Ataxia

Chapter 5

Des

The drive was all a blur of towering trees and countless mountains. We were heading towards Breckenridge, a nicely populated retirement and skiing town around the middle of Colorado. Since we live in Denver, the drive was about two hours long. And even with Andy trying to make Aug and I feel better by playing our favorite band over the radio, Weezer, I barely noticed it.

"Say it ain't so-ooooo!" Andy sang along with the song. Aug was singing, too, just not as loud. As for me, I was staring out the window, my hand under my chin, staring off into space and shutting out the world.

I didn't really know how to process all this. There is such a thing as superpowers? And I'm an ataxia, one of the people who have them? Information was being chucked in my face before I could make sense of everything that was going on around me. It was pretty far-fetched.

"Hey, look!" Andy pointed to a city outside his window, which was settled in a valley. "That's Breckenridge. We're here, guys."

Aug and I whooped and cheered. This was such a long drive. But to my surprise, he kept driving past the beautiful and humble town as if it didn't exist.

"Andy, aren't we going to Breckenridge?" I asked, leaning forward in my seat.

"Yes," he replied, looking at me from the rearview mirror. "On the outskirts of it. About half an hour away from here there are a bunch of ski cabins. You guys will be staying there."

"Whoa, like, in a ski village?" I asked . "Aren't those super expensive or something?"

"Well ...," Andy started, turning onto the switchback parts of the road (my least favorite part, ugh). "I'll wait for you to see it when we get there."

About half an hour later, we arrived on the outside of a neighborhood that was full of cabins that reached up to three stories. Since I lived in a small two-story house, mine looked really feeble to these. Suddenly, Andy cut the engine and told us to get out and start walking.

"Uh, why are we walking?" I asked hesitantly, helping Aug get her suitcase out of the car along with mine.

Andy locked his car and shoved his keys in his back jeans pocket. "We're walking because the headmaster who runs the facility doesn't allow cars to park near his gate or inside his property."

"Does he have something against cars?" I replied, dragging my heavy suitcase while I trailed behind my guardian. I was really starting to regret packing my useless knick-knacks like my Harry Potter Legos and comic books.

"No," Andy said, shrugging. "I actually know him personally. He's the one who helped me find you guys up for adoption without the public noticing I was adopting two ataxia children."

"That was the real reason why he adopted us, Des," August chimed in as if it was obvious. "He not only has a heart for orphan children, but specifically orphan children who are plagued with S.D.S."

"And August," Andy added when we approached the gate, "don't mention people's thoughts aloud, okay? It's extremely rude."

I sort of snickered and Aug sent me a stink eye. I clamped my mouth shut before my little sister murdered me where I stood. When we got to the towering gates, which were much taller than they looked from a distance, they automatically opened like those doors at the mall. When we did step onto the property, I realized that this place was much more than a ski lodge neighborhood. It looked like one, but several kids ranging from four to seventeen were running around and playing around the buildings, laughing.

There were about eight buildings, all lined up in a circle. At the center, there was a large field blanketed with a basketball and tennis court, and a small field next to it that was surrounded by dotted benches and large pine trees that seemed to guard and seclude the place.