Chapter 5:

THAT WEEKEND WE went over to my grandparent's house for a while. My grandfather gave me a fair amount of heckling over my hair until my grandmother told him to knock it off, because she liked it. I hadn't seen them in about a month, so it was even longer than it had been the last time they'd seen me. I had actually expected more heckling from him, so I was quite pleased that it had ended so abruptly.

With the weekend quickly over, Monday came. I got ready and Mom dropped me off at Amy's house at noon. When Mom had said it was a nice house she wasn't exaggerating. It was a huge two story house with a circular driveway in front of it. I rang the doorbell and stood nervously until she came to the door. "Hey Brandon, come on in!"

I went into her house and she led me up to her room, which was also huge. It was decorated in a mix of little girl colors and bedding, with pictures of some of the latest cute movie stars up on her walls. "So what do you want to do?" She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know, did you have anything in mind?"

"Well, we could play on my Playstation for a while?" She suggested.

"Sure, that sounds fun." I was willing to go along with almost anything. I wanted her to invite me over again!

We played games on it for a couple hours before we got bored. "Well now what," she asked me.

"I don't know, maybe watch a movie?" I asked.

"Alright, that sounds good." She replied. "What do you want to watch?" She asked me.

"What do you have?" I asked.

"Well... I just got the Lion King yesterday, you want to watch that?" She asked.

"I don't know, is it any good?"

"You mean you haven't seen it yet?!? I can't believe that. Come with me!" She exclaimed as she grabbed my hand and dragged me down to their living room. I was stunned as I saw they had a huge TV that that must have cost a fortune! She led me to the couch and turned on the movie.

"Do you want anything to drink while the previews are going?" She asked.

"Maybe some water please?" I asked. She brought back two glasses of water from the kitchen a few minutes later. And we watched the movie. We actually talked and laughed a fair amount while the movie was playing. And, during the course of the movie I decided I really liked it.

"That was really good. My family doesn't go to the movies so I hadn't seen it yet."

"I love going to the movies, you'll have to go with me the next time something comes out."

"That sounds like fun." I replied.

"By the way, I don't think I told you yet but I like what you did with your hair today. It looks really nice." She told me.

"Thanks. My mom took me to the store and had me pick out some different shampoo, a couple hair brushes, and a blow dryer. I can't believe how different it looks when I take care of it this way."

"You know there are a lot of girls that would kill to have the hair that you have now." She told me.

"Thanks... I think." I said blushing deeply.

"You're welcome. I've been really amazed by how much you've changed this year. I think you're acting a lot more grown up. Everyone has noticed, I think that's why most of the kids have stopped messing with you. Well... that and a bit of fear after Matt's nose." She said laughing and winking at me.

We talked about just about everything over the next couple hours. The two of us had a lot in common, and we had a chance to bond in those few hours like we had never had before. Her mom came home a little later and said, "How are you doing Brandon?"

"I'm doing well, how are you Mrs. Hancock?" I replied politely.

"Tired. It was a long day. Say, I'm going to order pizza for dinner, do you want to stay and eat with us?" She asked me.

I looked at Amy, she was nodding at me vigorously, so I answered, "Sure, just let me call my mom and let her know that I'm staying for a while longer."

After I called her I sat down and talked with Amy some more. Her mom joined us a few minutes later and told Amy her dad was on the way home. "Brandon, I like your hair, it looks really nice."

"Thanks." I replied to her. We continued talking for a while and then she told Amy to take me upstairs to wash up. She showed me where her bathroom was, connected to her room (I was so jealous), and we both washed our hands before returning downstairs. Her dad and the pizza arrived at almost the same time.

Dinner with Amy's family was fun. Period. End of story. She had such a neat set of parents, and I had a great time at dinner that night. Her parents definitely seemed to like me. Something that became apparent a few minutes later.

Amy's father asked me, "Brandon do you like to ski?"

"Yeah, the few times I've been able to go I loved it. I just haven't been able to go that many times." I said. I was kind of curious as to why he was asking.

