It's All Downhill from Here by P.J. Night

Author:P.J. Night
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Spotlight

Chapter 8

“Pass the orange juice, Soph,” Maggie said sleepily across the breakfast table later that morning. She had gotten very little sleep the previous night, and she now sat with her elbows on the table and her chin resting in her hands. Even pouring orange juice into a glass seemed to take major effort.

“You look wiped, Mags,” Sophie commented, having not gotten all that much sleep herself.

Maggie groaned, rubbing her eyes with her palms.

“Eggs, anyone?” Mr. Kim asked cheerfully, leaning over Sophie’s plate with a panful of scrambled eggs in his hand.

“Thanks, Mr. Kim,” Sophie said.

“You still mad at me, Dad?” asked Maggie, waving away a large spoonful of eggs.

“Nah!” Mr. Kim exclaimed, smiling. “Nothing could get me down today. Today your mother and I are going to the bank to finalize the loan so we can buy this place and transform it from the old Wharton Mansion into . . . drumroll, please . . . the Piney Hill Ski Resort!

“That is, if your mother finishes getting ready anytime soon,” he added, glancing at his watch.

“What was that, dear?” said Mrs. Kim, strolling into the dining room.

“I said, I can’t wait to see how lovely you’ll look once you’re all ready for our big day,” Mr. Kim lied.

“Uh-huh,” Mrs. Kim replied. “Good try. Sad, but a good try.”

At that moment Simon came bounding down the stairs.

“Good morning, family!” he announced energetically. “And what a beautiful morning it is!”

“What do you want, Simon?” Maggie asked. “You’re never this nice unless you want something.”

“Maggie, what a terrible thing to say about your brother,” Mrs. Kim said.

“Just wait,” said Maggie. “I’m not wrong.”

The Kims didn’t have to wait long.

“So Mom, I was thinking that since it has stopped snowing and it’s a beautiful, sunny day, maybe I could check out the skiing at the future Piney Hill Ski Resort!” Simon asked.

“What a terrible thing I said, huh, Mom?” said Maggie, smiling for the first time that morning.

“That’s enough, Maggie,” Mrs. Kim replied, then she turned to Simon. “I don’t want you to go skiing when your father and I aren’t here. We’ll be at the bank and won’t be around if anything goes wrong.”

Simon’s entire demeanor changed instantly. His mood shifted from happy-go-lucky to huffy faster than Maggie could say, I told you so.

“But Mom,” he whined, “nothing is gonna go wrong. I’m practically a pro skier. Coach MacLean said he thought that if I practiced just a little more, I’d be good enough to try out for the Olympic team next year. So I should definitely practice today.”

“I know how good you are, dear,” Mrs. Kim said sympathetically. “But I’m just not comfortable knowing that you’d be way up on the mountain when we’re not around.”

“We promise you can go tomorrow when we’ll be here,” Mr. Kim added.

“In the meantime, however, it is strictly forbidden for any of you to go skiing when we are not home,” Mrs. Kim stated sternly. “Is that clear?”

Simon just shook his head, got up from the table, and trudged back upstairs.

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