6. Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Alisha
T he chalet was absolutely stunning, it had four bedrooms in total but luckily, Ophelia and I were the only two who had booked. It probably would have been weird sharing the place with strangers. Although, Ophelia wouldn’t have minded. She loved talking and meeting with different people.
The two of us stared at the place in awe, this was going to be all ours. It was adorable. There were small steps leading up to the oak door which had a Christmas wreath attached. Multicoloured lights decorated the porch, slowly changing colour every five seconds and I could see in the back that there was a hot tub. We turned to look at each other with a grin. I knew exactly what she was thinking.
“We’re going to have a party tonight.” She winked at me.
By party, I didn’t know if she meant just us. I’d hope so, since we hadn’t met anyone yet, apart from the chalet owner who handed us the keys and gave us instructions as to how to turn the heating on, to where the local supermarket was and the best restaurants to eat in. We were now unpacking in our respective rooms and I took a moment to admire the natural decor. I appreciated the pine walls and the smell of jasmine. I had my own wardrobe and chest of drawers, plenty of space. Perfect. I would message Grayson later to thank him since he must have stuck his neck out to pay for this. I needed to make sure I wrote the most eye-grabbing and interesting article to date for Culture Horizon.
I had changed into some comfier clothes and placed on my slippers as my toes were a little cold. Ophelia decided to take a small nap but knowing her, she could sleep for hours. I’d packed some tea bags from England as well as my favourite mug so I could make some tea. There was some milk provided by the owner as well as sugar and biscuits. As the kettle was brewing, I walked into the lounge area, which felt very homely.
I could hear Ophelia’s light snoring from the next room, and the kettle stopped brewing. After my cup of tea, I’d head to the supermarket and buy us some food as it was getting close to dinner time. I also wanted to explore the area more and take some photos of the mountains in the background.
I made a list on my phone of what we needed and gently rapped my knuckles on Ophelia’s door to check if she was awake. Nope, no answer.
I knew what kind of snacks she wanted anyway so I would treat her as a thank you for coming on this trip. I’d also buy her a very nice bottle of wine.
Making my way to the shop was a short walk, the large rectangular sign was clear to see as I got closer. On my list were cheese, ham, bread, more milk and eggs, crisps and many other goodies to keep us going. As I entered the shop and grabbed a basket, my phone started to ring and took it out of my pocket to see Zane was calling.
“All okay?” he asked as I said hi.
“Yep. Just shopping right now,” I replied, reaching to grab a packet of cheddar cheese.
“Oh, I bet the options are great out there. Bring me back some bratwurst if you can,” Zane said. We spoke some more as I sauntered around the aisles, grabbing the things I needed. I’d selected a few snacks as well as several meals I could make. I’d also eyed up the selection of cheeses and couldn’t help but put a few in my basket. Melted cheese on toast sounded delicious, it was one of my comfort foods.
My basket was full by the time I reached the check-out and I paid with my card. My stomach was rumbling and I hurried home, strange that I called it that, but nonetheless it was for the next two weeks. Ophelia was now awake as I entered through the door and she had changed into some comfortable clothes, a pink jumper with a pair of grey leggings and slipper boots. She looked right at home.
“Oh, you went shopping? You should have woken me.” She eyed up the bags which I placed on the kitchen table.
“Don’t worry. You needed your sleep. Tea?” I asked her and she nodded quite vigorously. With the shopping packed away, tea made and heating on, we settled on the sofa and switched on the TV to see what was on. Of course, the channels were in German and I didn’t understand a word. Luckily, I had brought my laptop and there was a HDMI cable to plug in.
“Stick on a film. I’ll start making us food,” I said, grabbing my half empty mug of tea. I was going to make us a carbonara tonight with sausage instead of the pancetta I’d normally use.
“Are you all set for your lesson tomorrow?” Ophelia called out, finally having chosen a film. She’d selected Easy A , one of our favourites. Emma Stone was a gift to the acting world. I loved her versatility.
