anna morgan is a world-class snowboarder who happens to be enjoying her time off in the quiet ski town of summit valley. when she reconnects with an old friend, will cloud, she isn't expecting much out of it.
with the annual 'fire and ice' competit...
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anna
"so, what made you decide to move back here to summit valley?" will asked me after a few moments of awkward silence. even though will and i had been getting steadily closer, we weren't exactly close friends. we were the same age and since i moved back, we had stopped to talk to each other whenever we got the chance. we had even exchanged numbers and texted often, but not every day. i was just grateful to have someone who understood what i loved so much and the lifestyle i had to live to achieve my goals.
most of our friendship was based on snowboarding and we often teased each other about riding and the tricks we were able to do. i would sometimes catch will watching me when i was out having fun on the slopes, and several times i had invited him to join me but he never did. his friends sam and dink would join in and beg him to ride again, but he never wavered. i could completely understand how he felt and knew that after being so seriously injured, he wasn't mentally ready to ride again. he would warm back up to it eventually, and until he did, i would let him critique all of my moves. in fact, a small part of me was grateful for the opportunity to spend so much time with him. i respected his talent and knew i could learn a lot from him.
"well, i'm going to be going to college in the states soon so my parents agreed it was probably best for me to head back here." will nodded his head.
"ah. college. gotcha." we walked along the snow-covered cobblestone through the middle of our resort shopping center. our resort was designed to be a ski-in-ski-out resort, which meant that every building was accessible by way of snowboard, ski, and snowmobile. this was probably my favorite part of our resort. i often would ride right up to the smoothie bar and grab one before heading right back out. it's what kept my energy up.
"have you thought about it?" i asked him, looking up to gauge the look on his face.
"a little but i guess i kinda always figured i would stay and help my mom run the kennel." i nodded my head. i felt like there was more that he was holding back, but i didn't want to pressure him into telling me anything that he didn't want to. i also didn't want to make him uncomfortable and force him to shut me out.
"dad, that's anna morgan." i heard a soft voice say behind me. i slowed and turned around. i was met with a little girl and her father standing a little ways behind me. the little girl hugged her father's leg, clearly embarrassed that i had heard her, and turned around.
"do you want to ask her for an autograph?" her dad bent down and asked her. she silently nodded her head, her cheeks turning bright red.
"i'm anna, what's your name?" i bent down and stuck my hand out for her to shake. she unwrapped herself from her father's leg and stepped toward me.
"gracie." i smiled brightly at her as she shook my hand. her dad handed me a piece of paper and a pen.
"hey Gracie, want to know something really cool? my middle name is grace. that's just like gracie. we're like twins!" i exclaimed as i wrote a cute note on the paper. i signed my name below and handed it to her, holding the pen above my head for her dad to grab. she was grinning happily and she hugged the paper to her chest.
"we're twins!" she shouted, looking up at her dad and giggling. i smiled warmly again.
"c'mon gracie, let's let anna get on with her day. thanks so much." he nodded at me. i waved my hand.
"of course. it was so great to meet you, gracie!" i waved at her. she reached out to hug me and i hugged her tightly. she took her dad's hand once more and they continued on toward another store.
"wow. she's great with kids too. what can't she do?" will mused out loud, causing me to lightly hit his arm. i walked a few paces in front of him so he wouldn't catch how red my cheeks were.
