Chapter 18: The Ski Trip

At his office, billionaire Jonathan Long was making a phone call to the manager of a ski resort he recently bought.

"Mr. Long, how may I help you?" The manager eagerly asked. He was talking to his boss, after all.

"Tomorrow is the day those students from Millard Fillmore Middle School arrive, right?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, Sir." The manager answered.

"I'm concerned about that new maintenance guy you hired to work at the ski lift." Jonathan commented.

"Hans Rotwood?" The manager asked. "What's wrong with him?"

"You know the reason he's no longer a school teacher, right?" Jonathan asked.

"Mr. Long, I am aware of the fact he was fired for caging one of his students under the belief that said student was a dragon but don't worry." The manager answered. "But it's in the past and I told him to stay away from the students."

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Jonathan asked.

"I'd place my hands on fire for him, Mr. Long." The manager assured his boss.

"Would you place your job on fire for him?" Jonathan asked with a frown.

"No, Sir." The manager answered.

"You just did," Jonathan argued. "If he does anything to the students that cannot be justified by just doing his job, you and he will be fired. Of course, if you're not willing to take any chances with your job, just fire Rotwood. He's still on his probationary period after all."

"Don't worry, Mr. Long."

"It's not me who needs worrying. Goodbye." He said and then went home.

After he told his wife about his day, they made a mirror call to Jake. "What's with the sad expression, Jakers?" Jonathan asked. "Aren't you happy to see us?"

"I am, Dad." Jake replied. "It's just…"

"Girl trouble?" Jonathan guessed.

"Well, yes." Jade admitted.

"Did Rose find her glasses?" Haley teasingly asked.

"Ha. Ha." Jake replied. "Our date was interrupted because of her aerobics lesson."

"Again?" Susan asked. "Is she aiming to become a professional gymnast?"

"Mom, aside from that, dragon duties keep me from having more date opportunities. Do you think I should reveal my secret?" Jake asked.

"Of course you should, kid." Fu suggested. "No girl in their perfect mind would say no to a rich boyfriend."

"Fu, I think he meant the other secret." Jonathan replied and then addressed Jake. "Didn't you, Jake?"

"Yes, Dad." Jake answered.

"Are you insane, kid?" Fu asked in exasperation. "She'll either think you're crazy or be afraid you'll harm her."

"Either way, Jake, I suggest you wait until after the ski trip because Rotwood is working there." Jonathan advised.

"What?" Jake asked in outrage. "What's he doing there?"

"Maintenance." Jonathan answered. "Jokes aside, did you expect him to remain unemployed until he somehow wormed his way back into his former teaching position?"

"Yes." Jake bluntly answered. "Why don't you fire him?"

"Without a reason to do so, it might call undue attention, Jake." Jonathan replied. "The resort's manager hired Rotwood knowing of his past. Such is the trouble with power delegation."

"I'll make note of that." Haley commented.

"Hopefully it's just an unhappy coincidence." Lao Shi suggested.

"I'm afraid not, Lao Shi." Jonathan replied. "That trip was already reserved even before Rotwood lost his employment at Millard Fillmore Middle School."

"We'll keep an eye at him, Dad." Jake reassured his family.

"And I'm going there for a surprise inspection as well so, remember not to refer to me as anything that indicates our kinship." Jonathan replied.

"Sure thing, Da… Mr. Long." Jake obeyed.

"See you tomorrow, boy with the same surname as mine." Jonathan joked back.

The next day, as the students boarded the bus to the resort, Brad tried make Rose sit next to him but Sun Park got in the way and Rose managed to sit next to her boyfriend Jake. "Thanks, Sun." Jake said.

"You're welcome, Jake." Sun replied with her usual smile. The journey to the resort was uneventful.

Meanwhile, at the resort, Rotwood was evaluating his options. Contrary to what some people were assuming, he was really letting his dragon obsession in the past. Working at the ski resort gave him a chance to locate and prove the existence of the yeti. Then, with the newfound respect he'd get from this, he'd be able to expose Jake Long as a dragon. "The past resurfaces." He noted to his log.

"Rotwood?" The manager interrupted him. "I hope you aren't going to bother the students with that sick obsession you have with dragons."

"No, Sir." Rotwood replied.

"Good, because I've put my job on the line for you." The manager explained. "The resort's owner says the both of us will be fired if you bother the students."

"You said there'd be no trouble from him." Rotwood commented in surprise.

"That was before Jonathan Long bought the place." The manager explained.

