Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2002 00:25:45 -0500 From: Jeff Wilson Subject: W.A.R.II Chapter 3 Warning that actually applies to the story this time: This Chapter contains liberal use of a certain four-letter work that rhymes with truck. But it's in the context of the story and if you've followed this story to this point you know I don't hold back on those kinds of words anyway. In fact, I've probably established a record for the most uses of the word without anybody doing it to each other. Enjoy! W.A.R. Part Two: Cold Winter Chapter Three: Birthday Bowling Bash by Jeff Wilson My dad has nerves of steel. He really does! He was able to concentrate on driving when four rowdy boys were acting like idiots in the car as he drove us to the bowling alley. Poor mom... She'd have to stay at home all by herself while we had fun. What will she do without us? She didn't seem to mind though, she was going to work on some things for the Christmas Eve party. During the day, I convinced Brett to come over and spend the night. His mom and my parents agreed that he could. All I asked was that he bring his stuff over early. I didn't want Dustin to know he was staying over, since I didn't want him to feel left out. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Brett told me he called Mrs. Smith and apologized for being a jerk on the bus. She was real nice about it, but warned him not to let it happen again. So there would be no friction between Brett and Dustin tonight over that little incident. Then he walked to my house on the trail behind our houses. We live about a mile away using a car. But if you follow the trail in the woods behind my house and go to his house it's half a mile. You can also get to Dustin's the same way. When we got to the bowling alley, my dad got two lanes. He got one for us, and one for himself. He also paid for shoes for me and Joey. Then he got his stuff together to do some bowling. Brett and Dustin got their stuff out of their own bowling bags. Joey and I had to go get alley balls to use. Joey is the only boy besides Brett to see me naked in the past year. His mom took him swimming at the indoor pool in October and he invited me along. When we went to the locker room to change, I was ready to try to hide my bits and pieces. But then Joey just yanked off his shorts and shirt and was naked without any reservations at all. I would have looked pretty silly trying to hide myself after that, so I just pulled my shirt off and dropped my pants and undies. He didn't say anything about it, but I felt kind of embarrassed. I was trying not to check him out, but I just had to know! (I'm bigger.) In fact, at that time he didn't have very much hair down there either. Just a few stray hairs! That really surprised me considering how much of a ladies' man he was. We pulled on our trunks and went swimming. When we were done we even took showers. But I was thinking of about a million things to keep from getting hard. "So, Brett seems in a better mood tonight." Joey said as he reached into another 10 pound ball that had holes that were too big. "Yeah. He's been really weird for a while now. I'm kind of worried about him." I found a ball that had the right size holes, but was too heavy. "You think Dustin will beat him?" Joey was checking out a girl going by and gave her a smile. I wish I knew how to do that. Why did he have to be the normal one? Why did he get to have the normal brown hair and brown eyes. And the ability to hit on every girl he meets, effortlessly. He talks about hot girls going by and I just pretend to see the same things he sees. But I just don't have that same attraction. Why couldn't I be like him? It's not fair! Why couldn't I be normal like everybody else?!? Why did I have to... "Billy! I asked you a question!" "What?" I snapped back into reality. "I said, do you think Dustin will beat Brett." "Oh," I said, not clear what he meant. "Oh I don't think he'll beat Brett up. Brett already apologized for calling his mom a bitch." "I meant at bowling, dumbass!" He smacked the back of my head. "Will he beat Brett at bowling?" "Oh!! That!" I said, rubbing the spot where he whacked me. "Well all I know is that they'll beat both of us put together." I found a bright pink ball and handed it to Joey. "Here. I found your ball." "Uh... Let me think about that... No." He laughed. "I think that's more your color." "What do you mean by that huh? You tryin' to say something?" I said angrily. "Relax dude! Billy, I swear, sometimes I don't know about you." He found the ball he wanted and walked off. Fuck! Why did I always screw things up? Why couldn't I just let that comment go without saying something? I found a ball and joined my friends. Joey seemed to have forgotten our conversation. Dad bowled on the lane next to ours. In between each frame he'd get a puff from his cigarette, take a drink from his Mt. Dew, then go bowl the next frame. He got a 228, which is a really good score. I got a 47. You heard that right. Let's just move on... Joey got a strike, but he still finished with a 72 score. Dustin bowled a 145 and Brett got a 150 score. For the next game, we decided to play with partners. We would take the two scores and add them together. The team with the most pins