The Last Winter

Friday: When You Snoop (4)

Maggie
wwwwwwwwww

"I don't know how to ski!" Vena protests, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm.

I roll my eyes, punching her on the arm. What an idiot.

"They're gonna teach us," I tell her.

"Maybe I don't wanna be taught," she mutters.

"I hope they know that none of us even brought anything to ski with," Veronica says matter-of-factly.

As if on cue, Ronnie appears beside her, making her jump with his quiet, unsettling voice.

"I keep a collection of gear at the other cable station," he assures us. He directs his sunken eyes at me. "I have everything you need."

I clench my teeth and watch as he proceeds to the front of the youth group to speak with Ralph and Eddie. What a creep.

I let my sisters cluster together and distance themselves from me, and I look around for Oriana. She's still standing by the doors of the old church, talking with Nelia in a low tone.

"Senpai!" I say happily, skipping over to where they huddle together. The rest of the youth are gathering by the leaders. I hear Eddie giving out instructions somewhere ahead, but I don't care. "Whatcha talkin' about?" I go on, grinning mischievously.

Oreo Senpai glances over my shoulder, looking toward the rest of the youth. "Nothing," she mutters.

"Great!" I say, not really listening. I grab her hand and pull her away from the church. "Come on, let's go, Senpai!"

When she sees that I'm leading her in the opposite direction of the others, she sinks her heels into the snow to stop me.

"What are you doing? We're going skiing, remember?"

I shake my head, almost whining, "I don't wanna ski." I glance at Mini Bites, who's giving me a really annoyed look. Her glare only fuels my spontaneous excitement. I lean forward with wide eyes, almost as if I'm going to share a big secret. "Let's go exploring!"

I can see hesitance cross Oreo's face, and she again looks down the path at the disappearing backs of the youth. I grab her hand and give it a tug.

"Come on, skiing is boring!"

She sighs. "Maggie, you don't even know how to ski. How can you know if it's boring?"

"I think it looks fun," Mini Bites says optimistically. "I'm sure Terrell would love it."

Her words are like a punch to my gut. I haven't seen Baka in such a long time, and my heart aches at the thought. I could cope with knowing that he's busy with his own life, if only I could be assured of his general location. But that isn't the case. He's disappeared ever since Paul and Justin...died. He's fallen off of the face of the earth. He could be dead for all I know.

I exhale in frustration, watching as my breath forms a wispy cloud in the frigid air. I shrug my shoulders, letting go of her hand.

"Fine. You can go ski...but I'm going to explore!"

I twist on my heels and head in the direction from where we came.

"Maggie!" Oreo hisses, and I hear her footsteps catching up to me. "Maggie, I think Ralph and Eddie really want us to participate. It's better if we go skiing together."

I roll my eyes. "We're adults, Senpai. We can do whatever we want."

I'm right. She knows I'm right. I just turned eighteen earlier in the year, and Senpai is already nineteen. If anything, Mini Bites should be obligated to go ski.