Fake Skating

Alec is in his senior year of high school and lives in Southview, Minnesota. One day, when he returns home from hockey practice, his mother tells him that Dani Collins, his former best friend, and her mother are moving to Southview because Dani’s parents got divorced. Angered by the news, Alec gets in his car, blasts a playlist, and drives to the old barn, which used to be his and Dani’s special “spot.” He reflects on the summer after seventh grade, which was the last time that he and Dani were together.

Back then, Dani and her mother, Hannah (who is Alec’s mom’s best friend), would come to Southview for a month every summer to visit Dani’s grandparents. Even so, they would actually spend most of their time with Alec and his mom, Sarah. During that summer’s visit, Dani’s grandmother died, and her grandfather, Mick, got into an argument with her dad at the funeral. Dani was sad and began crying. Alec had always wanted to kiss Dani, and seeing her cry made him want to kiss her even more. They kissed, but something bad happened afterward, something that Alec has never forgiven Dani for.