IC Time: February 15th, 2007
Location: White Pass Ski Resort
Synopsis: The ski club members arrive at the lodge to an odd cast of characters.
Submitted by: Staff
The charter bus finally pulls up to the lodge. It's been snowing and it's rather dark, so the trip took extra long. Some of the participants have been sleepy, and wake up a bit confused. The bus driver hops out very quickly and begins unloading the luggage, throwing it unceremoniously on the snow-covered gravel drive. "Everybody out, c'mon now!" he calls, a thick Cajun twang to his dialect.
The path up to the lodge has been plowed, but it's rather dark inside… hopefully it's open?
Beverley stretches before standing from her seat, and then, again, when she stands out, a few joints can be heard to pop from the teen as they reposition themselves. Once she can she grabs her little bag and steps off the bus. Bev is attired in 'appropriate' winter attire, or, at least, appropriate for her, inclusive of heels and a long black coat. "Finally," she can be heard to mutter as she looks about the area, as best she can in the limited light.
Alice bounces lightly in her seat as the bus bumps and bobbles over the gravel in the driveway, smiling at Bella in the seat next to her. "Aren't you /excited/?" She asked in a tone that clearly said that she was. Poor Bella; the vampire had been bouncing for a fair amount of the ride, when she hadn't been pretending to sleep or chattering. "Ooh, we're here!" Hopping to her feet, she waited for the people in the aisle to start moving so she could emerge from the bus.
Emily was among the sleeping, and as the bus jerks to a stop, she blinks, peeringly sleepily up at Sam. "That was quick…"
Sam arches a brow. "Hardly!" he whispers back, casting a wary eye at the other patrons in the bus. The sickly sweet stench of vampire was enough to keep anyone awake, much less /composed/. He turns to search for Lorelei and the others with a knowing look.
Emily, on the other hand, looks for a friend of her own. Spotting Bella near Alice Cullen, she tries to give a shy wave before glancing toward the building with a bit of a confused look. Where was the welcome party, anyway?
"Ecstatic," Bella replies rather mindlessly the lack of sleep registering upon her features to make her appear a little more pale than her usual. She slowly rises, stretching in an effort to work out the kinks, before reaching to grab her dingy duffle from above. Dark eyes take note of the young native woman, offering a faint flash of a tired smile in reply before commenting quietly to the already moving Alice, "I just hope the beds are softer than these seats… I really wish Char- er… dad had let me take the truck."
Beverley catches ear of Alice's enthusiasm before she gets off the bus, and can't help but laugh, before sending a sympathetic look towards Bella. "Rather it be you than me," is noted with a hint of a chuckle and a shake of her head before she takes stock of those removing themselves from the bus.
Lorelei has been awake and is sitting behind Emily and Sam at the moment. Her bright golden eyes resting on the ones here and huffs faintly at the look she gets from Sam. She smirks at him slightly while glancing outside the windows into the darkness quietly.
Emily hops out of the bus and makes a grab for her luggage, which had been stored in the compartment outside of the bus, and is now nice and wet at the bottom thanks to the bus driver; Sam hops off after her and volunteers to take the luggage for her, and she obliges, waiting for Lorelei and the others before approaching the lodge. "Looks like we're the only group here this weekend! Cool, we won't have to wait in line on the lifts." Sam smiles. "Yeah, that's true." He can't help but cast a worried glance toward the building, though he's trying to remain enthusiastic for Em's sake.
The bus driver finishes getting all of the luggage out and gets back in the driver's seat, frowning in the rearview mirror at those that are struggling with their baggage.
Alice finally gets out of the bus, tossing a smile over her shoulder at Bella and waving at Bev. She hauls her luggage out of the pile, two suitcases full, and walks up the driveway towards the darkened lodge, humming cheerfully.
Taking her own sweet time, perhaps due to sleep deprivation or possibly just out of a will not to trip and fall flat on her face — Bella eventually departs the bus a few minutes after Alice. Her own duffle is swung over her shoulder while she manages to grab a much smaller bag from amid the remaining luggage. A tell-tale yawn escapes her lips on her endeavor to trek her way on over towards the rest of the gathered lodgers-to-be.
