In Ocean Shores, winter was only present in the calendar. That's why people, who were not satisfied with that, traveled for winter in other places. The Rockets wouldn't be an exception: they went to the ski resort, taking Twister and Sam along, as always, and Clio, with whom Reggie tied a strong friendship in recent years. While Raymundo with Noelani and Tito were settling down, the teens had fun outdoors, performing wonders of snowboarding in front of each other. After a startling and elegant downhill, Clio took off her helmet and shook her head. Since some time, she wore her hair short, just like Reggie did. Stepping to the road-side, she waited for the other guys, and those arrived very soon, raving about the downhill.

Reggie skated up to her, saying, "How is it going, sis?"

"There's still no way I'm trading my ice skates for it," Clio smiled.

Reggie chuckled. "It's just you haven't tried skiboards yet!"

Clio looked at her with interest and said, "That's true. Maybe you could show me some moves?"

"Sure I can!" Reggie perked up and ran off together with Clio.

Watching it, Otto could only shrug his shoulders. "Those besties!"

"Yeah, now they're just like you and Twister," Sam replied with a smile.

Twister approved, nodding his head with vigor, "Right, right!"

Then he patted Otto's head, smirking. Otto, in his turn, felt embarrassed yet again because of Twister being a few inches taller than him, and gave him a dirty look. Seeing such reaction, Twister stepped back and smiled as if to apologize.

"They bailed on us, but we'll keep on skating, won't we?" Otto asked.

Right away, Twister replied to him in a chipper voice, "I'm down for it!"

Well, Otto never doubted him anyway. But Sam started thinking out loud, like he always did.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a cup of hot coffee now. Besides, it's almost lunch..."

Both Twister and Otto made a face, then chorused, "Oh, puh-lease!"

"But guys!" Sam protested. "Like you don't feel hungry!"

"You're only happy when you're eating, Squid!" Otto twitted him.

Twister echoed, "Yeah, listen to my man Otto!"

Then he thought for a while and added, "But I actually didn't eat since this morning, so..."

"Oh, Twist..." Otto drawled, disappointed, looking at him either sadly, or with reproach.

Twister hurried to clarify, "It doesn't mean I'm bailing, Ottoman!"

Watching this scene, Sam ended up saying with a sigh, "Okay. I guess we can skate a bit more."

"Yes!" Otto and Twister exclaimed together. All of them stretched their hands forward to make a woogie.

Meanwhile, Reggie and Clio were in the forest nearby the cabins. Reggie was teaching Clio to stand and move on skiboards. Since Clio excelled at figure skating and skiing, she didn't have much trouble with that.

"How come I've never thought of such sweet things?" Clio was stoked. She skated skillfully along the fallen tree, covered with snow, and jumped off it.

"Maybe you had no occasion for it?" Reggie shrugged, as she jumped off the tree, too. Clio looked at her and giggled, her hand covering her mouth.

"What is it?" Reg inquired, somewhat irritated.

"I just remembered," Clio said, "how we used to fight all the time in the past. Now those beefs seem so ridiculous."

"What can I say, times are changing, and I'm glad about it." Reggie smiled. "By the way, remember I told you about Breeze?"

Clio nodded, and Reggie went on, "She emailed me recently and asked to post her article on my site. But I don't know... I need fresh eyes on it, and you're a good critic."

"I got it, sis," Clio winked at her, "but first let's skate somewhere else."

The girls were about to leave, but all of a sudden Clio slipped and nearly fell down; she was lucky enough to have Reg quickly reacting and catching her. Thus, Clio ended up lying in her arms. Realizing that, Reg laughed, bashful, and looked away.

"Be careful," she said.

"Sorry," Clio chuckled and released herself from the embrace. Then she and Reg skated off the forest.

A few hours later...

Otto and Twister fell in the snow near each other and exchanged glances, smiling.

"That was sick," Otto said, as he saw his breath come out of his mouth.

"Totally agree." Twister stretched his arms and asked, looking at the sky, "What about you, Sammy?"

Nobody answered. Otto sat up to look around and saw that Sam wasn't there.

