"BREEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAKFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTT"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKEEEEEEEEE EEEEEE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPP!"
"Oh, my God! Please stop!" Alice and Charlotte – who was sleeping in the other room – complained.
"SHUT UP!" Charlotte came out from the second bedroom and opened the room's bedroom. Her hair was all over the place and messed up. It was as if she had a fight with her pillow while sleeping. Someone from the corridors got its speakers out and blasted the music to full volume. "This is the worst way of waking up."
I was tired yes, but I also was really hungry and wanted to get something to eat. The sunlight that was reflecting with the mountains came in from the bedroom window, illuminating the whole room. I got up and turned around, only to find myself completely surprised with what my eyes had seen. From the view of the room, the mountains were breathtaking. They each were irregular in shape, but yet so perfect that they looked the same height. The snow from the ground had started to melt. The yells from the corridor where still persistent, so I decided to get dressed and head downstairs for breakfast.
"Wait for me!" Alice yelled as I got out of the bedroom. We reached the lobby and went to the restaurant where the tables were ready with baskets filled with toast and each seat had a plate, mug, knife and spoon. The waitresses went round the tables handing butter, caramel and marmalade, together with the offerings of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. I opted for hot chocolate – since coffee is not my favorite – and grabbed a few toasts. The coordinators then told us to get ready and to put on our skiing outfits because today was going to be the day where we would be taught how to ski or snowboard.
We made our way across the base and into the skiing rental place and were given our respective materials. I got into my ski boots and found out that skiing would be harder than I thought. Walking with ski boots on the concrete floor was a real bitch. Especially the places that had stairs or decks. And holding the skis on your shoulders together with the ski poles was the hardest and heaviest thing I ever had to do.
"Hi, Bella." Edward appeared out of nowhere and scared the shit out of me. "Wanna come with me on the mountain chairs with me?" I had arranged with Alice to go up the mountains with her but she went the opposite direction as I was going, since she was doing snowboard.
"Sure." I smiled. A coordinator told us to go up the mountain on a type of chair that was closed and held the capacity of four people. It was sort of like a booth. When we got to the station, we placed the mountain pass on a machine and it beeped, allowing us to enter the station and into the mountain. A man took our skis and placed them in a compartment outside the booth where they would ride safely. Slowly, the chair started to go up, discovering a magnificent view of snow and trees. We arrived at the top of the mountain and headed to the spot where the class would take place. Edward was in a different class than I was. I was a bit disappointed by this but didn't care too much because I knew the people from my class and got along with one or two.
"Okay, so the important thing to remember about skiing is that when you want to stop, you cross your skis. You have to make sure that when you cross them, is to the inside and not to the outside. When you walk up the mountain, walk side-ways, one ski at a time. And also, when you want to turn to the left put all your weight on your left leg, the same with the right leg." The teacher told each and every one of us to show him how we stopped first. When my turn arrived, I made a complete fool of myself and fell on my ass. He came and helped me stand up. I thought that he was nice, but changed my mind when he yelled a member of my class and told him he was an idiot and that it couldn't be that he couldn't take such simple instructions.
When the instructor ordered us to show him how to turn left, my cheeks turned crimson red because of the embarrassment I felt when I bumped into a group of old ladies. "Help, help!" I yelled at them when I found myself trying to go up the mountain and slid back down. The class had finally ended after the painful fall had left my coccyx sore and tears were beginning to form in my eyes. Not only because of the fall but because I missed my Mom. I still couldn't get over the fact that my birthday was the next day and I couldn't celebrate it with my Mom. I have always been a family kind of person and not a spend-all-the-time with friends.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Edward noticed as he got out of his skis and helped me get out of mine.
"Yeah, it's just that I fell and I'm sore. Let's go to the rest stop and eat." I tried to smile back. We walked towards the air chairs station – not the booth kind of chairs - and waited until the next chair arrived. One of the men there told us to hold the skis on our laps and to duck until the next one arrived. We did as we were told and suddenly, a chair forced us to sit down and lifted itself in the air. Edward lowed the bar down and turned to me, noticing the tears coming down from my eyes.
