their own equipment Gabe would rent gear at Mount Grove By the time Gabe and his friends climbed aboard the bus they had to sit near the front Ben and Logan sat together and talked about how awesome it was going to be to shred down the advanced hills Annie sat next to Gabe As the bus rumbled away from the curb and they began their jouncing journey Gabe heard the unmistakable laugh of Eliza Monroe behind him Gabe craned his neck to look for her Sure enough Eliza was seated in the back of the bus She was propped up on one knee and leaning her back against the windows Eliza’s bubblegum pink coat was adorned with lift passes from Mount Grove She was 8
a natural on the slopes a member of the school’s alpine team Cassie Flock one of Eliza’s best friends was sitting with her They laughed again Eliza throwing her head back Whatcha looking at Annie asked She followed Gabe’s gaze Ohhhhh What Eliza Monroe Annie smirked What about her Oh come on Gabe It’s totally obvious You’ve got a crush on her Gabe shook his head Do not he said Pfft Of course you do Of course he did He just didn’t want to admit it to his friends Besides he didn’t 9
expect Eliza to like him back She revolved in another social circle entirely For a brief moment in time though during football season he and Eliza had spoken to one another Since then though it was like she didn’t even know he existed Gabe slouched down in his seat and sat quietly for the remainder of the bus ride He used one glove to scrape the frost from the inside of his window and stared out at Grover Lake as the bus drove through town Finally the bus turned into the parking lot for Mount Grove Gabe saw the sign by the road two mountain peaks carved into a square hunk of wood shaped like the M in 10
Mount Grove’s name The excitement in the bus ramped up as kids prepared to shove and jostle their way down the narrow aisle Here we go Logan said rubbing his hands together like a maniacal super-villain about to unleash a devilish plan on an unsuspecting hero Gabe followed his friends into the aisle His boots clunked down the steps and onto the hard-packed snow He looked up at the massive hill in front of him It was filled with powder and trails and trees and ski lifts and people carving their way from the peak to the bottom and he muttered under his breath Oh boy 11