"Maybe he couldn't catch up with us. We've got pretty far." Otto shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

Twister sat up, too, and moved closer to Otto. There blew a cold wind, and Otto cringed.

"My ears!" he complained, pulling his hat down vigorously, but it couldn't fully protect him anyway. And the wind, as luck would have it, was only becoming more intense; a few minutes later, the boys could hear their teeth chattering.

"Dude, I'm not quite sure about Sam..." Twister said. "We should go look for him."

"Better than sitting around and freezing." Otto agreed.

So they went to scout out the area: they looked at the forest from high up, then searched on every side of the slope and behind every tree and rock nearby... but they never met Sam. The boys exchanged confused looks.

And then it hit Twister, "Wait, why not just give him a call!"

"Go ahead." Otto nodded, and Twister took his Sony Ericsson out of his pocket to call Sam. They heard line ringing and both leaned their ears towards the phone. However, after a long wait, there was no response. Sam wouldn't answer his phone at the second, third, fourth, even the fifth try.

"Oh, no!" Twister cried in despair. "We lost Sammy!"

"Oh, come on, Twist!" Otto sniffed and went on, "Sammy is already a big boy," at this point Twister chortled, "can't he make his way home alone? He probably returned earlier than us."

"Maybe, but, you know, things happen..." Twister lowered his head and bit his lips.

Watching him, Otto noticed that even though Twist was really tall, nearly turning from a gawky teen into a fine young man, he would still act somehow naïve. And Otto liked this innocence just because it was so Twister-ish. Thinking about it, he smiled and came closer to Twister.

"Twist," Otto put his hands on Twister's shoulders, "I'm really sure Sam is okay. Besides, we're not in the wild. So let's get home before dark."

Hardly had Twister replied to him, when another blast of wind messed up the snow, making Otto screw his eyes up. But no sooner had he blocked his ears, vulnerable to the frost, than he suddenly felt something warm and soft cover them up and opened his eyes in wonder.

"I kind of protected you," Twister chuckled and put his hands off Otto's ears.

Otto blinked in a daze and replied, "Well, kind of thanks..."

"We must hurry!" Twister got worried. "The wind's gonna cover our tracks, and we won't find the way!"

"Now you're talking." Otto nodded, still confused about what had just happened.

Meanwhile, just like Otto had thought, Sam was home, warm and comfy. He preferred not to follow his friends as the slope seemed to be too extreme; of course, he tried to explain it to his friends, but they didn't hear and wouldn't listen. That's why Sammy went home alone, without waiting for them to come back to the top; yes, he did feel guilty about it, but he felt hungry more than guilty, so...

"Oh yeah, go to Uncle Sam!" he whispered slyly, as he pulled a bag of chocolate cookies out of the cupboard. Then he poured them into a soup plate, made some finger sandwiches and a cup of latte, put it all on the table in the living room and, with a contented look, made himself snug under the blanket to turn the TV on.

Tito, who caught him at this, asked with a smile, "I see you're enjoying the vacation?"

The completely relaxed Sam nodded, putting the whole sandwich in his mouth.

"Where are the others?"

Sam had to chew faster to answer, "Reggie and Clio have just returned, but Otto and Twister never showed. They must have skated really far."

"Interesting..." Tito scratched his chin with a thoughtful expression. "Well, they're now big cuzzes, no need to worry."

"Yep." Sam simply put, as he lost himself in the TV.

Tito shrugged and was just about to leave but suddenly remembered, "By the way... I think I heard some phone ringing in your room. Wouldn't happen to be yours?"

Sam jumped to his feet. "Yes, it would!"

With this, he dashed off to the room, where nobody was present at the moment, and found his cell phone buried in his clothes. As soon as he saw Twister had called him up multiple times, he started calling back. But the answer he got was only the fatal words, "The subscriber is not available now. Please, call back later." The further calls had no other effect.

"Oh, no!" he cried, terrified, embracing his knees, and began repeating, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what do I do, what do I-"

"Sammy, what's going on?"

Sam turned around and saw Reggie in the doorway, wearing a big checkered bathrobe and a towel on her head.

"Twister called me about five times an hour ago, but I didn't hear and didn't answer. Now I'm calling him back, and his phone's off!"