Beverley sends a gloved fingerwiggle towards Alice as she steps up to the pile and grabs one duffel bag, followed by another bag, which somehow ended up under a lot of luggage, and, in her genius, instead of removing the luggage from around her bag, Bev heaves, and lands arse first in the snow with an 'oof'. "Okay, less than graceful," she mutters before looking around and quickly getting to her feet, brushing the snow off her backside and grabbing her luggage so that she can head towards the gathered group as well.
Lorelei follows along after Sam and Emily after picking up her bags. "Ya so it seems.. should be an interesting few days huh?" She questions to Sam, he should get what she means about all this. Her gaze drifts over the others that are around while she humms a faint tune to herself. "So Emily.. Do I get to bunk with you?" This said with a playful tone while she grins.
"You alright?" Emily smiles kindly down at Bev, reminded of Bella for a moment. She offers a hand, but the girl gets back up quickly enough. "The driver did kinda leave us hanging there with the bags." She begins walking, Sam in tow, staying close near Lorelei. "Sure, that sounds fun. Bella's probably going to be in the room too, if it's girls and guys." Emily smiles at Bella and faintly to Alice, though she doesn't know the Cullen girl well.
Sam does the opposite — he frowns at Alice, and then takes the lead marching up to the lodge, and opening the door.
The door is open, and the lodge is rather dimly lit upon first impression, but warm. Upon closer glance, it's only lit by a fire and one lamp. Is there even anyone here?
The bus pulls away after everyone gets off, leaving a pile of luggage and sleep-worn people in its place.
Alice beams at Emily, and even at Sam's back, seemingly unruffled by his frown. She falls into step with Bella and Beverley, chattering happily about having brought lots of extra clothes and makeup and they could all braid each others hair and do their nails and tell ghost stories and wouldn't that be fun, wouldn't it? She skipped a little at this last part.
A small spot of red illuminates the room's sole occupant. Sitting on one of the couches inside the lodge, smoking a fat Cuban cigar, is a rather old-looking man in a coat and jeans. He's leaning back casually, almost lazily, and appears to pay little attention to his surroundings, though he does cast a glance at the door as it opens before returning his attention to the fire.
Beverley offers a smile towards Emily. "Just fine, though I'm beginning to suspect that wearing heels and trying to do things the lazy way, was just not a good idea," she gives with the slightest shake of her head. "It's a rare day that my backside should get introduced to the ground," is her simple statement as she adjusts the bags on her shoulders, one duffle on either side and a back pack slung over her back. She then ensures she's caught up with Alice and Bella. "Alice, you're wardrobe continues to inspire me. We should go shopping one day," is stated in a manner the clearly implies that she really, honestly, means it.
Glancing around at the rest of those gathered, Bella admits almost sheepishly to Emily, "I think we're all so tired and cramped from the bus that most of us could pretty much fall asleep anywhere at this point…" Her words fade slightly as they start towards the lodge the image of the eerily illuminated occupant causing a mild frown to crease her brow. Despite her weariness, the young Swan woman does cast a sidelong glimpse over to Alice before murmuring soft enough for any nearby to hear, "Why do I get the feeling I am going to be limping away from this weekend in crutches and casts?"
Emily eyes Beverley's shoes with a mixture of amusement and astonishment. "Cute shoes, but you sure are brave wearing those here. Those I suppose you should be just fine inside," Emily says as she slips inside. To Bella, she nods. "I agree. It's nice a warm in here though…" he tones falters, since after all, it's kind of creepy in here.
Sam looks plainly at the man on the couch. "Hi. We're here for the trip." He doesn't remember seeing that guy.
Alice says to Bella, "You are just being pessimistic. I'm sure you won't break anything. I'll stay with you and make sure. Bev will, too, won't you Bev? We will be your Grand Protectors!" She struck a pose that was supposed to look like a Grand Protector before turning her attention to the man on the couch, raising an eyebrow. Indeed, it was creepy.
