food before we leave the city?”
“Yes!” Charly called. “Yes, it is definitely okay with us!” Apparently the protein bar had not been enough.
I shrugged. Last year Coach Hershey had sat us down and forced us to watch a disturbing documentary on fast food to scare us away from it, but all that seemed pointless now. It wasn’t like I was in training for anything anymore.
We pulled up to an A&W and ordered three burgers. I fumbled with the zipper on my backpack, but Ezra was faster. He found two purple bills that looked more likeMonopoly money than legal tender, and paid before I could even find my wallet.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Charly echoed.
Charly scarfed hers, but the meat didn’t taste right to me. Too much like cow. I wrapped mine up and shoved it back in the bag. It was better as a lap warmer anyway.
“So you guys are starting at BPH?” Ezra asked.
It took a moment for the acronym to register. Banff Public High.
“I am,” I said. “Charly’s doing classes by correspondence.”
I stole a sideways glance, but Ezra’s face was expressionless.
“I went to BPH,” he said.
Went. So he wasn’t in high school anymore. Dropout or graduate?
“Don’t miss it,” he added.
“That bad?”
“No. Just cramped my style, you know?”
“I guess.”
Ezra looked like the kind of guy whose style was sleeping till noon and playing Xbox for the rest of the day.
“It’s my last semester,” I said, “so it’s not like my classes matter. I’m just here to be crowned prom queen.”
“Good luck with that. There’s no prom here.”
“Oh.” So the prom queen sarcasm must’ve been lost in translation. Mars. I’d landed on Mars. “Do you even know what prom is?”
“Yeah. American TV.”
I took a deep breath and told myself it didn’t matter. If I was at home, Savannah would’ve had to drag me to PHS’s prom anyway. It’s not like I would’ve gone with Will. Probably not, anyway. It would have been extremely unlikely.
Ezra’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “The Southern drawl should win you some points at school. Or at least some laughs.”
Clearly he had no idea he sounded slightly Scottish, slightly Minnesotan, and slightly idiotic.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” I said, listening to my words, trying to hear what he heard. “I’ve never had an accent before.”
“Trust me, you’ve had a Southern accent since the day you started talking.”
“Yeah, thanks, I get it. I just mean I’ve never lived anywhere else. I’ve never been, you know, out of context.”
“Welcome to out of context.”
I stared out the window in silence, and felt the minutes roll by. The city lights were behind us now, leaving just the outline of bleached hills glowing under a heavy black sky. It was eerie. Or magical.
“That’s the color snow is supposed to be,” Ezra said.
I nodded. It was beautiful.
We sank back into silence. It should have been awkward, sitting beside a stranger with nothing to say, but it wasn’t. Maybe because I didn’t care what he thought.
After another few minutes, Ezra spoke again. “We’ve got a Chinook coming.”
“Am I supposed to know what that is?”
“Oh. I guess not. Warm wind from the mountains. Temps are probably up in Banff already. At least I hope they are. I froze at work today.”
“You work outside?” That seemed impossible. Or if not impossible, then incredibly stupid.
“I’m on ski patrol at Lake Louise. The slopes were practically empty today.”
“Any theories why?”
He either didn’t hear my sarcasm, or he ignored it. “Only diehards ski in this kind of cold, but they still have to have people out there clearing for avalanches and on patrol, eh?”
I glanced over my shoulder at Charly, but she was asleep. How was I supposed to make fun of my first “eh”? “And you didn’t get frostbite or hypothermia or anything?”
“No. When it’s this cold I wear a lot of gear. Balaclava, goggles, the whole deal, you
“Yes!” Charly called. “Yes, it is definitely okay with us!” Apparently the protein bar had not been enough.
I shrugged. Last year Coach Hershey had sat us down and forced us to watch a disturbing documentary on fast food to scare us away from it, but all that seemed pointless now. It wasn’t like I was in training for anything anymore.
We pulled up to an A&W and ordered three burgers. I fumbled with the zipper on my backpack, but Ezra was faster. He found two purple bills that looked more likeMonopoly money than legal tender, and paid before I could even find my wallet.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Charly echoed.
Charly scarfed hers, but the meat didn’t taste right to me. Too much like cow. I wrapped mine up and shoved it back in the bag. It was better as a lap warmer anyway.
“So you guys are starting at BPH?” Ezra asked.
It took a moment for the acronym to register. Banff Public High.
“I am,” I said. “Charly’s doing classes by correspondence.”
I stole a sideways glance, but Ezra’s face was expressionless.
“I went to BPH,” he said.
Went. So he wasn’t in high school anymore. Dropout or graduate?
“Don’t miss it,” he added.
“That bad?”
“No. Just cramped my style, you know?”
“I guess.”
Ezra looked like the kind of guy whose style was sleeping till noon and playing Xbox for the rest of the day.
“It’s my last semester,” I said, “so it’s not like my classes matter. I’m just here to be crowned prom queen.”
“Good luck with that. There’s no prom here.”
“Oh.” So the prom queen sarcasm must’ve been lost in translation. Mars. I’d landed on Mars. “Do you even know what prom is?”
“Yeah. American TV.”
I took a deep breath and told myself it didn’t matter. If I was at home, Savannah would’ve had to drag me to PHS’s prom anyway. It’s not like I would’ve gone with Will. Probably not, anyway. It would have been extremely unlikely.
Ezra’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “The Southern drawl should win you some points at school. Or at least some laughs.”
Clearly he had no idea he sounded slightly Scottish, slightly Minnesotan, and slightly idiotic.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” I said, listening to my words, trying to hear what he heard. “I’ve never had an accent before.”
“Trust me, you’ve had a Southern accent since the day you started talking.”
“Yeah, thanks, I get it. I just mean I’ve never lived anywhere else. I’ve never been, you know, out of context.”
“Welcome to out of context.”
I stared out the window in silence, and felt the minutes roll by. The city lights were behind us now, leaving just the outline of bleached hills glowing under a heavy black sky. It was eerie. Or magical.
“That’s the color snow is supposed to be,” Ezra said.
I nodded. It was beautiful.
We sank back into silence. It should have been awkward, sitting beside a stranger with nothing to say, but it wasn’t. Maybe because I didn’t care what he thought.
After another few minutes, Ezra spoke again. “We’ve got a Chinook coming.”
“Am I supposed to know what that is?”
“Oh. I guess not. Warm wind from the mountains. Temps are probably up in Banff already. At least I hope they are. I froze at work today.”
“You work outside?” That seemed impossible. Or if not impossible, then incredibly stupid.
“I’m on ski patrol at Lake Louise. The slopes were practically empty today.”
“Any theories why?”
He either didn’t hear my sarcasm, or he ignored it. “Only diehards ski in this kind of cold, but they still have to have people out there clearing for avalanches and on patrol, eh?”
I glanced over my shoulder at Charly, but she was asleep. How was I supposed to make fun of my first “eh”? “And you didn’t get frostbite or hypothermia or anything?”
“No. When it’s this cold I wear a lot of gear. Balaclava, goggles, the whole deal, you
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