Alexis and the Lake Tahoe Tumult (10 page)

Alex took a few minutes to explain what they’d seen and heard from the woman next to them.

Bailey nudged Alexis’s shoulder. “Look, Angelo just walked by. He’s sitting over there. Maybe we should go talk to him about it.”

“Good idea,” Alexis said as she typed their good-byes to their online friends and logged out of the public computer.

As the girls approached Angelo, they saw that his eyebrows were crumpled into a scowl.

Bailey said. “Hey, Angelo! Over here!”

The boy’s face lit up as he turned toward the girls.

“What’s up, Angelo? You look bummed,” said Alexis.

“Well, it’s not a big deal,” said Angelo. “I found out about a ski race the resort’s sponsoring later this week. I just wish I could be part of it.”

“But you can!” Bailey exclaimed.

“We told one of our friends about meeting you the other day and how you wished you could ski,” Alexis explained.

Bailey picked up the story. “She contacted the hotel and talked to a guy named Mark at extension 378.”

“He said they have guides for skiers who need help!” Alexis said. “All you have to do is call him to register and to request a guide.”

“That’s awesome, Angelo! You should totally enter!” cried Bailey.

“Hey, you can do it right now!” Alexis exclaimed, noticing the house phone nearby.

“Well, I guess I could,” Angelo said hesitantly.

“Here, we’ll help!” The girls led Angelo to a bench by the phone. They sat beside him as he punched in the extension number 378.

The girls listened to Angelo sign up.

“Okay,” he said. “Do you have anyone who can help me practice? … Oh, I see…. Well, yes, let’s go ahead and leave me signed up for the event. Maybe I can figure something out.”

Angelo sighed heavily as he hung up the receiver and leaned back in his chair.

“Is there a problem?” Alexis asked.

“Well, a bit of a challenge.” Angelo smiled weakly. “They have guides to help at the race, and I’m signed up for one. But they don’t have any practice guides available. I need to practice if I’m going to compete. Oh well.”

Alexis could tell he was trying not to kill the mood and depress everyone else. She thought hard for a minute, and then her eyes lit up.

“Angelo! I’ve got an idea!” she said. “Meet us tomorrow morning at the ski lodge—as soon as the lifts open!”

“But, Alexis—”

“No buts! Just do it! And be ready to practice!” Alexis jumped off the couch and grabbed Bailey by the arm.

“Come on, Bailey! We have a lot to do before tomorrow!” The girls took off toward the elevators, leaving Angelo baffled but smiling in the lobby.

The next morning, Alexis and Bailey waited impatiently for Angelo to show up. They still had half an hour before the slopes opened, but Alexis was excited. She wanted to get started right away. She had spent most of the last evening getting what she needed from the rental shop. Then she had called Mark at extension 378 and talked to him. He had explained what to do and had told her that all she needed besides skis and poles were two vests.

One was for Angelo. It was orange, and it said B
LIND
S
KIER
in black. Alexis’s vest was orange as well. It said G
UIDE
. Alexis was already in her vest when Angelo came around the corner with his skis.

“Good morning, ladies!” he chimed. “So what’s the plan?”

“First, you have to put this on,” said Bailey. She tossed the vest into Angelo’s chest, and he caught it easily.

“Sweet!” said Angelo. “If you’re giving me a vest for practicing, you must have found me a practice guide? Who is it? I thought they were all busy.”

“They are all busy,” said Alexis. “I’m the one who’s going to lead you through the course. Mark at extension 378 and the guy in the ski shop walked me through what to do and gave me the vests. He said he remembered you from when you were here skiing with your dad before. He said you probably wouldn’t need a guide for long, anyway, because you’re so good.”

Angelo looked more than a little nervous.

“Have you ever done this before, Alexis?” he asked.

“No. But I’m sure we’ll do great! Come on!”

Alexis led Bailey and Angelo to the ski lift that took them to the top of the race course. More than once, she tried to help Angelo when he didn’t really need it.

“The chair’s almost here. Get ready to sit.”

“I know, Alexis. I can hear it,” Angelo teased. Alexis had to remind herself that Angelo had skied much more than she had. If he’d known the race course already, he wouldn’t even have needed her.

Their first time down the course, Alexis realized just how good Angelo was. She weaved slowly in and out of the blue flags that made up the course, calling back to him only to say “left” or “right.” After three times through, Angelo was simply following the sound of Alexis skiing ahead of him. Bailey stayed behind them, taking her time.

“Okay, Alexis!” Angelo called. “You can speed up now! I should practice going fast.”

