Ghost Town (11 page)

Charlotte stretched her neck longer. She tried to remember exactly how the largest bird in the world looked on the plains of the Serengeti.

“Chicken,” Mr. Ramsey guessed.

Charlotte shook her head and motioned to her lengthened neck.

“Giraffe,” Maeve called out.

Charlotte shook her head again and emphasized the flapping of her wings.

“Swan!” Avery shouted.

Charlotte ran around the couch, slapping her feet on the floor to show their large size.

“Ostrich!” Maeve made one more guess.

“Yup, that's it. Your turn.”

Maeve scrunched up into a small, compact shape. She wiggled her nose up and down and side to side.

“A mouse,” Avery grinned.

“Eeew, ick! Absolutely NOT!” Maeve cried.

“We're playing charades,” Avery reminded her. “You aren't supposed to talk.”

Maeve fell back into character . . . a small shape with a wiggling nose. She scampered over to Avery and gave her whisker kisses on her cheek.

“Romeo and Juliet,” Avery giggled and batted Maeve away from her.

“Huh?” Lissie asked.

“Maeve's guinea pigs,” Avery explained.

“You named your guinea pigs Romeo and Juliet?” Lissie asked.

“Actually, I'm calling them Marcia and Jan this week. But you're still right, Avery. I'm a guinea pig.”

Avery didn't need to be reminded it was her turn. She jumped on the couch and crouched down. Her knees were sticking up and her arms were resting in her lap. She opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, then quickly brought it back in. Then she pretended to catch something with her tongue and swallow it with a big gulp.

Charlotte was trying to choke out a guess, but she was so busy laughing she couldn't get the word out.

Avery caught another fly with her tongue. As soon as she had swallowed this imaginary treat, she leaped into the air and landed on the old wooden floor with a thud. Even Mr. Ramsey and Lissie couldn't stop laughing. Avery then proceeded to leap-frog over Maeve, who was giggling so hard she couldn't speak.

“A frog! A frog!” Mr. Ramsey finally managed to get out between laughs.

“You got it, Mr. Ramsey,” Avery said as she settled on the couch, a human being once again.

“I don't know if I can top that one, but let me see . . .”

Avery had no idea what sort of animal Mr. Ramsey was trying to portray. He moved very slowly, pretended to eat something, and scratched at his beard a lot. Avery wasn't sure if the beard scratching was part of the clue or if Mr. Ramsey's beard was just really itchy.

After a few guesses, Charlotte finally shouted out the right answer: “Wombat!”

“I thought you'd never get it,” Mr. Ramsey said, collapsing back against the couch. “I thought I'd remain a wombat for the rest of my days!”

“What's a wombat, anyway?” Maeve asked.

“It's a mammal that lives in Australia, and it looks like a cross between a small pig and a bear. They are totally adorable,” Charlotte assured a skeptical Maeve.

Everyone was having so much fun that they kept going for three more rounds. It was hard to tell who was better at animal charades—Avery, with her very convincing portrayal of a frog, or Mr. Ramsey, who became a hulking, snorting, turf-pawing buffalo right before their very eyes.

“I'm exhausted,” Lissie announced as she curled up on the couch. “Though I think it's mostly from all the laughing.” She dug through her backpack and fished out a stash of sanitizing wipes. “Anybody else need to clean off sticky fingers?”

Maeve wiped her face and then her fingers with the cool cloth. “I feel so much better!” she said.

From the dark, snowy night outside, they heard a deep howl.

“Was that the . . . the
wind
?” Maeve asked.

“Doubtful.” Avery shook her head.

“I bet it was a coyote,” Charlotte surmised.

“No. Not a coyote. That was a wolf,” Avery announced emphatically.

“How can you tell the difference?” Maeve asked.

“A wolf howl sounds deep and mournful,” Avery explained. “Almost like a ghost. Coyote howls are higher pitched than wolf howls, and coyotes usually bark or yap.”

“How do you know all this?” Lissie asked.

“Avery watches
Animal Planet
all the time—twenty-four seven,” Charlotte explained.

Mr. Ramsey smiled and nodded his head, obviously impressed. “Avery, I think you truly have the heart of a wildlife biologist.”

