Page 26 of A Winter in Wonderland
Shay laughed and squeezed her head in next to Tess. ‘So how is it? Are you full of festive spirit yet?’
I rolled my eyes at her. ‘Yesterday I met Santa Claus at Santa Claus Village, so I’m not exactly able to hide away.’
‘Where are you now?’
‘We just made it to Luosto, and I’m in my new room. Do you want a tour?’ I flipped the camera round and showed them my bedroom while they ooohed at the wooden walls and ahhhed at the cosy decor.
‘Bunk beds?’ asked Tess. ‘Do you have a room-mate?’
‘I don’t know yet. Nobody so far but I think some people are still to arrive.’ I didn’t know how I felt about a roommate. I mean, I’d liked living with Jamilia (though I now wondered if the feeling had ever been mutual) but we were never room-mates. In fact, the one time I’d asked if I could sleep on her floor because the curtain pole had fallen down in my room and it was the middle of summer, she’d politely reminded me we had a sofa that was only slightly uncomfortable. ‘Do you want to see out the window?’
‘Yes!’ cried Shay and Tess in unison.
When I angled the camera out to where the snow drifted down and I was level with the trees, I felt a tiny swell of peace. Because thiswasvery lovely and different, and just because it was a winter wonderland didn’t mean it wasentirelyChristmas focused.
‘That view is so gorgeous, Myla, I’m jealous,’ said Shay when I turned the phone back to my face.
‘It is,’ I admitted. ‘How is everything at home? Apart from exploding avocados?’
‘Everything’s fine. Now go and enjoy yourself, OK? And, Myla?’
‘Yes, boss?’
Shay smirked. ‘Stay present, OK? Don’t get sucked into stressing about Christmas pasts. Or Christmas yet-to-comes. Not to sound all Dickens on you.’
‘Yes, boss.’
‘All right then.’
I hung up the phone, visited the bathroom, and was contemplating where to put my things when I didn’t know if I had the room to myself or not when that question was answered for me by my door being swung wide open, and a woman clomping in wearing enormous, fur-trimmed snow boots that trailed wet patches across the flooring.
‘Wau, on kyl ihan huippuu olla kotona! Tää huone on kyl tosi kiva!’ She looked up at me for the first time, sizing me up, her ashy-blonde hair sticking in snowflake-wetted tendrils to her face. ‘Hei.You look English.’
‘Uh, I am. Hello.’
‘Hello,’ the stranger replied with a wide beam on her face, and stomped to the bed where she sat on the bottom bunk and began pulling off her boots. ‘I’m Esteri.’
‘Hi, I’m Myla. I think you can leave your boots at the front door; they have those boot warmer things to dry them out,’ I said, watching her.
‘No way,’ she said. ‘These are extremely high-quality boots; they go wherever I go until we’re all issued with our Love Adventuring Lapland ones. Besides, some people here brought suede boots, can you believe? In this snow?’ Shelaughed her head off and managed to release one of her feet at the same time while I blushed. ‘Could you help me with the other one, I just don’t have the energy.’
Esteri lay back on the bottom bunk while I started pulling on her boot, which seemed oddly intimate considering all I knew about her was her name and that she was going to laugh at my shoes if I ever left the house at the same time as her.
When I managed to drag the boot off and it thunked me on the head, I asked, ‘So, do you prefer the top or bottom bunk?’
‘No preference,’ she answered. ‘You?’
I eyed the wet snow-angel she’d left on the bottom bunk and said, ‘I’ll take the top?’
‘Perfect.’ Esteri stood up and without her big boots and coat on I realised she was about my height with grey eyes and a big smile. Her hair was long and unruly, but it looked perfect against her round face and outdoorsy cheeks. ‘Now, who are you?’
I stuttered. ‘I’m Myla. Your room-mate.’
‘No, I know that much,’ Esteri chuckled. ‘But who ARE you? Tell me about yourself.’
‘Oh, OK.’ I took a seat on the floor and started unpacking my rucksack while I told her about my life in England, glossing up the part about not having a home or job any more, and glossing over the massive-dislike-of-Christmas thing. She listened, giving me her full attention, and asking me to explain further on any detail she thought I was missing.
When I wrapped up, she said, ‘Yes, you sound like a goodroom-mate. My room-mate last year was the absolute worst person in the world.’