"Well how would you like to go with us this weekend? It'll be our treat."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Her dad nodded, and Amy said, "You have to come! It'll be so much fun!"

"I'd love to, but I'll have to ask my parents first. I don't think they'll say no, but I do have to ask." I said.

"Fantastic." We all talked for a while longer before I decided I should probably go home. Amy went with her mom to drop me off at home. Mrs. Hancock talked to my parents for a few minutes and they said yes to me going with them. My parents offered to pay for my lift ticket and food, but she flatly refused saying, 'it was their treat.' We all thanked her and I said goodnight to Amy as she got in the car.

"Amy thanks for inviting me over, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Thanks!"

"No problem Brandon, I feel the same way. I'm looking forward to seeing you Friday. Goodnight!"

With that ended one of the best days I had ever had with a friend to that point. I couldn't have had more fun than I did that day!

My mom took me to a used sporting goods store Tuesday to see if we could find some ski pants. We found a pair of black pants that fit pretty well for a good deal so Mom bought them. To say I was excited and looking forward to the trip was to understate the matter a great deal. I had been able to go skiing a total of three times before this – all on school trips.

That actually had me a little worried. I knew that Amy and her family went skiing a lot during the year. Would she be upset with slowing down to hang out with me? Or would she just leave me in her dust and all alone on the slopes? To say the least I was suffering with some insecurity issues. I managed to forget about that most of the time and just be excited.

I think my mom was really happy to see me smiling and looking forward to something. Things had improved a lot at school – but only to the point that I was only crying about twice a week when I came home. At least that was down from every day...

AMY AND I talked quite a bit over the phone each day leading up to Friday. I found out that I was going to be sharing her room at the condo since she had a set of bunk beds in there. "Prepare yourself for a talk by Dad though," she warned me. She had told him we were just good friends, but she knew that he would still end up saying something to us.

For me it was just going to be one new experience after another. I had never slept over at a friend's house before. Never. Can you believe that? I was outright hyper and giddy Thursday night. When Mom told me it was my bedtime I went to bed and couldn't get to sleep for hours. When she shook me awake the next morning it felt like I'd only been asleep for five minutes.

I took a shower that morning, dried my hair, and ate breakfast in record time. I paced around the house for thirty minutes before they arrived right on time at 7:30am. Mom went and talked to Amy's parents for a few minutes while I carried my backpack of stuff out to their car. I was already wearing my ski pants, as was Amy, when I got in the car. I noted that hers were basically the same as mine except they were purple.

"Hey, how are you doing?" I asked her.

"Great. We're going to have so much fun!" She replied excitedly.

We drove off and began the hour and a half drive up to the resort. After a while I asked her, "So what are we going to do first?"

"Well we're going to go put our stuff in our condo. Mom's going to fix us something to eat for lunch, and then we'll drive up to the resort." She said.

Her dad must have been listening in while he was driving, because he then said, "When we get up to the condo I'm going to have you try on a pair of Amy's ski boots. They're a little small for her, but I think they'll probably fit you. If they do then we'll just have you use her old skis with them. If they don't we'll go get you a rental set. Does that work for you?"

"Sure, I'm fine with whatever is easiest." I replied. I was suddenly thinking... Girls' ski boots? Or are they the same as guys? I wasn't honestly sure. All I knew was that maybe I'd get my first chance to ever wear something that was made for a girl! I didn't know if I was supposed to take a macho stance about it but... Oh well. Who would see me?

We continued the drive up to the resort with Amy and I chattering away as only kids that are best friends can. Before I knew it we were pulling off the highway and driving up a snowy gravel road to their condo. We went inside and Amy gave me the "Five-Cent" tour. On the first floor they had a closet right inside that they stored skis in when they weren't using them.

From there they had a second closet that was a normal coat closet. They had a fairly large kitchen, dining room, and den that were all kind of open to each other. In the middle of the room, against a wall, was a huge fireplace that had a bear rug in front of it. There were some couches and love seats arranged in an open bracket around it facing the fireplace. Amy also showed me where there was a half bath on that floor as well.

