My new school's ski trip seemed like a good idea to my mom, who was holding up the slick new ski jacket she'd just bought for me. Mom must have imagined me-her seventh-grade daughter, Carly—and my new rosy—cheeked friends sipping hot chocolate beside a roaring fire. Maybe she thought I'd spend the weekend dashing through the snow in a one-horse opensleigh(雪橇), bells jingling.
After all, she knew I couldn't ski.
"So? You'll learn," she said, conveniently forgetting that I was nearly ten before I could manage a two-wheeler.
"But I don't really know anybody...," I said, afraid to admit the whole truth. I'd been in school for months and still had no friends.
"And what better way to get acquainted?" she said.
Obviously I had no clue.
After hours on the bus with rival boom boxes blaring the entire length of the New York State Thruway, we finally arrived at the slopes. The wind chill made the temperature feel like ten below, so I distributed the tubes of lip balm my thoughtful mother had sent to preventchapping(龟裂).
After my classmates smeared on smudge-proof all-day protection, I snapped photos, the proof Mom wanted that I was having fun. My best shot was of some guys on the football team. Their lips had turned hot pink.
My ski lesson went well. I learned how to break skis. Bindings snapped off under my uncoordinated legs.
"It's OK," the instructor said. "That's supposed to happen. Sometimes it keeps you from getting hurt."
"Sometimes?"
He pointed to the plaster cast on his ankle. "Avoid the moguls," he said.
"Real estatemoguls(雪上技巧)? Developers who turn mountains into ski resorts?"
"Nah," he said. "Moguls are mounds of snow. Bumps on the slope."
He repaired my skis and sent me toward a rope that was mysteriously moving up the mountain.
"Stick with the bunny slope," he said.
"Is the bunny named Godzilla?"
My pink-lipped classmates, who were either seasoned skiers or fearless fools, had deserted me and raced for the lift lines to Mounts Denali, Rushmore, and Vesuvius. I shuffled to Godzilla'sleash(皮带,束缚), tucked in my lucky scarf, and grabbed on.
The icy rope slid through my mittens. My frostbitten fingers gripped tighter and harder but to no avail. Fidgety four-year-olds stiffened up behind me. As I turned to apologize, a knot reached my hands and dragged me up the hill with the force of a tidal wave.
It was only fitting that Beach Boys music started blasting out of the speakers in the lodge: "Surfin' USA". Little kids in goofy hats surfed by me on snowboards. Slush swooshed into my face. My nose dripped into my lip balm.
Higher and higher I went up Mount Bunny until I reached the peak from which, theoretically, I would ski down.
I wiped my nose and surveyed the situation. I considered riding the rope back down, but the snickers from the snowboarders would be too humiliating. Peer pressure is a terrible thing, especially from kids half your age.
I reviewed what I'd learned. The instructor had said to point your ski tips together to stop. He called it "snowplowing." Where I'm from, we use a pickup truck with a giant blade in the front.
He kept saying to "slalom" down the mountain, a term I later realized means to zigzag. Frankly, I thought he'd said "salami." I figured they had a gourmet deli on the hill. All these people would need to eat.
With this wealth of knowledge, I slid off. I followed the tracks of the child who'd gone before me. Since her ski tips eventually plowed together, I stopped. No problem. Turning, however, took some maneuvering. I couldn't seem to do it.
Finally I squatted, figuring that the closer I was to the snow, the easier it would be to fall. Skis together, aimed directly at the ski-lodge door, I zipped down the hill.
The cold air suddenly turned fresh and exciting. I felt like an Olympic champion. At long last, the thrill of skiing! That my eyes were frozen shut only added zest.
I snowplowed to a stop and entered the lodge. My cheeks tingled from the warmth of the crowded room, and the biggest, most ridiculous smile took over my face.
"I'm still here," I said, practicallybragging(夸耀)to the crowd. They didn't erupt with applause, but they didn't pelt me with snowballs either. Actually, nothing had changed. Just my attitude.
Without thinking twice, I went up to Marie, a girl from my math class. "Hi, I'm Carly," I said. "Fracture anything yet?"
We'd been studying fractions all week, but she missed the common denominator of my joke.
Her face reddened. "They had to stop the ski lift so I could get on," she said. "I wanted to die."
北京环球影城明春开园
因疫情取消中高考 英国用算法算出的成绩引学生不满
找工作
Messi Wins Ballon d’Or award Again 梅西又拿了金球奖
体坛英语资讯:German Bundesliga giant Bayern and fans condemn anti-Neuer protest
体坛英语资讯:Vinci beats Begu in Budapest Grand Prix womens tennis final
专家:美国将在秋冬季遭遇流感和新冠“双重”暴发
国内英语资讯:Ninety-sixth joint patrol on Mekong River kicks off
国内英语资讯:Xi Focus: Xi sends greetings to medical workers
体坛英语资讯:Mexico hails Guadalajara for hosting 2017 swimming worlds
体坛英语资讯:Sweden defeats Australia 3-1 at FIFA Womens World Cup
体坛英语资讯:Japan, US into FIFA Womens World Cup final
每日资讯播报(August 17)
体坛英语资讯:Liverpool signs Brazilian goalkeeper Doni
体坛英语资讯:Turkish Besiktas forfeits Turkish cup
国际英语资讯:British, Ukrainian defense chiefs discuss cooperation in Kiev
每日一词∣铁路强国 a powerhouse in the railway sector
国内英语资讯:Chinas youth, students federations conclude key meetings
扫地
四川启动I级防汛应急响应,三峡水利枢纽将迎建库以来最大洪峰
科技界联名起诉特朗普
体坛英语资讯:Maradona not injured in road accident
国内英语资讯:Xi Focus: Xi inspects east Chinas Anhui Province
早晨
体坛英语资讯:Bielsa upbeat after first day at Athletic Club
我
体坛英语资讯:Japan flabbergast defending champion Germany 1-0 at FIFA Women Worlds 2011
调查:6月份,美国有自杀倾向的成年人同比增加一倍
多数美企看好中国市场
Help-the-disabled Day 全国助残日