by Cylin Busby
You nod and glance over at the popular kids, all sitting together in a group. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” you tell him.
“Anyway,” he says, looking at your MP3 player, “what are you listening to?”
You two start talking about—and listening to— music, and before you know it, a half hour has gone by. You’re listening to his MP3 player, and he’s checking out yours, when the guy sitting across the aisle from you leans over and taps your shoulder.
“Hey, would you mind switching seats with me?” he asks. “Zac is my tutor at school and I need to ask him some homework questions.”
You glance over at Zac, but he’s got headphones on and hasn’t noticed anything. You look back at the guy and see that he’s sitting with Molly, the new girl at school. You’ve noticed her in your art class, and she seems really cool. This could be your chance to meet her. But you also really like sitting with Zac and getting to know him.
You tell the guy:
“Sure, I’ll switch seats with you.”
“Sorry, Zac’s busy right now. You’ll have to ask him later.”
Chapter 6
“That’s okay, Mr. Abbott,” you say. “I’ll just wait with everyone else.” As the bus roars by, a few kids make faces through the windows. So what if they’ll get up the mountain before you? At least you get to hang with a group of cool seniors!
Before too long, the repair crew shows up with a tow truck. “Sorry, mister,” the driver says to Mr. Abbott. “This van isn’t going anywhere. We can have a rental vehicle sent out, but we’ll have to tow this one back to the garage.”
“Okay,” Mr. Abbott says. “I guess we don’t really have much choice. Everyone please get your bags out of the back.”
Cathy opens the back of the van and starts piling up the bags on the side of the road, but as she puts one big duffel bag down, you hear a loud clink and the sound of glass breaking. “Oops,” Cathy says, cringing, as a dark syrupy liquid starts leaking through the bag. “What’s that?”
In a few seconds, there’s a puddle of something under the bag, and it smells sweet—and strange, like…
“Is that what I think it is?” Mr. Abbott says, taking a sniff. He unzips the bag to reveal a four-pack of wine coolers, two of the bottles broken. “Whose bag is this?” he asks, and no one says anything. “Yours?” He turns to Glenn.
Glenn just looks down.
“Glenn, show me which bag is yours,” Mr. Abbott says, and he sounds angry.
“Hmm,” Glenn says, looking over the bags. “I really can’t remember right now.”
Mr. Abbott glares at him. “Cathy, which one is yours?” he asks.
“Gosh, Mr. Abbott,” she says, “I can’t tell; they all look alike.” She gives James a nudge. You know what they’re doing—no one is going to take the blame.
Mr. Abbott points to you. “Which bag is yours? And stop playing games!”
You look down at the bags, then up at James, who gives you a sly smile. If you play along, then maybe no one will get in trouble. But you shouldn’t get in trouble, anyway—you didn’t do anything wrong! Do you want to cover for James and his friends, or tell the truth and point out your bag?
You lie and say you can’t remember which bag is yours.
You show Mr. Abbott your bag.
Chapter 7
“I want to get on the bus,” you tell Mr. Abbott, and he quickly puts his hand out to wave down the driver.
“Aw, man, are you for real?” James says, obviously disappointed in you. “I thought you were cool.”
You’re about to say something to him when the bus pulls over and the driver opens the door, so you just turn and say a quick “’bye” as you climb aboard.
“Yeah, whatever,” James says, looking away. When you get on the bus, the first thing you notice is that Mrs. Bulow isn’t sitting with Heather anymore—instead, Dan is!
“Hey,” you say to them. “What happened?” Heather looks really surprised to see you. “Your ride didn’t work out?” “Something like that,” you say, rolling your eyes. “It’s a long story!”
“Well, I would have saved your seat, but…” She glances over at Dan, then back to you.
“Don’t worry about it,” you say, shooting her a grin as you move past them to the back of the bus. You see Mrs. Bulow sitting back there.
