Page 24 of Mountain Trial

Most competitors are up there already.

“Only the best for the athletes,” Scott said, locking his wheelchair in place.

“Relax, Scott, we’ve got plenty of time. Our event is in the afternoon.”

As the cable car got close to Les Montets, Luc spent less and less time speaking to Scott, and more and more time looking out the window.

“You’re looking for her, aren’t you?” his friend asked.

Luc opened his mouth to deny it, then shrugged gently.

“You haven’t spoken since that night?”

“We’ve both been busy, I guess. And I don’t have her number.”

“Yeah, a town as large as Chamonix, and knowing where she works and everything, I understand how you haven’t been able to find her.”

“Very funny. I didn’t say I couldn’t have found her. Just that I’ve been busy training.”

Liar.

You’re just scared.

Scared that if you let her in, it’ll hurt too much to let her go again.

Scott shrugged. “Alright, mate, alright. Look, there’s Legrand,” Scott said, looking down at the snow below.

It took a few minutes for them to get from their chair into the sit ski, and then they were off towards the chairlift. Perhaps the one ray of sunlight to disability was never having to wait in line for a chairlift. They made their way to the side lane, where the attendant quickly let them through.

Luc still remembered how much he’d struggled, after the accident, until loading onto chairlifts had become second-nature again.

He positioned his sit ski at a forty-five degree angle to the chair. Beside him, Scott did the same thing. As the chair arrived, Luc took hold of the metallic handle, simultaneously pushing up with the inside outrigger. He felt himself dip onto the chair and pushed with his arm to make sure he was as far back as possible.

He waited until Scott landed on his spot, and together they lowered the safety bar. The chair sped up again, and then they were flying.

Below them, they had a prime view of the event site. As Scott had predicted, the first skiers were already in place. Luc watched the able-bodied athletes queueing to jump. The next one up was a tall man dressed in red.

“Is that the ex-boyfriend?” Scott asked. Luc had explained the situation to him.

That’s Helmet, alright.

Luc nodded, curious to see what the man would do. Although they were too far away to hear anything, Luc knew from the way Helmet held his body that the countdown had started.

Instants later, he was off.

Luc felt himself soar vicariously through the air with Helmet. For the first time in his life, he understood why people watched high-risk sports.

Helmet rose through the air, seemingly weightless.

Damn, he’s good.

He’s an asshole, but he’s good.

“Man, that’s a lot of air,” Scott said. “A triple backflip?”

Luc felt his mouth go dry.

Not a triple.