Love Just Is
Christine Lennoire
Chapter Five: Skiing Accident
Kari woke up bright and early the next morning. She could hear that her parents were already up. She pulled off the covers and stretched. The sun was out. It was a perfect day for skiing. She pulled on a pair of loose fitting pink sweatpants and a sweatshirt that was two sizes too large.
She got her stuff together and hurried out to the kitchen where her parents were cooking. They were making home-made pancakes. She smiled. "Want some help, there?" She asked. Her father smiled, patting her on the back.
"You've got the most important job of all!" Her mom laughed. "You can wake the others up for us." She laughed. Kari groaned. That was the worst job. Nobody wanted to wake up at this time. But if they wanted to get there in time to get a good spot and some good equipment for rent, they'd have to hurry.
"You owe me!" She shouted, heading back down the hall. She knocked on each of the doors very loudly and shouted for all of them to wake up in turn. But with her brother, she didn't even bother. She went right in and pulled the covers off. He didn't respond to anything else.
"Alright, alright already!" He groaned. He looked at his clock. "Dang! It's too early for this." He said, sitting up. Last, she came to Davis's room. At first, she thought about just knocking, but instead, she just went in. Davis was peacefully sleeping, curled up under his covers.
She shook him lightly. "Davis?" Suddenly, she noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. She blushed. She hadn't even thought about that before she came in. "Wake up." She said, shaking him harder. He opened his eyes and tried to bat her away.
"Just five more minutes." He moaned. He rolled over, trying to get away. Kari sighed. He was just like her brother. He didn't wake up for anybody. She turned him back over and decided to take different route.
"Get up now, or you will face the evil side of Kari Kamiya! And believe me... you don't want to see it. You could even ask my brother." She threatened. That got him up. He slowly found his way out of the tangle and sat up.
"I'm up." He said, reaching around. He found his shirt and put it on. He stretched. "Ohhhh! I smell pancakes!" He said, jumping out of bed. Kari laughed. He was suddenly very awake, as soon as food was involved.
"Typical Davis." She smiled. "Get dressed and get out. We're going skiing so you might want to dress warmly." She said. He broke in to a huge grim. He nodded. "See ya then." She said, going back out in to the kitchen. Everyone else was around the table already.
"The pancakes are finished!" Her mother announced, setting a huge plate filled with pancakes down. She set down another plate that had sausage on it. "Eat up! You have to be ready for a long day of skiing!"
Davis came out, sitting down next to Kari. He grabbed three pancakes hungrily and smiled. "Looks good to me! Thanks for everything, Mrs. Kamiya!" He said, picking up his fork and shoveling the food into his mouth.
"Try something like... chewing!" Kari laughed. "You'll choke!" And sure enough, he started coughing. Kari pounded him on the back. He smiled, swallowing the pieces of pancake. "Thanks." He grinned sheepishly.
"Guess I need some self control!" He laughed it off. "So, where are we going?" He asked. "There are two places up here. I read up. So which one are we going to? I'm kinda curious." He said, taking another bite of pancake.
"We're going to the more expensive one: Avalanche Ski Resort. It's the best." Tai said, finishing up his last piece of sausage. "We went there a couple years ago. You really get your money's worth! Snowboarding, skiing, and all kinds of tracks, hills, and lifts!" He said excitedly.
"Than what are we waiting for?" Matt said. Everyone had finished eating by now. Mrs. Kamiya stood up, collecting all the plates. She took them over to the sink and started filling it with water.
"You guys go get ready. I'll just finish up the dishes and then we'll get going." Mrs. Kamiya said, putting soap in the water and scrubbing the dishes clean. Everyone smiled and nodded. They all started talking amongst themselves about the day ahead of them.
"This is going to be so much fun." Sora said, grabbing her stuff. They all put their stuff back into the truck. Mrs. Kamiya didn't take long. She was out in a few more minutes.
"Let's get going, kids!" Mr. Kamiya said, taking the wheel. Everyone piled into the back of the truck. They were about 30 minutes away from the ski resort. By the time they got there, they were jumping around, anxiously.