Sam's eyes were wide with fright when he said that.

Reggie replied lazily, yawning, "Maybe it's just his battery's out."

Sam scratched his head over the suggestion and settled down very soon.

"Oh, yes... exactly..."

Reggie entered the room, taking the towel off her head, and Sam got a hint that she needed to change, so he headed back to the living room. Moreover, his favorite show was on the TV right now, and he certainly couldn't miss it. Otto and Twister had to get home anyway, sooner or later (but more likely later).

The further the boys went uphill, the harsher became the wind, and the more stops they had to make. Exhausted enough by skating, they had now to go uphill so long.

"Duuuuude, why was it so fast when we went down the slope and is so long now when we're going back?" Twister asked, puzzled, as he gripped his cap so it wouldn't fly off his head.

"Because, Twist, when we went down, we were on our boards, and now we're hiking!" Otto explained, trying to shout down the wind.

This was followed by a rather emotional question, "Why won't we just snowboard to the top, if that's faster?!"

"Twist..." Otto rolled his eyes. "I just won't say anything."

Twister stared at him in confusion for a while. Then it hit him, and he slapped himself on the forehead, saying, "Ohhh, right!"

Their feet barely moving, sinking in the snow, they sorely wanted to drop the snowboards to make it a bit easier; meanwhile, the daylight faded, and this didn't make them happy either. The boys made yet another stop to catch their breath and looked down. Behind them was only the half of their way; realizing that, Otto and Twister groaned, as they dropped their boards and sat down on some rock nearby. While they were sitting, huddled together, trying to hide from the wind with their arms, Otto came up with an idea that was articulated right away.

"Let's call Ray to get us out of here!"

"But where is this 'here'?" Twister asked.

"Well, um..."

That was a good question. Confused, Otto looked around and thought: how would they explain their location? This mountain wasn't exactly the one where everybody would skate — in fact, it was off-limits. There were plenty of the same easy-to-confuse mountains, and it wasn't quite clear where Raymundo should drive up.

Eventually, Otto gave up thinking and said, "Just call him. We'll figure it out!"

Twister pulled his phone out of the pocket and stared at the screen.

"What's up?" Otto looked at the screen, too, and... didn't see anything.

"Man, it must have run out of energy…" Twister sighed, disappointed, and hung his hand down.

The irritated Otto wrested the phone out of his hand and attempted to turn it on, but the device wouldn't react.

"Damn it!" he snapped and gave the phone back to Twister; he wished he had brought his own phone.

"Hey, don't freak, we'll get there on foot!" Twister tried to reassure Otto. "That's how we planned it anyway."

"I wouldn't know..." Otto replied, uncertain, while he grabbed his snowboard. "I don't clearly remember our way, so we'll surely have to grope in the dark."

All of a sudden, Twister said slowly, "I'm not quite sure, but I might have a map here..."

"No way!" Otto let out a whistle of amazement. "A phone, a map — what else have you got in your pockets?"

In that instant, Twister started delving into the numerous big and small pockets he had on his coat and taking out different stuff.

"Oh, look at this quarter! And this is a wrapper of my favorite candy! And here's a jewelry store flyer! Wow, the last year's gum! And this is my lucky sock!"

"Your lucky sock?!" Otto snickered. Twister hissed at him and continued his searching. Finally, he pulled out a bright booklet.

"No way! I thought I'd lost it!" Twister said, excited: that was a signed booklet of another album by Shaffika. Then he opened it and took out of there another booklet. "And there is the map!"

Otto took the map and asked in a seemingly casual manner, "Do you know about her upcoming concert in March?"

"Of course I know!" Twister exclaimed. "I've almost saved enough money to buy a ticket..."

"Don't buy anything!" Otto exclaimed, frightened, and quickly clapped his hand over his mouth.

"What do you mean?!" Twister said indignantly. Otto sighed, silently scolding himself: now that he mentioned it, he had to put his cards on the table.

"It's just... your birthday's coming up, so I've already taken care of the gift!" Otto blurted out and fell silent, shyly shuffling his feet.

Twister blinked, digesting what he had just heard, and then a huge smile spread across his face.

