Rebellion of a Chalet Girl:. Lorraine Wilson

two people I care most about in the world are moving on without me.

      "Of course I don't mind, it'll be fun." Tash smiled. "Stop worrying, it'll all work out fine and I'll help out any way I can."

      It was time to step up.

      It scared her, becoming needed, relied upon. Needing…It was bloody terrifying.

      Maybe she should've moved on years ago, before she'd had time to grow close to anyone. After all she'd been at Chalet Repos longer than she'd stayed in any one place before. The longest settled spell in her entire life in fact.

       Stop it Tash, no looking back remember? Thinking about anything too much is dangerous.

      Holly disappeared down the corridor to the office, to the desk that stood back to back with Scott's. What must it be like to find someone you loved so much you could actually live and work with them and not want to kill them?

      Anxiety made Tash jittery and she tugged again at her snagged nail, breaking it off far too low but not caring that it hurt. The blurring of the line between emotional and physical pain was dangerous. Not that this really counted but she could imagine what the official line would be. That it was the thin edge of a very dangerous wedge.

      She was done with that, with the old Tash.

      But boy was it tempting sometimes.

       I need caffeine. Caffeine and some ibuprofen.

      Maybe it wasn't a good idea when she was anxious but she needed…something and really, how harmful could one cup of coffee be?

      "So girls, what do we think?" Lucy's bird like eyes gleamed. She'd tucked her feet beneath her on the armchair so she looked tinier than ever, dwarfed by an oversized rusty-red cable knit jumper pulled down to her knees over her leggings.

      "What do we think about what?" Tash replied, resting her head back against the sofa and crossing her arms over her chest. "Are we talking about the engagement epidemic or the fresh new talent about to hit Chalet Repos? Sorry to disappoint you hun but a group of suits are not going to satisfy your heart's wicked desires."

      "Who says they're wicked?" Lucy quipped. "Don't judge us all by your own standards. Some of us are actually looking for a meaningful relationship with a grown up."

       Ouch.

      Tash laughed to conceal the sting, fingers curling into her palms beneath her elbows, nails pressing hard against her skin. Lucy was only joking, but…

      "I think it sounds really exciting. Do we know anything about them? Maybe it'll be someone famous if they're so important." Rebecca sighed, her pale blue eyes becoming dreamy. She crossed her legs demurely, back still ramrod straight like she'd been taught to sit like that at finishing school or Cheltenham Ladies College or whatever Sloanesville academy she'd sprung from.

      Tash's jaw clenched instinctively, like it did pretty much every time Rebecca spoke.

       God I miss Sophie.

      "It won't be anyone famous." Tash rolled her eyes. "How many famous investors do you know? It'll be another group of poncy businessmen in fancy Saville Row suits and handmade shoes they can't get wet in the snow. They'll expect us to jump every time they click their fingers. If they can prise their fingers away from their BlackBerries that is."

      "Now, that's where you're wrong," Amelia said, a slow smug smile creeping across her face. "The name the chalet is booked under is Nathaniel Campbell. I checked the bookings spreadsheet and then I googled him."

      She paused, relishing the fact she'd got everyone's attention.

      "Go on." Lucy nudged Amelia with her elbow. "Don't leave us hanging. You have been watching way too many elimination shows. It doesn't create tension, it's just annoying.”

      "It turns out Nathaniel Campbell is on that programme In the Lion's Den. You know, the one where anyone under twenty-five with a business plan can go to beg for grants or internships. He's forty-eighth on the Sunday Times Rich List too; his specialty is buying companies with potential, turning them around, then selling them on again." Amelia grinned, eyes gleaming.

      "You already have a fiancé, remember." Tash said quickly.

       Sophie must've rubbed off on me. Who would've guessed I'd be the one taking the moral high ground?

      But with Sophie gone someone had to do it. The gap Sophie had left when she moved in with Luc felt immense. And Rebecca certainly wasn't the girl to replace her. There was nothing immediately obvious to explain why, but it'd been apparent within days that Tash and Rebecca weren't going to be the best of friends. Well nothing obvious except for the huge gulf between their backgrounds. Tash had tried.

      Sort of.

      "I've seen The Lion's Den," Rebecca beamed like she'd just won the lottery. "I love that programme. Nathaniel Campbell is seriously hot. He's the sexiest Lion on the show."

      "I haven't seen it. Have you Tash?" Lucy asked.

      "No." Tash shrugged and got off the sofa.

       But then I haven't been back to England since I was eighteen.

      "How do you know it's the Nathaniel Campbell?" Tash stopped at the doorway and turned back towards Amelia.

      "How many Nathaniel Campbells do you think there are with the kind of money you need to invest in Verbier property?" Amelia asked. "Anyway I found his most recent interview online and when asked about new projects he said he was taking some time out in the Swiss Alps to write a companion book for the series. That would explain why he's booked Chalet Repos for the whole month."

      "Hmm. I need a caffeine fix.” Tash shrugged. “Coffee anyone?”

      It was irrational to dislike a man she’d never met but telling herself so didn’t stop the stirrings of resentment.

      Nathaniel Campbell was bringing change to Chalet Repos and that was a good enough reason for Tash.

      "I've seen him, I've seen him," Rebecca squeaked, practically bouncing up and down with excitement. Gone were her casual clothes, replaced by smart black wool trousers and a gorgeous aquamarine cashmere sweater. She even wore her tiny pearl earrings and a Tiffany pendant.

      Her clothes whispered wealth and style.

      "Great," Tash replied without enthusiasm as she pulled a clean navy hoodie on over her vest top, her sole concession to dressing up for the guests. She might not have been so irritated if Rebecca hadn't spent most of the previous evening talking about what she should wear and what Nathaniel Campbell would be like in real life.

      Tash's mix of charity shop and cheap supermarket clothes felt like rags compared to the designer cashmere clothes Rebecca wore.

       I feel cheap. In pretty much every sense of the word.

      She wondered for the umpteenth time if she could last the whole season without cracking and pushing Rebecca down a black ski run.

      Minus the skis.

      It wasn't as if Rebecca even had to work, her father was a judge, they were minted. She even had a pony back home in Surrey for frick's sake.

      Something tightened in her chest at the thought of it. A proper home. A safety net. Rebecca had it with bells on and Tash…didn't. Not that she expected life to be fair; she'd given up that hope long ago.

      The familiar tension crept into Tash's jaw as she applied her eye shadow. Rebecca was doing the 'chalet girl thing' for fun because 'Daddy says I need to get a job. It's like, character forming, you know.'

      Tash stared at Rebecca now in much the same way as she'd stared at her when she'd explained why she was at Chalet Repos, as though Rebecca had flown in from another planet, another universe even. It often felt like they spoke a different language.

      "Do you really think some business mogul come TV star is going to take up with a poxy chalet girl?" Tash