"Oh, wow!" Sora said, smiling at Matt. "It's so beautiful!" She said. Matt stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and resting his head on hers. "Time for some fun!" She said, taking off running. Matt shrugged at Tai and ran off after her. They were both laughing and having a good old time.
Tai frowned. "Let's go, guys!" He shouted. "I know where the best place to rent is! We're the first ones here! We should go now and get the best stuff before everyone else takes it!" He said, running off towards the shop.
Tk, Kari, and Davis shrugged and followed him towards the rental store. He took them inside. An old man welcomed them inside with a smile. He showed them into a room with all his best rental items.
"Hello, kids. Beating the rush, eh? Well, you're smart! These are the best I have to offer. And nice they are." He smiled. "Help yourself. I'll come check in on you in a few minutes!" He went out to the cash register.
Tk smiled. "Wow! Look at this snowboard!" He said, picking up a green one. It was dark green with lighter green waves on it. It looked like a green ocean. "I definitely want to take this for a ride!" He said. "And these are awesome!" He picked out a red and black pair of skis.
Davis just got a snowboard. "I don't know how to ski. Frankly, I think I'd kill myself trying. Trying to control two legs separately is out of my league when it comes to hills and lots of snow." He laughed.
Kari smiled. "I myself, think skiing is cool. I'm taking lessons. Mom paid for them. Tai took lessons last year. I always wanted to learn!" She said, grabbing a pair of pink skis for herself. She got red one for Tai. "Here, Tai!" She said, handing them to him.
"Thank you." He laughed. "You know me too well." He looked at Sora. She seemed withdrawn; almost scared. "Sora? Are you okay?" He asked, putting a comforting hand on her left shoulder. She smiled weakly.
"Yeah... but I'm still a little afraid. I don't think I can do it." She said. Tai frowned. He knew she would be good at it. She had very strong, fit legs. She just had to get past the fear of going down the first time.
"If you want, I can help. I've done this before. And believe it or not, I was scared too, the first time. But after you go down the first time, you aren't so afraid anymore. The first time is always the worst. But it gets easier." He said, smiling at her.
"Thanks, Tai!" She smiled, hugging him. "You're right. I'm going to give it a shot!" She picked up a pair of purple and pink skis. Matt picked out a light blue snowboard. Then, they took their stuff out to the man.
"Sign your names here and the items you are taking. "It's $15 an hour. You'll pay when you return them. And don't forget to have fun!" He smiled. They each took turns signing the paper. They had all gotten helmets on the way out. "Bye!" He shouted after them.
"Bye!" They all chorused as they went towards the first lift. The teacher was there, waiting. Kari got her lessons. She seemed to be doing great, so her teacher decided to let her try the beginner lift.
She got to the top. But she was nervous. She pushed off. She was doing great. Davis watched her from up top. He had gone up with her. Tk had followed them up. They were both worried about her.
Suddenly, she swerved and lost control. She was headed straight for a tree! Davis didn't think twice. He snapped on the snowboard and his helmet. He jumped over the edge, speeding towards Kari as fast as he could.
She was screaming now. But Davis had caught up. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back behind him, letting himself be thrown into the tree trunk. Kari screamed as he made contact with the tree. He saved her life.
"Davis?" She shouted. But he was out of it. He was slowly passing out. His vision blurred and he soon fell into a deep sleep. "Please, no." She whispered. She felt tears stinging in her eyes. "Please be okay..." She prayed.
The others ran up behind her, trying to help. They helped carry him back up to the lodge. The man at the counter gave him a room where he could rest. He didn't even make them pay. But he made them promise to make him stay the night.
He had bruised his head pretty badly. There was a large bump and he was still knocked out. It got late and everyone was ready to leave, but Kari stopped. "Guys... I think I'm going to stay with Davis. I don't want him to be alone." She said.
"Are you sure, honey?" Mrs. Kamiya asked. "I think that's a great idea. That's so nice of you. We'll come to check on you in the morning." She said. "Night, sweetheart!" She said, kissing her daughter on the forehead and giving her a hug.