"Are you serious?!" he cried, excited. "Did you... did you... you... did..."

It seemed to have left Twister speechlessly amazed, so Otto had to find the strength to say, "Yes, I bought you a ticket for the con-"

But before he knew it, he was squeezed in Twister's tight grip and nearly lost his balance because of Twister jumping on him like that. Otto was about to snap at him, but Twister said, "Thank you, Otto! You're the best."

So sincere and tender were these words that all Otto's irritation vanished as if by magic. A silent smile on his face, he hugged Twister and patted him on the back. They might have stayed in each other's warm arms a bit too long. In fact... neither of them was against it. When they finally let each other go, they moved on in a way more chipper manner, as if they had taken some mysterious force from each other, and got to the top even faster than they had expected. As it was getting darker, the merciless wind gradually ceased and didn't bother them anymore.

When the whole family was long since finishing the dinner and dispersed over the house, the front door burst open, and Otto along with Twister tumbled in.

Twister shut the door, while Otto, catching sight of his parents in front of the TV, breathed out with a final effort, "Mom, Dad, sorry that we worried you, we didn't expect it to be so long..."

Slightly puzzled, Raymundo and Noelani looked at their son.

"Why? What time is it?" Raymundo glanced at his watch and scratched his head. "Oh... I didn't really notice."

"Are you telling me you didn't even lose us?!" Otto exclaimed in utter disbelief.

Noelani shrugged and replied, "I barely started to worry. We had so much to do here that the only thing we lost was track of time."

"But... we thought Raymundo would be freaked..." Twister gave Raymundo a puzzled look; the latter exchanged glances with his wife, and they both burst out laughing.

"Not at all," Ray replied, "you're not little kids anymore. You better go and get warm, you've got frost on your noses."

"Okay." Otto and Twister sighed in relief, taking off their coats and hats, and shuffled to their room.

When they came in, Clio raised herself on the bed and addressed Reggie with a chuckle, "Look who's back!"

Reggie, who was sitting next to Clio with her laptop, lifted her head to ask, "Where have you been?"

"Ohhh..." Otto and Twister groaned; they were limp with fatigue. They couldn't even get to the bed, so they simply sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Where's Squid?" Otto mumbled. Reggie and Clio exchanged glances and both pointed at the top shelf covered with curtains.

Otto was about to stand up, but he obviously hadn't the strength for it, so he could only say in a loud voice, "How could you ditch us like this, Squid!"

The curtains opened slightly, and there Sam's face was revealed.

"What did I do?" he simply asked. "I told you that I wouldn't go, but you didn't listen-"

"I don't know any of that!" Otto cut him off, exhausted, and sank his head onto Twister's lap.

"Yeah, you didn't tell us nothing!" Twister echoed indignantly, running his fingers through the auburn red hair.

He kept on stroking Otto's head for some time, while the latter, initially lying there with a weary face, closed his eyes and relaxed into a smile in the process. Watching the scene, Sam and the girls started giggling in unison, and at first Otto and Twister didn't even realize what the matter was. And when it hit them, they sprang back from each other right away.

Twister quickly changed the subject by asking, "Is there anything to eat for us?"

Sam perked up and leapt off the bed, replying, "Especially for you — and for me — I've kept some sandwiches! Now come with me, gentlemen!"

Then he headed to the kitchen with a swagger. It took Twister and Otto a while to scrape themselves off the floor and follow him. Reggie and Clio were left in private again; they kept silent for a while, both busy with their stuff — Reggie was editing some articles for her site, and Clio was reading a book. But then the silence was broken by Clio's soft voice.

"Say that it was sweet."

"What?" Reggie asked. Clio sat on the bed and moved closer to Reggie to pat her head, smiling mischievously.

"Ahh, I see!" Reggie laughed and caught Clio's hand in air, as their sparkling eyes met. So Reggie asked, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"To be honest, I've been thinking of that sweet show about the two brothers hunting demons that we started watching recently..." Clio chortled, covering her mouth.

"Exactly!" Reggie cheered.

She let go of Clio and turned back to her laptop; one minute later, they were already staring at the screen, while cuddling up together. After all, everybody longs for warmth in winter.