A Season of Firsts

Chapter 8

We wake up in a very similar position to the one we were in last night, all huddled together on the sofa, but with some added blankets that I grabbed from my room before we all got too sleepy.

Hallie sits up first, stretching her arms out above her head and yawning as she says, "I can't wait to ski this morning. I think it'll calm my nerves about telling Chase."

"Yeah, it'll be good to clear your head," I agree.

"Can I borrow some of your gear? All of my stuff is at the hotel," Mabel asks me, because we are a similar clothes size.

"Yeah, sure, just go in my room and take whatever you want."

"You are the best," she tells me.

"I know," I reply with a smirk.

I get up and go over to the kitchen, stretching as I go, because three people on one sofa for the night is not an ideal sleeping situation. We needed to be close to Hallie though, after what she told us.

"You want pancakes, Hals?" I ask Hallie as she flicks the TV to the morning news for some background noise.

"Oo, yes please. Do we have any Nutella left?"

"Yep, I bought some at the shop yesterday. And strawberries."

"Oh my god, I really hit the roommate jackpot."

I laugh and get to work on the pancake mix while she scrolls through her phone and Mabel hogs the bathroom.

"I'll grab the cupcakes!" I say half an hour later as we're heading out the door, fishing a Tupperware box out of the kitchen drawer to put them in. There's one with a C for Chase, one with an L for Leo, and I decided to make a peace offering with my final cupcake, adorning it with a crooked R for Rory. I don't like things being weird between us, so I'm hoping this will, quite literally, sweeten him up.

Today's look consists of white snow trousers, a black base layer and sweatshirt, and Mabel's red puffer jacket. Apparently, I really suit red, so I was coerced into swapping coats. My powder blue one does look very good on Mabel, though, I must admit. But she looks good in everything, so that doesn't mean much.

Hallie braided my hair into two Dutch braids, which I love, because I can't do them myself, so it's always nice when she does them for me, and they keep my curls out of my face when I'm boarding.

"What run level are we feeling today, Addy?" Hallie asks me, both of them being very talented on skis, so I as the beginner have to determine how advanced I want to go.

"Probably just stick to blue, if that's ok with you guys," I reply.

"Of course it's ok," Mabel says.

"Fine by me," Hallie adds, as we walk out of the front door of our building and breathe in the chilly morning air. When I see my own breath, I bring my snood up to cover the lower half of my face. I must just be a wimp though, because Hallie and Mabel make no move to do the same.

"First stop, ski school?"

"Yeah," Hallie says, "I'll drop these cakes and my work stuff off then we can head up."

"Okay, we can drop Rory's cake off after we get back. Is he working today, Mabel?"

"I think so," she says, trying to recall his schedule.

"Great, that works out then, because the ski school building and your store aren't too far apart."

We reach the ski school building in the centre of the village in around 10 minutes, and Hallie heads inside to quickly deposit her things, while me and Mabel wait outside for her.