Freestyle with Avery (21 page)

“Okay, Ollie.” Jason’s voice was faint. He stretched his arm high above his head. “Go on, Ollie. Good luck.”

For a second, Ollie hesitated. Then, flapping his enormous wings, he lifted off with almost no sound at all. Ollie lowered his wings slowly, raised them, and repeated, lifting himself up, up, up.

Jason looked happy and sad at the same time as he watched Ollie soar. I thought I saw a single tear slip out of the corner of his eye and drip down his cheek, but it could’ve been anything—a snowflake, a trick of the moonlight, even my imagination. I felt pretty uncomfortable—did he want me to go away and let him do this alone?

Suddenly, without taking his eyes off the sky, Jason reached over and grabbed my hand.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered.

My heart was beating a million miles a minute, and I could feel my cheeks burning. I didn’t know what to do or say.
I was holding hands with a boy
!

After a couple of seconds I blurted the first thing I could think of—“Me too.” But it was totally true. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments that I was sure I’d remember forever.

Our faces were tilted to the sky, and we blinked the snow out of our eyelashes. Above us, Ollie made two magnificent circles.
It’s like he’s saying good-bye
, I thought.

Then he was gone. We stood there without saying a word, and I felt the warmth of Jason’s hand in the stillness
of the cold night. Although the moment was kind of sad, I couldn’t help smiling—just a little.

Finally, Jason turned back to the path. “We should go. Your dad will be worried.” He held my hand for a full two minutes as we walked back through the snowy path. When Dad waved, he gave it one quick squeeze and then it was back to the pockets. But that was okay by me. I’d had enough explaining to do for one day. What happened on Bear Creek would be between Jason and me.

“Just in time.” Dad tapped his watch. “Everything okay?”

“Yup. Everything’s fine,” I said and scooted onto the back of the snowmobile. Jason hopped on behind me.

“Great,” Dad said, then twisted halfway around to face us. “Just one thing, Jason—no more taking in wild creatures, okay? Wild things need to be wild, and there are plenty of professionals around here who can help them if they need it.” Dad’s voice was firm but warm. I knew he understood how Jason felt about Ollie—like by helping him get better, maybe Jason had healed a little bit too.

“Sure thing, Mr. Madden,” Jason agreed. I didn’t think he’d want to keep such a mega-huge secret again anytime soon, anyway.

Dad gave us a wink and the snowmobile roared to life. He was so cool that way—I knew he wouldn’t say another word about Ollie, or anything else.

As we drove off into the forest, the snowflakes stuck to my cheeks and the air was getting colder, but I felt toasty and warm. The full moon, round and perfect, glowed like a lightbulb in the black sky. It had been a craaaazy
trip to Telluride, with Dad and Andie, Kazie, Farkle, the Snurfer … but it was definitely a week I wouldn’t forget. I was proud that I’d made the trip all by myself, and I was reminded of Ollie, who was finally ready to fly off alone by himself, too. Then I thought of Frankie safe at home with Fred and Bonnie, and finally me, snug between Jason and Dad. All of us had something in common—we were right where we needed to be.

Flinging my bags on the floor, I flew across my bedroom. Kneeling down at Frogster’s terrarium and Walter’s cage so we were face-to-face, I could see in Walter’s shiny reptilian eyes that he was as happy to see me again as I was to see him. Snakes have feelings too!

Ping
! An e-mail already? I had just walked in the door!

To: Avery

From: BSG

Subject: Postcards

Dear Avery,
We’re in the Tower Room right now and we have a question. All of us got postcards from Telluride that are signed by DK … Char says that’s a famous snowboarder. Is that for real? How are things with Kazie?
Did she end up being cool? We can’t wait for you to come home. Maeve wants to know if you’re meeting any cute boys … should we throw a pillow at her for you? Miss you toooooons!!!

xoxox,

Isabel, Charlotte, Katani, and Maeve

PS—Who’s Snurfette?

I immediately started typing to fill them in on all the craaaaazy details of my trip—then I stopped, deleted everything I’d written so far, and started over. There was really only one way to share a story like this.

To: BSG

From: Avery

RE: Postcards

Dudes:
Friday night. Tower sleepover. You’ll get the whole Snurf-tastic 411, I promise!

Shred on,

Snurfette

To be continued
…

Trivialicious Trivia

Avery’s Snurfworthy
Shredding Glossary

Good Golly, It’s Ollie!
An Avery Madden Crazy
Critters Exclusive

Avery’s Avalanche of Craaazy
Colorado Factoids

Freestyle with Avery trivialicious trivia

1
. What’s the name of the snowboarding competition that Avery has been dreaming about for months?

A. The Pow-Pow

B. The Snurfer

C. The Telluride Challenge

D. The Boarder Boogie

2
. What charms are on the key ring Charlotte gives Avery?

A. Basketball, dog bone, duckie pen

B. Snowman, Eiffel Tower, doggy pen

C. Snowboard, soccer ball, froggie pen

D. Cowboy hat, half moon, kitty pen

3
. According to Avery, who makes the best burgers in Telluride?

A. Andie

B. Scott

C. Her dad

D. Robbie

4
. What is Donnie Keeler’s snurf-tastic nickname?

A. The Silver Streak

B. The Platinum Board

C. The Golden Egg

D. The Bronze Bacon

5
. What kind of bird is Ollie?

A. A spotted owl

B. A red-tailed hawk

C. A bald eagle

D. A crested hawk

6
. Who teaches Jason the basics of snowboarding?

A. Avery

B. Donnie Keeler

C. Crazie Kazie

D. Avery’s dad

7
. What funny image does Avery focus on to help her do an eggplant for the first time?

A. Farkle on a pair of skis

B. Her dad wearing his jester’s hat

C. Marty on a snowboard

D. Donnie Keeler eating a waffle mountain

8
. What nail-biting tale does Cowboy Jack tell at Legends and Lore?

A. The Story of Cindy Sedona

B. The Legend of Candy McDougal

C. The Tale of Sandy MacPhee

D. The Saga of Annie Canary

9
. What is Donnie Keeler’s dog named?

A. Bud

B. Thud

C. Mud

D. Crud

10
. What is Andie particularly bad at?

A. Cooking

B. Swimming

C. Skiing

D. Tying her shoes

ANSWERS
:
1. B
. The Snurfer
2. C
. Snowboard, soccer ball, froggie pen
3. D
. Robbie
4. C
. The Golden Egg
5. B
. A Red-tailed Hawk
6. A
. Avery
7. C
. Marty on a snowboard
8. B
. The Legend of Candy McDougal
9. D
. Crud
10. A
. Cooking