Secret Admirer (5 page)

“That’s right,” said Emily. Then she peered curiously at Carlie.

“So am I,” said Carlie quickly. “You know that, don’t you?”

Morgan nodded and patted Carlie on the back. “Yeah. That’s what we thought.”

Carlie sighed in relief. And then it was time to meet in the fireside room. Carlie sat between Morgan and Whitney, right in the front row. Although she felt sleepy, she really tried to focus in on what Cory, the youth pastor, was saying. It seemed to be tied into Christmas and had to do with forgiving people. But a lot of it seemed to be floating around her head, and she couldn’t quite make it all out. Cory was saying how God’s forgiveness was supposed to teach them how to forgive other people. Somehow it was all connected like a circle. But Carlie was so tired that it seemed like that circle was spinning and making her dizzy.

Cory spoke a little more and then finally gave an invitation for anyone in the group who hadn’t fully received God’s forgiveness to do so — and a couple of kids raised their hands. Carlie wondered if she should too, but then she knew she’d made a commitment to Jesus last summer and she’d been trying to honor it — as much as she knew how to anyway. So she thought she was probably okay. But then Cory invited them to use this time to forgive others. Now Carlie wasn’t really sure what to do about that. She didn’t completely understand this forgiveness thing. For one thing, she still felt a little grumpy toward her mom. Besides that, she wasn’t too happy with Chelsea. But did that mean she needed to forgive them? And, if so, why should she? If anything, it seemed like they should do something to make her feel better. And, really, what did it
matter whether she forgave them or not — especially if no one knew about it.

After the meeting ended, they were all invited to hang out for cocoa and snacks or to return to their cabins to hit the hay. As Carlie sipped some cocoa, she noticed that Jeff and Enrico were back at the pool table again, playing another game, this time with Chelsea and Whitney. And just as Carlie looked up, she saw Chelsea standing inches from Enrico, smiling at him like she wanted to kiss him or something equally gross. Still, it wasn’t like Carlie cared. Why should she? Let Chelsea make a total fool of herself. Let Enrico too. Why should she care?

“I’m sleepy,” said Morgan.

“Me too,” admitted Carlie.

“Me three,” said Emily.

“Where are Amy and Chelsea?” asked Morgan.

Carlie pointed over to the pool table area where Amy was flitting about the foursome who were still playing pool.

Emily groaned. “It figures. I hear Chelsea’s not the only one who thinks Enrico is cute.”

Carlie laughed. “Boy crazy!”

“It’s like a disease,” said Emily, nodding over to where Taylor and Cassie appeared to be obviously flirting with two other boys from the youth group.

“Let’s get out of here before we catch it too,” said Carlie. Then, laughing loudly, the three girls made a quick and noisy exit.

But later on, when the cabin was dark and quiet, and everyone seemed to be asleep, Carlie was still awake. She was thinking about the events of the evening. Suddenly, she thought maybe it was too late for her — maybe she had already caught that deadly disease. Not that she was boy crazy. She most certainly was not. But, at the same time, she had an uncomfortable feeling toward Chelsea — especially as she remembered how Chelsea had been cozying up to Enrico during that last pool game. She was afraid it might be jealousy and somehow related to Enrico. But that made no sense. Carlie had no interest in Enrico … well, other than joking around with him, beating him at pool, and being “one of the guys.” Surely that wasn’t the same as being boy crazy. And that was exactly what she told herself as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Whitney and Carlie hit the slopes right after breakfast. They both wanted to get in lots of rides before they went to meet everyone at the half-pipe. Carlie’s confidence increased as she practiced a few jumps during her runs. It really wasn’t that different from skateboarding. More and more, she realized she was pretty good at this. She knew how to catch air! But she also knew how to fall. And her last fall, although she landed on her backside, was a hard one. She was afraid she’d have the bruises to prove it. Still, she was having fun. That’s what mattered!

“You’re looking awesome with your jumps,” Whitney told her as they rode the red chair up again.

“You are too,” said Carlie.

Whitney laughed. “Well, at least I only fell down twice on that last run. That wasn’t too bad.”

“I fell down more than that,” admitted Carlie.

“But no face-plants.”

“So, are you ready for the half-pipe?”

“Sure. It’ll be fun. How about you?”

Carlie shrugged, still remembering that last fall. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“You know, you shouldn’t do it if you don’t feel sure. I remember an instructor told me once that it was all about confidence.”

“I know.” Carlie nodded.

“You have to believe in yourself.”

“Just like the Little Blue Engine.”

Whitney laughed. “Exactly.”

“Well, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

And after Carlie did a few more jumps, with no falls, even taking on some small moguls, her confidence returned. By the time they reached the bottom of the slope, she really did feel sure of herself. “It’s almost eleven,” she announced.

