What About Will

Check It Out
It’s been a long time since I’ve said it straight to my brother’s face, but I love him, wicked bad temper and all.
We used to be best- friend brothers.
Will’s seventeen, which makes him five years older, and I’ve always looked up to him.
Mostly because he never looked down on me.
When I was like four, and most other kids still rode tricycles, Will took the training wheels off my little blue bike and taught me to ride it.
You can’t keep up on four wheels, Trace, he said.
Even on two, it took a while, but eventually, I did. At least, I came close.

Will also helped me learn how to
Rollerblade
skateboard
and, best of all, snowboard.
My first time on the slopes, I guess I was six. Mom took Will and me. Dad stayed home.
I remember he said he had to work, but later I found out he’s not real big on cold weather.
Why do you think we live in the desert? he asked. If I wanted to be miserable, I’d move back to Minnesota.
Sometimes I can’t believe I’m related to him, even though I’ve got his curly brown hair and gold-speckled eyes.
But I loved snow the minute I saw it, all crisp and sparkly, like quartz crystals in the sun. As for the cold, that’s why they invented jackets.
Luckily
I’m also related to Mom, who grew up in Colorado, learned to ski young, and says snow is cold vanilla frosting on the mountaintops.
She drove Will and me all the way from Las Vegas to Mammoth Mountain, paid for passes, equipment, two beginner lessons for me.
Will had been there with her a few times before, and like everything sports, he had a real talent for snowboarding. He made it look easy.
It wasn’t. I thought it would be just like skateboarding. It is, sort of, but it’s different, too. Just figuring out the boots and bindings took a while.
That’s what lessons are for, Mom said.
When I finished them, I could pretty much make it down the easiest runs without falling.