Bail | LRH

Chapter 13: friends or foes

Adrian Casey

When I got home I couldn't stop thinking about what happened on the ski lift. Why did I say all of that? I thought to myself and I had been beating myself up about it the moment Luke and I parted ways. I don't know why everything came out the way it did, and why I opened up to him so easily.

I guess subconsciously it felt nice to talk to someone my age for once, to have someone that could relate to me on a better level than my dad could. Trying to become friends with Luke or with anyone really, came at a price, and that price was vulnerability. I didn't like to open up to people, or let anyone in for the sake of them finding out my weaknesses, or using things I've told them against me.

Luke brought up Connor and Jackson earlier and that sent a shiver down my spine. Those two were nothing but trouble. When we were younger, Luke would knock me down a couple pegs or beat me in a competition, the two of them would pick me up while I was down, they would encourage me, and support me. We were friends. Keyword being were. Past tense. From a young age they had just been getting close to me, in order to get through to my dad. When I found out that the only reason they had been so kind to me all that time was because they wanted my dad to help them advance their snowboarding careers, I had to cut them out.

I don't like being used. After that my guard was up, and I didn't let anyone in for that same reason. I kept close to my dad, he was the only friend I really needed, and the only person who understood me the best when it came to snowboarding. I could fend for myself on the mountain, I didn't need those two weasels, or anyone for that matter to step in and fight for me.

There was something different about this though. It wasn't like past times because if Luke wanted to get through to my dad, he would have done it years ago when he wasn't established yet. Now that we were older, and had many medals, awards, and sponsorships under our belts, it felt more genuine this time. He already had what others strived for, what others wanted when they tried to connect with me. There was nothing in it for him, except keeping this sponsorship. For that reason, I concluded that he was just maturing, and growing up. Dropping our childish antics and bickering, and accepting me as an equal competitor, and I would have to do the same.

Maybe a friendship with him was possible, maybe it wasn't. Being nice would take some time getting used to, but if he out of all people could do it, I would have to do it better. We were competitive in everything, and if he thought he was being the bigger person, I would have to step up my game and try my best.

The next day Luke showed up to practice again and it went well I suppose. He was pestering me the entire day which was making everything so much harder. I needed to focus and I couldn't do that with his stupid little comments and small talk attempts every time we stopped. I understand that I said I would try to be nicer, but I was getting ready to strangle the boy.

"Dude, what's going on? I thought we–" he asked, about to remind me about the little "deal" we shook on when we were stuck on the ski lift. I know what I shook on, but this was training and I needed to be serious about it.

"I'm here to practice, and to perfect my skills and technique before Aspen which is in like two and a half weeks. I'm not here to joke and mess around. If you wanna talk or whatever, save it for the lift, or after practice. Not now." I snapped at him. I felt bad for giving him attitude when he had just been trying to break me out of my shell more, but this was not the time to be doing that.

He apologized when he realized I was right. And I could tell that for the rest of practice his head was screwed on right and he was more focused now because we were competing with each other all over again.

The rest of practice was intense, constantly trying to beat each other to the jumps, or the rails, and finishing the course as a whole before the other. We finished practice with a race between the two of us. Something in the air told us that this is what was happening, and subconsciously we both went along with it.