“To the half-pipe,” said Whitney as she pushed off with her back foot. Carlie followed, keeping up with no problems. She could hardly believe that yesterday was her first time doing this. But then Carlie had always been a good athlete. Plus, she’d been good on a skateboard. Why shouldn’t she be good at this?

“Hey,” said Jeff as Whitney and Carlie joined the rest of them at the foot of the half-pipe. “You guys just missed Enrico’s big wipeout.”

“And he was actually doing pretty well too,” said Chelsea.

“You should’ve seen how high he got,” added Amy.

Enrico groaned. “What goes up … must come down.”

“I thought you were going to pass on the pipe,” said Whitney.

“He changed his mind.” Jeff chuckled.

“Too bad,” said Carlie.

“Well, you can’t get better if you don’t try,” said Enrico.

“Not me,” said Morgan as she planted her snowboard in the snow then flopped down beside it. “I am officially a spectator.”

“You and me both,” said Amy as she sat down beside her.

“I’m going up,” announced Emily.

“All right,” said Jeff.

“Me too,” said Chelsea. “I can’t wait to try this. Anyone else coming?”

“I don’t know,” said Whitney, frowning up at the enormous half tube of hard-packed snow. “It looks kinda scary from down here.”

“It’s better once you get up there,” said Enrico.

“That from a guy who just wiped out?”

“Hey, I was trying too hard,” he said. “Next time will be better.”

“How about you, Carlie?” challenged Chelsea. “I’ll bet you want to pass on this too.”

“I’m in,” said Carlie.

Enrico grinned at her. “Good for you.”

“You coming, Whitney?” asked Carlie.

Whitney studied the steeply sloped sides of the half-pipe then slowly nodded. “I guess so …”

“Hey, you guys,” said Morgan with concern. “Do you think you should be wearing helmets?”

Carlie had noticed that several of the kids were wearing helmets, but those were kids who were doing some pretty fancy tricks too. “I don’t know about the others,” called Carlie. “But I won’t be doing anything too risky.”

“We’ll be fine,” Whitney assured her.

“Everybody ready?” asked Jeff as he picked up his board to lead the way.

“I am,” announced Whitney as she followed right behind him. Then Emily followed her, and Carlie and Enrico and Chelsea brought up the rear. When they finally got to the end of the line, Carlie just watched as other kids took their turns. She saw that some of them, like her, were probably new to this. And many of them were taking it pretty carefully. That was what she planned to do. No jumping for her. At least not on the first run. She knew she’d be doing good just to make some clean turns and get a feel for the half-pipe first. Maybe she wouldn’t jump at all. No one could make her.

“Nervous?” asked Enrico quietly.

Carlie had almost forgotten he was behind her. “A little,” she admitted.

“Me too.”

“I’m not,” said Chelsea. “I think this will be fun.”

“Who wants to go first?” asked Jeff as they made their way to the front of the line.

“Maybe ladies should go first,” offered Enrico.

“Why?” challenged Carlie. “Are you scared?”

“No way,” said Enrico. “Just being polite.”

“Why don’t you go first, Carlie,” urged Chelsea, stepping back next to Enrico so that Carlie could move to the front of the line.

“Okay,” said Carlie, deciding to take the challenge. Besides, that way she’d get it over with. She waited for the next rider to go, and then she got into place. She secured her back foot onto the board and took in a slow deep breath.

“But I’m not doing anything fancy,” she said as she took off. She put all her energy into simply focusing and relaxing. And just like she said, she didn’t do anything fancy. She just rode, did some nice turns, and by the time she reached the end, she felt rather pleased with herself. It was actually pretty fun.

“Way to go, Carlie,” called out Morgan from where the spectators were sitting.

“Smooth,” yelled Enrico from up on top.

“Thanks.” Now Carlie turned to watch Chelsea coming. Her ride was slightly more adventurous than Carlie’s. Two times she made it nearly to the edge of the half-pipe before she turned.

“Nice ride,” Carlie said to Chelsea when she reached the bottom.

“Thanks,” said Chelsea. “I almost did a jump … I think I will on the next run.”

“Whitney’s coming now,” called Amy. They all turned to watch as Whitney made a somewhat choppy run, nearly falling twice.

“Good job,” said Carlie as Whitney joined them.

“I don’t know …” Whitney shook her head. “I’m not feeling too comfortable up there.”

“Then don’t go again,” said Morgan.

Whitney nodded as she took her foot out of the board. “I won’t.”

“Here comes Jeff,” called Chelsea. They all watched as Jeff rode down the half-pipe, actually making a couple of fairly controlled jumps that he landed successfully. They clapped for him, and when he ended his run he had a big grin on his face.

“That was so cool,” he said. “Here comes Emily.”

“Be careful, Em,” called Morgan quietly. But Emily managed a graceful ride, stopping right in front of them like it was nothing.

