Fake Skating

Now, Dani and her mother arrive in Minnesota and head to her grandfather’s house, where they will be living. It’s freezing in Minnesota, and Dani hates moving. Dani’s mom blithely assumes that Dani will love it in Southview, but she doesn’t know that Dani and Alec stopped sending postcards to each other long ago (Dani still doesn’t understand why this happened.) Dani also worries about living with her grandfather since she has spoken to him very little since he and her father argued at her grandmother’s funeral. Grandpa Mick isn’t home. At first, Dani is upset that he’s not there to welcome them, but when they go inside and see that he has completely transformed the upstairs into an apartment for them, she feels better.

Dani’s former classmate, Benji, drives up in his Maserati. His father lives next door, and Benji now goes by “Ben.” Even though Dani considers him a spoiled “rich kid,” she admits to herself that he is handsome. Dani hasn’t seen Benji since she and her mother recently visited Southview to visit Alec’s dad, “Big John,” who was in the hospital after a car accident. Now, Benji is surprised that Dani is moving in next door. He primarily lives with his mom, but he says that having Dani next door to his father will make his visits to his dad more “interesting.” Benji is not interested in helping her move in, so he leaves. Dani’s mom declares that Benji is “cute” and still has a crush on Dani.

Grandpa Mick arrives, and Dani worries that their reunion will be awkward. Her grandfather was once her “favorite human,” and he called her his “Danigirl,” but the distance between them over the years has left her hurt. She expects him to apologize, but instead, he only greets her by exclaiming that she has grown taller. Still, she is happy to see him and feels comforted by his presence. When Dani’s mom says they will go to dinner at Alec’s house, Dani panics and claims that she’s too tired from the move. Grandpa Mick offers to stay with her and order pizza, but her mom insists that they all attend the dinner. Dani has no idea how she’ll manage the awkward reunion, especially after Alec ghosted her for no reason.

When Alec returns home from work, his mom tells him that Dani, Dani’s mother, and Mick are coming for dinner. Alec is upset but doesn’t tell his mom. Mick was once a famous hockey player, and as word of the dinner spreads quickly, two of Alec’s dad’s friends come over and try to wrangle a dinner invite so that they can get a chance to talk to Mick. Alec’s mom tells them not to hang around acting starstruck. She asks Alec to help his twin five-year-old sisters get ready for dinner.

Alec’s dad uses a cane and has chronic pain from his car accident. As Alec takes a shower, he winces at the shoulder injury that he is hiding from his family and the team. He receives a text from his friend, Vinny, who invites him to a bonfire later that night. Alec usually avoids parties now because he is “keeping his nose clean” (30), but with the stress of the injury and the knowledge that Dani is back in town, he considers going to the party to take his mind off everything.

When Dani and her family arrive at Alec’s house, Dani is warmed by seeing her mother so happy to be reunited with her best friend, Sarah (Alec’s mother). Alec’s dad, “Big John,” greets them, and they learn that Alec is out with friends but will be back for dinner. Dani excuses herself and goes to the restroom. When she passes Alec’s room, it’s “[…] like stepping into a time machine” (40), and she feels as if she has been transported back to her summers here. Wondering if Alec still has her postcards, she hopes that they will soon be reunited and that all of her questions about what happened between them will be answered.

Alec is at his friend Zack’s house for a bonfire party, a post-holiday tradition where the partygoers burn everyone’s discarded Christmas trees and then go sledding down the hill. There is usually a lot of alcohol and marijuana.

Alec is distracted by his thoughts of Dani, and he’s not having a good time. He ignores his mom’s repeated text messages asking him to come home. Though Alec has decided to go without alcohol in order to prepare for hockey season, he is now drinking beer. When his friend Reid shows up with a bong, Alec decides that it’s “a good night to make a few mistakes” (45) so that he can take his mind off his worries about Dani.

On Dani’s first day at her new school, she gives herself a pep talk to prepare for the stress of this change. Dani’s method of survival is to focus on her one goal: getting into Harvard. Currently, her application is deferred. Her ambition allows her to forget high school’s social politics and focus on keeping her 4.0 GPA. Mick tells Dani that the high school hockey team is playing their rival that day, so it’s a “blackout” day at school, which means that everyone dresses in black to support the team. Mick mentions that the team has a chance to win with “Zeus,” but Dani doesn’t understand Mick’s hockey lingo, nor does she know who Zeus is. As they approach the school, Dani stifles a panic attack and bravely walks inside.

Dani is introduced to Cassie, a kind and outgoing girl who will be her guide for the day. As they walk the hallways together, Dani evaluates everyone, wondering who to trust and who to be wary of, as she has had plenty of experience with “mean girls” in the past. Dani sees posters of the hockey team decorating the school and realizes that they are treated like gods.

They pass two team members, Vinny and Richie, who call out to Cassie and make a joke about where she went after the party. They recognize Dani’s name because “Zeus” mentioned it to them at the bonfire; they also know that Dani is Mick Boche’s granddaughter. Dani is confused because she doesn’t understand why a “puckboy” would know her name. Cassie takes Dani to the advanced placement (AP) history class and introduces her to the teacher in front of everyone.

All day at school, Alec is distracted by his thoughts of Dani, and he keeps looking for her everywhere. When Alec hears his nickname, “Zeus,” he turns to see Vinny and Richie, who tell him that they met Dani. Richie thinks Dani is attractive, which makes Alec jealous, but he pretends that he barely knew her when they were both kids and describes her as “sketchy.” Alec puts on headphones to try to clear his mind before the big hockey match, but he can’t stop wondering what Dani looks like now.

Dani skips the pep rally and leaves as the hockey team enters, and everyone in the crowd chants “Zeus.” She visits the counselor’s office and asks what she can do to help with her application deferment. The counselor suggests that she build up her resumé. Dani assumes that she can join a club that doesn’t require much socialization, but the counselor recommends joining a spring sport.

Dani leaves the meeting upset and gets caught in the crowd of hockey players who are leaving the pep rally. Alec accidentally knocks her down with his bag, and when he turns around, she realizes that he is “Zeus.” Before she can speak, Alec tells his friends that he just ran into “some chick,” and Dani can tell that he is not excited for their reunion.

Throughout warmups and the game, Alec keeps telling himself that Dani is “nothing” to him and that hockey is “everything.” He has always held a grudge over how Dani ruined things between them, and although he finds it difficult to focus on the game, the team still wins.