“I think so. It’s at ten o’clock and takes about an hour and a half. ” I hadn’t thought about it much until just now. I’d already researched my ski instructor who was a woman named Hilde, she’d been working at the ski school for nearly five years. So she was very good and highly rated.
“You’ll be ace. You’ll make me so proud. Maybe when you have your last lesson, we can ski together,” Ophelia said, and hopefully I would be confident enough to do so. I felt a little more ambition than I had back in England. Something about being in a different setting was encouraging and all I needed to do was remind myself that I was in control when skiing. Nothing terrible could happen to me. I reminded myself of that as my head hit the pillow after our evening of spaghetti, chocolate mousse and white wine. Our ‘party’ had ended as soon as it started as Ophelia was more exhausted than she thought.
“You can do this, Ali,” I spoke to no one but myself as I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep. You can.
***
The next morning rolled around and I was on my way to pick up my ski boots, poles and everything I needed before getting the cable car up to the ski school. Ophelia had joined me and wanted to ensure I was okay. She’d helped me put on the boots which were a maze at first with the multiple buckles. They felt very strange when I started to walk in them, almost as if I was waddling along like a penguin. I knew Kiya would laugh at the sight of this and Ophelia took a photo, as this was one of my many firsts of our holiday.
I couldn’t stop my legs from jiggling as we were going up the wire, higher and higher. On the next stop, a friendly American had joined us and greeted us warmly. He had a Missouri accent by the sounds of it.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He gazed at the scenery and Ophelia nodded. I couldn’t say anything but smile as I was feeling extremely nervous.
Pull yourself together, Ali.
“Absolutely. This one here is skiing for the first time.” Ophelia jutted her head in my direction and the man raised his eyebrows.
“Well, I can tell you that you’ll have a lot of fun. I’ve been skiing for many years now. It is the most fun you can have with your clothes still on.” As soon as he said this, Ophelia let out a throaty laugh, whereas I let out a more nervous one.
“Right on,” my friend agreed.
I hoped he was right. Not that I had done any kind of sporting activity naked before.
After some more talking, mostly between Ophelia and the unnamed man, we finally reached our stop.
“Well, I hope you enjoy your lesson,” the man said, giving us a nod before departing. We grabbed our skis and poles, walking over carefully to where the school was. It wasn’t too busy and I was glad I had booked at the right time, as I was sure by lunchtime it would be swarming.
Ophelia made sure I got to the school safely and waited as I met my instructor. Hilde was a tall, blonde woman with kind, blue eyes. She exerted confidence and assertiveness but I could tell we would get along.
“Very nice to meet you,” she said to me, shaking my hand. She had a soft tone to her voice as she spoke.
“You too,” I said nervously.
“Right. Well, I’ll meet you back here for lunch?” Ophelia pulled me in for a hug.
“Just remember, you are that bitch okay? I believe in you,” she finished.
“I am that bitch,” I replied, letting out a giggle and Ophelia joined, her melodic laughter filling the silence.
“See you later.” I waved as her silhouette started to disappear. I wished I could be as good as her by the end of the trip.
“Right. So we’ll walk down to the slope we are learning on. I’ll hold your skis for you,” Hilde said, reaching out to take them from me.
“Thank you,” I said sheepishly, wishing I could say more. She stayed by my side as we walked further down until we reached the training slope.
“So first, we’ll get you standing on your skis and then by the end of lesson today, hopefully we’ll get you skiing down and into a plough,” Hilde said, placing her hands on her hips. It didn’t sound so bad and I was comforted by the fact that there were other adult learners around. I inhaled and exhaled, trying to convince myself that everything would be fine. I would conquer this.
As I got more comfortable in the lesson, I was unaware of the time until Hilde said we were now finishing. I’d learned more about her. She had said her partner also worked here and they had met about two years ago. She was twenty-three and he was twenty-four. I’d realised she was the type of person to hype you up as every ten minutes she’d cheer me on.
