The Sky’s the Limit: My Journey with Maryellen

I feel like I’m flying, skis skimming the snow between blue sky and white ground. This isn’t for fun, though. I’m racing to win, so I have to follow the marked route exactly. My team is counting on me.

Joining the ski team wasn’t my idea. My twin sister, Emma, suggested it. She loves to compete and almost always wins when we disagree. She’s my twin and my best friend, and I want to make her happy, so here I am.

A burst of wind swirls snow around me, and the glare blinds me as the trail splits in two. I can’t spot a marker through the whirl. Someone waves as if pointing me left, so I take that branch. The trail winds through the woods, then opens onto a mogul that sends me airborne. I love jumps, the higher the better, but this one feels risky for a race route.

I zoom across the finish line. I’ve won, though not as excited as Emma would be. Winning means more to her than to me. I strip off my gloves, skis, and goggles, change my boots, while my team cheers and thumps me on the back. Even Coach Stanislav is smiling. But where’s Emma?

The judge congratulates me and hands me my prize: a vintage watch that doubles as a stopwatch. I’m strapping it to my wrist when Emma appears and accuses me of cheating, of taking a shortcut.

I gasp, plummeting from happiness to humiliation in one second. How could Emma think I’d cheat? She’s my sister, though things have been tense since Gran moved in and we started sharing a room. Is she angry enough to lie about me? I try to read her face, but she won’t meet my eye.

I try to explain. The sun blinded me, I couldn’t see a flag, and I thought someone had pointed me down the trail. Coach Stanislav tells me to be honest if I cheated. I insist it was a mistake, not cheating, and Mom slips her arm around my shoulder. The judge says she’ll look into what happened, then holds out her hand for the watch. My fingers fumble the strap, and by mistake I press the stopwatch button. I feel a swoosh.