Escape to the Swiss Chalet by Carrie Walker

Author:Carrie Walker [Walker, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781804547298
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Sixteen

15th December

Oh God. Today was going to be the day I died. And my friends would not say at least she died doing what she loved – they would all be aghast at the idea I’d died careering off a mountain, having barely skied before, trying to impress a boy. What was she thinking? they’d say. She didn’t even have a freezer, they’d say. Oh God, oh God. I’d booked myself a beginner’s ski lesson as soon as the phone lines had opened and now three of us were stood with an instructor on the green run, eager to learn. Me, a grown woman of twenty-seven, in my bodged-together ski gear, and twin teenagers in matching mint outfits, whose alpha parents had dropped them off with big smiles and waves, before whizzing off towards the grown-up runs.

‘Good morning class, my name is Alice and I’ll be teaching our beginner’s ski class today. Have any of you done any skiing or snowboarding before?’ Alice was tall, with cropped, white-blonde hair, brown eyes, and an accent I couldn’t place. She was wearing a nice pair of green salopettes, which put me instantly at ease. Unless she was doing it ironically.

I tentatively put up my hand. ‘I’ve done some snowboarding, but I’m in no way an expert,’ I said, faux-modestly.

‘Excellent. And you girls?’

The twins shook their heads in unison.

‘This is the first time…’

‘…we’ve ever been skiing.’

They shared the sentence, then giggled.

‘OK, so we might have a difference in capability, but let’s see how we get on,’ Alice smiled. I very much doubted there would be any difference in capability and silently kicked myself for suggesting I had experience. I would no doubt be worse than hopeless.

‘The first step is to get you all up the mountain, so follow me,’ Alice said.

She used her poles as leverage to get her skis moving forward and the three of us copied her exactly, like ducklings behind a mother duck. The sliding along bit was surprisingly easy; maybe it wouldn’t be that bad after all.

And then we reached the button lift. A terrifying machine propelling metal seats on thin wires up and down the mountain at speed. The seats whirred aggressively around as innocent skiers and boarders attempted to grab one and jump on, taking their lives in their hands. The button slowed for no one. It was like entering the Labyrinth through a monster’s chomping mouth. You had to choose your moment.

‘OK girls, you will go first, and I will follow.’ Alice walked us to the front of the queue, and I ignored the dirty looks as the man in charge unclipped the rope and let us through. The man gestured at twin one to stand on a cross on the floor as the first button hurtled towards us. He wrestled it into order and simultaneously placed her hands on the wire, and the button between her legs, allowing her to elegantly sit down as the lift slowly dragged her up the mountain. Twin two did the same thing, making it look entirely effortless.

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