We then went upstairs and she showed me that there were two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Her parents' bedroom and bathroom were massive – they easily took up sixty-five percent of the space on that floor. Then she said, "and here is my room – our room tonight," and opened up the door to her bedroom. It was decorated much like her normal bedroom and had a set of bunk beds up against one wall. Both beds were decorated in Barbie bedding. She also had a huge doll house and dozens of Barbies stacked on a shelf above it.

As if reading my mind she said, "I like Barbie!" We chuckled a bit. She then added, "A lot of other girls are saying we're too old for them, but I still play with them. That's what I do when I get done with homework on most nights."

I felt kind of awkward... what was I supposed to say to that? So I responded, "That's cool that you still play with them. I still play with toys a lot too. Where do you keep them at your house? I didn't notice there being this many there."

She smiled at me, "I have a separate play room down the hall from my room. It's all Barbies and dolls, and since I didn't think you'd want to play with them we didn't go in there. I'm so glad you don't think I'm a freak for still playing with kids toys."

"Amy, you would be the last person I would ever think of as a freak." She smiled at me and said thanks.

She showed me the bathroom we were going to share... it was the size of both bathrooms at my house combined... It had a whirlpool tub and a walk-in shower. It also had a large vanity and two sinks.

She also had a large closet that had several more sets of ski pants, sweaters, and other cold weather clothes.

From there the conversation got a little more mundane and we decided who was going to sleep in which bed. By 'we' decided, I mean she said, "TOP BUNK!" and giggled. Apparently that was her tradition with friends – whoever spoke up first got first choice.

We were still talking in there when her dad came in, speaking initially to Amy, "Your mom is making lunch right now for all of us. When she gets done we'll eat and then head up to the slopes." He hesitated for a second, looking a little bit awkward before saying, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you both for a moment while we have a chance." Here it comes I thought.

"Brandon, from what Amy has told me I believe we can trust you two, but I'll ask anyways for you two not to do anything inappropriate. If you were both still younger I wouldn't even say anything... but middle school changes things. Do I have to say more, or do you get what I mean?"

"Mr. Hancock we wouldn't even think of doing anything like that. Amy and I are both waaayyy more interested in being friends than anything else." I replied.

"I believe you. Especially considering your response was almost word for word what Amy said last night. I do want you both to leave the door open tonight though okay?"

Amy replied this time, "That's fine Daddy, though there's nothing to worry about."

"I know sweetheart, but I'm your Dad, which means it's my job to say these things. Anyway, why don't you both come downstairs and we'll see if these ski boots fit you Brandon?"

We followed him downstairs and went to the ski closet. When he opened it up I saw two sets of ski boots that looked to be our size. One was pink with purple latches and the other set was black with purple latches. My heart skipped a beat wondering which pair I was going to be using.

He picked up the black ones and handed them to me. I took off my right shoe and put my foot into the boot. It was a good fit. I was actually curious what my foot size was compared to her. I'd have to check it out later.

Amy's mom came around from the kitchen "Do you mind wearing her boots Brandon? They're not overly girly, but if they bother you we can rent another set instead."

"They're fine Mrs. Hancock; I'm really not bothered by it at all." I replied.

"Okay but if you change your mind that's alright. Just be sure and let us know." She said.

I then saw the skis that went with the boots and almost wondered if I shouldn't have taken that back – they were covered with a mixture of purple and lighter purple. I decided to not worry about it though – wasn't this just a really cool little step on the journey I wished to take? Yes. I began to feel a little more excited as I thought about it all.

Once we were sure everything was set up right for me, we sat down and ate the grilled cheese and soup that her mom had made for us. After lunch I made sure that I thanked her and helped put all of the equipment on their SUV's ski rack. Then we all got into it to go up to the resort.

