American Vacanza

ethan gets quite tipsy • siena

I took a deep breath in as I wheeled my suitcase over a bear-pelt rug in the rustic lobby of the Doubleside Resort. Before the divorce, my parents had taken me here every winter break, free of charge thanks to their dear friend Marv. I'd never been here in the summer- and I'd never been here since my parents split, two years ago.

The year-round pinewood scent of the Doubleside reminded me of a simpler time. This was a time when I didn't live in a giant house with a billionaire stepdad, freaky stepsister and mom that seemed to care less and less about my life. And though that was my life now, being in the rustic lobby of the hotel at the Doubleside Mountain Ski Resort And Lodge made me feel more at peace.

Even though the wicked witch of the west coast herself was only a few yards from me.

I sat down in an oversized chair, breathing in the cozy cabin air, while Madison and Ethan worked to get us checked in.

"C'mon, girl, let's find our room and go to sleep," Madison announced, yawning and gently tapping me on the shoulder a few minutes later. I checked the time: only 6:53. And yeah, it was true that being in the car made us tired, but not go-to-sleep-at-6:53 tired.

"But wait!" exclaimed Marv, who had kindly helped Madison check in. Madison wasn't really wrong in thinking he was kind of creepy. If I didn't know him, I would've thought so too. "You haven't checked out the teen party yet!"

If it was called the Teen Party, it was probably lame, or really suspicious, or both. However, the one thing I knew about my wild stepsister was that she would never shy away from a party. "Well, I guess we do have a little time to kill," she said, disguising a yawn. "And if we're not going to have a little fun on this trip, why even go on it in the first place?"

Because our parents and stepbrother went to Italy without us. Remember that little detail?

"That's great to hear!" Marc clasped his hands together loudly, startling the lobby's more elderly inhabitants. "You can find it in the Grizzly Room- that's what we call our biggest ballroom, you know, named after the biggest bear, which is actually native to this region- Third floor, second door on your left. I'll have your bags taken up to your room."

"Perfectthanks!" she tittered, taking Ethan's arm and trotting to the elevators. I followed a few steps behind, never quite able to catch up.

As we walked toward the elevator, Madison uttered, "That Marv is a creepy freak of nature."

"He's just trying to get business. It's tough when you own a ski lodge and it's summer," I reasoned.

"But when you own a tech company, life is good," she giggled as we climbed into the giant elevator. When it dinged at the top, we followed the pulsating beat of a blasting Drake song to find the game room where the party was held.

To be honest, when I walked in, I was stunned. I expected a few kids, maybe a six pack of soda, and a ping pong table. But Marv really went all-out. Anyplace with music louder than I could yell was a legit party in my book- not to mention the disco balls and swirling lights hooked up around us.

I was overwhelmed, but Madison was absolutely in her element and disappeared from my vision as soon as we walked in.

I was never comfortable in situations like this, always tending to stay close to the walls instead of being in the center of the room. But that was okay, because wherever I was - school dances, birthday parties, weddings - I could find wallflower like myself to hang out with.

Suddenly, a girl grabbed my arm, yanking me into the swirling abyss of gyrating teenagers. "Hey," she drawled, her brown hair swirling as her head rolled. "I'm Clare. Wanna dance?"