Chapter 2: The Deadly Result of Tobogganing
Hi! Thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews in the previous chapter! I didn't expect so many reviews – 13! – and neither did I expect you guys to love the story so much! Thank you once again! :D
Oh yes, if you guys are wondering in which interview I heard Olivia Holt talk about her Kickin' It kiss, it was her interview at the Twilight: Breaking Dawn premiere. You can find it on YouTube. This is a response to NeonDuctTape413,Blackbeltboyz101 (anon), and Maya's(anon) reviews.:)
Anyway, do you guys have a problem reading all the bolded text or italics in my stories? Because whenever I go look at my story on the site, I always see the words in bold or italic squished together, with no spacing. Tell me if you do. I'm really sorry though, if it affects your reading, but I've tried. I've succeeded in changing it for a few chapters, but for a few it didn't work, for some reason. I don't know what's causing it either.
Onto the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It. I only own the fictional venue in this chapter, Winter Valley Hill.
I must admit, being Jack's Secret Santa is extremely hard. For one thing, he likes skateboarding and karate, so what am I supposed to get him? I can't get him a skateboard, since he already has that, and for karate, what's more to get him? A bow staff of four ounces of perfectly balanced graphite?
Possible. But where do you find such a bow staff? At the Black Dragon? No, that'll just be a bad idea.
How complicating.
I sighed and stared at the 'Steve's Skateboard Shop' sign that was hanging above the entranceway. Apparently, that was where Jack went to get all his skateboarding gear – his trusty skateboard, his helmet, and his elbow and kneepads. I was hoping I could find something in there.
Just as I was about to enter the shop, I felt my cell phone vibrate slightly in the pocket of my winter jacket. Flipping it open, I saw I had a text message from Jack. My heart started racing.
What was I thinking? It was just an ordinary text message from Jack, a perfectly ordinary friend.
Going tobogganing w/ jerry, mil and ed winter valley hill. Hav all the toboggans alr. Want 2 join?
Tobogganing! My eyes practically lit up just glancing at the message. It's been a few years since I've gone tobogganing, and I really miss doing so. I miss the winter gales whipping against my cheeks, and that wonderful feeling in your chest when you reach the bottom of the hill successfully.
Sure. CU in 15 min. ;)
Jack's present could wait. It's tobogganing time!
"Hey Kim! So glad you could make it," Jack greeted me cheerfully, hurrying over. I had reached Winter Valley Hill five minutes before the estimated time.
My cheeks flushed, and not just because of the chilly temperature.
"'Sup Kim!" Jerry yelled in his usual 'I'm a bad boy' voice. I laughed and waved at him.
"I'm about to totally own that mountain!" Jerry whooped, dragging his toboggan to the top of the hill. I chuckled. This ought to be good.
"WHOOP! LOOK OUT BELOW!" Jerry screamed, hopping onto the toboggan. Grabbing the strings for steering, he began zipping down the hill at top speed, going by in a blinding flash. The rest of us were chanting us name and pumping our fists energetically, cheering him on.
However, his success was short-lived, because the moment he reached the bottom, he fell of his toboggan and tumbled onto the soft, powdery snow. He stumbled upon getting up, staggering to his right and left slightly before finally stabilizing himself.
"WHOA!" Jerry cheered. I rolled my eyes. Seemed like he didn't really mind the fact that he didn't exactly have the best finish.
"Dude, you were awesome on the hill, but at the bottom, EH," Eddie criticized him, emphasizing on the 'eh'. Jerry stared at Eddie in shock and horror.
"For your information Eddie, that was total swag," Jerry retorted defensively.
"Oh come on, even Ican do better than that," Eddie scoffed.
"Oh yeah?" Jerry challenged. "Then bring it on! We'll race and see who gets to the bottom of the hill first, witha big finish!"
"Bring it on!" Eddie pumped his fist into the air and grabbing his toboggan, began to struggle his way up the hill. Really, struggle his way up.
