CHAPTER 1 Oh man what am I doing Fourteen-year old Gabe Santiago looked down at the pink permission slip in his hands He’d almost told his friends that he’d forgotten about it or that his parents hadn’t signed it That way instead of spending the afternoon with his classmates out at Mount Grove the ski hills located just outside of town he could sit in an empty classroom with the few other kids who didn’t care for skiing or snowboarding 4
An empty and warm classroom Gabe corrected himself He and his friends were lined up outside of East Grover Lake Middle School waiting to board a series of buses that would whisk them away to Mount Grove Come on it’s gonna be fun Ben Mason one of Gabe’s best friends said He nudged Gabe from behind Ben winter sports and I go together like orange juice and brushing your teeth I haven’t been skiing that often Lighten up dude Logan Parrish another of Gabe’s good friends said with a smile Logan had a black snowboard with a bright blue snake on it tucked under one arm By the end of the day you’ll be King of the Bunny Hill I’ll make you a crown and everything 5
Ben and Logan laughed Gabe didn’t appreciate their joke He tugged at the sides of his red stocking cap Smile guys Annie Roger wielded a large camera at the three friends Get in close and pretend you like each other Ben and Logan squeezed in on either side of Gabe as Annie snapped a few shots She peered over the camera at Gabe What’s the deal Gabe she asked Turn that frown upside down dude Gabe forced himself to smile It felt uncomfortable What’s with the photos Ben asked Oh I’m taking a few shots for the Grizzly Pages Annie explained The Grizzly Pages weren’t actually made of paper It was the name of the middle school’s student-run 6
news website It was mostly about sports and school events Currently the top story was about Coach Horton and the boys basketball team getting second place in the conference finals Okay everyone Have your permission slips ready please At the front of the line near the door of the lead bus stood Mrs Hartley the school’s civics teacher and coach of the alpine ski team Over her head she waved a permission slip identical to the one Gabe was fretting about Mrs Hartley was one of the younger teachers at East Grover Lake Gabe was in her third-period class The line of kids all in thick winter coats and snow pants began to file into buses Some of them like Ben and Logan brought 7
