The Last Snowboarder
‘Snowboarding is life!’ That’s what Rachel McCoy thought as she went over a half metre hump and took to the air for 2.4 seconds. The wind in her hair, fresh white powder beneath her board, tearing down a slope at 30 miles per hour… this was all she needed in her life. This was all she wanted to do with her life.
“The centre will be closing is 15 minutes. Please leave the slopes now. Thank you and we hope to see you again soon.” Rachel hated hearing that Tannoy message. But there was no fighting it, time to go home was time to go home. The centre usually closed much later, but it was Christmas Eve, so the centre was closing at 6pm so that the staff could get home to their families earlier.
Rachel had been coming here alone since she was 13 years old, as her house was only an 8 minute walk away and her parents trusted her to stay safe. For her 14th birthday her main present had been a one year membership to the centre. She had used it for 114 of the last 132 days. She preferred to go as late in the day as possible – one of the nice bonuses of snowboarding on a cold slope was later warming up in a cosy bed until she fell asleep.
As she was getting out of her boots in the changing room, she got a text from her best friend, Carole. Her boyfriend had just broken up with her. Oh boy. Rachel wanted to call her to let her talk about it, but she had forgotten to charge her phone and only had 15% battery left. So she texted Carole that she would be home soon and would call her then. But Carole just messaged back, listing off all the ways that her EX-boyfriend had never deserved her anyway. Now Rachel’s phone battery was down to 12%. She decided though that it was best to let her friend vent, even if that meant completely draining her battery.
By the time Rachel was back in her outdoor clothes, there were only a few customers left in the centre. Rachel just needed to pop to the bathroom quickly before heading home.
As she sat down on a toilet, she saw that Carole was still sending her texts, and now her phone was down to just 7%. Typical Carole…
It was nice and warm in the bathroom and Rachel felt a wave of tiredness come over her. She knew she should get up and get home, but her eyelids were suddenly feeling really heavy. Maybe if she just closed them for a minute or two, she would get her second wind…
Rachel awoke with a start. Where was she? In a bathroom stall… in the ski centre! It all came back to her in a few seconds. She tried to stand, but quickly realised that her lower thighs were quite numb. How long had she been sitting on this toilet? She tried to check the time on her phone, but found that it was completely out of battery. Riiight, Carole…
Rachel got up and rubbed the back of her thighs to get some feeling back into them, then headed out of the bathroom. She was surprised to see that most of the lights in the centre had been turned off. How long had she been in the bathroom for? She looked at the clock above the reception desk and saw that it read: 7.37pm. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d been asleep for nearly two hours? And now the centre was… closed?
The moment the word ‘closed’ crossed her mind, she ran to the front door of the centre. It was locked.
“Hello?” she called out nervously. “Is anyone still here? I think you’ve accidentally locked me in! I’m a customer!” No reply. The centre was as silent as it was dark. Rachel couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She began to search for another exit.
If Rachel can’t find another way out, what will she do all night?
Does she find being locked in alone frightening, or does she see a positive side to it? Could it be both?
Will her parents come looking for her if she doesn’t find a way out quickly?