Avery found that to be a very comforting thought. She flopped back on the mattress next to Charlotte and imagined herself trekking through the wilderness in search of all sorts of wild creatures. Visions of wolves and coyotes and frogs and wombats carried her blissfully to sleep.

This is so exciting!” Sam exclaimed, throwing a handful of snow at everyone.

“It's amazingly beautiful, isn't it?” Isabel asked, tilting her head way back and catching a couple of cold snowflakes on her tongue.

The girls strapped on their rental skates and took a couple of laps around the resort's ice-skating rink. Nik and Sam, who had never been on ice skates before, clung to each other for dear life. Isabel was the only one who seemed truly comfortable on skates. She glided effortlessly around the rink as Katani, Nik, and Sam shuffled slowly, wobbling back and forth in a humorous and desperate attempt to stay on their feet.

Feeling brave at one point, Nik let go of Sam and Katani and tried to catch up with Isabel. Her feet, however, seemed to have a mind of their own, each going in a different, unhelpful direction.

“Whoa!” Nik cried out, windmilling her arms as she
desperately tried to keep her balance, but ultimately teetering and collapsing in a heap just as Katani and Sam skated up to her.

“Watch out! Oh, no!” Sam cried, unable to steer herself away from her twin.

Katani and Sam clutched each other, closed their eyes, and screamed helplessly. Katani fell on top of Nik, and Sam catapulted forward, somersaulted over her sister and landed sprawled on the ice.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!” Isabel skated up and helped each of her fallen friends to their feet.

“My ankles are killing me!” Katani declared.

“I think we could all use some hot chocolate,” Isabel said, clasping her mittened hands together.

“I could use a pillow,” Sam moaned, rubbing her bruised backside.

“MMMMMM! Hot chocolate! That's sounds like an excellent plan,” Nik agreed. “Let's get inside before we freeze. Arkansas girls are NOT used to weather like this.”

Just next door was a little café open for snacks. Sam went to the counter and ordered four hot chocolates with marshmallows and whipped cream as the rest of the girls settled in front of the fire.

The place was decorated in the same western theme as the rest of the resort, with a rough stone floor and mammoth timbers. Katani couldn't help feeling like she was back in the 1800s.

Moments later, the waiter brought their hot chocolate, steaming and smelling absolutely delicious. Katani
wrapped her hands around the cup and inhaled the rich, chocolatey scent.

“My fingers are numb!” Nik cried. “Hope they thaw out before our show!”

“I can't remember the last time we had hot chocolate,” Sam said. “It's not usually hot chocolate weather in Arkansas. Bet you drink this stuff a lot in Boston!”

Isabel smiled. “We get hot chocolate from our favorite bakery all the time, at least in the fall and winter.”

As Isabel launched into a description of Montoya's Bakery, Katani couldn't help starting to worry again about the rest of the group. She hoped that wherever the rest of the BSG were, they were warm and safe.

“You guys play pool?” Sam asked when they had finished their drinks.

“I've played a couple times with my sisters,” Katani answered. “How ‘bout you, Isabel?”

Isabel shook her head. “Nope, not me.”

“I saw they had pool tables in the game room. Wanna give it a try?” Nik asked.

“Sure, why not?” Isabel shrugged. “As long as you guys don't mind teaching me.”

“No problem, Iz,” Nik assured her. “It's easy!”

The game room at Big Sky was a long, large room that was warm and inviting. A fire crackled in the huge stone fireplace. There were thick, plush brown rugs scattered across the polished stone floor. Two pool tables and an air hockey table stood in the center of the room, while a fringe of video games lined the walls. Snack and drink machines stood in the far corner.

“Howdy,” a tall, dark-haired girl greeted them. She introduced herself as Jasmine, one of the teen guide staff members. “Are you all interested in playing a game of pool?” she asked.

The girls nodded and Jasmine handed out the cues, balls, and a rack.

“I'm not that great at sports,” Katani hesitated.

“It's all about hand-eye coordination. I'd be happy to show you a few tricks,” said a deep voice. Katani turned to see a tall, good-looking boy standing behind her. He took the pool cue from Katani's hand.