would win. It was decided that for the first game it would be me and Brett against Dustin and Joey. Dustin made a big strike in the ninth frame and said, "Yes!! Who wants some of that? Who wants some?" Then he ran over to my dad and said, "You want some? Do you want some of this?" My dad laughed and pointed to the scoreboard above his lane. He had bowled a 202. My dad chuckled in that way that he does that sounds evil. It's like: "heh heh heh!" Dustin laughed nervously, knowing he had been bested. "That ain't nothin'" We all had a good laugh, watching this cocky 13 year-old redhead making an ass of himself, just to keep us entertained. Well, I told you I sucked at bowling. I got a 51 score for my second game. I managed to get a spare, then, I threw six straight gutter balls. Yes, six... Brett bowled a 147, so our combined score was 208. Joey had managed to bowl a 63, while Dustin got a 166 score. So they won 229-208. For the last game, we traded partners. Brett bowled with Joey. I bowled with Dustin. By the tenth frame, my dad had finished his game. He got a 221 and he had his stuff ready to go. He went off somewhere to talk with friends. I eventually lost track of where he went. I was bowling awful, even for me! I had a 42 in the ninth frame! The game was sort of close though. Joey wasn't doing much better because he only had a 50 score. Dustin got a spare in the ninth, and his score was over 100. Brett missed a pin in the ninth but he still had a 142. It was disgusting that they were crushing me like that on my birthday... Joey bowled in the tenth first. He got a spare, then he got three pins for a score of 63. Dustin bowled next. He got up. Lined up where he wanted to be. Then, he threw the ball perfectly for a strike that sent the pins flying. Then he did it again. And again!! He got three strikes in a row! He pumped his fist and we gave him high fives. He ended the game with a 170 score. Then I bowled... I lined myself up carefully. I stared one of those little arrows like my dad told me too. I stared at it and stared at it. "Hurry up!" Joey yelled. I put my right hand behind my back and flipped him off. Then went back to staring at that arrow. Finally I took my steps and let the ball the ball go. I watched as it sailed way to the right of my target. It rolled. And rolled. It seemed to pick up speed. It was rolling more and more toward the right. Then it hit just to the left of the head pin and the pins collapsed and I had a strike! "YES!!!" I couldn't contain my excitement. I think that was my first strike ever! It was fantastic! I love bowling!! It was so great!! Dustin was amazed. "Wow!! That was awesome!! Even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes!!" I threw the next ball right in the gutter. I hate bowling... I finished with a 57. So the grand total for me and Dustin was 227. Joey and Brett's score was 205 with Brett still having a chance to bowl. Brett would need to bowl two strikes and then get at least two pins to beat us. Dustin and I were pretty confident. Brett threw the first ball right into the pocket for a strike. He stood in the same place for his second shot, and seemed to throw the ball in the same place out on the lane. But it took off to the right! It was hooking way too much! Dustin and I were going to win!! The ball crashed into the pins on the left side, and seemed to leave the head pin standing! Dustin gave me a high five. But then, at the last second, another pin rolled gently into the head pin. Wouldn't you know it, that sucker toppled right over. Dustin shook his head in disbelief. We were going to lose! All Brett needed to do was hit two pins. This was going to be too easy. Brett picked up his ball. He lined himself up again, prepared to put us away. He rolled the ball onto the lane just as he had done all night long. The ball rolled to the right. Farther... And farther... And farther. Then it rolled right into the gutter. Dustin and I had won 227-225. Brett had missed. Not only had he missed, but he missed in the most embarrassing way possible. Dustin stood there with his jaw dropped. Joey shook his head in disbelief. I just watched Brett. Something wasn't right about him. He was just standing up there watching his ball roll harmlessly past the pins. The pin setter swept away the evidence. Brett slowly turned around. I was not prepared for what followed... "MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A GOD DAMN BITCH!!!! JESUS CHRIST!!! WHY THE FUCK DID I THROW A GOD DAMN HOOK BALL WHEN I JUST NEEDED TWO FUCKING PINS!!! