. He’s an awesome skier.”
“He’s really tall, isn’t he?” I asked.
“I guess so,” said Jeremy, uninterested.
“Is he over 6'2"? He must be, right?” I asked. But Jeremy was already paying for his cheeseburger and fries.
It was really crowded in the lodge by now. The floor was a big puddle, and it smelled like fried food and sweat. I followed Jeremy to the back where Aaron was sitting at a table that was already full of people who looked like they were our age — three girls and another guy. I spotted Kathy and Dad at a table with two other couples. Dad waved and I gave a small wave back. I hoped he wasn’t expecting me to sit with them.
“Jer. Over here,” said Aaron.
“Thanks,” said Jeremy, sitting down across from him. I squeezed in next to the three girls, who were obviously there together. Two of them had long, silky blond hair, and the third one had a short brown pixie cut. They all had matching sparkles on their eyelids, and they each had cups of yogurt or fruit on their cafeteria trays. Ugh. I really don’t like it when girls try to eat “light” all the time. I had ordered a chicken cutlet and fries.
“Hi, I’m Liz,” said the one closest to me.
“Sam,” I said.
“Heidi,” said another.
“Dina!” piped the third.
“We’re here on winter break together,” explained Liz.
“Cool.”
“And Drew’s our teacher!” said Dina with a wide smile. Heidi covered her mouth, but I could tell she was giggling.
“That’s me,” said the guy on the other side of Liz. He had smooth, tanned skin, and eyes that flashed a brilliant blue. There were orange ski goggles on his head and little spikes of dirty blond hair underneath them. He was wearing a gray thermal shirt, but I could tell just from the way it hugged his broad shoulders he was one of those guys who could be an underwear model. Or at least sell fancy watches.
“Yeah, Drew’s a really awesome teacher. We learned so much,” gushed Liz.
“And he’s been in the Olympics!” said Dina.
“Just the trials,” said Drew. But I could tell he was pretty pleased they’d brought it up. When he smiled his teeth were bright and perfectly straight. It was a little ridiculous. He looked like a Ken doll. I felt bad, watching the girls all swoon over him.
“That’s so amazing. What was that like?” asked Liz.
“Pretty nerve-wracking. I trained for a really long time.”
“Downhill?” asked Jeremy.
“Super G,” said Drew.
“Wow!” said Dina and Heidi at the same time.
Super G? What the hell was a Super G?
“Yeah, it was incredible,” said Drew. “Do you guys ski?” he asked Jeremy and Aaron.
“We hit Eagle’s Landing this morning,” said Jeremy.
“Yeah, it was awesome,” said Aaron. His mop of curls bounced when he talked.