Mitch Anderson finally looks at the group entering the lodge; he appears a bit annoyed that they interrupted his quiet time. It's not as though he wasn't warned, but he's not about to let logic get in the way of his bitterness. "Hi. I'm here to make the trip miserable," he says, nodding to Sam; his voice is gravelly and his accent has a trace of a prairie twang. "I'm Mitch, safety instructor, maintenance man and all-around jack of all trades. We damn well better get along fine. Welcome to the lodge. I'd offer to carry your bags, but I don't want to. Hope I enjoy your stay."
Beverley manages a laugh at Emily's statement. "That's what my parents said," she gives with a bit of a shrug of her shoulders before she turns her eyes towards the lodge, quirking a brow at el-creepo guy. At Alice's enquiry she nods. "Of course I will, hey, any friend of Alice's is a friend of mine, and I'll help to make sure you don't require an ambulance ride, crutches, cast or otherwise," is given, with a bit of a crooked grin, half an eye still on the creepy guy.
While Mitch speaks, a tall gangly young man enters the main room from the sleeping quarters and eyes the group, his eyes settling on Bev for a brief instance and then grining a little bit. "Howdy, folks," he offers after Mitch finishes speaking, not looking particularly thrilled either, but not nearly as blunt as the older man. "Uh, you can put your stuff in here," he near mumbles into the floor, looking down and shifting his weight. He's frighteningly pale, and some might recognize him as Justin. Well, it says as much on his shirt. He points into the room, where it's much brighter.
Lorelei is quiet as she follows along with Sam and Emily, a faint glance is offered towards Alice and Bella as she hears that they would be sharing a room as well. Well isn't that great. Her gaze drifts towards Mitch and she smirks faintly. "Gee.. isn't this nice.. Like being in that movie "Deliverance".." Hearing Justin she eyes him a moment pondering if he has a banjo somewhere..
Sam scowls at Mitch. "Safety officer? I find that hard to believe," he deadpans, while moodily heading into the sleeping quarters with his and Emily's bags. He smirks at Lorelei's comment on the way out. Emily frowns at Sam, clearly not approving of his attitude. Instead, she turns to Bella with a hesitant smile and makes a joke, "Well, he seems like he's going to be looking out for us, right?" she whispers, laughing nervously. To Lorelei, Emily quirks a brow. "Haven't seen that one. Hey, I read they have movies here to watch at night!"
"I think our bus driver already beat you to the punch," Bella replies towards the heavier grump of a maintenance man before tagging on as an afterthought, "I mean, well… it was a long trip." The arrival of the paler young man is met with curiosity before Lorelei's comment inspires a faint crack of a smile across her own lips. Finally turning her attentions over to Emily, she nods sadly, "I feel safer already … sorta has a whole Crystal Lake vibe going on… don't you think?"
Surprisingly, Mitch actually chuckles at Sam's comment. Quite probably his only redeeming quality is that he does have a sense of humor, if a slightly warped one, and he's capable of laughing at himself. "Well, I can honestly say that I'll do my best to make sure you don't die or end up in the hospital, though you might wish you had."
"Are the guests here, Mitch, Justin?" A feminine voice calls from a room near the back of the lodge, presumably the kitchen. For those that already met her, they would recognize Joyce Hudson's overly cheerful squeak. The sound of light footsteps can be heard before the petite woman comes into view, holding a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies. "It's so dark in here! Oh my!" She approaches the small group. "Welcome to White Pass! I've made you some cookies. Please, have a seat, and we will talk about the schedule and then have a little tour and a lecture on safety!" She talks as if indeed, an exclamation point proceeds every sentence."