"Long?" For a brief moment, Rotwood wondered if it there was any sort of kinship between Jake and Jonathan but quickly dismissed the identical surnames as a coincidence. Jonathan Long was Caucasian and Jake Long was Chinese.

"Yes, Rotwood." The manager answered. "This resort is now a subsidiary of Long Enterprises. That's my big chance of being an executive of one of the biggest corporations in the planet so DON'T RUIN IT!"

"I vouldn't dream of it, Sir." Rotwood replied.

"Good. Now check the ski lift." The manager ordered.

While Rotwood was checking the ski lift as ordered, the bus was arriving. "How odd." Spud commented.

"What?" Trixie asked.

"That maintenance guy looks like Rotwood." Spud explained.

"That maintenance guy is Rotwood." Jake replied. "I've heard he got a new job here. Hopefully it'll distract him from his obsession with dragons."

Several students voiced their agreement since they didn't believe in the existence of dragons. 'Poor Jake.' Rose thought. 'Completely oblivious to the magical dangers lurking around even after those goblins infiltrated at our school. Ever since then the Huntsmaster ordered me to keep an eye just in case the American Dragon was trying to figure out my identity. I hope the creature doesn't try to use Jake as a hostage.'

"What about you, Rose?" Jake suddenly asked.

"What about me what, Jake?" Rose asked, not knowing what Jake was talking about.

"Do you also think Rotwood's obsession with dragons is insane?" Jake asked.

"Rotwood is nuts, no doubt about that, Jake." Rose gave a half-truth. She knew dragons were real but she agreed that Rotwood was crazy.

"I only hope he doesn't ruin my dating chances." Spud commented.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Spud?" Jake asked.

"Not yet." Spud answered and then expressed his hopes of dating the ski lift. Everyone was weirded out.

"So, how about you and I ride Spud's girlfriend together, Rose?" Jake suggested.

The more Rose would like to enjoy the ride with Jake, she had a mission as the Huntsgirl. She had to capture the yeti. "I'm sorry, Jake. I'd like to practice some skiing by myself first." 'Hopefully I'll catch the yeti during my first 'practice'.'

"Okay, Rose." Jake sadly replied.

"Roselicious, I'll gladly teach you." Brad volunteered.

"Brad, which part of 'by myself' you didn't understand?" Rose asked a little irritated. First, her Huntsgirl duties got in the way of her love life and now that.

When they arrived at the resort, the manager showed up to welcome them. "Welcome, Millard Fillmore Middle School." He said. "I am the manager of this resort."

"I am Sun Park and I'm in charge of watching over the students." Sun Park introduced herself. "Should I be concerned about Hans Rotwood being here?"

"Don't worry, Ms. Park." The manager replied. "I'm sure he won't bother any of you."

"You'd better be." An unexpected voice stated. "M-M-M-Mr. Long?" The manager asked in shock.

"I hope you remember what I said about you trusting him." Jonathan said and then, without waiting for a reply, addressed Sun and the students. "Hello, for those of you who don't know me, I am Jonathan Long, C.E.O. of Long Enterprises and the new owner of this ski resort. If Hans Rotwood gives you any trouble, just warn me."

"Yes, Mr. Long." They replied together.

"Good." Jonathan stated. "Now, I'm going to my quarters."

After finishing with the ski lift, Rotwood returned to the last place where the yeti has been spotted in hopes of taking a photograph of it. By the time he found the creature, there were two other characters fighting for it: a red dragon and some girl wearing a ninja outfit. 'Could she be the person fighting Jake Long when I took the picture Spudinski mistook for his mother's lasagna?' Rotwood decided to just take pictures until the fight ended and the ninja and the yeti fled to separate ways.

After the students returned to their dorms, Sun Park went to see Jake and Spud. (As a girl, Trixie couldn't be roomed with boys) "Hi, Sun." Jake greeted her. "What's wrong?"

"I should be asking that." Sun answered. "The both of you seemed so worried upon returning from your skiing."

Jake sadly showed a ski pass. "Your ski pass?" Sun asked.

Jake and Spud showed theirs. "Huntsgirl's." Jake answered.

"What?" Sun was shocked. "But these passes are only issued for students!" She exclaimed upon inspecting the found pass. "It's a fact: one of the students is the Huntsgirl."

"What do we do?" Jake asked.

"Jake, you and Spud just act like you don't suspect anything while I investigate." Sun instructed the boys. "Tell Trixie as soon as the three of you are alone."