“The important thing about pool,” he said, “is how you hold the cue and line up the shot.” He eyed the table from a couple of angles, lined up the shot, and smoothly hit the cue ball with the stick, which knocked the number 2 ball into the corner pocket.

Nik clapped her hands. “Hey, good one, dude!”

“My name is Daniel.” He smiled an adorable, lopsided grin and then handed the pool cue back to Katani. “Now you try,” he encouraged her. “Go ahead. You'll do fine.”

Katani put her hand on the table and placed the cue on top of it, trying to imitate what she'd just observed.

“Wait. Hold on a sec,” Daniel motioned as Katani fumbled with the cue. “Let me show you how to adjust it.”

Katani was suddenly aware of how close Daniel was standing to her. He smelled kind of like woodsmoke, fresh air, and spearmint gum at the same time—a strange combination of scents that was making her a little dizzy. She could barely listen to his directions.

“Put your left hand on the table,” Daniel instructed.

Katani put her hand on the table, and Daniel placed his hand over hers. Katani could hardly breathe. Daniel had now taken hold of
both
of her hands to position the cue correctly. He spoke softly into her left ear.

“Relax. RELAX! Your left hand is just a guide for you to rest the cue on. It doesn't have to do any work. Now line up the shot. When you're ready, try to hit the cue ball right in the center so it will roll straight. You're pretty close, so you don't want to hit the cue ball too hard. Just a soft tap,” he directed. “There, the shot's all lined up. Pull the cue back as straight as you can and bring it forward straight.”

Katani did as he said, and the chalked tip of the cue hit the cue ball. The cue ball hit the number 5 ball with a clink and it rolled forward into the corner pocket.

“Yes!” Katani exclaimed, accepting a high five from her new teacher, Daniel.

“You did it,” Isabel beamed.

“Awesome,” Nik concurred.

“Totally awesome,” Daniel agreed and flashed his lopsided grin. “You've played before.”

Katani felt warm and fuzzy all over and snuck a look at Isabel, whose eyes twinkled.

“Hey, over here,” Daniel called out to three guys who'd just come through the door. “We were just going to play a couple of rounds,” he said to the girls. “Wanna play some speed pool?”

“What's speed pool?” Sam asked.

“Easy. We'll play girls against boys. Each person keeps taking a pool shot until they miss. Three missed shots and you are out! Got it?”

“Got it!” Nik said. “Come on, girls, let's do this!”

“Ladies first,” Daniel gestured toward the table with a gallant bow.

“Katani! You're a natural!” Sam exclaimed as Katani managed to sink her first shot.

By the end of the game Katani was surprised to realize that she was the last girl standing. Across from her, Daniel was the last boy.

All the skaters from the ice rink had finished up and come in to check out the game room. The snowboarders had retired for the day, too, and the game room was packed.

“Come on, Daniel! You can take her,” a tall boy named Orville called out as the final round began. Katani continued to knock in shot after shot, and to everyone's amazement, including her own, she won the game.

“Woo-hoo!” Katani cheered. “All right!”

“I must be a good teacher,” Daniel said with a wink as he high-fived Katani.

What a nice guy
, she thought.

“Awesome,” Nik proclaimed, also giving Katani an enthusiastic high five.

“You girls going boarding tomorrow?” Daniel asked as he congratulated Katani.

“I don't know,” Katani said. “I've never snowboarded before.” She wanted to add how klutzy she was at sports, but then thought better of it. They would discover that soon enough when she was tumbling down the mountain.

“Well, if you need a few pointers, let me know,” Daniel offered with a smile.

Orville suggested they all meet on the slopes the next day, and the girls agreed.

As she helped put away the pool cues, Katani heard a couple of girls behind her whispering loudly. “Hey, look, isn't that Nik and Sam?”

The buzz started to spread, and soon it seemed that everyone was whispering and pointing to the twins.

Orville was the first to whip out his lift ticket and a pen and ask for an autograph, and then it seemed everyone in the room was scrambling for a scrap of paper. The group pressed closer to Nik and Sam, demanding autographs and shouting out all sorts of questions.

Katani and Isabel were pushed to the side as kids tried to get up close to Nik and Sam.

Nik and Sam were very gracious and open to talking to everyone. Katani couldn't believe how they could stand answering the same questions over and over.