“Yeah, it was incredible,” said Drew. “Do you guys ski?” he asked Jeremy and Aaron.

“We hit Eagle’s Landing this morning,” said Jeremy.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” said Aaron. His mop of curls bounced when he talked.

Okay Levy. Come on. Show up.

“Yeah, I heard that’s a really cool trail,” I said, trying to catch Aaron’s eye.

Nothing. I waited.

“Was it fun?” I asked weakly.

“Yeah, I just said it was,” said Jeremy. I tried to shoot him a look but he didn’t see.

Aaron kept shoving his grilled cheese sandwich into his mouth.

Okay, I could do this. I just needed confidence, perseverance, maybe a blowhorn.

“Sam?” Jeremy was elbowing me in the side.

“Huh?”

“Liz just asked you something.”

“Wha —?”

“Oh, I just said, do you ski, Sam?” asked Liz sweetly.

“Um, not really.”

“Really? Why not?”

“Yeah, why not Sam?” asked Jeremy with a sneaky smile.

Great. Think fast, Levy. “Oh, you know. I didn’t sign up in time. I’ll probably take a class tomorrow,” I said, giving Jeremy a swift kick under the table.

“Ow!” said Dina, who was sitting across from me.

“Oops! Sorry about that, I didn’t mean it! I thought it was …” Jeremy watched the whole thing and just shook his head, laughing. Heidi was laughing, too.

“What? I missed it,” said Aaron. Ugh.

“Well, if you want, I’ve got a space or two left in my afternoon session,” said Drew.

“You should do it, Sam! It’s for total beginners. We had so much fun, we’re doing it again!” said Liz.

Jeremy looked at me. “Actually, Sam’s more into reading. She’s not that into —”

“Yeah, sign me up,” I said, cutting him off just in time.

Outside, the air felt thin and sharp. Drew led the group to a small valley just beyond the chalet. Then he stood in front of us with his feet spread apart, and started reading out our names. There was me, Liz, Heidi, Dina, and a little girl named Molly who had pink everything, including earmuffs and knee pads, which I thought was cool. She was there with her dad. And then there was a couple with matching striped hats, I didn’t catch their names. I was too busy trying to keep my balance. My boots were a size ten. The guy behind the counter had said that they ran big, but I think he only said that so I didn’t feel like a mutant. I knew I would tip over with the first gust of wind.

Drew gathered us in a semicircle.

“Okay, crew. You ready to tackle that mountain? The first thing we’re going to do is put on our skis and learn how to stop.”

He went around to each of us and made sure that our boots slid into the skis properly. Then he stood in front again and pointed his skis together so they were perpendicular to each other. “This is called the T-stop. It’s pretty basic, but it works every time. Can everybody make this shape with their legs?”

Uh, not exactly.

For the next hour and a half, we went over how to stop, how to steer, acceleration and braking, getting on and off the chairlift, and the names of the different slopes. Liz was nodding her head thoughtfully, and Molly kept on bending her knees and practicing her T-stops. I knew I should’ve been listening. I’m sure what he was saying was important, but I just kept thinking about plowing into a tree and being buried under a pile of snow and wasn’t there some news story recently about a guy who had been caught in an avalanche?

“Remember, you are in charge here, not the mountain. The most powerful tool you have here is your focus. Maintain your weight on the balls of your feet and keep your knees bent. And leave your behind behind.” Drew bent his knees and leaned forward, his back making a perfect curve against the white mountain behind him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Heidi grab Dina’s hand. Drew really was extremely good-looking. But it was obvious that he knew it, too, which was a definite turnoff. And behind behind? Who thought of that one? I wondered if all the instructors had to say that or if Drew came up with it by himself. It was super cheeseball, if you asked me.

“Okay, now we’re going to get in line for the lift and head on up there. Any questions?”

We pushed over to where all the chairs came in for a landing. Drew talked to the guy who was standing next to the control box, and then turned to us.

“This thing doesn’t stop. So you have to get on and off pretty quickly,” Drew instructed. “Keep your feet up and be ready to jump off. It goes faster than it looks, so I want you paying attention. Okay, Ryan will make sure you get on all right, so I can be there when you get off. See you at the top!” He jumped on the first seat and started up the mountain.

The striped-hat couple went first. Then Molly and her dad. Before I had time to think, Liz grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. I wanted to tell her wait, I had to tie my bootlace, or Margie was waiting for me back at the chalet, but I didn’t have time, because all of a sudden the earth was falling away from us and we were lifting into the air.

I heard myself howl.

“Pretty cool, right?” said Liz.

“Sure,” I squeaked. I was trying to do that special breathing I learned on Mom’s yoga tape, but I sounded like I was about to give birth to an elephant.

“Wahoo!” yelled Liz, totally oblivious to our impending doom. “Now remember, it’s not going to stop, so get ready,” she warned. And then the mountaintop was coming toward us and I saw Drew’s orange goggles and the striped-hat couple standing with their arms around each other, watching us come in.

“Keep your feet out!” yelled Drew, as the ground got closer and closer.

“Wheeeeeee!” squealed Liz, sailing out ahead of me.

“Go, Sam, go!” called Drew. I closed my eyes and pitched myself forward, my stomach flipping up into my chest. My skis went out in either direction and my butt started sinking. And then there were two hands on my waist, steering me forward, slowly, securely.

“Atta girl,” said Drew into my ear. “You got it.”

We came to a stop and he turned me around. “Nice job,” he said, but I was panting too hard to respond. “Pretty cool, huh?” he said with a wink, and then squeezed my shoulder. Man, this guy was slick. I saw Heidi and Dina watching the whole thing, whispering into each other’s ears.

The rest of the group came in. Even Molly had a smoother landing than me. But she’s closer to the ground, so it’s easier for her, right? Then Drew led us over a little ways to what he called the Junior Slope. Only, it didn’t look too junior to me. It was pretty much a straight shot down to the bottom — no trees or anything to break the fall. The chalet looked like it was worlds away. My knees felt like loose noodles, and my heart was pounding in my ears. Was there a way to take that chairlift back down instead?

“Okay, now we’re going to have some fun,” said Drew. “Remember, you’re going to keep your head up, maintain your center of gravity,” he said. “And keep your behind —”

“Behind!” answered the rest of the group. I wanted to laugh because it was so corny, but I still couldn’t spare the air.

Zoom! went the striped hats.

Zoom! went Liz. Zoom! Zoom! Dina and Heidi. I could hear them laughing and hollering the whole way down. Molly and her dad went next. No fatalities so far. Come on, Levy, you can do this. But every time I looked over the edge, I felt frozen and my knees buckled. I tried digging my poles into the snow, and they kept slipping out to the sides.

Then Drew was by my side, plowing to a stop.

“You need a hand?” He flashed me one of his dazzling smiles.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I muttered, looking back at the ground.

“First, make sure you have a firm grip on these things.” He gave me the poles and then laid his gloved hands over my mittens.

“Next, I want you to put your weight forward, like you’re almost going to tip over.” He leaned his body into my back. “You okay?” he murmured. He was so close to my ear I could almost feel the words coming off his tongue.