Jake Maddox - Snowboard Duel

CHAPTER 1

The door of the school bus had barely closed behind him, and Brian was on his way to the chalet.

It was the way Brian ended almost every school day, jumping off the bus and heading at full speed to the slopes.

Brians mother was the assistant manager of Snowstream Ski Resort. That meant Brian had easy access to the resorts many cool features.

Each day, he would head directly to the chalet. He would open his locker and pull out his snowboard gear. He would rush to put it on, and would get to the slopes as quickly as he could.

On the slopes, he would meet his friends. Almost all of them were kids whose parents worked at the resort. Most of them were about Brians age, and they all were snowboarders.

Some days were spent at the halfpipe, working on a front side 720 or another special trick. Other days were spent grinding the rails down the slopes.

No matter what they were doing, Brian and his friends were happy.

Brian often snowboarded until dark. Then he would head home for a late dinner and homework before bed.

The next morning, the whole thing would start over.

It was a great life.

Brian swung by his mothers office to say hello before he headed for the chairlift. He bolted toward the office on the top floor of the chalet.

Hey, Mom, Brian said as he came through the door.

Hi, Brian, his mom responded. She seemed a little busy.

Im going to the halfpipe today, okay? Brian said.

Okay, she said, barely looking up from her papers. Have fun.

His mom had been busy a lot since the resort manager retired three months ago.

They hadnt replaced him yet, and it meant that Brians mom had a lot of extra work to do.

Brian grabbed his board on the deck of the chalet and bounced down the steps toward the snow. He stepped into his board and latched the right boot in place. Pushing along the snow with his left foot, he glided down toward the chairlift.

His best friend, Hannah, was there waiting for him. Hey, Bri, she said. Hannah seemed a little distracted.

The lifts werent busy, so Brian and Hannah got on a chair quickly. Once they were up in the air, Brian started asking questions.

You okay? he said. You seem a little down.

Well, didnt you hear the news? Didnt your mom tell you? Hannah asked.

Tell me what? Brian asked.

I ran into my dad on my way here, Hannah said. Hannahs father ran the restaurant in the chalet. I guess the resort hired a new manager, Hannah added.

Oh, good! Brian said. My moms been waiting for that. Maybe now she wont have to work so much.

I dont know about that, Hannah said. My dad said the new managers not a very nice person. Shes making a bunch of new rules right away.

Like what? Brian said.

Like, we may not be able to snowboard for free anymore, she said.

CHAPTER 2

Brian sat quietly on the chair for a few moments.

It was a crisp, calm day. The growing chill he was feeling was not from the weather.

What do you mean? he finally asked.

Hannah glanced across the slopes. Below them, skiers were swooshing down the mountain through the soft, fluffy snow that had fallen only hours earlier.

Being able to use the resort for free is a benefit that our parents have, and we have, because of their jobs, Hannah said.

I know that, but why would they take it away? Brian said.

I dont know, Hannah said. All I know is what my dad told me. The new manager said she wanted to make some changes to the benefits that the families of the employees get.

Silence again fell over the chairlift. Hannah and Brian could see the end of the chairlift now.

They both wondered if they were soon going to see the end of their time on the slopes, too.

Then Brian said what both of them were thinking.

But if we lose the free snowboarding, he said, what are we going to do all winter? What else are we going to do up here on this mountain?

Hannah just shook her head.

Both of them slipped off the chairlift and pushed over to the top of the nearby halfpipe.

At the edge of the pipe, they paused and looked at each other.

They both shook their heads and started down the run.

As soon as they swooped down one side of the halfpipe, their minds were free again.

Brian led the way as they played a game they called Chase.

They had played many times before.

One of them would go out front and do a trick on each side of the pipe.

The other would follow behind, watching and trying to match everything the leader did.

Chase was a game they had been playing for two winters, ever since both of their parents had been hired at Snowstream.

Hannah and Brian loved the game so much that they didnt even have to talk about playing it anymore.

If they were at the halfpipe, they were playing Chase.

On the first run, Brian didnt try anything too hard, but their first time down was usually pretty tame.

Hannah didnt have much trouble matching Brian, trick for trick. She rarely did anyway.

Hannah was as good a snowboarder as Brian was.

There were a few tricks he could do better and a few she could do better.

When they got to the bottom of the run, they came together and gave each other a high five.

Sweet run, Hannah said. Next time, I lead.

They looked up the halfpipe and talked about the tricks they had tried and how they had done.

Suddenly, however, there was a new figure at the top of the halfpipe.

It was hard to see who it was from the bottom of the run, but the person didnt look familiar to Hannah and Brian.

He wore a full, dark-blue snowboarding suit, with a helmet to match.

Hannah and Brian watched the new boys run.

He zoomed back and forth on the halfpipe at top speed.

At each turn, he performed a different trick, making each one look more effortless than the one before it.

It was a beautiful run.

At the bottom of the run, the boy zoomed up to Hannah and Brian.

He leaned back on his board to come to a stop.

Snow flew all over their boots in the process.

Nice run! Hannah said politely.

Hmph, the boy snorted back. Thats not much of a halfpipe.

CHAPTER 3

Brian and Hannah glanced at each other, shocked.

They werent sure they heard the boy right, and they werent sure what to say to him.

Im sorry, is there something wrong? Brian said, still trying to be polite.

Yeah, Id say so, the boy said. Your halfpipe is weak.

Hannah looked the boy up and down.

He was tall, and looked a little older than them.

His snowboarding suit was perfectly matched and looked nearly brand new and expensive.

The pants and the jacket both had the same logo: Blair Mountain Ski Resort.

This wasnt regular clothing you could buy at the resort, either. It looked like some kind of team outfit.

Both Hannah and Brian recognized it.

Blair Mountain was one of the best and most expensive resorts in the Rocky Mountains.

Neither Hannah nor Brian had ever been there.