“We have one open seat back here, actually,” Mrs. Bulow says. “One student felt a little sick before we left the parking lot,” she whispers, “so he stayed behind.” You can see the only open seat is next to a cute guy you don’t really know. He’s supposed to be super smart and skipped a grade last year.
“Um, okay if I sit here?” you ask him.
Go to Chapter 5.
Chapter 8
You look up at Mr. Abbott and play along. “I can’t really tell which one is mine,” you say, and glance over at James. He grins back at you just as Mr. Abbott turns to him.
“Oh, you think this is funny?” Mr. Abbott questions. James just looks down and pulls his hat lower on his head. “I saw that smirk! This isn’t a joke,” Mr. Abbott says, looking at each of you in turn. “Underage drinking is serious. You know that you are not allowed to have alcohol on this trip!” he yells.
Mr. Abbott kicks the brown duffel bag with the bottles in it. “I want to know whose bag this is RIGHT NOW,” he orders.
You look down at your snow boots, feeling terrible. You’ve never gotten in trouble for something this serious before.
“Okay, nobody wants to talk?” Mr. Abbott says after a few minutes of silence. “Great. Then nobody here will go on the trip. When the rental van comes, I’ll drive you back to school and you can call your parents. I’m sure they’ll be very proud of you.”
You look over at James. Why doesn’t he just say the bag was his? It’s not fair for all of you to be kicked off the trip because of him! “Here comes the van now,” Mr. Abbott says, pointing down the road. “Last chance…”
Cathy and Glenn just look down, and you glance around at the group of seniors. How could you have thought these people were cool, just because they’re older? You’re suddenly wishing that you’d just stayed on the bus!
“Okay, that’s it,” Mr. Abbott says, shaking his head. “Everyone in the van. We’ll sort this out when we get back to the school.”
Looks like your ski trip has ended—before it even had a chance to start!
END
If you want to rethink your decision, go back to Chapter 6.
Chapter 9
“My bag is…,” you force out, “the purple one.” You look over at James and can tell that he’s not happy with you.
“Okay, so I know you’re still going on the trip,” Mr. Abbott says. “Does anyone else want to tell me which bag is theirs?”
“That one’s mine,” Cathy speaks up, pointing to a black duffel. She looks over at James for a second, then looks down.
“That’s two. Anyone else?” Mr. Abbott looks around the group. “Here comes the rental van now—last chance…” He looks right at James.
One of the other senior guys, Max, points to a green backpack. “That’s mine,” he says quietly.
“Fine, then, we’ll all head back to the school and drop off anyone who ‘can’t remember’ which bag is theirs, then you three will travel up to the mountain with me,” Mr. Abbott explains. “I’ll let the principal sort this out,” he says, picking up the drippy brown duffel bag.
After Mr. Abbott drives Glenn and James back to school, you’re on your way again, back on the freeway, only this time the trip feels very different. There’s no music; the van is silent. Cathy just looks out the window, and so you put on your MP3 player. You feel terrible about what happened, even though it’s not your fault. How could you have been so wrong about James? He turned out to be a real loser.
You fall asleep, and the next thing you know, you’re at Mount Frost! Suddenly, the whole world is covered in snow, even the tall pine trees surrounding the resort. When Mr. Abbott pulls up behind th
e three-story lodge, you can see that most of the kids from school are already hanging out on the huge wraparound deck, putting on their ski gear or just having a hot chocolate. You’re bummed that you’ve already missed the first few hours of the ski trip—and you hope that you can still room with Heather.
You climb out of the van and feel your boots crunch on the fresh snow. You take in a deep breath of the cold mountain air just as you hear someone say, “Hey, Mr. Abbott!”
“Hi, Zac, how was the bus ride up?” Mr. Abbott asks a young-looking guy with light brown hair.
“Loud!” the guy laughs, and glances over at you. “We were wondering where you guys were—what happened?”
“It’s a long story,” Mr. Abbott starts. “Why don’t we get these folks inside,” he says, turning to open the back of the van.
Zac grabs your bag right away. “I’ve got it,” he says. “Let me help you. I’m already unpacked.”
