Fourteen-year-old Chloe pictured herself in the 주황색, 오렌지 재킷, 자 켓 that Riley was holding up. No, the silver one would look better with her hair. Of course, she and Riley had the exact same shade of blonde hair, not to mention the same blue eyes and the same complexion. Still, Chloe thought that the silver 재킷, 자 켓 suited her personality better.
Riley laughed. "That's a great idea. Except we came to the mall to do some last-minute 크리스마스 shopping, remember? For other people?"
"Fine. I'll buy 당신 the 주황색, 오렌지 재킷, 자 켓 for Christmas, and 당신 can buy me the silver one. They're only-" Chloe paused to check out the price tag. She let out a small scream when she saw the triple digits. "Aargh! I mean, they're a tiny bit 더 많이 expensive than I thought."
"Maybe we should wait for the January sales," Riley suggested.
"But we're leaving for Vail on Saturday!" Chloe groaned. "We have everything else we need . . . new snowboards, hats and scarves, the coolest sunglasses. But we still need the perfect jackets. And these jackets are really special. They have personal stereo systems inside with headphones sewn into the hoods. We could listen to our fave CDs while we tear up moguls."
Chloe and Riley were leaving for Vail, Colorado, in three days. Their mother, Macy, was taking them to the famous ski resort for their holiday vacation. Chloe couldn't wait to hit the slopes with her new snowboard. And she couldn't wait to see snow. At 집 in Malibu, California, there was nothing but sunshine and warm, balmy weather almost 365 days a year. Which was nothing to complain about. Still, there was something special about seeing snowflakes falling gently onto a pure white landscape.
The three of them also planned to visit the resort's spa for lots of post-skiing massages and beauty treatments. Chloe had read online that the spa's pineapple-papaya facials were to die for.
"Let's go 다음 door to Video Planet and get some DVDs for Dad," Riley said, tucking her arm through Chloe's. "That will get our minds off the--hey, look at those awesome black ski pants!"
"Oh, we have to get them!" Chloe cried out.
Ten 분 and lots of cash transactions later--the pants were thirty percent off--Chloe and Riley managed to tear themselves away from Powderhounds.
They stopped to look at a flyer for Surf Expo 게시됨 on the 벽 outside the door. "I guess we're going to miss that when we go to Vail," Riley said sadly.
"I know you've been looking 앞으로 to it since last year, but trust me . . . once 당신 hit the slopes, 당신 won't miss it at all," Chloe said, as they turned to go into Video Planet.
Chloe shifted her shopping bag from one arm to the other as she scanned the shelves of DVDs. "So what would Dad like?"
Riley pointed to several titles and read them out loud. "Beach Yoga for Your Health. The Meat-Free Gourmet. Spirituality after Forty."
chloe pretended to yawn. "Okay. As long as we don't have to watch them with him when we stay over at his place."
[CHLOE: SEE, MOM AND DAD ARE SEPARATED. THEY DECIDED TO 스플릿, 분할 UP WHEN THEY REALIZED THAT THEY LIVE AT TWO DIFFERENT SPEEDS. 당신 KNOW THE STORY OF THE 남생이, 거북이 AND THE HARE? WELL, DAD IS THE TORTOISE; MOM IS THE HARE--ON CAFFEINE. RILEY AND I LIVE WITH MOM IN OUR 바닷가, 비치 HOUSE IN MALIBU. DAD DECIDED HE PREFERRED THE SIMPLE LIFE IN HIS SMALL TRAILER 의해 THE OCEAN. HE'S INTO YOGA, MEDITATION, AND HEALTHY FOODS WITH STRANGE NAMES.]
Riley grinned and put the three DVDs into a shopping basket. The sisters continued to browse. Riley found some 영화 for her best friend, Sierra. Chloe found a special three-DVD set for her boyfriend, Lennon, of his 가장 좋아하는 TV show. It cost 더 많이 than she had wanted to spend, but Lennon was so worth it.
"Hey, Chloe! What are 당신 doing here?"
Chloe's head flew up at the sound of the familiar voice.
Lennon was standing in front of her.
Chloe stifled a gasp and whipped the DVD set behind her back.
[CHLOE: OKAY, THIS IS WHAT 당신 CALL BAD TIMING. DID LENNON SEE MY PRESENT FOR HIM? DID I BLOW HIS BIG 크리스마스 SURPRISE?]
Lennon leaned to 키스 her. Chloe noticed that he was holding something behind his back, too.
"Hi, Lennon," Chloe said, enjoying the kiss. "What are 당신 doing here?"
"Uh-just picking out some DVDs for my mom," Lennon said quickly.
"That's what we're doing, too! We're picking out some DVDs for our dad," Chloe said. "No one else. Just our dad."
"That's cool," Lennon said. "Hey, Riley."
"Hey, Lennon," Riley said with a little wave.
Lennon turned back to Chloe. "Listen, I was going to call you. Are 당신 free Friday night? Do 당신 want to go out with me and my parents? We want to take 당신 out for a special good-bye 공식 만찬, 저녁 식사 before 당신 leave for Vail."
"I'd 사랑 to," Chloe said eagerly. "Is this going to be fancy 또는 casual?"
