A Season of Firsts

Chapter 1

What have I signed myself up for?

For the tenth time in under half an hour, I drag my bruised limbs up off the slope. I'm keeping track of my falls, so I can text my dad later to let him know how much of an embarrassment his daughter is when it comes to skiing. He assured me that I would get the hang of it soon enough, but he needs to define 'soon' for me.

As the other beginners on the slope, most of whom are half my age, desperately try to avoid colliding into me as they descend, I psych myself up to go again. Only about half a mountain to go, I can do this.

My legs start to shake as I set off, out of fear of breaking a bone for the first time in my life, but Hallie showed me a beginner's skiing technique that I frantically try to use as I start to gather my momentum. I lock my legs out in a pizza shape, knowing that I am going to be stiff later but prioritising my life in the present moment. Parallel turns are a challenge for another day, probably when someone is bullying me into it.

I almost collapse onto the ground when I finally reach the bottom, partly out of pure relief and partly out of exhaustion. I left my breakfast shift at the hotel at 11 and got out there as soon as I could, so I wasted a good few hours of my life trying to make progress that never graced me with its presence. I save this negative narrative for my own head, though. If Hallie heard me talking like that, she would drag me out at any time of night to attempt to teach me how to ski as well as she does, just to lift my spirits. I fear that girl.

When I am finally trudging through the snow back to the staff accommodation, I spot the devil herself near the bottom of the slope. Like me, she hails from the UK, both of us deciding to work in Whistler, Canada for the season.

Unlike me, she is experienced in winter sports, due to the numerous times her and her parents visited the Swiss Alps when she was a child. This is how she ended up with her job as a skiing instructor, and I ended up with a waitressing job at the Four Seasons Hotel. I am so grateful that I was able to get the position, especially at the fanciest hotel in the resort, but I would trade adorable toddlers for entitled hotel guests any day.

"Hey, how's it going?" I shout to Hallie as I pass her, distracting her for a moment from the trail of tiny humans on skis that she is leading down the slope.

"Hey Addy! Good! I think?" I laugh at the uncertain tone in her voice and wave as I carry on towards the house.

Well, it's not so much of a house as a dull and uninspired looking block of flats, but I prefer to focus on the positives.

Once I have climbed three painful flights of stairs, I dig my key card out of my inner coat pocket and unlock the door to mine and Hallie's suite.

I feel a chill as I walk in, because despite having been here for over a week, we still haven't figured out how the heating timer works. It's evidence that we've lived sheltered lives, but we're both too stubborn to ask someone else in our block to help. And the people next door don't speak English, so there's that too. My bet is that they're French, but Hallie's money is on Swiss. Apparently, they have "the Swiss vibe," whatever the hell that means.

Inside the open plan room, there is a tiny kitchen area off to the left; then in the living space we have a threadbare grey sofa lying in front of a coffee table and flat screen TV – the only scent of luxury in this place. The door to the bathroom that Hallie and I share is on the right behind the sofa, and our rooms are at the back of the space up a small set of stairs.

We have huge plans for our little home of 6 months. We're thinking potted plants (preferably ones that are hard to kill), band posters on the walls (we have a debate ongoing of who the best boy band of all time is), and fuzzy blankets galore.