| United We Stand, Divided We Fall by: Halliwellgirls I own the characters, this story, and all other stories on this site. Do not copy without my permission. Thank you. |
| Siobhan Arintero was freezing. She was also getting bus-sick. She shivered violently next to her best friend, Madison Winters, who stopped talking to another of their best friends, Alyson Almond, and turned to her. �Still cold, Siobhan?� she asked, worriedly. �This bus is freezing, and I think I�m going to be sick.� Siobhan complained, turning a little green. �Poor Syvanni. Tara�s not doing too good, either.� Alyson said, peering over the seat at Siobhan. Siobhan turned around to look at Tara Maclayne, the fourth in their best friend circle, who did indeed look green. �You two should really have stayed home. Between you two, me and Ally might just have to play nurses.� Madison looked worried. �Stayed home and missed the ski trip? I�ve only been looking forward to it for, like, a month!� Tara exclaimed. She was the highest skilled skier of the foursome, and never missed an opportunity to ski. So even though she had a cold for the past few days that seemed to be getting progressively worse, she still had insisted on coming. �I know how much you love to ski, but you have to take care of yourself, too. Promise me you won�t be skiing the black diamonds all day long.� Alyson looked her friend in the eye. �I can�t anyway,� Tara coughed, �The teachers said only the green and blue hills. They catch anyone on the diamonds they get suspended.� she groaned weakly. �Okay, but promise you won�t overdo it. I don�t want you to get any sicker, okay?� Alyson persisted. �I promise, I won�t.� Tara smiled reassuringly at her friend. Then she sneezed. �Are you sure you�re okay?� Siobhan asked. �Look who�s talking! You don�t look so great yourself.� Tara looked concerned. �It�s bus sickness. It goes away. Your cold wont be history five seconds after we get off the bus.� Siobhan stuck her tongue out at Tara, who stuck hers back and they grinned. Alyson giggled a little, then grimaced and leaned down to rub her left ankle. �A little sore, honey?� Madison asked, worried. �Yeah. The accident was almost four months ago, you�d think my ankle would be back to normal by now, but noooooooo.� Alyson complained. �Aww, hun.� Tara patted her lap, �Want me to rub it?� Alyson nodded gratefully, and slipped her foot out of her boot and onto Tara�s lap, who began massaging it gently. Tara coughed, covering her mouth as always, and Madison and Siobhan traded worried glances but said nothing. A few minutes later, the bus pulled into the parking lot of the ski slopes. As the four friends climbed out, along with their other classmates, Siobhan began to look much better, but Tara was still a little green. �You okay, honey?� Alyson asked, looping her arm around her friend�s. �Yeah.� Tara said quietly. She was beginning to think that maybe she should have stayed home. �You�re sure?� Siobhan asked. Tara nodded, putting on a cheerful face so her friends wouldn�t notice how bad she really felt. Twenty minutes later, the girls were fitted with skis, and headed out to the lifts. Alyson and Tara were headed to the blue slopes, for intermediate skiers, and Madison and Siobhan stayed behind at the green beginner slopes. Madison could ski well enough for the blue level, but Siobhan was just a beginner, having only skied once before in her life. Madison and Siobhan rode the smaller lift to the top of the smallest slope, but to Siobhan it looked a long, long way down. She started slowly, but she began to get the hang of it, and was soon coasting down in front of Madison. They stayed at the same slope all morning, not daring to venture out of Siobhan�s comfort zone. Meanwhile, Alyson and Tara rode up to the top of the biggest intermediate hill. �You sure you can do this, honey?� Alyson asked worriedly. Her friend had coughed and sneezed three times on the lift alone. �Yes! I can!� Tara said, hoping to get her point across to Alyson. She loved her friend, but she was very protective of Tara. It had always been that way, since Kindergarten. Tara went first and built up her speed quickly. She knew what she was doing, after all. She reached the bottom of the hill well before Alyson, and waited there for her friend. �Hey, that was great!� Tara smiled as Alyson reached the bottom and headed over to her. �Yeah. Honey, do you want to...� Alyson began. �No, I dont want to rest. I feel fine, and I want to ski.� Tara said, a little frustrated. �Okay, honey.� Alyson gave a resigned sigh. She knew her best friend felt she was pushing her, but she couldn�t help it. It was in her nature to protect. She protected her little sisters, her baby brother, and she protected Tara, Madison, and Siobhan. It seemed that was what she was put on Earth to do. |