: ̗̀➛ part three of the
one for the road series
SNOWFALL / CL16
in which two childhood friends reunite. a formula one driver wants to learn how to snowboard and it just so happens that the daughter of his mum's be...
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✧ ˚ · . CHAPTER ONE . · ˚✧ some things change
val d'isère, winter 2023
"What do you mean, Mum told us to dress up?" My throat burned suddenly, confused swirls of nerves tugging at my core. The white walls of my hotel bathroom suddenly seemed to close in on me. "We never dress up for Saturday dinner. I've shown up in sweats more than once."
"I know," Alfie, my brother said from his position leaning against the doorframe. My fingers trembled as I swiped layers of mascara onto my eyelashes. "I don't know why, she had someone deliver a note to my room. I only saw it when I got back."
Alfie and I were both splitting our time filling in for sick instructors at the Resort. We'd come here to spend Christmas and the rest of the winter holidays with our mother, like we always did, and although we often got roped into lending a helping hand every once in a while, it had been years since we'd both taught little kids. Alfie taught skiing, while I stuck to snowboarding. Just like when we were kids.
As much as I loved watching their tiny bodies fall over in the snow countless times, they were also capable of tantrums that were everything but tiny. What they lacked in size, they made up for in spirit. Which, unfortunately counted both for endless motivation and devastating emotional breakdowns. I spent my days either in an office sketching and designing interiors for hotels and offices, or visiting sites for future projects, which was the complete opposite of dealing with kids. The worst I had to work with on a daily basis were misogynistic men in a custom-made designer suit who thought they could now dominate the world because their parents had left them their business in their will.
Shaking my head and pulling myself away from the realities of business in Paris and towards the current reality in Val d'Isère, I blended out the last dot of concealer on my face. I brushed off a piece of lint from the off-white knit dress I wore that reached my knees and offered both comfort and warmth. I caught a glimpse of Alfie, who was dressed in a black cable-knit crewneck, the collar of a dress shirt poking out at the neck, paired with beige slacks.
"Maybe some of her old friends from Paris have checked in," Alfie offered. I brushed my fingers past the corner of my lips, cleaning up any rose-coloured lipstick staining the skin there. My big brown eyes stared back at me in the mirror, flicking to him as my eyebrows cinched together in a frown. "It doesn't have to mean anything bad, Arden. It really could just be two boring business analysts who only talk politics and the like."
I sighed, grabbing my hairbrush and pulling it through my shoulder-length brown hair. "I know, I know. I just have a feeling."
He raised an eyebrow. "A feeling? Are you okay? Do I need to check your temperature?"
I shot him a defensive look. "Don't be like that. You know what I mean."
