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“Remind me again…” Nicole shook her head. “…how we got to this point?”
Waverly glanced back before throwing a snowball at a particularly lanky tree’s higher branches. “Well as I recall...” She furrowed her brows as she lined up another shot, aiming at a brightly colored kite firmly lodged in the limbs of the aforementioned tree. “You didn’t object earlier.”
Nicole trudged over next to Waverly. “Well, let it be known that I did not propose going kite flying in the snow.” She crossed her arms and gazed at said kite.
“Even I will admit…” Waverly hurled another snowball. “…that this may not have been one of my better ideas.” She turned to give Nicole an apologetic smile.
Nicole sighed and walked beneath the tree, gazing up to better assess the situation. The tree’s lower branches were at least a good eight feet off the ground, and the kite seemed to be trapped further up. “Wave… I don’t think snowballs will work. It looks like a good part of the string is wrapped around the branch.” She leaned her shoulder back against the tree and turned to Waverly.
Waverly frowned, raising a hand to her brow to block the sun’s glare. She squinted her eyes before dropping her hand with a resigned sigh. “Well there has to be some way we can get it.”
Nicole crossed her arms again. “Maybe we could come back tomorrow with a ladder.”
Waverly groaned internally at the idea of the long trek to the homestead. Even with a truck it seemed like much more work than necessary to retrieve a wayward kite. And it could all be for naught. Any strong gusts of wind would tear up the poor thing, especially if left overnight.
Waverly sighed and looked back over at Nicole, who was casually propped against the tree while she awaited Waverly’s verdict. She paused, eyes glancing from Nicole, to the kite, and back to Nicole again.
“What if… you were the ladder?”
Nicole’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
Waverly began to slowly nod as she visualized her plan. “If you could just boost me up…” She smiled and locked eyes with Nicole.
“Boost you up?” Nicole looked up at the tree with concern. “There’s no way that’s safe…”
“But Nicole!” Waverly practically bounced over, energized with the novelty of her solution. She grabbed Nicole’s arm with one hand and pointed upwards with the other. “See, if you just get me to those lower branches, suddenly there’s dozens of them, leading right up to the kite. As soon as I’m there, it’s easy-peasy.”
“Easy-peasy…” Nicole slowly repeated.
“Yes! And besides, even if I did fall, there’s this whole layer of snow around. It’s as safe as it gets.”
Nicole closed her eyes and sighed. “Well I don’t know about “as safe as it gets” but I suppose your plan could be worse.” She looked over at Waverly, who was still clutching her arm. “Now… explain to me the mechanics of me boosting you up?”
Waverly clapped her gloved hands with delight. “Yes! Let’s do this!” She tugged on Nicole’s sleeve. “Alright now kneel down.”
“What?”
“Nicole, please just follow my instructions.”
“Yes ma’am…” Nicole kneeled down in the snow and shook her head. “I better get some hot chocolate out of this.”
Waverly grinned. “That’s a promise. Now I’m going to start by sitting on your shoulders…”
“…Okay…” Nicole sounded quite skeptical.
“Then you’ll stand up, and then I’ll stand on your shoulders and climb onto the lower branch.” She looked down at Nicole. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this all planned out. Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Waverly swung one leg onto Nicole’s shoulder, followed by the other, gripping Nicole’s head for balance. “Now stand up slowly…”
Nicole put her hands against the trunk and began to rise. “Easy on my head there tiger.”
Waverly reluctantly loosened her hold. “Okay, now I’m going to move to a standing position…” She cautiously brought one foot up to Nicole’s shoulder, who quickly placed a hand on her ankle with a reassuringly strong grip. She then moved one hand to the tree, followed by the other as she slowly pulled herself to eye level with her desired branch.
Nicole now had a steadying grip on both of her ankles. “Okay Wave, let’s get this moving. I’m not really trained as an acrobat.”
“Right.”
Waverly placed both hands on the tree limb and lightly tested its strength. This should work. In theory. She took a deep breath and swung herself onto the branch. Nicole stumbled back and quickly made eye contact with Waverly. “Are you alright?”
Waverly steadied herself. “I think so.”
“You think so?” Nicole asked incredulously.
Waverly nodded. She glanced up at the kite and began to mentally trace a path along the twisting boughs of the tree. “I’ve got this. I’m going to start moving now.”
Nicole propped her chin on her hand, watching closely as Waverly began to climb up the tree. She was moving gingerly, testing out footholds as she moved from one branch to another. Nicole shivered. She was quite used to anxiety-inducing situations. In fact, she was more than used to putting herself in them. But it was particularly nerve-wracking watching Waverly continue her precarious climb, knowing that there was little she could do other than act as moral support. Not that she didn’t have the utmost faith in Waverly, of course.
“Please be careful Wave.” Waverly glanced back down and gave Nicole a reassuring smile before resuming her calculating movements toward her destination.
Within moments Waverly had clambered over to the branch in question, and began to edge her way to the runaway kite. She disentangled it with expert hands.
“Look out below!”
Nicole watched as the kite slowly fluttered down to her. She snagged it and began to wind up the line, all the while keeping an eye on Waverly’s descent. She dropped the kite by the base of the tree. “Are you planning on dropping back onto my shoulders?” Waverly was almost to her starting branch, and Nicole maneuvered so she was right underneath of her.
“I think-“
-SNAP-
“Waverly!”
There was a crash and a puff of snow. Waverly was now lying on her back, looking up at a distinctly blue sky. She blinked and slowly lifted her head. She lay in a tangle of limbs, not all of which were hers. “Nicole?”
There was a groan. “Present.”
Waverly looked down to see a very snow-covered Nicole underneath of her. “Nicole!” She began to disentangle herself and brush the snow off Nicole’s clothing. “Are you alright?”
“I’ll live.” Nicole slowly sat up. “Hold up, you’re the one who fell, what, ten feet? Are you okay?”
Waverly shook out her limbs. “Yeah. I think you broke my fall.” She gave a little laugh.
Nicole shook her head. “I know I broke your fall.” She stood up cautiously and stretched. “I think I’m none the worse for wear though.” She offered a hand to Waverly as she began to stand. Waverly just gazed at Nicole for a moment with the largest grin on her face before wrapping Nicole in a hug. “You saved me!”
Nicole blushed. “I wouldn’t say that. I was just right below you is all. Lucky timing.”
Waverly smiled up at her. “Whatever. I still owe you hot chocolate.”
“That’s two hot chocolates, actually,” Nicole stated matter-of-factly. “One for the catch and one for acting as your human ladder.” Nicole paused. “What is it with you and owing me hot beverages? First a cup of coffee, now hot chocolate. I’m detecting a bit of a pattern here.” She gazed down at Waverly fondly.
Waverly just shook her head. “Are you complaining?”
“Most certainly not.”