Lorelei offers a grin to Sam. "What?" She questions with a soft amused tone before she chuckles at Emily. "I'll let you burrow Marshall's copy of it.. Crazy moving." A glance is offered towards Mitch once more and she just smirks. A glance is offered over to Joyce and she ers softly while clearing her throat. "Thanks.. Sounds lovely." This said while she pokies Emily forward faintly while still holding onto her duffle back even while others put theres away.
Beverley doesn't note that anyone's eyes are settling on her, and that's probably a good thing, she might just try to hitch hike back to Forks. Instead she notes the overly cheerful, entirely annoying voice that is that of Joyce, and she can't help but cringe and step back slightly at the sound. Some overly cheerful is manageable, but one Alice per trip is enough to suit.
Emily goes forward, smirking some at Lore's poke. "Somehow I don't think Sam will will be munching on those cookies, but they smell fabulous," the Quileute girl murmurs. She ignores the two creepier guys and takes a cookie from Joyce, smiling tenatively. Not all vampirs were bad, right? Look at Alice! She smiles some at Alice, and then turns to Bev. "So, are you a student at FHS?"
Mitch reaches out to take a cookie as Joyce passes, taking his cigar out of his mouth long enough to take a bite. This is followed by a nod, which is about the closest thing to a compliment anyone will ever get out of him, and the cigar goes back into his mouth. The cookie disappears somewhere about his person. "Lectures. Fun," Mitch says. This is usually the attitude of the average lodge visitor, and it mirrors his quite well, but hey, it's his job. He just has to do it, not like it.
Alice returns Emily's smile, and agrees with her, "Yes, they do smell splendid." She took a couple from the plate, and gave one each to Bella and Bev, smiling affectionately at her friends. Then she took the opportunity to put her bags in the room that Justin had indicated, piling them neatly in a corner before returning to the main room.
Bella blinks a little at the excessive cheer from their hostess, clearly pondering a retreat from the lodge on her own accord. However the temptation of chocolate and faint pains of hunger win out as she slowly makes her way closer to accept the cookie from Alice, "Thanks." She allows her attentions to briefly wander over the rest of her fellow tripmates before moving to deposit her own gear for better or worse near the growing pile. She absently tucks a lock of hair behind her ear while retreating again into silence.
Joyce gives everyone a few moments to put stuff away and take cookies, she sets them on a coffee table near the fire place and murmurs something to Mitch about a 'nice bunch' they recruited, though it doesn't look like she expects much of a conversation in return. When everyone is assembled again, she nods to Justin. "Want to give the tour? I'll do the schedule, then Mitch will say a few words and we'll all head to bed!" She smiles warmly.
Justin nods, and then points to the room most of the people just returned from. "Uh, yeah. Sleep in there and stuff, bathrooms are in there too. One for ladies and one for guys. Come this way and I'll show you the kitchen." He saunters toward the kitchen, falling behind to try and catch up with Bev. "Hi, I remember you," he mutters to her before pointing lazily toward the kitchen. "You can make your food in there. Joy serves two meals a day though, so it's pretty cool. And uh, this big room is where everyone hangs out. And back there are the slopes, but you aren't supposed to go out there after dark or something, so… yeah," Justin says distractedly, not much of a tour guide.
Lorelei smirks at Emily whilc picks up a cookie from the plate and glance at it while she wanders along seeming rather quiet while he listions to everything that is going on. A glance is offered back towards Justin slightly, just eyeing him before shaking her head.
Sam catches Bella while she deposits her gear, and frowns at her. "Hey, Bella. Does Edward know you're here?" he asks, although it's pretty obvious, since Alice is here. "Listen, I'm not sure this trip is really what it seems," he adds in a very quiet voice, quirking a brow at Bella. "Just… stay close to your bloodsucker friend." His brow is wrinkled with concern, and he doesn't seem to even notice he's insulting Alice — just kind of the way he talks, really.
Meanwhile, Emily follows along on the tour, nibbling a cookie. "Is Marshall coming along later?"