“That was great,” Morgan told her happily. “I was afraid you were going to kill yourself.”

Emily laughed. “Glad you have such confidence in me.”

“Sorry.”

“Hey, here comes Enrico,” called Jeff.

“I hope he doesn’t wipe out again,” said Amy.

They all watched quietly as Enrico started his run. And not only did he not wipe out, he actually did a great run, even completing a 180 as well as another small jump before he was finished.

“All right,” said Jeff as he high-fived his buddy. “That’s the way to do it.”

“That felt great,” said Enrico happily. “I’m ready to go again.”

“You girls going up again too?” asked Jeff.

“Not me,” said Whitney as she headed over to where Morgan and Amy were sitting. “But I’ll cheer for the rest of you.”

“I want to go again,” said Emily. “But I need to adjust my binding first.”

“Here,” said Jeff. “Let me help.”

“I’m definitely going up,” said Chelsea as she stepped right next to Enrico. “And this time I’m jumping too. Enrico inspired me to try even harder.”

He gave her a high five. “Awesome.” Then he was heading back up the hill with Chelsea right on his heels.
For some reason this irritated Carlie as she trudged up the hill behind the two of them. Jeff and Emily were still at the bottom, adjusting her bindings, but now Carlie wished she’d waited for them. At least then she wouldn’t have to be stuck up here watching Chelsea shamelessly flirting with Enrico — at least that’s what it looked like to Carlie.

As they waited in line at the top, Chelsea started to brag about how she was going to jump this time. “I’ll bet I catch even more air than you, Enrico.”

“No way,” he shot back at her. “I’m going even higher on this run.”

Chelsea turned and looked at Carlie now. “How about you? Are you going to jump this time?”

“I don’t know …” Carlie looked down the half-pipe as a more experienced rider preformed a slightly clumsy one-and- a-half jump, landing it backward and sliding down without a hitch. But the next rider, a girl, attempted a jump and totally wiped out, face-first. Fortunately, she had on a helmet.

“Oh!” exclaimed Carlie. “That must’ve hurt.”

“Yeah,” said Enrico. “You need to be careful.”

“And, don’t jump if you’re scared,” said Chelsea in a tone that sounded slightly snooty and superior. “That’s the worst thing to do, you know.”

Carlie stuck her chin out. “I am not scared.”

“Well, you seem sort of uneasy.”

“I am not uneasy,” said Carlie. “I just haven’t decided whether or not I want to jump yet.” Of course, as soon as she said this, she knew it sounded silly.

Then Chelsea adjusted her goggles and smiled at Enrico. “I think poor little Carlie is getting freaked.”

“I am not freaked.”

“Seriously, Carlie,” said Enrico. “Don’t jump if it doesn’t feel good.” He was getting ready to go first this time.

Chelsea nodded in what seemed a smug way. “Yeah, Carlie, you should just take it easy.” Then they both watched as Enrico made another nice ride. He attempted an even bigger jump this time and almost lost his balance, but caught himself with one hand and made it down without a fall. Their friends at the bottom cheered.

“Here I go,” said Chelsea. She took off and rode even higher up the half-pipe this time, making a nice turn, then another, and finally on her third time up she made a jump, twisting in the air to turn back around. Carlie watched with wide eyes, and then Chelsea landed it, her board cutting into the hard-packed snow as if she’d been doing this for years. Then she glided down to where Enrico was waiting. Carlie watched as Enrico gave her a high five, which Chelsea turned into a hug. And suddenly Carlie really did feel jealous.

“Your turn,” yelled the guy behind her.

Carlie hurried to get into position, noticing that
Jeff and Emily were in line now. Emily was giving her a thumbs-up.

“Come on, Carlie,” yelled Chelsea from the bottom. “Try and beat my run if you can!”

Carlie nodded and took off down the half-pipe. Whether she meant to or not, she felt herself imitating Chelsea’s run, riding high up the left side, making a turn, then doing it again on the right. Then she started on the left again, but suddenly she wasn’t sure she really wanted to attempt a jump. Yet in that same split-second, she saw the image of Chelsea celebrating down at the bottom, and Carlie knew she at least had to try.

Carlie ducked down low, arms spread, as she used her weight to propel her body upward. Going clear to the edge again, this time the end of her board just clearing it, she sailed into the air. She was so low she could almost touch the tip of her board, and then she turned — perfectly. It was a great moment, almost like flying. And then, just as she was coming down again, her board tilted ever so slightly, the tip biting into the icy surface. Suddenly everything changed. All she could see was the packed snow coming straight at her, and she knew she was going down — face-first, not on her backside like Whitney had taught her to do. Blocking her fall with her right arm, she felt her body twist and heard a snapping sound, like a branch breaking. After that it was all a white blur. A painful white blur.