v2.0 C9.1

In the last episode… (don’t mind me, I’ve always wanted to say that. (: )

The middle-aged coach raised his eyebrows. “You should join us.”

Michel whistled. I gaped at the coach for a second. Then I blinked. He was really being serious.

I bowed hastily. “Gladly.”

Right. Here’s the latest fix:

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Chapter 9 – “Laughter”

-

Coach Takeda’s back from Japan. I don’t quite believe it. I thought I’d never see him again, when he left the dojo two years back. I was only fourteen, fifteen max. Thought I’d never go for karate lessons again.

He’s changed somewhat, but in what way? I just can’t put my finger on it. But he hasn’t lost any of his verve, or his strength. And he’s still as ruthless as he ever was, if not more. I was hoping that he’d get soft as the years go by. Yeah, I know, fat hope. Now I’m aching in all sorts of places from being beaten to pulp yesterday. He was brutal. He knew that I hadn’t been practicing for two years, and yet he batters me with half of his strength (which is more than most people will ever achieve), in the most vicious manner possible. Absolutely ruthless. I had half a mind to stop Katherine from joining his class. I hope Mr Takeda gives more leeway for beginners, or Katherine’s going to be dead meat. Seriously.

*

I’ve no idea why, but father’s in a really bad mood, and so is mother. Perhaps they argued earlier; both of them seem to be more irritable this fall. But somehow I still feel really excited, I can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully, this season’s snowfall will be plentiful. I don’t get why this year’s visit to Summit Central’s so early, though. It’s usually scheduled the week before Halloween. Speaking of which… Erin’s getting some seriously weird ideas for Halloween. Better see what she’s up to before she wrecks her room.

-

“Alright, people. We’ll be here for the next half hour, and we probably won’t be coming back this way, so buy everything you need now. Assemble at the main entrance at 9:30 am sharp, and try not to be late. Got that? Good. Freshmen, come with me.” Ms Daniels led a hotchpotch of brightly clad students over to the clothing department. I began to follow.

“You’re downgrading yourself, you know? Are you sure you don’t have mental capacity of a freshman?” Anne remarked drily as she strode towards me. She steered me away from the crowd. “Come over to see the boards. This store is excellente, this season’s boards are all on sale. Danvers’s practically drooling over them.”

I was dragged over to where the majority of the juniors were. Danvers was there as well, and he was swooning over the shiny snowboards.

“Oh my god! This is the latest in the…” He was admiring a sleek blue snowboard, an alpine or carving board. Apparently, there was some graffiti on the board that he found appealing.

“You have such taste,” Anne cut in rather acerbically, crossing her arms with a crooked grin on her face.

“Hello? This board is magnifique, it’s…” Danvers retorted indignantly.

I felt someone move towards me. Turning, I saw Yelena grimacing as the intensity of the duo’s verbal jostling escalated.

“I think you’ll like some of the boards over there.” She gestured at a random section of the store.

“Let’s hurry over, then, shall we?” I whispered, careful not to let Anne hear me.

We went over to look at some mid-range boards. Some had ridiculously exorbitant prices, while others were more reasonably-priced. But they were still slightly on the expensive side for me. Ma had barely given me enough to buy a decent board and basic attire. She had been reluctant to let me go for the trip, as it was.

“So, are you going to buy this board?” Yelena asked.

I realised that I had been staring at the board in front of me. It was a freeride board, painted a bright cheery yellow with some white graffiti near the tail. I picked it up, testing its weight and rigidity. It was surprisingly light for a freeride board. It was just about right for my height, albeit slightly longer for my taste, reaching up to the tip of my nose. No matter, that would just give me a slight boost.

“Hey, Katherine? I asked you a question.”

“Whoops, sorry. I’m still trying to decide.” I flipped the snowboard over to the underside, inspecting the smooth surface of the board. Then my eyes flicked over the price tag.

“Um, perhaps not.” I muttered.”It’s a wee bit too expensive.”

“Oh. What’s your budget?”

“About…”

“Oh, forget about the budget, Katherine.” Anne approached with Danvers beside her. “Just buy it.”

