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competition
?
    “How old is she again?” I asked.
    “Thirteen.”
    My jaw dropped.
    “She’s really tall for her age,” Dad added.
    Now I felt more charged than ever. As we boardedon down the mountain, I focused on my moves. No more kids’ stuff. Dad and I reached the bottom and we took the chairlift back up.
    “Are Kazie’s parents divorced too?” I asked when we were seated in the rocking car.
    “Actually, Kazie’s dad died in a car accident when she was three.”
    “Oh,” I said. I suddenly felt really sorry for Kazie. “You know my friend Charlotte? Her mom died when she was little too.” I leaned against Dad, and he put his arm around me. Even though I didn’t say anything, I knew he understood that I felt really lucky to have both my parents, even if I couldn’t see them at the same time.
    “Andie’s a fantastic mom, though. She’s raised Kazie all on her own and works full-time. She’s helped friends open sporting goods stores in seven different states—even in New Hampshire, where Andie’s from. Andie says she’s a ski bum for life, but she’s really talented at what she does. You know, skiing and working. And being a mom.”
    Dad sure did have a lot of nice things to say about Andie. I couldn’t help feeling bad for my mom a little. I mean, Dad and Mom were friends and all, but still … “Is that why Kazie’s so good at boarding?” I asked. “Getting to go all the time?”
    “Well … it certainly doesn’t hurt. You only ride a few weeks a year, and you’re
still
an awesome boarder. That says something, Avery.” We passed the sign that said “Ski Tips UP” and I flipped up the safety bar on the chair. Dad pulled on his goggles. “Shreddy Freddy?”
    I smiled. “You bet!”
    The halfpipe looked like, well, half of a pipe—prime for tricks and turns. The snow had been groomed carefully into two steep sides with a rounded center. I watched Dad sail down the pipe riding fakie , zip up the other side, catch big air, turn, and slide down. He looked up at me from the bottom.
    This was it—no hesitation. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and cried “GERONIMO!” at the top of my lungs. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it could burst out of my chest. I went right up the side of the pipe, picking up speed till I popped into the air—really flying. I grabbed the nose of my board, getting perfect slob air , and gravity pulled me back to the icy wall. I switched my stance and slid downhill riding backward, then popped up in the air from the other side. I landed again without turning—BAM—an air-to-fakie . Avery Madden, Snowboarding Superstar, was BACK!
    The rest of the way down the pipe was easy. I flew up the wall, made a clean alley-oop , rotating 180 degrees, and slid back down.
    I sailed through the bottom of the pipe with both arms in the air. When I stopped, I heard a voice behind me say, “That’s my girl. You’ve always been a natural.” Dad had been watching me the whole time. I felt a warm glow inside that got bigger and bigger and spread through my entire body. “Time for a hot chocolate break?” he asked.
    “Big time!” I looked up at Dad in his funny hat. This “quality time” thing was turning out to be super fun after all. “By the way, Dad, my new board is wicked cool!”
    He grinned. “Ahh,
wicked
, huh?” Wicked was oneof my best funny Boston words, and Dad hadn’t been to Boston in a long time.
    We unsnapped our boards and headed to the Village. We could definitely handle an early lunch.

CHAPTER
6
Eggplant
    It was late afternoon by the time Dad and I got back from the slopes. I could see Marty’s tail wagging from his window seat when we pulled in the driveway. I opened the door and ran inside with my boots still on. “Marty … I’m hoooooome!” I called.
    Marty leaped into my arms and licked my face.
    “Looks like the Abominable Snow Monster paid us a visit today,” Dad said.
    I turned and saw the trail of white chunks that my boots