Alexis and the Lake Tahoe Tumult - Erica Rodgers [29]
The next morning, Alexis and Bailey waited impatiently for Angelo to show up. They still had half an hour before the slopes opened, but Alexis was excited. She wanted to get started right away. She had spent most of the last evening getting what she needed from the rental shop. Then she had called Mark at extension 378 and talked to him. He had explained what to do and had told her that all she needed besides skis and poles were two vests.
One was for Angelo. It was orange, and it said BLIND SKIER in black. Alexis’s vest was orange as well. It said GUIDE. Alexis was already in her vest when Angelo came around the corner with his skis.
“Good morning, ladies!” he chimed. “So what’s the plan?”
“First, you have to put this on,” said Bailey. She tossed the vest into Angelo’s chest, and he caught it easily.
“Sweet!” said Angelo. “If you’re giving me a vest for practicing, you must have found me a practice guide? Who is it? I thought they were all busy.”
“They are all busy,” said Alexis. “I’m the one who’s going to lead you through the course. Mark at extension 378 and the guy in the ski shop walked me through what to do and gave me the vests. He said he remembered you from when you were here skiing with your dad before. He said you probably wouldn’t need a guide for long, anyway, because you’re so good.”
Angelo looked more than a little nervous.
“Have you ever done this before, Alexis?” he asked.
“No. But I’m sure we’ll do great! Come on!”
Alexis led Bailey and Angelo to the ski lift that took them to the top of the race course. More than once, she tried to help Angelo when he didn’t really need it.
“The chair’s almost here. Get ready to sit.”
“I know, Alexis. I can hear it,” Angelo teased. Alexis had to remind herself that Angelo had skied much more than she had. If he’d known the race course already, he wouldn’t even have needed her.
Their first time down the course, Alexis realized just how good Angelo was. She weaved slowly in and out of the blue flags that made up the course, calling back to him only to say “left” or “right.” After three times through, Angelo was simply following the sound of Alexis skiing ahead of him. Bailey stayed behind them, taking her time.
“Okay, Alexis!” Angelo called. “You can speed up now! I should practice going fast.”
“I’m going almost as fast as I can!” Alexis called back. “I’ve never done a race course before today, and I’m not a good skier to begin with!” As if to demonstrate her last claim, Alexis took the final turn on the race course, and her skies got tangled. She did a rolling dive down the rest of the hill and came to a stop near the end of the lift lines. Bailey and Angelo caught up, barely holding in their laughter.
“Are you okay, Lexi?” asked Bailey.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be a little sore, but nothing too bad.”
“Thanks a lot for your help, Alexis,” said Angelo.
“I’ll be fine tomorrow. My race guide will take me through a couple practice runs in the morning. I know the turns by heart, and that’s the main thing.”
“Are you sure, Angelo?” asked Alexis. “I don’t feel like we did much.”
“It was perfect,” said Angelo. He kicked off his skis and held out a hand to help Alexis up. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to enter the race at all. You two will come watch tomorrow, right?”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world!” said Bailey.
“Good. I’ll see you both in the morning! Have fun at your fancy party!” Angelo picked up his skis and made his way back up to the lodge.
Bailey was smiling ear to ear, but when she looked at Alexis, she scowled.
“What’s wrong, Lexi?”
Alexis looked as if the bogeyman had just jumped out at her from under the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear.
“Lexi, what is it?”
“The party!” said Alexis. Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “It’s tonight!”
“Yeah, it is,” said Bailey. “What’s the big deal?”
“We don’t have anything to wear!”
Within thirty minutes the girls had changed out of their ski clothes and stuffed down a couple of sandwiches. They left the hotel and walked a couple of blocks away from the state