"Bella! Oh, my God why are you crying?" Edward said concerned, trying to wipe the tears away with his thumb but the gloves made it hard.
"I miss my Mom! I wanna go home and these chairs aren't helping. The vertigo I just felt is beyond words. I wanna go home, I never wanted to come here in the first place!" I whined and cried.
"Bella, don't worry. This is just the beginning. You're just tired. I am too tired as well. I promise you that you'll have the best time. Alice and I are here to help you, okay? Tomorrow's your birthday and I hear that tonight we are going dancing to the city. I promise that you will have the best time." Edward's mouth turned into a big bright smile, revealing his teeth. His eyes looked truthful. That was one of the things I loved about him. Even though he sometimes is a pain in the ass, he always spoke the truth. You could see it in his eyes.
We got to the chair station that took you to the rest stop and Edward lifted the bar up. Two men were waiting for us, waiting to grab us by the arm and pull us out of the chairs. We walked and were told by Riley, one of the coordinators that was totally hot, to stick the skis into the snow and tie the ski poles to the top of them. Edward sat down at a table with Michael Newton, Jasper Hale, Emmet McCarty, Benjamin, just to name a few. I sat at another table with Alice, Irina, Tanya, Tia, Makenna and Siobhan. The rest top was called "Conexion" (Connection in our language) and was a little cabana made of wood. The floors were of wood also, like if it were a deck. A great idea for skiers who were going to have a very bad time walking as the ski would get caught between the separations of the wood. Inside there was a counter and behind it, a man with grey hair and a little large was taking orders from customers. He was concentrated on a computer, having beside him a big machine that was stirring constantly hot chocolate, and behind him the kitchen. There were also picnic tables so that people could sit in if the weather was not pleasant – or if outside was full of teenagers like us – and there was also a barrel full of snow. At the end, there was a hallway that led to the bathrooms.
The waitress came and handed us a little tray with a glass of orange juice – made of melted snow and powder juice.
Ew.
There was also a plastic plate with noodles and meat sauce and for dessert, something that they called an "Alfajor." It was two soft cookies filled with Dulce de Leche and dipped in chocolate. As I had no money with me in my bag, I decided to drink the orange juice quickly and I handed the nice lady one of the yellow passes for eating. The food was not good but it was eatable.
"Everybody, please pay attention." Riley said loudly, lifting his arms up and waving them to get our attention. He was wearing beige ski pants, a thick brown cardigan that was closed up to his neck, and a light blue beanie. "You can go skiing by yourself now. Everybody who are learning please stay on the mountains that have a green flag. Those of you who know already can ski in the areas that have a yellow flag and the experts on the red or brown area. Please don't go to the black flag areas. We'll serve tea at 5 o'clock. If you don't want to ski, you can stay here and enjoy the beautiful sight of the mountains and listen to good music or can go back to the base. Have a great time!"
Alice and I decided that we were too tired to ski or snowboard so we headed our way to the chair station, grabbing our skis first and snowboard. The chair came from behind us and lifted us up in the air. "If we fall from here, do you think we'll get ourselves hurt?" Alice asked.
"I don't know. We are a few feet above the snow. But I think that the snow would cushion our fall." Pfft. I knew that if we fell we would get hurt or killed because the snow is too hard. But I just wanted to amuse Alice and went along with her curiosity.
"Look, look! Those are what Argentineans call "Tira Bola!" Alice squeaked. "They are the kids who come on their own will. You know, with the agencies. They sign up and come with a bunch of kids they don't know. They are different than us. We come with the whole year." These kids were in a line learning how to ski, the same way that I learned. They were all dressed in orange suits and we could hear them yelling and laughing. Behind them was their rest stop and some kids were having snow fights. The ride to the other station that would leave us at the base was short but yet the first days seemed long. Alice and I opted to sing loudly – nobody we knew was around – and as we reached the station we lifted the bar up. The man was waiting by my side to grab me but as he did, my skis got stuck in the chair, making me fall to the ground with the chair a few meters from the station per se. As I fell, the man managed to release the skis from the chair and I felt one of them hit me in my thigh and the other one in my butt.