At the resort Mr. Hancock handed me a lift ticket and told me to attach it to the zipper of my jacket. Amy's mom was talking to her in the meantime, "Amy do you have your backpack?"

"Yes mommy," she replied. I could tell she was a little annoyed her mom was doing this in front of me.

"I just want to make sure that you have it and the extra stuff in it in case you guys need it. The snacks and your extra clothes are in there right?" She nodded and I stopped paying attention as Mr. Hancock had me help stack skis and poles against the car. Once everything was out of the car they told us where they wanted us to meet them at 4:30pm for dinner.

"Come on Brandon, let's go!" Amy said to me as we made our way away from her parents. We found a chairlift that would take us up to a spot where there were a lot of easy green trails to start off with.

We put on our skis before we got to the chairlift and I was a little shocked when the guy running the chairlift said, "Have a good run ladies," to us. I kind of blushed for a second and Amy giggled next to me.

I looked at her and asked, "do I look that much like a girl right now?"

"Not a whole lot, but the purple on your jacket, the skis, your hair, and the fact you're with me must have been enough to confuse him." She said in between giggles. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"I have one of those too!" She said smiling and sticking her own tongue out.

Now the jacket I had wasn't a girl's jacket, it just happened to be mainly purple with some blue and black areas on it. It wasn't the complete norm at the time, but it wasn't that unusual in that area because of the ski resorts. She had a point about the combination effect there – one that I was not unhappy about even a tiny bit!

We talked and giggled the rest of the ten minute ride up to the top and then started down the slope. It was actually a really warm sunny day that day. The temperature was about fifty degrees, so we really didn't need our jackets that much even. I shed the ear warmer I had on pretty early on in our run.

We had a lot of fun going down the slope. Usually I was a pretty timid skier, but somehow hanging out with Amy made me less so. I guess there's safety in having a friend doing the same stupid things? We went down our first run in about thirty minutes and then made our way back to the chairlift.

"So do you want to try something harder now?" Amy asked with a slight twinkle of mischief in her eye.

"As long as it's not too much harder I'll go for it." I replied as we looked at a map on the way up. I had finally found something to be annoyed about with my hair... it kept getting in my face – especially my mouth as we were riding up the chairlift. I kept pushing it back behind my ears to try and keep it in place, but it was still a bit short for that to be really effective. About five minutes later we made it to the top. I did the usual hop off of the lift and moved away from it to avoid getting hit by the chair.

"Hey, Brandon hold on a second." Amy said coming over to me. She opened up her backpack and dug for something for a moment. She pulled out a purple headband for hair. "I notice your hair keeps getting in your eyes, do you want to see if this'll work to keep it out of your face?" She asked me.

"Umm... wouldn't that be kind of weird?" I asked timidly.

"Well, maybe if someone knew you, but most people won't even notice. Besides, it's going to be a long afternoon if you're constantly fighting with your hair, trust me, I know!" She said pointing to the ponytail her hair was tied up into. "I'll put one in my hair too if it'll make you feel any better?" I saw she had a pink one in there too.

"Okay, I guess. If we see your parents though help me hide it somewhere okay? I don't want them to decide I shouldn't be around you because I'm weird or anything, alright?" I replied.

"Don't worry, Mom was the one who told me to be sure that I had an extra one in here since she thought you might need it!" I was flabbergasted by that. With my mouth still open she put the purple one into my hair and the pink into hers and started off down the trail while I was still in shock.

Her mom thought I would wear it willingly? Did she know I wanted to be a girl? Did Amy know it? I was suddenly kind of nervous, but took after her down the trail.

Before I knew it we were going down a blue trail that had moguls on it. For those of you who have never skied before, moguls are little hills of snow on the slope. There's usually a section of them like rapids on a river on some of the harder trails. I had heard about them but never skied on them before.

I tried to followAmy's lead going down them but I screwed up and my right hand ski went thewrong way. BOOM! Down I went, tumbling head over heels. My ski bindings released and I just kepttumbling a couple more times.

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