Restart: Chapter 5: Chase Ambrose Summary & Analysis

Two weeks later, Chase has shed his shoulder wrap and is out walking when he sees a little girl on a playground, which reminds him of the mysterious blond girl in his one memory. Then he realizes the little girl on the playground is Helene. When she falls off the top of the slide, Chase darts toward her, catches her, and zooms her around in the air. She loves it until she realizes who has caught her, at which point she screams for her mother. When Chase tries to reassure her that it’s just him, her brother, she starts crying and demands to be put down. He puts her on her feet, and she runs for Corinne, who’s approaching. 

Chase apologizes to Corinne for frightening Helene. Though Corinne thanks Chase for stopping Helene’s fall, Chase thinks her tone is a little cold. When Chase speculates that Helene dislikes him, Corinne says no, it’s only that Chase scares her. Chase, alarmed, wonders what he did to scare his little sister.

Frank pulls up in a truck labeled Ambrose Electric and calls to Corinne to start the grill at home, because he plans to buy steak. When Frank sees Chase, he asks why Chase isn’t at practice. Chase says the doctor doesn’t want him practicing because of his concussion. Frank pooh-poohs the doctor and invites Chase over for steak, calling it better than Tina’s “rabbit food.” Chase politely declines but mentions seeing Frank’s state championship photo. Frank says that “Ambrose men” have a gift and warns Chase not to let Tina “coddle it out of” him, which is what happened to Johnny. Frank drives off, and Chase says goodbye to Helene, who can’t or won’t hold his gaze. 

Chase can tell he has a reputation at school, though not whether it’s positive or negative. He and his jock friends seem to rule the school, but he’s not sure how much he likes his friends. They’re physically violent and verbally cruel to one another as a matter of course. Aaron and Bear try to shield Chase from some of it due to his injury. He respects what they’re doing but doesn’t like being treated as if he’s “weak.” Also, he finds Aaron and Bear’s constant questions about his memory anxiety-inducing. When he admits that his sole memory is a little blond girl, they’re at first shocked and then find it hilarious.

Students not on the football team avoid looking at Chase; some even flee from him. When he asks Aaron and Bear why people would be frightened of him, they trade loaded glances; Aaron notes that Chase really has amnesia. Bear interrupts Chase’s follow-up questions by saying that he and Aaron have to go do community service in an assisted living community, unlike Chase, who was “excused” due to injury.

Chase is shocked that a court must have ordered him, Aaron, and Bear to do community service. When he asks what their offense was, Aaron explains that they hid cherry bombs inside a piano being used in a recital. He claims that the prank “was awesome” and that taking a little punishment wouldn’t have bothered the old Chase. Tentatively, Chase replies: “nobody got hurt, so what’s the big deal?” Bear laughs and comments, “Yeah, right.”

Aaron tells Chase that they only got in such big trouble because everyone in town envies their status and freewheeling behavior. When Chase suggests that that’s “not fair,” Bear jokingly bewails the injustice, and Chase thinks that Bear and Aaron are “the toughest.” He thanks them for being honest with him, saying that his mom Tina hid the truth and Frank mentioned she might “coddle” him. Bear praises Frank and expresses hope that Chase will be back on the football team soon. Chase wonders whether his mom was wrong to trust the doctor who said Chase shouldn’t play; he also wonders whether she’s hiding additional information from him.

Later that day, when Tina gets home from work, Chase confronts her about hiding his arrest and community service from him. Seeming tired, she admits that she has been trying not to disturb him with past events while he’s healing from his traumatic injuries. When Chase asks what other events she’s been hiding, she says that she believes Chase is good “deep down”—but he hasn’t always acted in good ways. Chase, nauseated, recalls all the kids who’ve acted scared of him at school. He wonders whether he earned Shoshanna Weber’s rage.

Then Chase remembers Aaron and Bear’s take on the events, so different from Tina’s. He acknowledges that his behavior was unkind but asks why the school reacted so harshly, since it was still just a “prank.” Tina, stonily, points out that the prank made everyone at the recital think an assault was being launched on the school. Only luck prevented audience members from being harmed in the “panic,” and it makes sense that the principal Dr. Fitzwallace called the police. Tina’s account of events makes Chase feel terrible, yet he notes that everyone he meets—Tina, Frank, Aaron, and Bear—interprets him and his behavior differently. He wonders which interpretation he should trust.