A Season of Firsts

Chapter 2

I'm wide awake at 6:30 the next morning, having gotten a really good night's sleep. As I look around my little room, it's covered in darkness, the daylight hours getting shorter and shorter as we make our way towards the end of November.

Because I know I am not going to be able to fall back asleep now, however comfortable my bed is, I decide to go and catch the first lifts so that I can watch the sunrise over the mountains.

I consider asking Hals to join, but I quickly discovered when we started living together that she is not a morning person. She would bite my head off if I dared to wake her before the sun is even up.

Besides, I hate holding her back on the slopes. She is incredible, moving with grace and speed, and I am mediocre at best.

The heating hasn't kicked in yet, so I wrap myself up in my thick white duvet and practically roll myself out of the single bed that's crammed into the corner of the room. I click the lamp on the bedside table on, so I can see what I'm doing, as I grab my hairbrush and attempt to tame my bedhead in front of the full-length mirror hung on the wall.

My golden blonde hair is naturally curly, it becoming even more so when I cut it to shoulder length a few months ago. After having long hair for my whole life, I surprisingly loved the change and vowed never to grow it back out.

I settle on a low bun tied with a scrunchie at the base of my neck, with a few of the shorter curls pulled out at the front for good measure.

After I've layered up, donning my black salopettes over a beige high neck base layer, I creep through the suite. There are certain floorboards that creak very loudly if you step on them, so I look like I'm trying to crawl through a maze of lasers as I try to avoid waking Satan and facing her wrath.

On my way out of the door, I grab a cereal bar from the cupboard, so I'm not running on an empty stomach. I'm planning to eat a proper meal at the hotel later, because my eight-hour shift starts at 11.

I love full day shifts. Not.

A brisk walk across the village later, I'm on my way up, skis strapped to my feet. I have to catch the special early lift, because most only open at 8:30. Thankfully, my job comes with perks, one of them being free all-access lift passes.

Another being a free membership for the hotel gym, which I keep meaning to use, but somehow haven't got around to yet. I will eventually, because the excessive amounts of alcohol and pizza I have consumed since I got here are going to start catching up to me, but I'm happy in my holiday bubble right now.

Looking around, the lifts surrounding me are all empty, and I do a little wiggle of excitement, shaking the chair in the process, because the slopes are going to be dead. Also meaning, that I can mess up as many times as I want without fear of being judged by the pros.

When the lift reaches the top, I stick the landing, one thing I have actually managed to perfect, and make my way along a ridge that looks out over the stunning snow-topped valley. I stop to appreciate it for a minute, because damn, this beats England's measly hills.

The sunrise is a swirling mix of pinks and oranges in the sky above the mountain peaks, and I wish I had my camera with me, because this would make an amazing shot. I settle for digging my phone out and snapping one on there, adding it to my Instagram story, because everyone needs to appreciate this beauty.

I feel like I'm dreaming as I watch the sun continue to appear, and I take a deep breath before I dig my poles into the ground to get myself moving again. I love small moments like that, where you don't even feel like it's your life that you're living, and you have to remind yourself that it's real. That you're here. Living it.