"Hey, why don't we allrace?" Jack suggested loudly, catching our attention. "We could all pair up, but we have an odd number and somebody will have to sit out."
Milton's hand immediately shot up. The poor kid was quivering nervously. "I will," he announced. "I hate tobogganing. I only came along because the snow here is perfect for making snow angels." And to our surprise, he let himself fall backward onto the powdery snow, and began to move his arms up and down, and his legs left and right.
Weird.
After convincing Milton to give up his snow angel obsession and to be the judge, I said, "Okay, now all we need to do is to pair up." I couldn't help a little nervous myself when I said this. I seriously hoped I didn't end up with someone like Eddie (who couldn't toboggan but insisted he could), who would definitely put me in second place, a.k.a. last place.
Immediately, Jerry and Eddie clung onto each other, yelling in unison, "We're together!"
"I don't want to be with Kim," Eddie said, his voice wobbling as he lifted a stubby finger to point at me. "She'll kill me if she doesn't win."
Normally I would retort, but I had to agree with them. Being too competitive was one of my few flaws.
"So I'm with Jack," I said, heaving a sigh of relief. Thank God, no Eddie or Jerry for me.
That's when I realized something. If I was with Jack, that would mean I have to sit either behind or in front of him. And in order for the both of us to stay on the toboggan, the one at the back would have to wrap their arms around the one in the front…
Oh no. Get ready to blush like crazy and tingle like there's no tomorrow, Kim Crawford.
Jack flashed me a charming smile, which for some strange reason made me feel like fainting on the spot. I forced what I hoped was a convincing grin and grabbed a toboggan.
"So, who's in the front and who's at the back?" I asked as we began to trek our way up the hill.
Honestly, I had no preferences. Both ways are equally embarrassing.
"I'm supposing it's you," Jack replied. "Normally the smaller ones stay at the back, you know?"
I whacked him on the back of the head with my free hand.
"Sorry!" Jack held his hands up in surrender. "But you gotta admit that it's true. I mean, sometimes when those male motorcyclists want to take their girlfriends out for a spin, the girls are the ones at the back, aren't they?"
"Jack Anderson, that's the most sexist thing I've ever…"
Wait a minute…
"Did you just indirectly call me your girlfriend?" I asked slyly.
Jack's face turned red and he began to stutter. "No! I'm just… you know… trying to support my point. It's like a metaphor, in a way… I… I don't know, you get what I mean."
I noticed his tomato red face and began to blush, my body tingling slightly. He blushed! When I asked if he'd indirectly called me his girlfriend! And he stuttered – Jack Anderson rarely stuttered, only when he was nervous. What did it all mean?
Did it mean he liked me?
Well, not that I actually cared or anything.
I had no idea, and chose not to pry. It would just cause some more awkward conversation. I guess I'll just have to burst under the pressure of my query.
Oh, the complications of being a fourteen-year-old!
We reached the top of the hill, way before Jerry and Eddie, who were both still trooping their way to the top, panting furiously and moving at the speed slower than a snail's.
Finally, they reached the top, and we took our places. Jack hopped onto the toboggan first, grabbing the strings and clutching them tightly. I stared awkwardly at the space behind him, trying to push all the weird, blush-inducing thoughts out of my mind.
"Um, Kim? The race is starting soon. Hurry up," Jack urged.
I sighed and squeezing my eyes shut, slowly lowered myself down at the space behind him. Luckily, the toboggan was pretty big, so I didn't have to squish right up behind him.
"Okay, now wrap your arms around me to hold on," Jack urged again.
Oh crud, how incredibly embarrassing this was going to be.
I didn't bother whining or getting out of it, since I knew there was no way he was going to let me off. Tobogganing without holding onto something was pretty dangerous.
So, very reluctantly, I loosely put my arms around his waist. The minute my arms came into contact with Jack, my body grew alarmingly warm with embarrassment, and it was as if electricity was rushing through my veins.
