In Those Two Weeks

Chapter 1-The First Meeting

Chapter 1-The First Meeting

I had just turned thirteen, and my parents took my brother, Charlie and I up to our timeshare in Breckenridge,  Colorado. My mother had always been a gifted skier, while on the other hand my father was a passionate snowboarder who earned some titles during his career. While snowboarding ran through my blood, I found my passion in something else, Soccer. 

From the moment I stepped out on the turf and encountered the ball, I knew that this is what I had been made for. Some people spend their whole lives trying to figure out their purpose, and mine had been made clear from day one of peewee soccer practice at age four. 

"Hurry up, Lemon!" Charlie excitedly shouted from a few feet ahead. "If you want to lay the first tracks you're going to need to speed it up!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, I'm simply enjoying our surroundings." I turned away from him, and continued to watch the sun peak out from behind the mountaintops. Charlie's frustration was made evident with a loud sigh, and he walked on ahead, pulling me with him.

We arrived at the old rickety lift, which had been controlled by a clearly lethargic staff member, as he was passed out even as the sun shone directly on his face.Defeated, Charlie turned to me and shrugged his shoulders. I would not walk up this mounting nor rent an expensive snow mobile, so I took matters into my own hands, and knock on the small glass cubicle that holds the worker. 

"Hey Bud, can you please turn on the lift for us?" I shouted, and he jumped awake, eyes bloodshot and hair disheveled, as he fell out of his chair.

"Yes, yes. My apologies!" He collected himself as Charlie and I hopped onto the lift. He then started up the lift, and waved us on our way - progressively getting smaller as we moved up the mountain.

Charlie spoke on and on about his anticipation to leave the first tracks, due to the fact that we haven't been here since we were much younger, when our dad was still competing. I nodded along, but my main focus was the scenery around us, the crisp mountain air and sunrise had me awestruck. It had been years since my family visited these slopes, and so it was surreal to breathe the fresh air, and take in the peaceful nature of the mountains in the early morning. 

"Lemon, answer me this. How did you convince, Papa Conrad, to let you skip the Dallas Cup?" I shoved my brother at his attempt to ruin the moment and sighed as I remembered the battle it took to convince my father to come this year. 

"I just told him the dates were different this year, and it worked out because he never checks my schedule anyways, seeing as he's always off mentoring some up-and-coming snowboarder." I sighed somberly. "So if you keep your mouth shut, I'll be fine!" I laughed, and rest my head on his shoulder. "I just needed to spend a little bit more time with you guys before I get shipped off to training camp."

Every year my parents and coach shipped me off to the Youth Olympic Training Camp for the whole summer to prepare me to compete on the Youth Women's National team when I was old enough.  Don't get me wrong, it was the best opportunity for my career, but going also meant spending my birthday alone. It would not be a big deal if I had only missed one birthday, but this summer would be the fifth birthday I would spend playing soccer with the same girls, in the same complex, while eating the same gross food and not with the people I cared about. 

"Hey, don't think about that right now. Just think about all the money you're going to spend on me at the snack shop when I beat you down this mountain." We both laughed, and jumped off the lift as we arrived at the top of our run. Once ready, we glided down the mountain, and back up the lift for hours. We replayed our tricks in new spots until our knees couldn't handle the landing. 

At the bottom of our last run we agreed to take a rest, and headed up to the café in the lounge of the resort we belonged to. There I found my parents chatting away with another couple, as they sipped on their hot drinks. My mother caught my eye and waved us over with a warm smile.

"Lennon! Charlie!" My mother welcomed us to sit with them on some couches. "Meet Don and Cindy McMorris!"

I smiled and politely waved, "Nice to meet you, I'm Lennon, and this is my older brother Charlie." Whose attention was focused on all the chocolate candy which was stocked at the snack bar.

"We've heard so much about you two!" Mrs. McMorris spoke with a smile, "Charlie, I hear you are a fabulous surfer! And Lennon, your parents told us that you're an amazing soccer player."

"Amazing is a bit of an overstatement, but yeah." I responded awkwardly and reached for my mother's hot chocolate so I could take the attention off me. They both nodded and smiled, and carried on their conversation with my parents. They went on about their two sons who were our age, and were around somewhere snowboarding. I drowned out the conversation when I locked eyes with my brother and mouthed a "let's get out of here". We began to excuse ourselves and stand up when Mrs. McMorris interrupted us. 

"Oh! Lennon, Charlie, these are my two sons!" I nodded to myself, and sat down next to my mom realizing that leaving is not an option. "Boys, introduce yourselves to Arthur and Victoria Conrad." 

I turned away from my silent conversation with Charlie, and look up at the two figures next to the table. My smile faltered leaving my mouth slightly agape. I silently cursed myself since snowboarding left me sweaty and raggedy, and took my goggles of my head and pat my hair as to appear more put together. 

"Hi, nice to meet you guys, I'm Craig." The older one volunteered, and shook my fathers hand, then stepped back for his brother's introduction.  My breath caught in my throat, and I found it hard to breathe. My unchecked hormones took control as my eyes look him over. The typical thirteen year-old boy he was, he wore a simple long sleeve shirt and some sweatpants. But that's not what held my lingering gaze, it was his amazing smile and eyes that grasped my attention. 

"Hi, I'm Mark, nice to meet you." He shook my dads hand, then his eyes glide over my mom and brother to land on me. I quickly collected myself and half-smiled back. Noticed my cheeks were hot I took another sip of my moms hot chocolate to hide the apparent redness.

"Why don't you kids go and board together?" My father suggested, which drew my attention to my snowboard on the ground and the throbbing pain in my knees. 

"Actually, I was just going to head back to our room to shower, then get my stuff ready for tomorrow. Sorry, maybe another time." I politely attempted to excuse myself without knowing the ramifications for mentioning what the next day would hold.  

"Ah! Yes, tomorrow we are going out to Boulder to hike the Bolder Canyon trails." My mother explained to the interested Mrs. McMorris. 

"Ooh, that sounds like such fun! Would you mind if we were to accompany you? I'm sure my boys would love that, wouldn't you Mark? Craig?" I silently sighed at Mrs. McMorris' reaction. I couldn't imagine another minute around Mark, everything about him made me nervous that I would somehow embarrass myself as usual. 

"Mom, you can't just invite us on their trip." Mark scolded quietly. 

"Oh, nonsense! We would love to have you join us! Wouldn't we, kids?" I put on a fake smile to appease my mother. The parents began to sort out details, and I took the opportunity to escape to our suite to shower. 

Fortunately for me, the next day the McMorris' had to leave due to a family emergency, thus they were unable to join us on our hike. They left early in the morning, but not without Mrs. McMorris exchanging numbers with my mom. As the weekend went on I had forgotten about them, and soon enough my time came to leave for camp. With Mark and his family completely gone from my mind I continued on with life as a thirteen year-old, not knowing the future that would lie ahead.