“I’d take lessons. You like grand gestures, right?”
“Only if I actually like the guy.”
“Then I would learn how to skate and glide onto the ice after a big game, holding a bouquet of flowers.”
Ari laughed. “Not roses, though.”
“Oh, never that, I’m not basic. I’m a real lover. I already know you favorite flowers are… dee… taa…”
“Raa… nun…” she laughed.
“Ranunthur… eo… sie… remind me again?” he joked.
“Ranunculus.”
“That sounds fake, but for you, I’ll make them real.”
“Good, because I’m definitely getting to the quarterfinals,” she said, sounding self-assured. But then her face scrunched up. “Did that sound believable?”
“I hear that if you keep telling yourself something, you can trick your mind into believing it.”
“Well, in that case, I’m definitely going to make it to the quarterfinals. And you’re going to realize you’re cut out for this,” she said. This time she sounded certain. Drew tried to let her belief rub off on him.
She picked up her hockey stick and flashed him a smile the second he went to press the shutter on his film camera. They locked eyes the moment he put it down. By that point, dawn had broken to reveal a bright blue sky, golden rays of light touching every surface, including the dark brown curves of her cheek. He’d taken the photo, but she was still smiling.
“Your mom was wrong,” he said after a moment. She tilted her head to the side.
“About what?’
“The stick. Nothing about you would scare me away.”
21Ari
LATER THAT MORNING, DAY THREE OF THE 2026 OLYMPICS
Ari and her teammates knew they were doomed the second the Swedish team glided onto the ice rink. They were a pack of tall, athletic players with perfectly shiny ponytails and impeccably strategic game. They blocked every goal Ari’s team tried to score and knocked down every defense they’d so diligently tried to build. They needed to rank within the top four teams to advance to the quarterfinals, but after losing to Team Sweden, they’d already lost two of the three games they’d played so far. There was still some hope, but things seemed pretty bleak. By the end of the game, Team GB was five goals down, and, after their loss to Japan, it felt as if their Olympic dream was about to ride out into the sunset without them.
When Ari walked into the locker room after their game, all the girls were muted. Some were wearing headphones andlistening to music to try to shake off the disappointment, and others were staring blankly into the distance, having made no attempts yet to change out of their uniforms. All wore dejected expressions. So, Ari sat on a bench and played the game back in her mind to figure out what they could have done differently.
“We actually have to win next time; there is no other option,” said Sienna, tugging her headphones off and looking at the other girls.
Ari just nodded. The last time she’d tried to give a pep talk, she’d failed so miserably that she’d destroyed the team’s morale. So, attempting one now, when everyone was already feeling so low, would probably make things even worse.
“I knew I should have gotten a better backup degree. I had the grades to become an engineer,” said Izzy, staring out into the distance.
“We haven’t even filmed enough content to pivot to sports influencers,” sighed Yasmeen.
“And it’s so unfair because the Swedish team got more rink time than us,” said Sienna.
“So did the Japanese team,” said Izzy.
Ari’s ears pricked up; this was news to her.
“Yeah, I guess they just have a better rink schedule,” said Yasmeen as the rest of the girls nodded solemnly.
“What do you mean, a better rink schedule?” Ari asked, walking over to her teammates’ circle of dread. She, Coach, and Gracie had gone to a post-qualification meeting with Team GB and listened to the Olympic officials pledge to direct more money into the women’s team and ensure there was equality around their coaching and equipment. So, this didn’t make any sense.
“You know how all the national teams get the same amount of practice time on the ice rinks?” asked Sienna. Ari nodded. Eachcountry was allocated slots and got to decide how they scheduled out their training day. Ari and Coach had sat together in early January and plotted out how best to use the two hours a day they’d been allocated and avoid wasting even a second of time.