I could feel myself getting warmer and warmer, and I tried to hide the spreading blush on my face with my blond hair (which I shall tell you now, did not work).
"On your marks!" Milton yelled.
Jack and I straightened up slightly.
"Get set!"
Jack and I both leaned forward, our eyes focused on the hill in front of us.
"TOBOGGAN!" Milton screamed like a caveman, pumping his fists into the air.
Immediately, Jack and I pushed off, and off we went!
The first part of the hill was a gentle slope, and we cruised down it with ease, taking the head start because Jerry and Eddie had a delayed reaction. I felt the frosty winds whipping wildly against my cheeks, sending my blond hair flying behind me. I couldn't help but let out a laugh. I hadn't had this much fun in years!
The hill started getting steeper and steeper, but Jack and I remained unfazed and we kept going strong down the slope, speedily avoiding the exposed patches of ice on the snow. We were still in the lead!
Towards the end was when bad things started happening.
Jack had seen Jerry and Eddie close to catching up, and immediately leaned forward even more, putting on a slight burst of speed as he sped forward. He was used to the speed, but I wasn't. I'd never gone so fast on a toboggan before, and our lightning speed was starting to freak me out. Furthermore, the steeper the slope got, the faster we went, and the faster we went, the less control Jack had of the toboggan.
I could tell Jack was starting to panic as well, because he started to tense up and swerve quickly out of any obstacle's way.
"You guys are going down!" Jerry yelled over to us. Panicking, I saw them gaining on us – in fact, we were nearly neck and neck.
Jack, momentarily distracted by Jerry, failed the notice an alarmingly slippery-looking patch of ice coming up. The minute I saw us heading towards the ice, my brown eyes flew wide open and I slapped his shoulder, snapping him back to reality. When he saw what I was looking at, he panicked as well, and fumbled with the string to steer us safely out of the way.
But it was too late.
Everything seemed to happen in a blur. Our toboggan hit the ice and began zipping towards the bottom of the hill at breakneck speed. It careened off the slope and my heart nearly stopped as it changed its course of path and began zooming over to a cluster of pine trees. Jack's grip on the strings became tighter, and even though I clutched onto his waist as tightly as I could, the impact still threw me right off the toboggan. I flew through the air, skidded across another patch of ice, and my head collided with a tree trunk. I heard frantic voices and the alarmed scuffle of snow boots before something happened.
Darkness swallowed me.
I heard distant voices, which seemed to grow louder and louder. Those voices concern, anxiety, worry, and urgency. My mind was still whirling, and I felt overwhelming giddy.
Suddenly, I realized something. Why was I lying down?
I stirred slightly, blinking my eyes. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice cry, "Guys! She's waking up!"
Jack.
I finally managed to open my eyes fully, ignoring my throbbing head. My vision was slightly blurred, but I could still roughly make out who was who - the one with the huge brown curls was my mother, and the blond with neat hair next to her was Dad. Just behind, a short African-American, a tall dark-haired teen, and a skinny boy with red hair had let go of each other in relief. In front of my bed (what?) was a bald man in a white coat... A doctor, I supposed. And right opposite my parents, the one standing the closest to me, was Jack, with his chocolate brown hair and eyes filled with concern. He looked the most worried out of them all.
"Kim! You're awake!" Jerry whooped, before letting out his signature "Whoa!" I heard sighs of relief, and quickly took in my surroundings. Pastel green walls, the smell of medicine, and medical equipment - I was in the hospital.
"What happened?" I managed to croak, struggling to sit up. The doctor hastily dashed forward and gently pushed me back into my lying position.
"You were knocked out," Jack explained. To my surprise, his voice was tremulous. "After you hit the tree trunk, you lost consciousness and also broke your ankle. We immediately phoned the hospital and your parents."
For the first time since I awoke, I realized that my ankle was propped up in a cast, and moving it even the slightest bit caused unbearable pain shooting through it.
