Page 34

“You have to listen to me! Speed isn’t everything. Especially when you’re out of control.”

Normally, I chose my words more carefully and sensitively. But I’d had enough.

My student sat up unsteadily. “That’s hardly my fault. Why did I hire you? If I’m doing something wrong, it must be because of my bad teacher.”

Her board slid further, and she stuck her butt in the air again.

It took more energy than a day of competitive surfing to keep from responding in kind. Why the hell didn’t she fall and my words would be backed up? But of course, the magic of physics failed me today.

The sun had long since disappeared behind the treetops, and it was quickly getting dark.

All the arrivals crowded into the middle station in front of us and took the gondola down to the valley.

Annoyed, I shook my head and bent down to release my binding.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maria jerk her board toward the mountain.

“Where are you going?”

She pointed to the slope in front of her. The slope on which a banner was clearly displayed on two mobile posts. It featured a yellow sign with black squares around the edge and a white spot with a red border. Even if she didn’t know that this was the sign indicating that the slope was closed, the word was written in every conceivable language in the world: Closed, Fermé, Chiuso, Geschlossen.

Even if she couldn’t read, the signs on the banner clearly indicated that this slope was off-limits. And certainly not when no one else was around because it was already getting dark.

“Stop!” I shouted after her. “It’s closed.”

“Oh, nonsense,” she yelled back at me. “I finally want to ski something challenging.”

“Stop right now!” I demanded. Maria paused briefly and glanced back over her shoulder at me.

“Why?” asked the lady in full makeup and earrings as heavy as stones.

“Why? Because it’s closed!” Damn it. What had I done to deserve this?

“There’s no reason to close it!” She skied off again.

“Of course there’s a reason. Avalanche danger, slope preparation, no supervision, the descent into the valley is no longer possible. The reasons are endless.”

Maria snorted. “There are no avalanches here. You just don’t want to teach me because you don’t trust yourself.” With that, she let her board run and swung wide down the slope.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Stop!” I had to make a decision in a matter of seconds. This wasn’t an avalanche warning. I should let the stupid ass ride alone. Not only was she rude, but she had disobeyed every one of my instructions. I also couldn’t put myself in danger because a student was acting recklessly. But if that bitch got run over by a snowcat, it would still fall back on me.

Cursing loudly, I skied after her.

With every turn, it became clear what the problem behind the barrier was. In fact, there wasn’t enough snow for the downhill run. Worn grass poked out from between the snow, and the closer we got to the end, the more brown hills protruded from the slope.

Maria was struggling to keep up with me. The bare patches slowed down even the best skiers, and for an inexperienced skier like her, it couldn’t end well. I kept my eyes peeled for snow cannons that might have been put in place, or ski patrol workers who, unaware that a wild upper-class heiress was sliding down the mountain, were going about their work.

When this was over, I would wring her neck.

Above us, the last gondolas were heading down into the valley. The people sitting in them probably thought we were out of our minds, and someone called the mountain rescue service. Rightly so.

The mountain sloped down one last time at an unusually steep angle, and Maria slid straight ahead without any support on her board.

I was struggling to get down safely myself. Finally, the slope leveled out and my student slowed down. And slowed down. Until she finally fell forward and screamed loudly.

If I had been observing the situation as an outsider, I would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. Now I kept cursing to myself.

“My wrist. My wrist,” Maria whined.