"Definitely fancy," Lennon replied. "I'll call 당신 about it later, okay?"
"'kay."
Lennon gave her another kiss, then took off. Chloe noticed him quickly shifting whatever he had been holding behind his back so that she couldn't see it.
"Did 당신 catch what he's getting for me?" Chloe whispered to Riley.
Riley laughed and shook her head. "No! Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
Chloe laughed, too. "What kind of sister are you?" she teased. "Anyway, we'd better knock some 더 많이 stuff off our shopping list, 또는 we'll be here all night."
"Slumber party at the mall. Doesn't sound so bad," Riley remarked.
"True," Chloe agreed.
* * *
"Okay, check out my snowboarding technique," Riley called out to her sister.
Chloe made a face. "Huh? In case 당신 haven't noticed, we're in Malibu. In our living room. And it's seventy degrees outside."
"You are such a skeptic. Watch and learn from the master!"
Riley walked to the hall closet and got out her trusty old surfboard. Then she put it on the living room floor and stepped onto it. Bending her knees slightly, she began swaying back and forth, as though she were zooming down a double-black-diamond slope.
"Okay. 당신 have officially 로스트 your mind," Chloe said, giggling.
Riley giggled, too. She knew she looked like a freak-especially since she was wearing her brand-new black ski pants with the 태그 still on them with a 담홍색, 핑크 tank top. But she was really excited about their upcoming trip to Vail. She couldn't wait to glide down a mountain of pure, white, frosty snow with a brisk winter wind whipping through her hair. She wanted to brush up on her snowboarding skills-even if it was on the wrong kind of board and in her living room in Malibu!
Just then the phone rang. Chloe reached over to the coffee 표, 테이블 and picked up the phone.
"Hello? Oh, hey." Chloe covered the mouthpiece. "Oh, Ms. Snowboarding Queen, it's for you! It's Charlie."
Riley stepped off her board. Charlie was her boyfriend-i.e., her fave guy in the entire world.
Riley took the phone from Chloe. "Hey," she said happily.
"Hey. What are 당신 doing?"
Riley glanced at her surfboard. "You don't want to know. What are 당신 doing?"
"I was just thinking about how much I'm going to miss 당신 while you're in Vail."
Riley's 심장 melted. Charlie was so sweet. "I'm going to miss you, too," she said softly. "I wish I could clone myself! Then I could go to Vail and stay here at the same time. We could hang out and have movie-fests at my house. 또는 we could hang out at your house and have movie-fests there," she added. She had never been to his house. In fact, she had never met most of his family.
"Yeah, that would be so great," Charlie agreed.
Then Riley had a sudden inspiration. "Hey! I'm free now. I mean, like, an 시간 from now, after Chloe and I 덮개, 랩 the bazillion 크리스마스 presents we bought today," she said, catching her sister's glare. "Maybe I could come over?"
"Uh, no . . . I mean . . . why don't I come to your house instead?" Charlie said quickly.
Riley frowned. This was the third 또는 fourth time this had happened. Whenever she suggested that she go to his house, he'd insist on coming to her house instead.
But she didn't want to be pushy. "Um, sure," she said. "See 당신 at, like, four?"
"Great. I'll see 당신 then."
"Bye."
"Bye."
"Okay, let's get to work. We have major wrapping to do," Chloe said as soon as Riley hung up. "And if 당신 have time before your 사랑 bunny comes over, I need 당신 to help me pick out something to wear Friday night."
사랑 bunny? Riley thought.
"You mean for your big 날짜 with Lennon and his parents?" she said out loud. "It sounds like they're going to take 당신 someplace really fancy. Are 당신 nervous?"
"No, I've met his parents lots of times," Chloe said.
"You are so lucky," Riley said. "Lennon's a great guy. Charlie's great too, but I haven't even met his family. Except for his dad, and that was at his alternative CD store, not at their house."
"I'm sure it'll happen soon," Chloe said sympathetically.
"You know your relationship is rock-solid when a guy introduces 당신 to his parents." Riley sighed. "So why haven't I met Charlie's family? Does this mean we're not rock-solid?"
"You're worrying way too much," Chloe said, grabbing a roll of shiny red paper. "Come on, get into the 크리스마스 spirit! We have tons of wrapping to do, and-"
She was interrupted 의해 the sound of the front door opening. Car keys jingled. High heels tapped briskly across the floor. It was their mother, Macy.
Macy Carlson walked into the living room. Riley thought her mom looked even 더 많이 harried than usual. She was talking into two cell phones at once, one at each ear. Her white business suit had a big coffee stain down the front of it.
"Yes, yes, get me on the twelve-fifteen," Macy barked into one of the phones. "No, that order is going to have to wait. Something's come up," she barked into the other one.
Riley and Chloe exchanged a glance. What's up with Mom? Riley wondered.
Macy clicked off both phones and smiled apologetically at her daughters. "Hello, sweeties," she said. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."
"Chloe is cooking 공식 만찬, 저녁 식사 tonight?" Riley joked. Chloe threw a 베개 at her, which Riley ducked.
Their mother frowned. She looked upset. "I'm so sorry to have to tell 당신 this, but our trip to Vail is off!"
