Downhills From Here

Part 1: How many coffees can you drink?

To say I was scared would have been an understatement. I was so close to running away screaming that I was desperately holding on to the soft coach seat, digging my fingers into the plush fabric to stop myself from running, and biting my lower lip to stop the scream from escaping. Everyone else around me seemed oblivious to my plight. They even dared to be excited. Upbeat. I wanted to vomit.

The coach came to a stop almost with a sigh, as if it was tired lugging tourists up the snowy mountain and couldn't wait to get home to its garage and a nice can of oil and some nice new petrol. I felt like the coach. I'd rather stay at home. Just because of my inability to say no to my best friend I was now suffering a fate worse than death. Snow. Mountains. Skis. I watched the other tourists get off the coach, the frozen air almost visibly vibrating in anticipation, like they couldn't get to the slopes fast enough. Of course, I was the last one to exit the coach, and of course, I slid on the ice-covered last step in front of everyone and landed on my butt with a thud. Someone laughed. 

"Oh, dearie me." The old lady who had disembarked the coach before me clutched at her invisible pearls and then offered me a hand.

"Thanks," I managed to get out, feeling my cheeks heat up as she helped me brush off my back and then patted my shoulder. Like I was a small child who only had themselves to blame for falling down.

"You'll do just fine, just take it easy. Nothing broken?" She asked and looked me up and down.

I shook my head and forced a smile and said another thank you before she returned to her husband. I was alone again. The odd one out. I heard the whispers in the gathered crowd. Three blonde girls in my age who looked like they had just stepped off a photoshoot were whispering among themselves, giggling and glancing my way ever so often. I wished I was as outgoing as my friend, then I'd probably be able to make some new friends on this trip. As it was now, I was the butt of everyone's jokes. Or, at least the trio of bimbos thought I was a joke. I brushed off some more imaginary snow from my jacket and ignored my smarting rear as I followed the rest of the tourist group into the skiing lodge. 

I hesitated just inside. There was a cafeteria to the right, the scent of warm coffee wafting through, mixing with the icy air from outside. To the left were some toilets and past the toilets was the ski hire area. Big signs with arrows pointing that way told me that. That's where everyone was heading. I, on the other hand, did a hard right and ordered a tall mocha and a small chocolate cake. I paid for my order and waited at the end of the counter for my order to be finished. A week of this would make a proper dent in my wallet. I'd have to be careful.

The whole side of the building facing the slopes was made of windows giving the patrons of the cafe an excellent view of the people skiing. A small pile of snow had been pushed up a couple of meters in front of the building and I wondered why they had decided to dump the snow there, it was disturbing the view. The sun was shining from behind the lodge, making all that snow blinding white, and the people slaloming and snowboarding down like small black ants scrambling down the anthill. Only this anthill was a tall mountain in the Alps. 

I spotted the first people in my group, the old lady and her husband, who had gotten their skis on and were heading towards the lifts. A skier dressed in an orange snowsuit was leading the way. Right, Emma had also booked the group skiing instructor. That was probably that instructor. It was hard to see if it was a male or female, but by the height comparison with the three bimbos who were hurrying along to catch up, the instructor was most probably male. I watched them reach the lifts and the instructor was probably instructing them how to use the lifts. I felt slightly envious of them, and that was probably the reason I called them bimbos in my head. I was envious of them. My coffee and chocolate cake arrived and I went to find a seat.