by Roz Marshall
He pushed his shades up onto his forehead, his brown fringe sticking out at weird angles as he did so. The white butterfly mark of his sunglasses around his pale blue eyes made his nutmeg-brown skin look even more tanned. His suntan also made his teeth look whiter… and then she realised that she could see his teeth because he was smiling. "Congratulations, Debbie."
He was holding something out to her, and she took it in a daze. A badge. A UKASI Grade Three badge. She looked up at him. "I passed?"
"You passed." He held out his hand. "Well done!"
I passed! A bubbling excitement welled up inside, threatening to spill out of her eyes. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She threw her arms around the bemused trainer, and nearly knocked him off his feet, before her sense of decorum took hold and she let him go. "Sorry!"
He grinned. "It's okay." He shooed her off. "Now go and tell your friends, and enjoy what's left of the season!"
Down near the tow, she could see Callum hovering, and her heart did a wee flip. She grinned back at the trainer. "Right. I will. I absolutely will. Thanks again." And with that, she pushed off and found her way down to the tow and into Callum's arms.
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An extract from The Snow Patrol
A Secrets in the Snow short story
Debbie spluttered for breath and struggled into a sitting position. What on earth just happened? Ripping off her goggles, she shook the snow out of her hair, damp curls whipping against chilled cheeks.
Once she'd dug her skis out of the snow, her dilemma became clear. The rear part of one of the bindings had slipped out of place and it was now far too wide for her boot. She sighed. That's what I get for buying skis off eBay.
Squeezing the clips, she tried to force it back into place, but it wouldn't budge.
Just my luck. She grimaced. Why, oh why, had she decided on 'just one more run'? She should've gone off to the pub with the others, and not been so obsessed about practising for her instructor exam.
Mist was touching the hilltop now and everything was deathly quiet; the background hum and clink of the ski lift on the main run over the ridge had stopped, and this itinerant off-piste loop was devoid of other skiers.
A tendril of dread wound its way around her heart. Scotland's vast wildernesses could be beautiful in winter, but she knew that they could also be treacherous for the unwary.
Or the unlucky.
"Help!" she tried to call out, but her throat constricted and the blanket of snow swallowed the sound of her voice. Stumbling to her feet, she cupped gloved hands around her mouth and shouted again, "Heeeeeelllp!"
No answer. Shit.
No signal on her mobile phone. Shit, shit!
There's no way I can get down on one ski, it's too steep. Her stomach churned. I'll have to walk out. Hands trembling, she fashioned an impromptu walking stick by clipping her skis together, and set off.
Ski boots, however, were not designed for walking in deep snow and her progress was slow. After about fifty meters that felt like a mile, she stopped for a breather and her heart sunk. Visibility had worsened, and the top of the hill was now bathed in cloud, its miasma creeping inexorably down the slope. I'm so stupid. Why did I go off-piste on my own? Nobody knows I'm here.
Coire Tannasg might be just a short way from the main runs, but right now it felt as remote as Mount Everest — and just as deadly…
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A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed the story. If so, please take a moment to leave a review and tell a friend!
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Other books in the series
The Secrets in the Snow books, in chronological order:
Episode 1, "Winter Arrives"
Short Story 1, "Skiing with Santa"
Short Story 2, "A Dream for Hogmanay"
Episode 2, "Fear of Falling"
Short Story 3, "The Snow Patrol"
Episode 3, "My Snowy Valentine"
"Secrets in the Snow, Volume 1", the early season Collection, contains Episodes 1-3. It is available in both eBook and trade Paperback formats.
Episode 4, "The Racer Trials"
Episode 5, "Snow Blind"
Episode 6, "Weathering the Storm" completes the series.
About the Author
Roz lives in Scotland with her husband and the obligatory dog and cat. Her writing experience includes screenwriting, songwriting, web pages and even sentiments for greeting cards!
Here’s where you’ll find her:
rozmarshallauthor
rozmarshall.co.uk/books
Glossary
Bluebird day: A perfect skiing day with a clear blue sky, bright sun, and fresh snow
Button tow: A type of ski lift where skiers are pulled up the hill, straddling a plastic 'button' at the bottom of a short metal pole suspended from an ascending tow line
Canon: Camera equipment manufacturer
Child Protection: Services or procedures designed to protect young people from harm or abuse
Corrie: A bowl or hollow in the (Scottish) mountains
Donkey: Surf speak for idiot
Drag tow: See button tow
Egger: Collector of rare bird eggs, usually taken illegally from the nests
Gnarly: Rough going; bumpy snow. Also heavy, intense, difficult
IIRC: If I remember correctly
IRL: In real life (as opposed to in the game or in role-play)
K: Okay
Laters: Corruption of 'see you later'
Newbie: Someone who is new to playing an online game
P45: Formal documentation for an employee leaving work. Used as slang for being sacked.
Pwned: Internet slang. A corruption of the word 'owned', meaning 'soundly defeated'.
RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Sabaton: A foot defence of mail or armour
Sack (someone) off: Dump a boy/girlfriend
Schtum: Keep schtum = keep quiet; don't mention it
Skint: Penniless; poor
UKASI: Fictional snowsports instructors organisation. Grade 3 is their lowest qualification, and Grade 1 the highest
Characters
Allan Winter: Jude's husband
Anna Staunton: Ski pupil
Angus: White Cairns village postmaster
Ben Dalton: White Cairns ski instructor
Betty McDonald: Librarian. Runs the local mobile library.
Callum Johnstone: White Cairns ski instructor
Davie: Ski lift operator (liftie)
Debbie McNeill: White Cairns ski instructor
Ed Griffiths: Manager of Ski-Easy ski school
Ethan: Kaitlyn's boyfriend
EvenStar: Spock's online friend
Fiona Easton: White Cairns ski instructor
Forbes Sinclair: Ski area operations manager
Geoff Easton: Senior ski patroller. Fiona's husband
Harry: Ski pupil
Hayley: Kiwi girl
Izzy Sherman: Social Worker from Highland Region
Jean Potter: Sandy's wife. Runs North Lodge B&B
Jude Winters: Acting manager, White Cairns Ski School
Kaitlyn: Talent Show audience member
Klaus: Owner of Ski-Easy ski school
Lachie: White Cairns village postman
Lucy Winter: Jude and Allan's daughter
Marty Ferguson: White Cairns snowboard instructor
Mike Cole: White Cairns chief instructor
Mr (James)
Paton: Head of PE, Beechfields School
Sandy Potter (Santa): White Cairns ski instructor
Simon Jones (Spock): White Cairns ski/snowboard instructor
Toby: Ski pupil
Tyrone Palmer: Haywoods Hotels representative
William: Ski pupil
Zoë Agnew: White Cairns snowboard instructor
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Ailidh, Debbie (not the one in the story!) and Andrea, my beta-reading and editing team, who add extra polish and value to my scribblings.
