My Fair Brady by Brian D. Kennedy

Author:Brian D. Kennedy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-10-19T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Two

Wade

As the shimmery surface of Lake Superior peeks through the breaks in the trees, something wet drops onto my eyelash. I blink it away, thinking it must be sweat—we’ve been hiking for a while now. But then a thick white flake lands on my jacket. It’s just the one at first. Then a few more. Then, quicker than they can dissolve, the flakes begin to multiply.

“It’s snowing!”

My voice cracks with excitement. I’m usually well over snow by this time of year. But out here in the middle of nowhere, where I don’t have to think about the musical, or prom, or my pending application to NYU . . . it’s kind of magical again.

I look to see if Elijah’s noticed it yet, but his head’s bent over his phone. I scoop up a handful of old snow from the ground and toss it at him.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“You’re missing it.”

He slides his phone back into his jacket. “Oh. Yeah. Cool.”

After we stand there for a minute, taking in the calm silence that comes with snowfall, Mr. Brady pulls out his map. “It’s at least another mile to the ice caves. I’m not sure we should continue.”

My shoulders sink. Seriously? It’s too beautiful to turn back!

He looks up at the graying sky. “The forecast said the heaviest part of the storm would pass by to the south. We’d probably be okay, but I’d hate to get stuck on the trail.”

“One mile is nothing,” I say. “We could walk faster.”

“I don’t know. It’ll take us a while just to get to the cabin from here . . .”

Elijah looks at me, then at his dad. “C’mon, Dad. You spent forever talking to the guy at the sporting goods store, making sure these were the best boots they sold. We might as well put them to good use. Besides, you said this trip is supposed to be an adventure, right?”

His dad folds up his map. “Okay, but if this weather gets worse, we’re turning around.”

I’ve never considered myself much of an outdoor person, so it’s surprising that I’m enjoying this as much as I am. I like that there’s nothing competitive about hiking. No one’s trying to score the most points or be the first to reach the finish line. There’s not even an audience to impress. The only person you’re doing it for is yourself.

Plus, it’s nice to hang out with Mr. Brady and Elijah. Out here Elijah and I don’t have to focus on Brady so much, we can just relax and have fun.

Since the trail snakes around, and the uneven terrain is now slick with snow, it takes us another hour to arrive at our destination. Once we get there, though, the view is totally worth it. As we stand on a large rock formation jutting over the water, the lake stretches out before us, eventually blurring with the horizon.

“There are the caves,” Mr. Brady says, pointing to the polished sheets of ice that hang over the arches along the rocky shoreline below.

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