Beverley turns her head upon Emily's enquiry and nods. "Yah, good ol' Forks High, most thrilling place on Earth," she gives, before laughing and shaking her head slightly. "I'm Bev," she offers by way of introduction before taking the proferred cookie from Alice, which she promptly bites into. "Oh, they do taste quite good, I haven't had good cookies like these in awhile," is given as she finishes her cookie and relocates her bags to the noted room. She then makes her return to where the rest is gathered, and situates herself near Alice and Bella, Bella by default of Alice's presence, and, hey, any friend of a Cullen, right. She then proceeds with the tour, of course, and is caught up with. "Uhh, hi," she gives, with an upturned brow, clearly she doesn't remember him, perhaps that's a blessing in disguise, who knows.
As the somewhat disjointed tour is given, Mitch remains in his seat, apparently extremely interested in the crackling fireplace. He doesn't seem to move at all, except to occasionally tap out ash from his cigar into a soda can on the end table next to him. The ashtray next to said can is empty and clean.
"Most things are seldom what they seem, Sam, at least as of late," the young Swan woman replies quietly in return to Sam before adding further, "I'll be careful and try to keep Emily in sight too, just in case." Bella sighs a little as she breaks off a piece of her cookie to study it carefully. Sighing a little she glances to the others and rejoins the group to linger near Beverley and Alice. She does, however, make a motion of waving some invisible smoke out of her face — eyeing the smoking man with an uneasy silence once more.
Lorelei shrugs slightly as she hears Emily, the cookie is pocketed in her jacket for later perhaps. "Dono.. Hopfully. He knows where we are so if his free he'll make it. If the truck feel like getting him this far of course." Though he could come another way, but that would mean to many questions. As for Emily, Lore can take rather good care of her if needs been.
Tour over, Joyce presently takes over things. "Have a seat dears! You must be tired. I want to give a schedule of what's going on." She stands in front of the fireplace, but not too close. "Tomorrow morning a skills test will be done and we'll split into groups. We'll ski all day and at night have some fun group activities. Everything is voluntary, of course. We'll ski the whole day tomorrow and the next day, and then maybe even have a competition on your final day here! It will be great fun. Just remember to wake up at 8 each morning and light's out is at 11:30," she coos. She'd make a great teacher. Or would she? "I'll give you guys a few moments to think that over and then Mitch here wants to say a few words." Her coworkers cigar elicits a frown from her.
"Alrighty," Mitch says, rising to his feet almost reluctantly. "We've already been introduced, but in case you weren't listening I'm Mitch Anderson. I'm a certified paramedic, had five years experience as an avalance prevention tech before getting stuck with this job, and can ski every run on this entire damn mountain. It's my job to keep you alive and healthy, whether I like it or not, and I intend to do so. While we are out on the mountain, there are a few basic guidelines." He begins to pace as he delivers his speech, taking his cigar out of his mouth and jabbing the air with it to emphasize his points. "Do /not/ go anywhere without ensuring our staff know exactly where you will be and when. Do /not/ go off alone without permission. /Do/ take a damn first aid kit with you at all times - I'll issue you those. /Do/ obey your instructors, and myself, unless they are clearly drunk or otherwise incapable of behaving rationally. Am I making sense so far?"
"Agreed," Sam says mildly to Bella, following her as she joins the group once more. "Just… be careful. Jacob would kill me if anything happened to you. Skiing can be dangerous, too," he adds with a ghost of a smile before joining Emily and Lorelei and slipping an arm around his fiancee.
Emily nods to Lore. "Well, if he needs it, my car's just sitting at my house. But if not, it's kind of fun to have a girl's weekend. Er, kind of." A wary glance is shot toward Justin and she listens to Mitch just barely, instead peering out the back window. Sam listens intently, but not because he's worried about his safety — a fixed glare is on the old man the entire time, and he shoots one toward Joy, too.
