21 February 2020

Score: It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) – R.E.M.

Lydia

The cold, still air is filling my lungs. It is still comfortably quiet this high up in the mountain, though the pistes are starting to fill with enthusiasts, who want to catch the morning powder.

This morning, the mountain is a treat. It turns out it had been snowing heavily throughout the night. Now, the low morning sun is shining, making the large snow crystals sparkle. The snow is thick and crunchy under my board. 

Just what I needed to clear my head, after the couple of days I've had.

After getting only a couple of hours' sleep last night, or, rather, this morning, I woke up, feeling hot and breathless in our stuffy room, with Mark's name on my lips.

Mark. The thought of him gives my stomach a six-foot free fall. I had some very....inappropriate dreams about him last night, after our conversation with Alex. He was doing...things to me in those dreams. Some of the things Alex told us Nate was doing to her the night before. Stuff that I was surprised guys actually do in real life, and not just on PornHub.

Of course, I've had sexual dreams and fantasies before. But, somehow, the other person in my dreams had never had a face until last night. They had arms, and legs, and lips, and...other stuff, but I never saw their face.

But last night was different. The boy in my dreams was hovering over me, kissing me, touching me and driving me absolutely wild. Then, he broke our kiss and looked down at me, and his golden-brown eyes burned into mine.

Then I woke up, all shook up and sweating profusely. I felt very...awake. And embarrassed.

So, I snuck out, put my gear on, and headed straight for the lifts.

The only other person from our party I caught a glimpse of this early in the morning, was headmaster Farrel, who shot me a grin and gave me a brief wave with his hand, right before climbing into the seat ahead of mine on the lift.

Forty-five minutes later, I'm all alone, passing by the jump that Mark fell off of during our first day here. I can't help the chuckle, that escapes my lips at the memory.

Now that the oxygen is flowing freely again through my system, and the adrenaline has helped clear my head, all remains of my embarrassing dreams pushed to the outskirts of my conscience, I really want to see Mark and talk to him, to make sure it's all OK between us. After last night, I realized we haven't been as close as we used to be recently, and I really miss him being around all the time, as when we were younger. I get that he's busy with A-Levels and universities, and girls now, but I just really miss my friend.

I decide to look for him, when I get back to the hotel, and try and talk to him in private.

Meanwhile, I'm just going to savour the sensation of the wind in my hair, as I pick up speed downhill. I'm so glad I made it to the slopes today. This is seriously the best therapy.

When I feel like I've had my fix for the morning, I head for the hotel to have a cup of coffee. I unbuckle my snowboard and hang it on the rack in front of the Reception entrance to dry before I walk into the hotel.

The first thing I notice is that the reception area is unusually packed. There are people from the staff running up and down, and entire families, crowding the reception desk, yelling over each other. I notice my mum's face in the turmoil and rush towards her.

"Mum!" I wrap my arms around her. "What's going on?"

Without saying a word, Mum tilts her chin up towards the flat-screen TV, hanging above the desk. I crane my neck and my eyes go wide, as I catch a glimpse of the news report, running on mute.

The virus. It's here.

Patrick's words from last night echo in my brain.

This new virus thing. I'm so glad it's far away.

And now, my eyes are moving fast over the text, flying on the screen.

...The first case has been confirmed in Italy... Restrictions are being put into place...International travel is still unaffected...

Still...

"Mum, what does this mean? What are all those people doing here?"

"They are checking out, baby," Mum says, smoothing my sweaty hair out of my face. "I think we should do the same. There's going to be panic at the airport," Mum sighs.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to stand face-to-face with Gloria's dad. He looks at me and then at my mum.

"We need to go, Lizzy. We don't know what the local authorities are going to do."

Mum nods.

"Go to your room, Lydia," Matthew says, the concern in his voice palpable. "Pack your bags. Tell the rest of the folks to do the same. We meet here in half an hour, understood?"

I nod and start walking toward the lifts. I'm halfway down the hallway, when the doors to the lift to my right slide open, and Gloria and Alex burst through the doors before they are even open all the way. Gloria sees me standing there and rushes towards me.

"What's going on?" she asks, grabbing my arm. "My mum told me to start packing. I heard people yelling in the hallway. The guys are gone, there's no one in The Cabin."

"Go talk to your dad, he's at Reception with my mum," I say, rushing past her. "He'll explain everything. And then come right back up! We need to hurry!" I keep yelling over my shoulder, as I run towards the elevator.

Once inside, I punch the floor button with as much strength as I have, huffing impatiently throughout the whole rife. Reaching our floor, I rush out of the elevator and start running towards The Cabin. I press my key card to the reader and push the door open, stumbling into the room...

And then I see him. Right in front of the door to the girls' suite. Standing there, with his hand raised mid-knock.

Patrick.

I stop in my tracks, confusion befalling me.

Gloria just said that the boys were gone and The Cabin was empty.

I just stand there, staring at him and he's staring back.

And then, he takes two long strides in my direction and wraps his arms around me.

"Are you OK?" he says, pulling away from me, his hands still on my shoulders. "My dad told me we have to go. I was out on the slopes with them when he called me and told me the news was all over the Internet."

"Yes, I'm fine," I say, looking up at him. "Were you looking for someone?" I say, nodding to the bedroom door behind his back.

Patrick quickly drops his hands to his sides and shoves them into his pockets.

"Yes, I came looking for you, Lydia."

I pull my eyebrows in, confused.

"What for?"

"I wanted to talk to you," he says, clearly flustered. His face is so heavily flushed, that his head looks like it has caught fire.

"I...You...I wanted to tell you that..."

In this very moment, the door to the boys' suite slams open, and Nate walks out, dragging his suitcase behind him, his jacket on already. I feel a slight pang of disappointment in my chest, because I was secretly hoping to see someone else.

"You're here! Good, let's go," he says, heading for the door.

"We'll be down in a minute," I yell after him. "I still need to pack."

He nods briefly and disappears into the hallway.

That was weird. It looked like he practically ran for the door. I guess he's just panicking, too.

"So, what did you want to talk about," I turn my head to face Patrick again, but before my eyes even fully meet his, he bends down and crashes his lips onto mine.