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could look up and see the stars spilling over the sky. They stood out stark and crystalline in the<br />
clear, freezing air. We stayed out for most of the day again, but this time, I called it quits early,<br />
pretending to be tired so Mason could get a break. He might manage easy skiing with his tender<br />
ankle, but I could tell it was starting to hurt him.<br />
Mason and I headed back toward the lodge walking very close to each other, laughing about<br />
something we'd seen earlier. Suddenly, I saw a streak of white in my peripheral vision, and a<br />
snowball smashed into Mason's face. I immediately went on the defensive, jerking backward<br />
and peering around. Whoops and cries sounded from an area of the resort grounds that held<br />
storage sheds and was interspersed with looming pines.<br />
"Too slow, Ashford," someone called. "Doesn't pay to be in love."<br />
More laughs. Mason's best friend, Eddie Castile, and a few other novices from school<br />
materialized from behind a cluster of trees. Beyond them, I heard more shouts.<br />
"We'll still take you in, though, if you want to be on our team," said Eddie. "Even if you do<br />
dodge like a girl."<br />
"Team?" I asked excitedly.<br />
Back at the Academy, throwing snowballs was strictly prohibited. School officials were<br />
inexplicably afraid that we'd throw snowballs packed with glass shards or razor blades, though I<br />
had no clue how they thought we'd get a hold of that kind of stuff in the first place.<br />
Not that a snowball fight was that rebellious, but after all the stress I'd been through recently,<br />
throwing objects at other people suddenly sounded like the best idea I'd heard in a while.<br />
Mason and I dashed off with the others, the prospect of forbidden fighting giving him new<br />
energy and causing him to forget the pain in his ankle. We set to the fight with a die-hard zeal.<br />
The fight soon became a matter of nailing as many people as possible while dodging attacks<br />
from others. I was exceptional at both and furthered the immaturity by catcalling and shouting<br />
silly insults at my victims.
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