Justin blinks at Bev. "I'm Justin. I was at the gym. Weren't you there?" he presses, as Joy and Mitch talk. "Well, anyway, I'm one of the instructors. Maybe you'll be in my group." He grins at Alice, too.
he man is actually advising they carry a first aid kit at all times?!?! Bella groans inwardly at the thought as her gaze lowers to regard her non-broken bones… for the time being. Her internal thoughts are interrupted once more by the quiet words of Justin which manage to earn her interest with a lift of her gaze. The young woman studies him almost curiously with a mild furrow of her brow. She leans a little closer to murmur something to Alice, trying hard not to interrupt the safety lecture or draw too much attention in the process.
Beverley nods. "Yah, I was there," she gives in a low tone towards Justin. "I thought our groups were being selected based on skill level?" or did she get that entirely wrong, which wouldn't necessarily surprise her. "If you'll excuse me, I need to pay attention to what's going on," she gives non-chalantly before she quickly returns to Alice and Bella, just in time to not miss anything. "I'm sure we won't need the first aid kits," she offers to Bella, with a lop-sided grin. "Besides, with Alice watching you, you'll be fine…"
The lack of acknowledgement doesn't seem to faze Mitch, who continues with his speech. "Alrighty. Be sure to stay on the runs, and whatever you do /do not overestimate your own skill!/ When in doubt, always assume that you are less skilled than you actually are. It's better to accidentally do a run that's too easy and move up to a more difficult one that start out on one that's too hard and end up with two shattered knees. This creates a bit of a mess, which I will not clean up, and incidentally will also put you in the hospital for a while. That about covers basic safety, so on to the other stuff. While you're here, if you dig that sort of thing, I teach a class on basic first aid where I will show you enjoyably grisly pictures of various injuries and teach you how to deal with them while regaling you with stories about whatever I feel like talking about at the time. It takes place just before lights out and is, by my own request, fairly brief. The information imparted therein is not strictly necessary for your skiing, so it's entirely optional."
Emily seems marginally interested in the first aid class, but decides against it — he doesn't seem like the most enthusiastic teacher. Justin is shot a glance and she frowns, as does Sam. After the presentation the couples waits for a bit, seeing if there is anything else to be said, then heads toward the sleeping quarters to get accommodated.
Snubbed, Justin saunters back toward the couch and flops on it unceremoniously.
Joy smiles at Mitch. "Thanks for the delightful presentation! I learn a lot from reviewing each time. Anyway, make yourself at home, and goodnight." She turns to head for another door, presumably the staff's area.
Alice glances over at Justin and then at Bev and chuckles, murmuring something softly in the girl's ear. She then turns to Bella, raising an eyebrow and gesturing at the door to the sleeping quarters. "Shall we, ladies?"
Bella inches a little closer to Alice and subsequently, Beverley, as her eyes follow Justin to his cross and eventual flop upon the couch. Her lips curl faintly at Beverley's assurance as she listens to the end of the lecture. As others begin their departure, she nods slowly in reply — another yawn threatening to creep upon her lips, "No need to ask me twice, I was ready for bed about an hour before we even got here… I think." She looks over towards Beverley once again, a friendlier smile touching her lips, "I don't know about you but I think I am destined for the smallest of the small bunny hill thingies tomorrow — actually, better make it the most non-existent hill that they have."
Beverley listens intently to the instructions, directions and what not and, momentarily, ponders the first aid class, but not long enough for her to make any sort of a decision on the matter. Her attention is quickly redirected towards Alice upon the whispered words, which causes the teen to try to hold back a laugh, she's even somewhat successful, save for the slight smile that tries to make itself larger. She then offers a nod of her head at Alice's suggestion. "I'm halfway to asleep myself, it won't take me long upon my head hitting the pillow, honest," is given before a chuckle is averted to Bella. "The non-existant hill sounds like a plan to me. Less chance of broken or bruised anything…"
Having finished his little presentation, Mitch slumps down onto the couch again and resumes staring at the fire. This is evidently his main pastime.
Alice smiles and spreads her arms wide, draping an arm iver Bev and Bella's shoulders. She had to reach up a bit to do this. "Come, mu fair maidens, let us retire to our nedchamber," she said haughtily.
