Isabelle and Francesca grinned at each other as they dragged their ski bags out of the car, and attempted to unload the rest of

Chapter 1

Isabelle and Francesca grinned at each other as they dragged their ski bags out of the car, and attempted to unload the rest of the suitcases at the same time.

“Let me help you with those ma’am,” offered one of the doormen as he rushed forwards to relieve Francesca of her bag. Izzy tipped the driver and he left swiftly – probably to pick up another passenger.

“Let’s go check in, shall we?” declared Cheskie, thanking the bell boy and leading them both over to the front desk.

“Last name please?”

“Bevin,” said Izzy immediately; the room was booked under her name, as her mother and brothers would be arriving in two days time anyway.

“Can I see an ID please?”

“Here you go,” Izzy said as she slid her student ID card across the rough wooden top of the desk. The receptionist tapped a couple of keys into her computer and then printed off two key cards.

“Your room is number three forty-four. Enjoy your stay,” she said enthusiastically, smiling brightly and then turning away to answer the phone which had been ringing incessantly.

“We have been dismissed,” murmured Cheskie into her friend’s ear as they made their way to the lifts, clearly signposted.

Once they arrived in their room, the girls began the unpleasant task of unpacking. Izzy bagged the bed near the window and as compensation, got the two lower drawers – this was also because she was much shorter than Cheskie.

“I’m gonna take a shower, okay?”

“Sure,” replied Cheskie, grimacing as she ran her hands through greasy hair; traveling always took its toll.

She was out in just under twenty minutes, dripping all over the carpet.

“You took your sweet time!” commented Cheskie, pushing past her into the bathroom.

“Yeah, it took that long to get all the grime off me!” laughed Izzy, toweling her hair dryer and sighing in contentment at her own cleanliness. “Enjoy. By the way, I’m gonna take my skis and boots down to the storage – so we don’t have to lug ‘em down every morning, okay?”

“Are you sure they have one?”

“Yup, said so in the brochure,” Izzy grinned as she tapped the side of her head before heading out the door.

She had trouble lugging her skis and boots into the elevator, and then figuring out which floor to go to. It seemed every country called it a different thing – first floor, ground floor and ‘C’ apparently were all the same thing.

“D’you need any help miss?” came a voice to her left. She looked up and saw a bellboy smirking at her.

“No, I’m fine, thanks,” she huffed slightly at his arrogant attitude before eyeing him up and down and raising an eyebrow. He shifted on his feet and began to look slightly uncomfortable, but before either could comment, she moved on, carrying her skis in a slightly easier fashion, boots slung over her shoulder.

The corridor, thankfully, wasn’t that long; it opened up to a rental shop with a large window in one wall, and another door through which she could see many racks, filled with skis and snowboards.

She walked up to the counter and found herself face to face with the back of a head dressed in short red hair.

“Yo, can I drop these off?” she asked casually, as the guy turned around.

“Sure thing,” he said surprising her with a south African or Australian accent – she never had been able to tell. “Last name?”

“Bevin.”

He tapped some keys on the computer, and then printed a label off for her.

“Gimme the boots?” she handed them over slightly apprehensively and he handed her a ticket and sticker. “Y’put this on your skis,” he explained to her, “and this is your number, here,” he indicated the card before handing it to her. “Now just take your skis over there.” He pointed to the opposite end of the room and she thanked him before walking over there, skis in hand.

“Hi, I’m number…forty six,” she told the man behind the counter.

“let me see your ticket?”

She silently handed it over for inspection. “Great. We’ll see you tomorrow morning then?”

“Well…what time is it?”

“Three forty five. The mountain closes at four thirty.”

“Hardly worth it,” she murmured to herself, and then smiled at him. “Thanks, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure thing,” he replied. They did like that phrase here, she thought, heading back upstairs, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the many people who struggled through the lobby of the hotel, skis and poles flying everywhere. Clearly, they did not know how to ski. Clearly, they were SPORES.

Stupid People On Rental Equipment. Spores. That was what they were.

She sniggered, thinking about her stepdad, who had come up with the name, and earned herself an odd look from Cheskie, who was standing in the middle of the room, holding her ski pants, helmet and gloves.

“We’re gonna hang our gear on the door, okay? We have to keep this room neat and tidy,” announced Cheskie. Izzy groaned loudly. She had never been one for tidiness really. It just wasn’t her forte.

“Oh, Iz, I forgot to tell you, there’s this party tomorrow night, a friend of mine lives near here and she invited us. D’you want to go?” Izzy normally wasn’t too keen on parties, she was, to be honest, quite shy most of the time. Cheskie on the other hand was the most outgoing person you could find.

“Sure,” replied Izzy, smiling a little, “Why not?”

“Are you for real?” frowned Cheskie, a little surprised at her friend’s willingness to participate in an extremely social event.

“Yeah…let’s be…I dunno, free? I feel like having some fun.”

Cheskie was pleased that her friend was being so positive about meeting new people, in a new city. It was going to be one hell of a night.

A/N: I know this is a little slow to start off with and I'm sorry for it, but please review, it really means a lot to me. This should have a more romantic aspect than my other stories, none of which have got very far as of yet! I'll love you forever if you comment!

-Menace