You smile at him—what a sweet guy! When he smiles back, you notice he’s got a mouthful of braces, which makes him look even younger. How old is he? You don’t really know him at all, but you’ve heard he’s super smart and that he skipped a grade last year.
You follow Zac and Mr. Abbott into the lodge and up to the main desk. “I think everyone who came in on the bus already has a room,” Zac tells you, handing your bag to you. “Except my friend Molly was still looking for a roommate if you want to board with her,” he explains, pointing over to a blond girl you recognize from school.
“She’s new, right?” you ask, and Zac nods. “She’s really cool; she just doesn’t know anyone yet. Or you can look around for your friends, but like I said, I think everyone else on the bus was assigned rooms.”
It sounds like Heather probably already picked a room with someone else, so you could room with the new girl. It might actually be fun to change it up—besides, Heather’s going to be so obsessed with Dan on this trip, you’re not sure you even want to room with her. But maybe you should look around for Heather and ask her, just to be sure…she is your best friend, after all.
You’ll take a chance and room with the new girl, Molly.
You’d rather room with Heather.
Chapter 10
“It must be down here,” Molly says, leading the way to your room. “My friend, Sierra, the one that I told you about, is already checked in. I heard their bus got here early.”
You round the corner and run into a really tall girl with short dark hair. “Sierra!” Molly screams, and hugs her hard. “Hey, this is Sierra!” she says, and introduces you.
“Come on, our room is down this way—and it’s great!” Sierra says.
As you follow her down the hall, you decide to ask her about your old crush. “So, you go to Marshall…. Do you know this guy named Mitch? He would have been new at your school this year.”
Sierra turns to look at you. “No, I don’t think so,” she says. “Here’s our room.” She stops outside a door and reaches into her pocket. “Now where did I put that…” She reaches into her other pocket. “Oh no, I think I left the key inside!”
“That’s okay, we can just go down to the desk and get another one,” Molly says. “I’ll go, you guys stay here and get to know each other—be right back!” She dashes off for the stairs.
“I’m sorry, I’m always doing stuff like that,” Sierra says, looking embarrassed.
“No big deal,” you say, and drop your duffel bag on the floor. You sit with your back to the wall, and Sierra plops down next to you.
Two guys walk by in the hallway, and one of them almost trips over your feet. You look up and suddenly see Mitch!
“How weird, I was just talking about you, Mitch!” You jump up and give him a hug. He looks exactly the same—with his shaggy brown hair and ocean-blue eyes.
“Hey, you,” Mitch says, hugging you back. “And hi, Sierra. You two know each other?” he asks.
“We just met,” Sierra says. So she does know Mitch after all. Why didn’t she say so in the first place?
“This your room?” Mitch asks, looking at the door number.
“Yeah, we’re just sort of…,” you start to say. “Locked out,” Sierra finishes for you. “Totally my fault.”
Mitch laughs and shakes his head. “Already? The weekend has just begun, ladies!”
“Hey, dude,” a tall guy comes up behind Mitch and says, “you ready to roll?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” Mitch turns to go. “If you can’t get into your room, come swing by ours. I’m in three-twelve.” He grins at you.
“Um, okay,” you say, blushing. “Maybe later.” After Mitch walks away with his friends, you look over to Sierra. “I guess I do know him,” she explains. “But at our school, he goes by Tom.” She looks confused.
“Oh right—his name is Tom Mitchell, but everyone at our school just called him Mitch. It’s his nickname or whatever.” You smile. “How funny!”
“Well, you might not like to hear this,” Sierra says, whispering, “but he’s dating a friend of mine—and they’re super serious. Did you guys used to go out or something?”
You feel your heart practically stop beating. “What?” you say. “Are you sure?” Just then you see Molly heading down the hall toward you, waving the key over her head.
“As far as I know, they’re still going out,” Sierra says, standing up. “Are you bummed?” she asks you, but you can’t even answer her. You’re crushed—Mitch has a girlfriend? Then why did he give you a hug and ask you to come by his room? Maybe Sierra is wrong. You should probably go and talk to him for yourself and find out what’s up.
