Chapter 6
Sometimes, I’m happy when I’m right and my parents are wrong. This time, I wasn’t happy.
The next morning, I found Sofie and Ana at breakfast.
The café has a great buffet breakfast. Piles of fresh fruit, eggs any way you want them, and all kinds of yummy sausage and bacon and stuff. It’s a great breakfast before a long day on the slopes.
“Hi, Ana,” I said. I joined them in line for the buffet. “Hi, Sofie,” I added quickly.
“Good morning, Tess,” Ana replied. Sofie, of course, didn’t say anything.
“Sofie,” I went on, “I know why you’re mad at me.”
She spun and faced me. “Oh, do you?” she asked. “Why am I mad at you?”
“Because I moved to River City,” I said. “But I didn’t want to move. I would rather have stayed in Winterfall with you two forever.”
Sofie just glared at me. Then she dropped her tray and stomped off toward the bathroom.
“I guess my parents were wrong,” I said to Ana. “They said she was hurt because I moved away.”
“Nah,” Ana said. “We know you had to move because of your parents’ new jobs.”
“Then what is it, Ana?” I said. I felt desperate. “Why is Sofie so mad at me?”
Ana glanced at the bathroom door to make sure Sofie wasn’t coming back. She wasn’t, so Ana turned toward me. “You know how you win the Cup every year?” Ana asked.
I nodded. “Of course,” I replied.
“And Sofie always came in second every year?” Ana asked.
Again, I nodded. “Yes,” I said.
“Well,” Ana went on, “when you left, of course we knew we would miss you. But Sofie also realized she had a great chance of winning the Cup this year.”
Then I realized what was going on. “So, with me here this week,” I said, “Sofie thinks I’ll win again.”
Ana nodded. “She pretty much thinks you came back this week just so she couldn’t win,” Ana said.
“That’s crazy!” I said. “I would never do that!”
“I know you didn’t do it on purpose,” Ana said. “But Sofie isn’t so sure.”
That’s when Sofie walked over. “Are you talking about me?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Sofie, I didn’t come back to take the Cup from you.”
Sofie looked at me. Her eyes were soft, like she’d been crying. “You didn’t?” she asked.
“Of course not,” I said. “I thought it would be fun to be in the Cup with you two again, that’s all.”
“Well, it will be, I guess,” Sofie replied.
No one said anything. We were probably really holding up the line for the buffet.
“Listen,” I said finally, “I won’t even enter the Cup.”
“What?” Ana said.
“You won’t?” Sofie asked.
I shook my head and reached for the bacon. “Nope,” I replied. “I’m going to sit this one out and cheer for my friends Sofie and Ana.”
I moved down the line and filled my plate. The next thing I knew, Sofie threw her arms around my neck.
“Thank you, Tess!” Sofie said. “I really appreciate it.”
Well, we were friends again. We ate breakfast together and spent the rest of the day making run after run on our snowboards.
I watched my friends as they shot down the slopes. Sofie had really gotten better with her jumps and tricks. She even pulled off a perfect 360.
It was nice that no one was angry at anyone else. But by the end of the day, I felt sort of empty inside.
The truth is, I really wanted to enter the Cup.