Avalanche

Chapter 11 | Aspen Lake Dam

Ricky had managed to escape from Rob's pursuit after the incident at the ice rink, but with great difficulty. That man could run, even with skates on, on the sidewalk. Ricky hadn't felt terror like that in quite a while.

Although the events occurred yesterday, Ricky doubted even with Rob sleeping on it, he wouldn't come close to forgiving Ricky for breaking a hockey stick over his head.

Dang, I actually did that, he thought. I seriously broke a hockey stick over Rob's head.

Ricky knew he should be scared of what he had coming for him, but all he could feel was the satisfaction of doing something to Rob and getting away with it.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was angry at Rob when he pushed Akari around. Ricky convinced himself that it was just because she was his teammate in ice hockey. He couldn't be protective of her, she had beat him at the half-pipe after all...

But regardless of the satisfaction he felt in hitting Rob in the back of the head, he was a little bit nervous about being around Rob. He knew that their next practice session would result in some bodily damage occurring to him for payback, which was precisely why he was avoiding any practice that day. He would simply sit inside, observe some pro snowboarding footage, and touch up on his routine for Regionals. He hoped that whatever his other teammates were doing, they were preparing themselves in some way for Regionals...

~*~

"How do you think these earrings look on me?" Tara held a large pair of hoop earrings right below each ear, moving her head left and right so Akari and Kemen could get a better view of them.

"They suit your style so well!" Akari said, and Kemen gave a thumbs up.

Technically, they were preparing themselves for Regionals. Their original goal of coming into town was to find a good snowboard shop and get some better equipment. However, Aspen had some other appealing shops that the three of them were drawn to, causing a sort of detour. They were currently in a small jewelry store, which the girls were more than willing to go into, and Kemen was sort of dragged into. He didn't mind it so much, though. As long as they got to the snowboard shop eventually.

Tara smiled, but the smile faded when she took the earrings away from her ears and looked at the price tag.

"You know what, I don't care how good these look. They are not worth seventy-five dollars!"

Akari grimaced. "When you go pro, you can get them."

Tara chuckled. "If that happens, I should be giving an earring to each of you."

"No thanks," Kemen said, and both girls laughed. They laughed even more when Kemen said, "I'm more of a stud kind of guy."

"No but seriously," Tara said after they had all recovered from their fit of laughter. "I'm super thankful that you guys are helping me get more technical with snowboarding. If I didn't have you guys around, I would probably make a huge fool of myself at that Regional Competition."

"Don't worry about it, sis," Kemen said. "We may not all be the best teammates in the world, but we're not the worst."

"Talk about the quote of the century," Tara replied, and they all laughed again.

They left the jewelry store and looked around other small shops, just talking and laughing. Eventually they got to the subject of ice hockey the day before.

"I think I have a bruise the size of a bowling ball on my right leg," Akari said while examining a winter themed mug she found in the gift shop they were exploring.

"What, from ice hockey?" Tara replied. "I took a few falls myself. I can't say ice hockey is my favorite sport."

"Do you think Ricky is ok?" Akari asked. They hadn't seen him since they witnessed his dramatic exit that day.

"As long as he keeps a good distance from Rob for about the next six months, I think he'll be alright," Tara muttered.

They continued to look around at the different shops, got some coffee and cake pops from a local Starbucks, and then found their way to the snowboard shop.

Inside, there were many people observing the different boards hanging on the wall, and others looking at gear.

"Hey, isn't that the same guy that Rob was yelling at the other day?" Akari whispered to her other two companions, motioning to a lean, dark-haired, dark-skinned teenager looking at some of the more expensive boards.

"Yeah," Kemen said. "I think his name is Dion. I was in the resort gym one morning when he and Ricky got into it. They definitely have some beef."

"Is he on a team competing in Regionals?" Tara asked

"From the way Ricky was threatening him about it, I think it's safe to say so."

They tried not to make themselves too obvious, so tore their eyes away from Dion, and went about their own business.

Tara ended up getting some new snow gloves, and Kemen a better pair of snow goggles. As soon as Tara was waiting at the front as her gloves were being scanned, Dion walked up beside her and whispered in her ear, "I don't know what you think new gear is gonna do for you."

"It'll keep my hands warm you piece of crap," she growled right back at him.

He just raised his eyebrows, but smartly took a step back.

Both Akari and Kemen were glaring at Dion, as if daring him to say another word, though they knew Tara would defend herself more than they ever could.

"Just get out of here, man," Kemen said. "Leave your trash talk for the competition."

"I can't leave," Dion smirked at him. "I have to buy this new board."

In his hand was a Rossignol Jibsaw, an expensive French snowboard that he was clearly trying to rub in their face. He probably wouldn't even use the Rossignol at the competition, some company like Burton would probably try and sponsor him. Kemen just diverted his eyes.

Once Kemen paid for his goggles, they were more than happy to get out of the store without sparing a glance to Dion on the way out.

"What a jerk," Akari said. "I can see why Ricky doesn't like him."