The Benefits Project ; phan au

7 ; Skiing 101

#7

I yanked a ski boot onto one of my feet and did the same for my other. 

I stood up, walking in an odd position seeing as how the boots were made with the back leaning forward as that's what you did in skiing. I grabbed my skis and ski poles, shoving my helmet lazily onto my head with my goggles balanced on top. I felt like a polar bear, I was wearing a thermal, fleece and a snow coat on my upper body and I was wearing long johns and salopettes as well as long ski socks. But hey, if I wanted to keep warm that was the way it was. The ski locker rooms were cramped with little space to change and store everything so I had to squeeze past a few people carefully on the way out of the lockers before making my way up the icy stairs and into the outside world. I found my dad, Mr Lester and Phil waiting out there dressed in their ski gear and holding their skis too.

 "There you are Dan, your mum says we can go ahead to the place where we need to meet yours and Phil's instructor," my dad smiled, pulling me over to him. Seeing as I had never skied before I was going to ski school, which is why I had to get up at eight every morning so I could have breakfast, get ready and then be at ski school for eleven o'clock. As far as we were concerned, Phil and I were sharing the same instructor with the other teenagers who were attending ski school. Tilly was going to the infant ski school while my parents and Phil's parents who knew how to ski were going up into the glacier and going on the all the pro ski slopes.

 We made our way up a small hill, Phil holding out his hand to help me up slightly which I took gratefully. He hadn't bothered me as much, at dinner yesterday he'd only 'accidentally' touch me and when we went back to our room he slid into bed in just his boxers like I did. We watched TV in silence before I curled up falling asleep. This morning I woke up to his alarm. I was glad to find out that ski school ended at half past one though even though that meant two hours and a half of skiing.

"Are you nervous?" I heard Phil ask as we walked towards the post which read 'Beginners - Teenagers'.

"Slightly, what about you?" I replied honestly.

"Same as you," he replied, biting his lip slightly which I had to admit looked kind of sexy.

"Okay boys we're leaving you here, the instructors should be here soon, have fun!" Mr Lester smiled.

"Bye dad."

"Have fun Robert and dad."

 A few minutes after they left Phil and I saw some people come skiing over to us in blue ski gear, on the back of their coats it read 'Les Deux Alpes - Ski School'. A man walked over to us in his skis, pulling his sunglasses up over his beanie and smiled.

"So you guys are the beginning teens right?" He asked. 

His accent surprised me, he sounded really British when all of the other instructors sounded mostly French.

"Yeah," this girl from behind us said.

"Cool, can you come tell me your names so I can mark you as here," he said, his eyes scanned over all of us. 

I looked around the group which was a small group of seven which included Phil and I. Most of the other teens were either in intermediate or expert. The man walked over to me and asked me my name.

"Dan Howell,"

"Cool, and yours?" He asked looking at Phil.

"Phil Lester," Phil replied.

"Good, good,"

He walked over to everyone else and got their names before returning to the front of us.