“But…”

She crossed her arms. “The board agrees with you, yes?”

I nodded hesitantly, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Then buy it! Cheaper boards are usually of lower quality.”

“But…”

“Ugh! How much does it exceed your budget?”

“$24.95.”

Anne blinked at me incredulously. Yelena and Danvers were both looking at me with odd expressions on their faces.

“Okay. It exceeds about $25. What’s the big fuss about?”

“If I use that up, I’m only left with $100 to buy the rest of my equipment.”

“Then why didn’t you bring more money?” Anne rolled her eyes as she grabbed hold of my arm and led me to the cashier.

*

“Do you need an instructor, Ms Brown?” Ms Daniels approached, loose strands of hair flying all over her face.

“No, I can manage, I think.” I was dressed in a snowboarding jacket that was in the same shade as my new board. Much too bright for my taste, but I didn’t have much choice: it had been Yelena’s and she’d bought it when she first joined Winter sports. It was slightly too small for her now, though. Presently, she was outfitted in a bright orange one that she’d just bought, strapping her soft boots into the bindings. Together, we attracted a lot of glances. My face was probably beetroot-red now. Part of my mind noted that they were all warm colours.

“Ok then, have fun!” The teacher hurried away to tend to some of the freshmen.

I began adjusting the bindings on my board.

“Can you really manage?” A Hispanic girl beside me asked in concern. The sophomore had been introduced to me in the first session, I recalled. Kelly Carlos. She was in an awkward position, with both feet strapped in.

“I should be fine. I can do most of the basics. No aerials for me, though.” I began strapping my shoes onto the board.

“So, how long have you been snowboarding?” She had a nice smile.

“I first tried it when I was six or so.” I frowned. Had my parents actually let me go snowboarding at such a young age? “We went to the French Alps. But I can’t remember much.”

“Wow. The French Alps?” Yelena seemed awed.

“Yes. I think I managed to collide into someone though. My father didn’t let me go snowboarding for the next six years.”

Kelly started cracking up. “That… must have been… serious.” Then she began to laugh even harder.

“Did I miss a joke?” Anne piped up, smiling wryly. She was dressed in a dark blue jacket, carrying a dark, almost black alpine board, every inch the professional snowboarder. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail.

“Duh!” Yelena exclaimed, grinning widely. “Katherine collided into someone on her snowboard when she was six, and her dad banned her from snowboarding for six years,” she provided. Kelly started snickering again.

Anne rolled her eyes. She was about to say something in response when she caught sight of me strapping my shoes onto the board. “Danvers!” She called over her shoulder. “I told you Katherine’s goofy!”

“She is?” He appeared, dragging Chris along with him. Then he sighed theatrically, slinging his arm over his friend’s back. “There goes your status of being the only goofy junior, Chris.”

Chris smiled wryly, shrugging. “It was bound to happen someday.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Nice jacket, by the way. It goes really well with your board.”

“It was Yelena’s,” I replied testily.

“Hey! What’s wrong with my jacket?”

“Nothing,” I replied hastily. “It’s just slighter brighter than what I’m used to.”

“What’s wrong with being bright?”

“Um… I don’t really wear bright yellow clothes.”

Yelena narrowed her eyes, appearing slightly put out. A slight smile escaped her a few seconds later, though. “Why not?”

I shrugged, standing up rather clumsily. The bindings were a bit too close together for my comfort. “Um, probably because…” I repositioned the bindings, pausing slightly. “Well…”

“Andre!” Ms Daniels looked harried as she hurried towards the annoyed President. “The Freshmen are going off, we’ll be meeting you at around four at the usual place, got that? Organise the rest of the team into three groups and all that, you know the drill. Have fun!”

With that, the teacher swept past us and hurried back to the Freshmen.

“Okay, people, you heard her!” Danvers shouted over the hubbub. “Alpine boards over to the left, Freeride, centre, Freestyle, right. We’re going off in five minutes, hurry up, everyone!”

And here’s a teaser:

“If this happens again I’m going to make you scrub toilets in block D. And if I’m in a foul mood you’ll wish block B never existed.”

- Nurse Wanda