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!!! WHAT A STUPID FUCKING THING TO DO!!! GOD DAMN IT!!!" He stomped his foot every time he said "fuck." Then he kicked the ball return after his tirade. He looked like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. He was as pissed as I've ever seen him. Dustin tried to talk to him to calm him down. "Brett, relax dude! It's just a stupid game!" "Shut the fuck up!! I fucking hate this fucking game!! Billy pulls a lucky fucking strike out of his ass and I can't hit two fucking pins? That's bullshit!!" "Hey!! What do you mean by that?" I should have just let it go, but for some reason, I had to respond to his insult. "What do you mean, "pull a strike out of my ass?" What? You mess up so you rip on me? You're acting like an idiot!" "Well you're one to talk!! What kind of fucking idiot does it take to throw six fucking gutter balls in a row? You suck!! Fuck, you threw it in the gutter more times than you threw it on the lane! You're pathetic!!" "Oh yeah? At least I didn't throw a temper tantrum like a three-year-old every time I threw it in the gutter. You're the one that's pathetic!! There's something wrong with you!" I shouted back. "Shut up!! No one wanted to hear your mouth anyway!! God! I'm so fucking sick of you!! "What's wrong? What's wrong?" It gets on my fucking nerves!!" "Well fuck you then!! You've been an asshole for months now!" "Just please shut up!! God, I fucking hate you right now. I can't even stand to look at you right now. Neither can your dad! He couldn't even stand to watch you bowl because you suck so bad!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, "WELL AT LEAST I HAVE A DAD!!!!!" It slipped out so fast I couldn't stop it. I had said the one thing that I knew would hurt him the most. It was one of the meanest things I could think of to do to him. I knew right where to hit him. Unfortunately, he also knew where to hit me. He reared back with his right hand and punched me on the left side of my mouth as hard as he could. Before I could get my hand up to my mouth I was busted open and blood started pouring out of my mouth. I stumbled backward and tripped over a bowling bag. I fell on to the floor. My blood was all over me. Never hit a kid with braces in the mouth, it's quite messy. Dustin was there to help me instantly. I looked up at Brett. He kind of just stood there, beginning to realize what he had done. He looked down at me bleeding there. He had a strange look on his face, a look I'd never seen before... I couldn't tell if it was anger, or fear, or pleasure, or all of them. Then he ran. He ran right out the door with his bowling shoes on. My dad arrived too late to see anything. He'd been in the bathroom and missed the whole thing. "Joey, what the fuck happened?" "Brett hit him in the face and then he ran away." Joey explained. "Aw, shit! Dustin, get some ice for him while I go get Brett." "Yes, sir!" Dustin replied. My dad ran to the counter and said something to the owner. Then he ran out the door. Dustin ran to the snack bar and got some ice. Joey helped me sit up on the chair. I took my shirt and pulled it up to wipe away the blood, exposing my belly. It didn't help, there was more blood coming. Dustin and some lady came back with the ice. The lady turned out to be a nurse who just happened to be bowling when it happened. She told Joey to get lots of paper towels from the bathroom. He ran to get them. I was determined not to cry, even though I was really hurt. Brett had hit me hard, twice. He said he hated me, and he punched me. Inside I hurt worse than outside. Was that how he really thought of me? Did he really hate me? If he didn't before, he did now, after what I said. The lady stuffed the paper towels into my mouth to stop the bleeding. It was too late to save my shirt. While this was going on, the people around us began bowling again. I hadn't noticed that they had stopped until then. That embarrassed me even more. There was something unsettling about everyone being able to see my blood. Something that was supposed to only be inside of me was exposed for all to see. The door opened. My dad and Brett walked in. My dad had his arm around Brett's shoulder. That made me furious! If I wasn't bleeding all over the place, I'd have punched Brett! And what was my dad thinking!?!? Hadn't he cared that Brett had slugged me? Then as they got closer, I could see that Brett must have been crying. His face was all red and his eyes were puffy. He never looked at me. In fact he never even looked up. He just quickly gathered his stuff up and went back to my dad. Dad was talking to the owner at the counter again. They were laughing about something. How could they laugh at a time like this? I might have bled to death! Dustin gathered up the rest of our things and made sure the lane was fixed up. Joey stayed with me while the lady fixed me up. She told me that if the bleeding didn't stop that I'd need to get stitches inside my mouth. That sounded pretty painful, so I was determined to stop bleeding. My dad finally came to get me. "You ready, boy?" I shook my head yes. I couldn't talk with my mouth full of paper towels. I got up and walked toward the door. Brett still hadn't looked up. Every now and then he'd wipe his eyes real quick, hoping that no one saw. We walked out the door and got in the car. I've had better birthday parties... That's it for Chapter 3. This could also be named "Open Mouth, Insert Foot." Billy just has a way of making bad situations worse when he's mad. And Brett hasn't hit bottom yet. It may seem foolish, to snap just because of one poorly thrown bowling ball. But remember, this is a thirteen year old kid who is beginning to unravel. And If you've ever thrown a really bad ball during a crucial point in a game, you may have wanted to snap yourself! Questions? Comments? Quibbles? Send an email my way! vicioussquirrel@hotmail.com Remember, that's two s's and 2 r's. Chapter Four: The Long Way Home, is next.