"It'll be okay." Tk said, smiling. "Don't worry yourself too much, Kari. Everything is okay now." He said, hugging her. She smiled. Tk was so sweet to her. She kissed him on the cheek and nodded.
"Thanks. That made me feel a whole lot better." She said, grinning. "You always know how to make me feel better, Tk." He smiled and winked at her, making her laugh.
As soon as they left, she went to the room where they were keeping Davis. He was sleeping lightly. His eyes were tightly shut and his arms were holding on tightly to the blanket. Kari walked over to the bed and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. "Davis? You're going to hurt you neck with your head turned like that." She said. She knew she sounded more like his mother than a friend right then, but she had to be.
At first, she thought he was ignoring her or that maybe he hadn't heard her. But he slowly turned. His eyes were wide open now. "Didn't you guys leave yet? It's pretty late." He said, yawning. Kari looked at the clock. It was after midnight now. She hadn't realized how fast the time went while she had been so wrapped up in everything that was going on.
"They left. I decided that I'm going to stay with you. Nobody wants to be alone." She said sweetly. "Now, I think I should change those bandages." She said. They were getting a little bloody. She sat up on the bed so she could reach over and untie his bandages. But she slipped and landed in his arms. And for a second they sat there, just looking into each other's eyes.
Kari felt this unmistakable urge to kiss him. She didn't even know what she was doing. She leaned in ever so slightly and touched his lips with hers. There was the oddest feeling going on in her stomach. And something told her that it wasn't as simple as a little hunger. Her emotions were so complicated. But right now, she didn't care.
They both pulled away very suddenly. The incident had been rather unexpected. But Davis couldn't hide his smile. And seeing him smile made Kari smile. "Um... on second thought... those bandages will be fine. At least until morning." She said. She got down on the floor and started making a small, make-shift bed out of two blankets and a large, fluffy pillow.
Davis watched her with a grand smile on his face. He couldn't hide it. Everyone knew that he had the largest crush on Kari ever. Who would have guessed that the one time he wasn't trying to ensnare her, he actually got her to kiss him! What a day this was turning out to be! 'I have to try the hero approach more often.' He thought to himself.
Kari crawled into her little bed. "Well, good night Davis. Your medication is on the table. You have to take two capsules in the morning." She said. He nodded. "About tonight... that wasn't supposed to... I mean... we shouldn't have... what I'm trying to say is... it happened but... oh!" She shouted in frustration. "Well, it just happened. Let's keep it between us until I figure out exactly what it means." She said.
"It doesn't mean anything. Nothing special or fancy, that is. It's not supposed to be complicated. And I suppose it's not. You don't feel it. If you did, you'd know. Love's like that. Once you find it, you know it immediately." He said sadly. Kari hated to see him like that. But maybe he was right. "Love... just is." He said simply.
Kari nodded in agreement. She crawled into her covers, when something struck her. She snapped up in bed. "Davis! Love just is? That was yours?" She asked, immediately referring to the essay contest a while ago. He sat up and smiled. "I can't believe it! It is yours, isn't it?" She sat up, watching him intently.
"Yes. I wrote that." He said, looking away from her. She smiled.
"I thought that was the simple most beautiful thing I ever heard. Davis, I don't know what this means, but I am feeling many things right now. Maybe it's not so simple for me. But if I learned anything from your essay, I know I'll make the right decision." She said firmly. He smiled and nodded.
"I'm sure you will." Then, they both went back to sleep. Kari's head was now buzzing. She thought she had known what love was, but this new feeling was something completely different. Davis wasn't exactly the man of her dreams, but she felt it. Davis had been right about love all along. But by these new standards, who was the one she loved? Tk... or Davis?
Ok, end of Chapter five. I don't know how long this is actually going to be, so bear with me. But I still have a ways to go. I won't leave ya hanging! It's the summer. Now I actually have time to do all kinds of writing! Yea! I'll hurry to get the next chapter posted as soon as possible. And thanks reviewers! Keep on reviewing!
Christine Lennoire