“Here we go,” Molly says, opening the door. You walk into the room behind Sierra and Molly and drop your bag on the floor. “Should we hit the slopes right away?” she asks, looking at you and Sierra.
You let out a sigh—you’re feeling so down. What should you do first? Go and see Mitch and find out what’s really up with him, or just wait to run into him later?
You decide to stop by Mitch’s room.
You’ll just wait and maybe see him later.
Chapter 11
“So this is it,” Heather says, opening the door to the room. It’s small and dark, and you see only two beds.
“Wait, I thought you said that Carrie was going to stay with us, too,” you say to her.
“She is,” Heather says. “There’s a third bed here; it’s called a Murphy bed.” She walks over to the wall and shows you a place where there’s a metal handle attached to what looks like a big closet door. “See, you just have to pull this….” She grunts as she pulls down hard on the handle, but nothing happens. “Well, it’s supposed to work.”
“Hey, girlies!” you hear Carrie say as she comes in the room and drops her duffel bag on the floor. “I love it.” She throws herself across one bed and stretches out. “Wait…” She sits up and looks around. “Where’s the third bed?”
“We’re trying to figure it out,” you tell her, pointing to the handle on the wall.
“Oh cool,” Carrie says, “a Murphy bed! I love it. Let’s put it down.”
You and Heather step back and let Carrie try. “Ugh!” she groans. “This thing won’t budge. It’s supposed to swing open and be a bed,” she explains.
“We already know that.” Heather sounds exasperated. “It just won’t move! Here, let me help,” she says, putting her hands next to Carrie’s. You grab Heather around the waist and pull back, giving her some extra leverage.
“Okay, on the count of three,” you say, and you all pull—until Heather’s hand slips, and she falls backward, right on top of you!
“Ouch!” you squeal, but you’re not hurt. Carrie plops down on the ground, too.
“There must be a button or a lock or something,” Heather says.
“I don’t see anything,” you say. “Should I go and get Mrs. Bulow to help us?”
“I have a better idea.” Heather grins. “Why not Mitch? He’s big and strong!”
“Heather!” you say, but y
ou have to laugh. It’s definitely not the worst idea…but what if you go to ask him for help and find that you can’t talk again—you’d just make a fool out of yourself for the second time today! At the same time, it is a good excuse to connect with him, and show him your room….
You want to ask Mitch for help.
You’d rather ask Mrs. Bulow for help.
Chapter 12
You move back up front and sit with Heather, and after a few minutes, you wish you’d stayed with Zac. All Heather wants to talk about is Dan!
After about half an hour of the Dan marathon, you really can’t take it anymore. “Can we talk about something other than Dan?” you ask her, finally.
“Fine,” Heather says, acting huffy. “Let’s talk about your little nerd boy, what’s his name?”
“Who, Zac?” you ask. “Yeah, how old is he? And those braces!” she says, laughing.
“He’s only one year younger than us,” you point out. “And he’s actually a really nice guy.”
“Right,” Heather says, and shoots you a funny look. “You are joking?”
“No, I’m serious,” you start to explain, just as the bus turns a corner and drives into the ski resort. Everyone cheers as you enter the winter wonder-land. Snow is everywhere—on the ground, on the trees, even on the roof of the lodge. You can see tons of kids already out on the slopes.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Heather says quickly, “I told Carrie that she could room with us.”
“Heather!” you say, shooting her a look. “You know I don’t get along with her.”
“If I can put up with you hanging out with nerdy what’s-his-name back there, you can put up with my friend,” Heather reasons.
You’re so annoyed, but what can you do? Then you remember that Zac had mentioned that his friend Molly—who is new at the school—didn’t have anyone to room with. When he told you, you assumed that you’d be rooming with Heather, but now you’re not so sure you want to. Should you take a chance on the new girl, or just stay with Heather and Carrie?
