Chapter 48 Scarlett
Scarlett
Scarlett loved skiing! There was nothing like the feeling of whooshing down the mountain with the wind in your face.
It was like flying. She’d taken lessons in the morning, and by the second day, she had advanced to the intermediate slopes.
Even though Avery could have skied the harder trails, she stayed with Scarlett the whole time.
She couldn’t remember when she’d had such a fun weekend.
Avery’s parents pulled up to Scarlett’s house and stopped the car.
“Thank you so much. I had an awesome time!” she said as she grabbed her bag and got out of the car.
“You’re a natural,” Mrs. Draconis said, smiling. “We’ll do it again soon.”
“I’ll FaceTime you later.” Avery gave Scarlett a hug, then got back in the car.
Scarlett opened the front door and called out, “I’m home.” She threw her bag on the floor and hung up her coat, then went to the kitchen where her dad was at the stove stirring something.
“Hi.”
He turned around and enveloped her in a hug. “So how was it?”
“Great! Why haven’t we ever skied? It’s so much fun. I can’t wait to go again. Avery’s mom said I’m a natural.”
James smiled and pointed to his leg. “Trick knee. Don’t need to make it worse, and then I wouldn’t be able to hop on and off our sailboat. I’m glad you had fun. Your homework all done?”
“Yeah, we did it on the drive home. I’m gonna go unpack.”
She went upstairs, still on a high from the weekend. Her phone pinged. Ben!
Ben: How was skiing?
Scarlett: Awesome! How was ur wknd?
Ben: Boring. Have good news tho
Scarlett:?
Ben: Dad’s trip got moved up Coming next Friday
Scarlett: Wow!
Ben: Yeah, mite b late. Meet Sat?
Scarlett: Cool
Ben: I’ll text a time
A knock on her door made her look up. “Can I come in?” her dad asked.
“Yeah.”
Scarlett: GTG
She put the phone down. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to double-check about sailing to Newport next weekend.”
Shit. She’d forgotten about their trip. “I promised Avery I’d help her with something next Saturday. Can you go without me?” She hoped she sounded convincing.
His brow creased. “We’ve had this planned for a month. What does she need help with?”
Scarlett thought fast. “It’s a fundraiser project for school. We’re making T-shirts and selling them at the fair the following weekend. It’s important. I get credit for it too.”
“Let me talk to your mom about it. I’ll have to see if Gram and Grandad can come stay with you. I don’t want you to be home alone overnight.”
That’s the last thing she needed. “I can spend the night at Avery’s.”
“Okay. I guess. I’m disappointed though. What if we went Sunday instead?”
She thought about it. Scarlett didn’t know how long Ben was going to be in town, and she hated the idea of not being able to see him both days if he was still going to be here. “You’re treating me like a baby. Like Mom does. Just go, and I’ll go next time.”
He stood up and pursed his lips. “You’re growing up too fast. Dinner in half an hour.”
As soon as he left the room, she called Avery.
“Hey, I need a favor.”