“I’m going almost as fast as I can!” Alexis called back. “I’ve never done a race course before today, and I’m not a good skier to begin with!” As if to demonstrate her last claim, Alexis took the final turn on the race course, and her skies got tangled. She did a rolling dive down the rest of the hill and came to a stop near the end of the lift lines. Bailey and Angelo caught up, barely holding in their laughter.

“Are you okay, Lexi?” asked Bailey.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be a little sore, but nothing too bad.”

“Thanks a lot for your help, Alexis,” said Angelo.

“I’ll be fine tomorrow. My race guide will take me through a couple practice runs in the morning. I know the turns by heart, and that’s the main thing.”

“Are you sure, Angelo?” asked Alexis. “I don’t feel like we did much.”

“It was perfect,” said Angelo. He kicked off his skis and held out a hand to help Alexis up. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to enter the race at all. You two will come watch tomorrow, right?”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world!” said Bailey.

“Good. I’ll see you both in the morning! Have fun at your fancy party!” Angelo picked up his skis and made his way back up to the lodge.

Bailey was smiling ear to ear, but when she looked at Alexis, she scowled.

“What’s wrong, Lexi?”

Alexis looked as if the bogeyman had just jumped out at her from under the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear.

“Lexi, what is it?”

“The party!” said Alexis. Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “It’s tonight!”

“Yeah, it is,” said Bailey. “What’s the big deal?”

“We don’t have anything to wear!”

Within thirty minutes the girls had changed out of their ski clothes and stuffed down a couple of sandwiches. They left the hotel and walked a couple of blocks away from the state line, passing all kinds of tourist shops.

“The lady at the front desk said there was a great thrift store down here,” said Bailey. “It’s secondhand, but apparently everything’s really nice.”

“Good,” said Alexis. “I have about thirty dollars for my entire party outfit!”

The thrift store was a gold mine, as far as the girls were concerned. The woman at the register led them to a rack packed full of evening gowns and party dresses.

“Girls don’t usually come looking for these until prom,” she said to Alexis and Bailey. “That’s still a couple months away, so you two have tons to choose from! After you find a dress, the purses and shoes are near the register. Fitting rooms are just through those curtains.”

“Thanks,” said Alexis. She and Bailey had a blast moving through the racks. There were dresses with feathers and sequins in bright colors, as well as simple black gowns. They all looked as if they could have been worn on the red carpet. Alexis and Bailey each took a small pile into the closest dressing rooms and took turns modeling their choices.

Alexis was trying on a long peach-colored dress when Bailey jumped through the curtain into her dressing room.

“Oh, good,” said Alexis. “I need help zipping this up.”

“Forget the zipper!” said Bailey. “Look who just walked into the store!”

Alexis poked her head through the curtain and stared. Chloe, the redhead from the hotel, was laughing with the cashier. The woman pointed toward the back of the store, and Alexis dove back into the dressing room as Chloe headed for the dress rack.

“I guess she needs a dress, too,” whispered Alexis. “Let’s pick our stuff quickly so we can follow her when she leaves!”

Bailey and Alexis tried on the rest of their dresses in a hurry and made their choices on the dresses they liked best. Then they moved to the front of the store to find shoes and accessories. As soon as they had finished, they paid. Then they lingered, pretending to look at jewelry. Alexis kept an eye on Chloe the whole time.

Chloe seemed to be annoyed again. Her phone kept ringing, but she was ignoring it.

“I’m on my lunch break!” she yelled at it when it rang for the seventh time. “Leave me alone!”

“Boss working you too hard, sweetie?” asked the shop owner.

“Not really,” answered Chloe as she hung a teal dress back on the rack. “I think he just has something against free time. That’s him again, making sure I’m going to be on time for our meeting in twenty minutes.”

Soon Chloe checked out at the register. Alexis and Bailey walked outside to wait for her to come out.

“She’s going to meet her boss,” said Alexis. “This is our chance to see who he is!”

“He could be our guy with the red hand and black coat!” said Bailey. Alexis had a feeling Bailey was right, but she didn’t want to get too excited.

At that moment, Chloe came out of the shop and buzzed past them heading back toward the hotels. She was on the phone.

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m on my way…. Yes, your tuxedo for the benefit should be in your room…. Yes….

Yes, I have my dress. Yes, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

She started to put away her phone when the girls heard it sound again. She flipped it open. “Hello? … Well, I’m sorry! I told you the paint was permanent. Did you try lemon juice and sugar, like I told you to? … Okay then. I don’t know if you’ll be able to get it off for the event tonight or not…. No, you’d look silly in gloves. Try the stuff again, and if it doesn’t work, keep your hands in your pockets as much as you can.”

She hung up again, and the girls followed at a bit of a distance. They wanted to get a glimpse of Chloe’s boss without letting her know she was being followed.