Golden Girl by Mari Mancusi Read Free Book Online

wouldn’t be rejoining our class for at least another month. . . .” She trailed off, and I flinched at her pitying expression, desperately wanting to dig myself a hole in the snow and hide. I could feel the eyes of my classmates on me now, especially Olivia’s. What was I supposed to say? That I wasn’t rejoining the advanced class after all? That I was actually headed over to the bunny slope instead?
    I knew in my head there was no shame in it; in fact, any normal person would think it was a smart and sensible thing to do—to take it easy and find my feet before jumping off the deep end. But my fellow students weren’t normal people—they were total sharks, and any hint of blood in the snow would spark a feeding frenzy. After all, there were only limited spots on the teams, and I couldn’t let them think for even a second that mine was up for grabs.
    â€œPlease! You know Lexi,” Brooklyn butted in. “She just couldn’t wait to bomb this amazing new park.” She turned to me, eyes shining. “Lexi, I promise you, girl, you are going to fall in love with this thing. It is made of awesome.”
    I opened my mouth to reply, but Olivia cut me off. “It is awesome,” she agreed in a most patronizing tone. “But Lexi, are you sure you’re ready to hit something so difficult ? I mean, after all you’ve been through! Maybe you should take it easy for a while. In fact,” she added brightly, “there’s a great bunny slope just across the way. Maybe you should just hop on over to that instead.” Behind her the Boarder Barbies giggled and nudged one another.
    I didn’t know what to say. This was getting worse and worse. If I turned tail now, headed over to Baby Bear as Olivia had suggested, I’d only confirm what everyone was secretly hoping. That I’d lost my edge. That the injury had ruined me. That my coveted Golden Girl status was ripe for the taking.
    But if I said, no, that I’d planned to hit the park all along, well, then I’d actually have to hit the park. With no warm-up. And my entire advanced freestyle snowboarding class watching.
    I knew I should turn and go. After all, I shouldn’t have to prove anything to them. They could think what they wanted—it didn’t change anything in the end. But then I caught Olivia’s smug smirk out of the corner of my eye. As if she knew exactly what kind of bind she’d put me in.
    I made my decision.
    â€œAre you kidding?” I found myself saying. “I’m totally here to conquer the Apocalypse. And all I can say is there better be zombies!” I pantomimed locking and loading my imaginary shotgun with as much bravado as I could muster.
    My classmates laughed and cheered. Coach Basil frowned. “Hang on a second. I need to make sure this has been cleared by your coach—or at least your father—before I let you go.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her walkie-talkie. “Class, hang tight for a second.”
    She turned and walked a few feet off so we couldn’t overhear her conversation. I could feel the eyes of the rest of the class on me. I knew if I was going to make my move it would have to be now. Once Coach Basil talked to my dad, it’d be back to the bunny slope and humiliation city for sure.
    Quickly and quietly—so as not to attract Coach Basil’s attention, I strapped my feet into my board. I’d had to buy a new one to replace the one I’d snapped during the accident last year. It was a little stiffer than my previous board, but that would only help me go huge on the jumps. Once I was strapped in, I inched over to the starting gate and peered down at the park below. Wow. Dante hadn’t been kidding—this park was killer. The biggest, baddest park I’d ever seen—with sky-high rainbow rails and huge tabletop jumps. Handrails, kickers, picnic tables—this park had it