*unedited*
Twenty
Later that day, Nadia had been working on an assignment in her room when the sound of her phone vibrating broke her concentration. She slowly placed her pencil on top of her notebook before picking up her phone.
"Hello?" she said.
"Did you look it up?" she heard Mason ask.
"Look what up?" she asked, causing him to sigh slightly.
"Skiing for paraplegics."
She had completely forgotten about it as the thought of finishing her homework had taken over her mind when she had gotten home.
"I forgot," she said to him truthfully.
"I had a feeling you would forget," he said. And for a moment she could have sworn that she could hear him smiling as he spoke.
"Now that I've reminded you, don't forget to look it up."
And with that, they said their goodbyes. And as soon as they did, she opened the YouTube app on her phone and searched it up. She clicked on the first video and watched it. She was surprised to see that skiing was possible for paraplegics.
She found herself watching another video when that one ended, beginning to feel hopeful.
Maybe she could go on the trip after all.
- - -
The next day at lunch, Mason asked her to follow her to the main office once they had finished eating. She silently followed him and once they got there, he handed her a form.
"Fill it out," he said to her.
"Are you sure I'll be able to go?" she asked him, unsure if she should even be filling it out when she didn't know for sure whether or not she could go. He smiled and nodded his head.
"Trust me," was all he said in reply.
She took a deep breath before filling it out. And when she finished, she gave it to him as per his instruction before following him to the secretary's desk.
"We would like to sign up for the weekend skiing trip," Mason said to the secretary.
Nadia watched as the secretary's eyes went from him to her. She looked at Nadia until she saw the wheelchair and Nadia noticed the corner of her lips twitch.
"Both of you?"
Mason nodded.
"But she's in a wheelchair."
"So what? Can't people in wheelchairs enjoying skiing too?" Mason asked, causing the corner of Nadia's lips to twitch with uncertainty as she heard his words. And once again, the secretary looked at her before removing her glasses and leaning towards Mason.
"I'm sorry to rain on your parade but we've never had a student in a wheelchair attend the trip. In case you didn't know, it's a trip for skiing or snowboarding. And as far as I know, that's not possible for people in wheelchairs."
There was a moment of silence as Nadia felt disappointment begin to cloud her. She had been doubtful when Mason had first suggested for her to go on the trip. But after talking to him, it had began to feel like it would have been possible.
But any hope that she had had was now crushed by the secretary's words.
Mason pulled out his phone before asking the secretary,
"Have you ever heard of the X-Games Mrs Johnson?"
The secretary laughed as a look of amusement took over her face.
"What's your point—"
"It's Mason."
"Okay Mason, what's your point?" she asked, beginning to look impatient.
Mason showed her his phone as what sounded like a commentary came from the phone. Nadia watched them for a few moments, unsure of what was going on. But after a few minutes, the secretary put her glasses back on as she cleared her throat.
"So what were you saying about it being impossible for people in wheelchairs to ski?"
Mrs Johnson didn't say anything in reply as she took in a deep breath, taking their forms which he had placed on her desk.
"I'll see what I can do for your friend, Mason."
And as Nadia heard that, she couldn't hide her surprise.
"I'll be looking forward to hearing good news," Mason told her before she smiled slightly. The secretary then looked at Nadia.
"You seem to have a pretty good friend," she told Nadia. She felt an overwhelming emotion fill her body as she too came to the realization of how great Mason truly was. She felt her lips turn up into a smile as she looked from the secretary to him as he looked back at her with a smile.
And in that moment, she remembered the words that he had said to her a few months ago:
Don't let labels define you.
When she had first heard those words, it had not meant anything to her. But after what had just happened, after seeing how Mason had been able to stand up for her, she was now beginning to think that maybe her life wasn't as bad as she thought it was.
Maybe, just maybe, if she didn't allow herself to succumb to the label that she had received since her paralysis, things may not actually be so bad.
"Let's go," Mason's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
She turned her head slightly to find him still looking at her. And as she looked at him, she suddenly felt as if her heart skipped a beat. She swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the lump which had suddenly formed in her throat, reaching for the push ring with shaky hands.
And as she pushed herself behind him, she begun to wonder what could have caused her heart to skip a beat.
- - -
"Do you think I'll be able to go on the trip?" Nadia asked Mason after school as they waited for the bus. Since Selena had been avoiding her, she suggested that they have their tutor session at her house instead.
"Why not?" Mason asked her in return.
Because I'm disabled were the words that immediately popped up in her head.
"Don't let your disability define you Nadia. Sure it's now a part of your life but it doesn't have to control you. There's so much you can do if you don't allow it to rule your life."
She couldn't tear her eyes from him as he looked at her with a straight face. Her eyes scanned his face as she wondered how he could say words that filled her with so much hope. To the point where she began to believe that her disability wasn't such a big part of her life as she had been making it.
"Oh, it's snowing," she heard Mason say suddenly. She turned around and was surprised to see flakes of snow falling onto the ground.
She stuck out a hand to catch a snowflake as many more fell around them. She smiled as she felt a pinch of cold from the small snowflake which landed in her hand. With so much going on around her, she hadn't had the time to acknowledge the fact that the weather had been changing and that the end of the year was getting closer.
"There's a saying that I heard once," she heard Mason say, causing her to look at him.
"What is it?" she asked, suddenly curious. And with a small smile he said,
"There's a Korean saying that if you see the first snowfall with someone, you will fall in love."
She felt her body freeze at his words.
"H-how do you know about that? Are you part Korean or something?" she forced herself to ask to prevent an awkward silence from surrounding them.
"Why do you suddenly sound nervous?" he asked her, an eyebrow lifted as he took a step closer to her. She turned her head away from him.
"I-I'm not nervous," she told him.
Mason laughed as he shook his head.
"It's because of Selena."
And at the sound of that name, Nadia felt her heart drop but she kept her face the same, for fear of worrying Mason. If he didn't know what was happening between the two of them, it was probably for the best.
"She's obsessed with Korean culture and that was something she told me once. She said she heard it from a drama," he finished his sentence with a small smile on his face.
Nadia nodded her head rigidly just as the bus arrived. They boarded the bus and the whole way to her house, she didn't say anything to him as she kept her head turned towards the window, her eyes seeing the snow but her mind far away.
***
A/N:
Thank you very much for reading this chapter! I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! So why do you think Nadia acted the way that she did when Mason said the phrase about the first snowfall? 😉 I'd love to hear you thoughts and comments of the story so far! I really want to know what you think.
And by the way, the video that is attached is the first video that I saw when I searched "skiing for paraplegics". I really like what the guy said about being able to return to something that he loves after becoming a paraplegic, I thought his words were very inspirational. I recommend that you watch it if you haven't seen it 🙂
Once again, thanks for reading!
~candysweet101