What if I ain't no violinist?

11. Twoset Snowboarders

The 5 beginner students gasp in unison. One of the young girls shrieked.

"Oh no way Brett! How are we supposed to ride one of those things with a snowboard??"

"Just like you would with skis on, really.  You'd be standing on your snowboard though, so with one foot in front of the other.  Two people on one T bar and the bar will rest of your hip and will pull you up the hill. Just make sure you don't put the  bar anywhere bendy on your body like the inside of your knees or especially at the waist for you girls or else you'll lose your balance and fall off."

Eddy flinched with the thought of falling off the T bar. Eddy asked Brett,

"Why can't we just take a chairlift?"

Brett smiles at Eddy.

"Well Eddy I love your challenging spirit but those are usually located at the intermediate to advanced courses. Baby steps first, okay?"

Oh, yeah, duh.

"And unlike skiing, we really need a bit of slope to get moving on snowboards, so we really can't get much practice on this flat surface. So, partner up, preferably someone your own size and let's go."

Out of the 5 students in Eddy's group, there was a boyfriend/girlfriend couple that wanted to stay together and a pair of girls that were friends. Eddy was the odd one out.

"Ok, is everyone paired up? Hey Eddy, you get to ride with me! Sorry I'm a shortie compared to you but hopefully, it won't affect your ride too much."

After Brett instructed and helped the first 2 pairs go up the slope, he turned to Eddy.

"Ready ?!"

Brett's voice was barely audible as the motor of the T bar lift was roaring in the background.

"Um, yeah, as ready as I could ever be I suppose."

Brett laughed.

"Yeah, that's the spirit !!"

Brett had an infectious smile and Eddy couldn't help smiling back at him despite being very nervous.

The liftie called out.

"Brett mate, you guys ready?"

"Thanks mate, let's go Eddy!"

Brett swiftly moved onto the platform, with so much ease and grace, as if there wasn't any of the snow around him. Eddy tried to quickly follow behind him with baby steps so that he wouldn't slip and fall. It was very tricky because while his left foot was not attached to his snowboard, his right foot was.  The liftie hadn't bothered to grab a T bar for them yet and had let the approaching bars move on above Brett and Eddy's heads until they were still getting ready. Of course, Eddy was way too nervous to notice any of this happening around him.

"C'mon Eddy, look up ! You gotta look where you're goin'!"

It was only then when Eddy realised he was looking down at his feet. Eddy looked up and saw Brett smiling and reaching his hand out to him. Eddy tried to grab Brett's hand but his ski gloves were slippery and it was difficult to get a proper grip. Brett clenched his hand into a fist.

"Grab my wrist instead Eddy, c'mon"

Eddy tried to grab Brett's wrist. What looked like a log, too wide to grab hold of, was merely air from Brett's puffy ski jacket and it rapidly collapsed under Eddy's nervous grip into an unexpectedly slender wrist.

With surprising strength not expected from someone smaller than him, Brett pulled Eddy up so that he wasn't hunched over anymore so the two boys were now standing tall on the platform.