Fake Skating(31)

So, so idiotic.

Alec—

Hey, loser!

1. Yesterday I found a cat in our backyard and gave him tuna, which he wolfed down and then proceeded to immediately barf up on my shoe, leaving me no choice but to name him Sir Pukesalot. :D

2. This morning, my dad told my mom that he was disappointed that she’d never cared about him enough to learn to cook, leaving me no choice but to name him Lieutenant Colonel Pukesalot.

Counting down the days until summer,

Dani



And then they just stopped.

I kept sending them like the chump I was, convinced it was a post office issue because I was a delusional little shit, but apparently she was just done.

And a couple of weeks later, when she came to town and fucked me over, I realized that was just who she’d become.

The girl who’d laminated our decoders had left the chat, and now Dani Collins was just somebody that I used to know.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN Dani




“Okay,” Cassie said, “but you really need to listen to me.”

I walked down the hall with Cassie and two of her friends—Liz and Lillie—after school, pleasantly surprised that not only had Cassie yelled my name when she saw me so I could walk with them, but her friends seemed nice.

Like genuinely nice.

And they’d invited me to go with them to Applebee’s for half-price apps later.

It wasn’t in my nature to trust this, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

“I know you know nothing about hockey, but being a manager is so easy. Sometimes I film practice, sometimes I keep stats, sometimes I go on a hot dog run if someone’s hungry; anyone can do it.”

“For sure,” Lillie agreed, nodding. “You don’t have to know hockey at all.”

“I’m sure Alec is right, though,” I said, remembering how unhappy he’d looked when she’d suggested it. “It’s probably too late.”

“Yeah, but that’s the thing,” she said as we went past the office. “First of all, I don’t think that’s true; Coach Osman is super chill. But second of all, you’re friends with Alec.”

I felt like I should correct her—all of them—because that definitely wasn’t true, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Zeus is hockey around here,” Cassie said. “And he’s the captain. So if he brings it up, they will totally let it happen.”

“I get that he’s good, but he’s still just a student, right? He can’t have that much power.”

“Are you serious?” Lillie said, making a face like I was absolutely clueless. “I know you’re new here, but trust me—if Alec Barczewski wants something related to hockey, he’s going to get it.”

“But I don’t think he—”

“You need to ask him,” Cassie said, cutting me off. “Even if you guys don’t know each other anymore, your parents are still friends, right? I’m sure he’ll happily do you this tiny little favor, because he’s a good guy. I’m positive that if you ask him, he’ll make it happen.”

Butis he a good guy?

“I don’t know,” I said, dreading the idea of swallowing my pride and going to him for a favor, because if he’d wanted to even be a simple acquaintance, he would have at least smiled at me by now.

But so far he was all cold sarcasm and avoidance.

“Do this for me because I’m sick of doing it by myself and I think we’ll have a blast,” she said. “Pleeeeeeease. Come on.”

“And I won’t have to feel guilty anymore for quitting,” Lillie said. “Do it for me, too.”

“And for me so I don’t have to listen to this ever again,” Liz added.

“Hmmm.” My stomach was heavy with dread as they tried convincing me, because it sounded like a terrible idea. Not only did I know nothing about the sport, but the last thing I wanted was to be around Alec on a daily basis.

In a cold arena.

I was stressed at the mere idea of it.

But I wanted Harvard—so badly.

“How about this: Go with me to practice today,” Cassie said. “They have a game tomorrow, so it’s shorter than usual, just a run-through. Ride over with me, see what I do, and then you can make the call. If you want to do it, you can wait for Zeus and beg him after practice to talk to the coaches.”

“Maybe I should wait—”

“Think about it,” she interrupted, emphasizing her words with hand gestures. “If Harvard said you needed to lick the floor to get in, would you?”

“Eww,” Liz said with a look of disgust.

“Eww, but you would, wouldn’t you?” Lillie said, pointing her finger in my direction. “Wouldn’t you? You might go behind a locker so no one could see you, but you’d definitely touch your tongue to the tile, right? Don’t lie, you know you would.”

“Gross,” I said around a laugh. “But yeah—I guess I would.”

“So be willing to ask a simple favor, then,” Cassie said. “It’s way less disgusting.”

It was a stupid analogy, but she was right.

Of course I could beg Alec for help if it meant getting into Harvard. Who cares if he’s a dick now? Swallowing my pride and begging him to help me was nothing if it gave me the extracurricular I needed to get in.