Skiing in the Mountains

My legs felt like rubber. My boots were pinching my feet and ankles. I didn’t think I could go down one more hill. I wanted to just sit down and cry. I knew I had to continue, though. I was right in the middle of ski lessons on the top of the biggest hill at Snow Summit. Suddenly, the instructor stopped. “Chloe, are you all right?”

“I think so, but my boots hurt.”

“Let me see if I can help,” he said as he came over next to me. He checked the buckles, my socks, and the tightness of the boots.

“Ouch!” I screamed as he refitted the boot and snapped the bottom buckle in place. “That hurts!”

He unclipped the buckle, and we looked at my leg. There was a huge, blue bruise by my ankle. It was almost the size of a tennis ball.

“No wonder it hurts,” he said. “You need to get these boots off, and get another pair. I don’t think the rental boots are working for you.”

“I don’t think so, either,” I whispered, as I examined the bruise that was getting more purple by the minute.

“Let’s go down the hill and get these off. Then we’ll talk to your dad. If you are going to keep skiing, you’ll need boots all your own.”

I gritted my teeth as I went down the slope. Boots all my own! No more rental boots, no more pain, no more bruises. That sounded mighty good to me!