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you wouldn’t have been able to ski with that cute girl all day? But I fixed your bindings right away, didn’t I?”
    Nathan looked both directions. He leaned forward and whispered. “They are from Long Island, New York. They got here four days ago and they will be checking out a week after Christmas.”
    He squinted at the screen. “It says they have a Ford Taurus.”
    Nathan misunderstood my strange look.
    â€œHey,” he said. “We ask for that information in case a car is hit or the lights are on and we need to contact the guest.”
    â€œI don’t suppose it was white, was it?”
    â€œ Yeah,” he said. “How did you know?”
    â€œJust a guess,” I said. “Thanks. Now I owe you.”
    Nathan looked at something else on the screen. “This is strange,” he whispered.
    â€œWhat?” I said. “What’s strange?”
    â€œIt says here that the two rooms have been comped.”
    â€œComped?”
    â€œYes, comped. It means the rooms are free. So are meals and ski tickets. They don’t have to pay a thing for their whole visit here.”
    â€œWhat’s strange about that? Doesn’t the resort give out free ski weekends all the time?” I asked. “I always hear about them on the radio.”
    â€œUsually there is a message on the computer that tells the staff why the room is comped. If it’s someone important, we need to know,” said Nathan.
    â€œWhat reason do they give for this one?”
    Nathan looked at me. “That’s the thing. There is no reason,” he said. “And I’ve never seen something like this before. What do you know about this girl?”
    â€œNot enough,” I told Nathan. “Not nearly enough.”

chapter ten
    I wanted to know more about Cassie Holt. So I went to the ski shop to rent a snow-board.
    â€œYou?” the guy behind the counter asked. The guy’s name was Bubba. He knew me because sometimes I teach skiing to people who rent skis from him. He was short and wide with a beard. “Keegan Bishop? Champion downhill racer? On a snowboard?”
    â€œSure,” I said. “Why not?’
    â€œAre you goofy?”
    â€œHey,” I said. “You don’t have to call me names.”
    He chuckled. “In snowboarding, if you ride with your left foot forward, you’re called a regular. If you ride with your right foot forward, you’re called a goofy.”
    â€œI don’t know if I’m goofy or not,” I said, feeling goofy just saying it.
    â€œTry this,” he said. He put a snowboard on the carpet. “The bindings are set up for a goofy.”
    I put my feet into the bindings. I imagined myself on a ski hill.
    â€œIt feels, um, goofy,” I said.
    â€œThat’s why they call it that,” he told me. “Most people are regulars.”
    He pulled out a different snowboard. “Take the three-day rental, Keegan. It saves you money. The first day will be weird. But don’t quit. Once you get used to it, you’ll like it.” I paid him for three days.
    â€œYup,” he said. “Before you know it, you’ll be riding fakie and hitting ollies.”
    â€œHuh? Did you just start speaking French or something?”
    â€œYou’ll be riding backward, jumping bumps and riding the tail of your snowboard.”
    â€œThanks,” I said. “Maybe instead of learning how to snowboard, I’ll just learn how to talk like a snowboarder.”
    â€œJust enjoy the surfing out there,” he said.
    â€œI will.”
    â€œOh, by the way,” he said as I got ready to leave. “Keep a good eye on your snowboard. It’s worth four hundred dollars.”
    â€œI won’t lose it,” I said.
    â€œI’m not worried about you losing it,” he told me. “I’m worried about it getting stolen.”
    â€œStolen?”
    â€œYes,” he said. “Stolen.