Chapter 4
I had a good run, but it wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped it would be. I wasn’t even thinking about snowboarding. Instead, I was too busy feeling sad about Sofie.
I had no idea why she was so mad at me. I hadn’t seen her since July. I couldn’t have done anything wrong.
When I reached the bottom, I turned to look for my friends. They weren’t in line for the lift.
After a few minutes watching people reach the bottom of the run, I still didn’t spot my two friends. I kept looking for a while, but I didn’t see them anywhere.
The big clock over the lift line said 12:30. I was supposed to meet my parents in half an hour.
I guess I have time for one more run, I thought.
I got back in the lift line. Soon I was soaring over the trees on my way back to the peak.
About halfway up the mountain, I spotted Ana and Sofie below me. They were on Hairpins and Needles, one of my favorite trails.
They took a different trail, I thought. Probably so they could talk about me.
When I reached the top, I realized I only had about ten minutes before I was supposed to meet my parents at the lodge. They hated it when I was late for things.
“Guess I better take Straight Shooter,” I said to myself. That trail was the quickest way down.
Soon I was flying down the slope. It’s pretty much a straight line from the top to the bottom.
Of course, you can’t just go straight down the whole way. Your speed would be way too high!
Instead, you have to cut back and forth the whole time. But you still go pretty fast.
I got to the bottom in good time. When I stopped, a spray of snow shot out in front of my board.
Even though my friends were being weird, I couldn’t help smiling and feeling good. I was back in Winterfall on my board!
I quickly took off my board and ran into the lodge. It was 12:55.
“And I even have five minutes to spare,” I said to myself. Then I spotted Ana and Sofie eating lunch.
I walked over to my friends. Right away, I turned to Sofie. It was time to get to the bottom of this.
“Hi, Sofie,” I said.
She didn’t reply. She just kept looking down.
“Look,” I went on, “obviously you’re mad at me about something.”
“No,” Ana said. “She’s not. Don’t worry, Tess.”
Just then, my parents walked over to us.
“Hi, sweetie,” my mom said. “Hi, girls.”
Ana said hello, but Sofie just sat there. Now she was just being plain rude. “Hello, Sofie?” I said.
Finally she turned and looked at me. “Just go back to River City, Tess,” she shouted. “Okay?” Then Sofie got to her feet and stormed off.