Excerpt:

It was another two days before Alex had found out what they were plotting. It had been during break. The six weeks when there was no snow, and the only time the locals ever really got a chance to go elsewhere. It was week four of the annual break, and Alex had been counting down the days until she could ski again. The weather had already started to turn, and it seemed likely that the first snow, signaling the unofficial start of the season, would come any day. During the six weeks, every aspect of the resorts were gone over with a fine tooth comb. Major maintenance, almost impossible to do with visitors around, was completed during that time. Minor maintenance could generally get done while guests were around. Likewise any overhauls of the course needed to be done while no one was visiting. School was let out, both to have the kids to help, and so those not involved could go on family vacations. As soon as the first snow appeared, anywhere from four to eight weeks after the snow completely melted, the focused turned to getting everything in order. On average the first snow to stick was not the first snow to appear. That usually occurred two weeks later then the first snow fall. Rarely they were the same. As soon as word was out that there was snow, people started to flock towards Jotunheimr.
“Alexandra, kita perlu berbicara.” Alexandra, we need to talk. Arianna told her daughter. Alex raised an eyebrow. She knew it was important, both because her mother addressed her as Alexandra, and because she used her more familiar Malay then the English normally spoken around Jotunheimr. “Silakan duduk.” Please sit. Alex sat down, her sense of anxiety growing. She figured this had something to do with the bit of the conversation she had overheard.
“Seu pai e eu,” Your father and I. Her mother stopped there as Alex once again raised an eyebrow. Something was up. Alex’s mother was pretty good at sticking with English, Malay or Portuguese when having a serious conversation. It was only when she started to get upset when her languages would start bleeding together. Now the conversation had swapped to Portuguese. Arianna took another breath before starting again, trying hard to stick to Malay. “Telah memutuskan bahaw anda harus pergi mengunjungi anda Tia* Maria dan primos* di Chicago. Anda akan meninggalkan awal minggu depan.” Have decided that you should go visit your Aunt Maria and Cousins in Chicago. You will be leaving early next week. Her mother always referred to members of the family in Portuguese, no matter what base language she was speaking.
Alex jumped up from her seat. “No! Tidak! Não!” Alex shouted No in all three languages just to make sure her mother understood. “The skiing season is about to start. Snow is coming back. What about school?” Her mother had not yet even explained how long the trip would be, but somehow, deep within, Alex knew that they were not talking about a short trip. Somehow she had a feeling of dread regarding it.