"Kim, why did you go tobogganing without my permission?" Mom demanded in fury. Aside from the worry on her face, she still had that tinge of anger in her expression. "Look at what happened! You fell unconscious and broke your ankle!"
So much for being concerned about me.
"Mrs. Crawford, don't blame Kim." It was Jack who spoke. "It was my fault. We were paired up and having a tobogganing race, and it was because of my terrible controlling skills that Kim fell towards those trees. I'm sorry."
My parents' expressions softened slightly, but they still glared at me. I tried to ignore their furious stares, but I really couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
I sighed. My life was never smooth sailing.
That's when it struck me. The cruise!
"And you're not allowed on the cruise," Mom added sternly, almost as if she had read my thoughts. I drew in a sharp breath, almost as if I'd been stabbed in the heart.
"Mom!" I protested. "You can't do that - I earned the trip fair and square and I deserve to go!"
"Mrs. Crawford, it is okay if she goes on the cruise," the doctor said. "She's just not allowed to do anything strenuous."
"So?" Mom demanded fiercely, edging towards the doctor threateningly. "Her recklessness was part of the reason for her injury, so we aren't allowing her on the cruise."
Upon seeing the doctor back away in alarm, Dad placed a gentle hand on Mom's shoulder, pulling her back slightly.
"Honey, calm down," Dad said soothingly. "Let's try to be reasonable here. Kim probably thought it was okay to go tobogganing without permission because she has tobogganed before. Plus, it was an accident, and it was neither she nor Jack's fault. Perhaps we could still punish her – but not by taking away her cruise opportunity."
Mom's tensed shoulders relaxed themselves, and she sighed. "I suppose I am being a bit unreasonable. Kim, you can still go on the cruise," she gave in reluctantly.
"WHOOP!" us kids all cheered in unison, clapping and jumping about. The boulder that was weighing be down before seemed to have finally tumbled off my shoulders.
"Kim, you can go!" Jack cheered. To my surprise, he suddenly reached and grabbed my hands, clutching them tightly as he said those words. I was definitely shocked, and not only by his unusual gesture, but also by the fact that my face was turning redder and redder. I quickly cleared my throat.
"Oh… sorry." Jack hastily let go of my hands, his face turning red himself.
"We'll decide on your punishment after the cruise," said Dad. "Right now, Mom and I are going to go pay the medical bill." He then ushered Mom right out of the room, with the doctor tagging behind.
"We're going too," Eddie said, looking flushed from all the excitement. "I saw a Captain Corndog outside the hospital. Jerry, Milton and I are gonna go fill our bellies." He rubbed his stomach for effect before dragging the dark-haired Spanish and the skinny nerd out of the room.
And then, it was just Jack and I.
"Look Kim," Jack said sincerely, the minute everyone had left. "I am so sorry for losing control of that toboggan. It was all because of me that you fell, hit your head, lost consciousness, and broke your ankle. Plus, you nearly lost your chance of getting to go on the cruise."
I shrugged, still smiling. "It's alright. It's not entirely your fault anyway. You just wanted to win, like how you always want to."
A relieved smile spread across Jack's face, and he heaved a sigh, his shoulders sagging at the same time.
"Thanks Kim."
When he said that, I couldn't help but blush, my red cheeks noticeably contrasting with the rest of my fair face. Plus, those unwanted, annoying butterflies fluttered back into my tummy. I seriously wanted to kill them.
"Do you mind staying with me till the others get back?" I asked. After hearing those words fly out of my mouth, I mentally felt like kicking myself. All this giddiness and light-headedness was getting the best of me.
"Sure."
Honestly, this Christmas was looking to be a pretty good one.
Wait, did I just think that? Argh!
So how was the chapter? Any areas for improvement? Please review and tell me!
I don't have much to say in this Author's Note – just that I'm hoping someone would give the link for 'Badge of Honor' soon. Jack teaches Rudy to skateboard – that should be interesting!
Stay tuned for the next chapter – should be up soon!
Adios, amigos!
~ThoseLovelyMemories