A dog follows Ari home. He thinks about a photo of his father’s war buddies in Vietnam that hangs in the living room. His father lets him keep the dog.

Ari names his new dog Legs “because [he] found her the day [he] got his legs back” (192). He also writes his first letter to Dante. In it, he talks about his first driving lesson with his dad.

Ari writes in his journal that he’s not exactly happy but “at least [he’s] not bored” (196). Gina asks Ari if he’s ever kissed a girl, and he teases her that she wants to kiss him. He is “really getting into writing” but struggles in art class (198).