To my delight, I had managed to ski plough a few times with success and maintain a good speed going down the slope. It actually felt quite thrilling, and also exhausting. My limbs were burning and I definitely couldn’t wait to sit down and have a bite to eat. The boots were starting to hurt my feet but I knew I just needed to get used to them.
Ophelia was waiting for me as she had promised, with a proud grin on her face.
“I was watching you for the last five minutes. Look at you!” She beamed and then turned to Hilde to thank her.
“Well, you girls have a nice lunch. See you tomorrow, Alisha. Well done.” Hilde gently squeezed my shoulder. I thanked her and said goodbye before Ophelia and I set off to the nearby restaurant.
“Right. Food time.” Ophelia clasped her hands together as we entered inside. We had placed our skis on the racks outside. There was a variety of delicious food: schnitzel and fries, spaghetti bolognese, bratwurst, steaks and salad. I had opted for the bratwurst with a bowl of chips.
“Can’t wait to tuck into all this.” Ophelia piled her tray with savoury and sweet dishes. I also grabbed a plate of cheesecake since it looked so good. We paid and found a table for two, luckily.
As we sat down, Ophelia went through the plan for the rest of the day.
“I was thinking of skiing for another hour or so. I’m loving being in the mountains again. Are you going to head back?”
“Yeah, you don’t mind do you? I’ve got some inspiration for writing,” I said, knowing that I needed to type what I had experienced. Writing itself was a creative process and I knew there’d be lots of changes I’d make, but ultimately, I wanted an article that I was proud of.
“Of course. That’s what you are here for. But also, don’t forget to have some fun,” she said, placing a fry in her mouth.
“I know. I’ve been pleasantly surprised today,” I said with a smile and proceeded to finish my lunch. The flavours were amazing and the cheesecake was creamily good. It seemed to melt on my mouth every time I took a bite.
We let our stomachs settle before getting up to grab our skis.
“Text me when you get back,” Ophelia said, pulling her goggles down over her eyes. It was starting to get sunnier here and much busier.
“Will do. Have fun,” I said, giving her a hug. I watched as she skied away with ease, looking like a gliding angel. As I turned around to head to the cable car, I hadn’t realised that someone was approaching behind me. Or let’s say, skiing. Before I could even attempt to move, we crashed into one another and I let out a small squeal. The other person let out a grunt and I could hear them hit the ground just as I did. Luckily the snow was soft and I fell on my ass, rather than my front.
“Verdammt, schau mal, wo du hingehst!” a deep, rumbling and slightly angry voice boomed. It was a thick German accent too. I almost jumped out of my skin and tilted my head to gaze in their direction.
“Umm,” was all I could reply with and I squinted to get a better look. I was met with a fury-infused glare, hazel eyes met my own brown ones. He was attractive as I continued to scan him.
Stubble peppered his chin and upper lip which had turned into a scowl. He had short, auburn hair from what I could see under his helmet. He was well-built and seemed like he was tall. He validated this by brushing the snow off his trousers and standing up before placing his hands on his hips, shaking his head slightly. The next thing I noticed were his hands, how calloused they were and muscular. I realised I was still on the ground and stood up, dusting my hands on my legs. The man continued to speak with annoyance to his tone, trying to work out what language I spoke.
“êtes-vous francaise?” To which I shook my head. I understood a bit of French but not enough to hold a conversation. I didn’t know what to say to him. For some reason, the words couldn’t escape my lips. I felt like an idiot as my mouth was gaping open slightly and this only made him more frustrated. He let out a groan before speaking again. I really didn’t like this man’s attitude, even if he was this gorgeous.
“English then?”
“Yeah. Sorry I bumped into you,” I said and I meant it. I hadn’t meant to hurt him and I cursed myself for my clumsiness. I couldn’t quite meet his gaze which felt as though it was burning me. I just wished he would stop glaring. Something was stuck up his ass and there was no need to be rude.
“Just be careful. Always be aware of your surroundings on the mountains,” he said and before I could utter a reply, he was gone in a flash.
How strange.
I shrugged and continued trudging my way to the cable car, wondering what the heck had just happened, and who that man was.