Har, har.
"Are you okay?" The man said nervously. I could hear Alice laugh her ass off and asking me between chuckles if I was okay too.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I smiled. Normally, in occasions like this, I would reply nervously and then start crying. But I managed to answer him smoothly and then laugh at myself. We walked to the rental place and I left my skis and ski poles. Two men handed us our shoes and we then left to the hotel. After walking with the skis – and Alice with her snowboard boots – walking now with our own shoes felt incredibly weird. We crossed the base to the stairs – the eternal and infernal stairs – and then walked towards the hotel. Alice had had the idea to take a tour and shop a little. I had accepted but not before resting a few minutes. We lay on the sofas in the lobby and watched T.V. The doctor of our agency walked in and asked us if something was wrong because we were in the hotel so early. I had told him about my little accident and that my hand was hurting a little and he examined it. After comparing both hands for 5 minutes, he told me to just place some ice on it.
Wow. You surely are an amazing doctor. Big whoop.
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"Oh. My. God." Alice and I said at the same time as we had an orgasm while eating the delicious chocolate. We were at "Mamuschkas" a chocolate shop at the base of the mountain. The sold various kinds of chocolates. Filled, not filled. Mixed. Whatever. There was even a chocolate that had the glazed fruit in it and another one that had pistachios. I had never seen something like that. But the chocolate which got us excited was the chocolate teddy bears filled with caramel. I knew I had tried them yesterday but as I ate one of them my mouth filled with pleasure. We bought a little bag for both of us to eat after we arrived from the city later tonight. I accompanied Alice to the little mall and she bought some earrings and a necklace. We walked the whole base and I stopped at a little shop that sold everything. Candy, stuffed animals, sun glasses, drinks, and gifts for tourists. I saw a huge stuffed Saint Bernard holding a barrel that said "Bariloche" and asked for the price and it was around 20 dollars. I decided to postpone my shopping for the last days of the trip.
At 5 o'clock we sat down to have tea in the hotel's restaurant and had the same to eat as we had at breakfast. Later, we took a nap so as to prepare for the night.
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"Everybody, please head over to the buses. We'll be going to "Grisu" a club in the city. Please leave "The Moon." Riley said. Everyone left the pre-party spot and headed to the buses. It was past midnight and it was my birthday and Leah's too. Everybody sang happy birthday to us and then the driver turned the lights off. The boys had learned a song in Spanish that some locals had taught them and they sang it perfectly and fluently. The song was a little offensive – as in English it was "If we organize ourselves, we'll all fuck" – but it was fun singing it. We arrived at the club and we all spread ourselves and checked out the place. This place was also known as "The Labyrinth" as it was so big that you got lost. Mom, Dad and Peter called me to wish me a Happy Birthday and that they missed me. Alice hooked up with some dudes and she later joined me bought ourselves drinks.
As if I'm not already drunk.
It turns out that this fascinating club that everyone called the best one yet, was a complete fail. Everybody bored their asses off and we left earlier than expected. Angela, Charlotte, Mary, Alice and I got to our rooms and we put on our pajamas. I decided that I was not sleepy and joined Bree who was sitting on the floor of the second's floor corridor, outside her room. We started chatting and laughing at every bullshit that came out of our mouths. After all, we were pissed. At about 5:30am I headed back to the room and Alice was waiting for me to finish out chocolate teddy bears. The other roommates were already sleeping and we would later join them. Apparently, we had another day of ski class and I was so not looking forward to it.
Another chapter! The "offensive" song that locals taught in Spanish is "Si nos organizamos, cogemos todos." LINK: watch?v=XTPazmIwZ4U
The story about the incident with the skis and chairs is true. I had a bruise in my ass and thigh for about two weeks.
And the chocolate teddy bears are of course true.
You know what? Everything is true!
Later!