Kaylie glides serenely down the fresh layer of snow, looking gorgeous in her pale rose jacket and white knit cap. Her graceful little jumps and twirls are perfectly timed. I, on the other hand, bump and tumble clumsily down the hill, trying to keep my balance on my oversized skis. Not mention how dorky I look in my huge grey jacket and ugly green helmet. I’m all but graceful.

Honestly, I have no idea why Kaylie wants to be my best friend. I’m horrible at everything, short tempered, and, to tell the truth, ugly. She’s the kind of person who everyone wants to be friends with, and is always very sweet. And, out of all her friends she chose me to go on a ski trip with her.

“Follow me!” Kaylie calls from bellow me, gesturing toward a little trail through the trees. I clatter after her, trying to put my skis next to her. Instead, I topple over onto her and she loses her balance. Then we shoot down the steep slope, surely going to our deaths. Then she’s stopped abruptly by a big tree, and I continue my fall down the mountain.

“Tess!” She cries, grabbing my mitten. I stop, panting, and look around. “Oh, geez. What did I get us into?” Kaylie put a gloved hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Tessa. That was a difficult stop to make.” “Yeah right,” I mutter. “So... about getting down.”

She glances around nervously. “Um, Tess, this is Ripsaw. It’s a double black diamond.”

The butterflies in my stomach feel more like pigeons, and my head starts to swim. I want to look brave for Kylie, but it’s hard. “We can do this, Ky. Let’s just take it slow and steady.” We begin skiing slowly down, our ski tips pointing together, “We could call ski patrol,” Kylie suggest. I think about it for a moment, then shake my head. “I don’t want to be tied to some stretcher and carried down the mountain. We’ll be fine.”

The slope seems to go straight down, and I fell like I’ll fall forward at any moment. I lean back as far as I can and try not to look ahead of me. Then, my skis get tangled. I fall over in a heap and scream. Kylie reaches for me, but it was to late. Down. Down. Down. Falling. Falling. Falling. It seems never ending, and my head bobbles around as I hit bumps and tree roots.

Suddenly, I hit something. Pain gushes through my body and my head throbs. I try to call out, my no sound comes out. My vision is blurred, but I begin to hear commotion around me. “Tessa?” Comes Kylies voice. “A-are you alright?” I want to answer her, but I slowly start to lose consciousness. Who knew, one mistake would be the death of me?