Knowing the Huntsgirl didn't suspect her, Sun Park took a wait-and-see approach and just kept going as usual until someone approached her about the missing pass. That someone turned out to be Rose. "Well, Rose, somebody found the pass and, not knowing who lost it, handed it to me. Here, take it back and be more careful next time." Sun advised Rose. "We can never tell the consequences of bad decisions."

As Rose left, Sun dropped her happy face and expressed sadness that such a nice girl turned out to be a slayer. She then went to Jake and his friends to relay the bad news. "NOOOOOOOO! You must be wrong!" Jake exclaimed in sadness. "Huntsgirl must be someone else. Even Trixie!"

"Hey!" Trixie protested.

"Dude, she has an alibi." Spud argued. "She was skateboarding with me back when Huntsgirl knocked you down that day Trixie and I… you know."

"Also, you and your Grandfather reported Huntsgirl as a blue-eyed blonde." Sun added.

"Okay, maybe it's not Trixie but Huntsgirl might wear a blonde wig to mislead us." Jake suggested.

"Face the facts, Jake." Spud told his friend. "Roses are red, violets are blue. Love is hard, 'cause your girlfriend wants to kill you."

That night, Jake fought Huntsgirl again and, this time, had her pinned. He removed her right glove, revealing the dragon-shaped birthmark he already knew Rose to have, forcing him to accept the truth. "Like it, dragon?" She teasingly asked. "It's a mark that shows it's my destiny to slay dragons."

Before anyone said anything else, a snowstorm released Huntsgirl and she was about to slay Jake when Sun Park (in dragon form) showed up and distracted Rose. Jake improvised a snowboard to escape with the yeti and Huntsgirl made up another one.

"With moves like these, you should try professional snowboarding." Jake suggested to Huntsgirl. He eventually escaped and reunited with his friends, who did their best to comfort him.

"To be fair, Jake, I would have accepted the possibility of the wig trick back when I had no clue to the fact Rose is the Huntsgirl." Sun commented.

"What happens now?" Jake asked. "I'm afraid of being near Rose but I don't think it's a good idea not to act like I still don't know her secret."

"You have a point, Jake." Sun replied. "Fortunately, there's no need to worry. While 'the Huntsgirl' wants to slay 'the American Dragon', 'Rose' doesn't mean to harm 'Jake'. Just act like you don't know anything while you and her are in your civilian selves until the Dragon Council manages to stop her."

"Do you think they'll tip the Feds?" Jake asked.

"Assuming Chang doesn't get her way." Sun theorized.

"Feds?" Trixie asked in confusion.

"Sometimes, the Huntsclan birthmark appear in people born to non-Huntsclan families." Jake sadly explained. "Whenever the Huntsclan gets word of these kids, they try to abduct them. Thanks to the human authorities, several born slayers are living their lives like humans who don't know magical creatures are real. There's a dragon in France who's friends with a marked slayer whose family saved her from being taken by the Huntsclan in the first place."

"You're not thinking Rose was taken from her real family, are you?" Spud asked.

"At this time, your guess is as good as mine." Jake explained. "If she was, we can't even be certain if her name is really Rose or if the Huntsclan changed it to make her harder to find for whoever is looking for her."

"We'll do our best, Jake." Sun comforted Jake.

In the next morning, Jonathan Long was discussing things with two employees who might lose their jobs. "You said Rotwood's dragon obsession was in the past." Jonathan told the manager.

"And it is, Mr. Long." The manager pleaded.

"Then how do you explain the fact Hoboken Science Institute called me to tell me that Rotwood claimed to see a dragon and a ninja girl fighting over a sasquatch?" Jonathan asked.

"Vat?" Rotwood was outraged as the inaccuracy. "Zat vas a yeti!"

"So you admit." Jonathan maliciously stated. He intentionally said 'sasquatch' instead of 'yeti' to trick Rotwood.

"It wasn't my fault and Rotwood didn't bother any students, Mr. Long!" The manager desperately pleaded.

"All right, you rule lawyer, you know what to do to keep your job." Jonathan threatened.

"Hans Rotwood, you are FIRED for lying to me about your obsession with dragons being a thing from your past!" The manager declared.

At the bus, Jake let Rose sit next to him again. "Jake, I'm sorry we didn't get to spend much time together." She sadly said.

"There'll be other chances to date." Jake tried to comfort Rose while secretly fearing there wouldn't.

End chapter.

Author's Note: The comment about a French dragon with a Huntsclan-marked friend is a reference to 'The Elemental Dragon Girl' by D.J. Scales.

Author's Note 2: Jake's theory about a wig is an allusion to the Batman live-action series from the 1960's, where Barbara Gordon is a brunette who wears a red wig as Batgirl.