Bolin hasn't had the chance to talk to Opal in a while, and he's sort of in doldrums about it. With the right invitation, he would have dropped things and headed off for a Southern vacation easily, but while invitations were received, he didn't get one from someone that would have convinced him, so he's staying in Republic City while some people head off to the South.

Being in a rather depressed mood, he's come here to cheer himself up. He actually does not believe that Opal will show up, and so he's at the penguin sledding rink ready to race on his own. Of course, he's perhaps a little too big to possibly win, but he's going to milk this for all the fun he's got.

And it just so happens that he's going to be zipping past Opal about the time that she's passing by.