Good Things Fall Apart

Paroxysm (Part II)

The mini golf facility is enormous and, just as Benji had promised Victor months ago, completely dinosaur themed. There are two different courses: one is indoor and relies on UV light for a glow in the dark aesthetic, while the other one is completely outdoor and scrawls across a huge amount of land, ending with a rather large model volcano that needs to be climbed to reach the final hole.

"It's a nice day," Benji says as they decide, "I think we should do the outdoor one."

Nobody objects to this, so outdoor it is.

Victor answers a text from his mother, sending her a picture of the volcano in the distance, and also takes a selfie of himself and Benji for good measure.

From the first hole, it's clear that Benji is going to destroy them. He's up first and concentrates rather intently on lining up his shot, the little blue golf ball resting just so against the end of his club. He knocks it across the green and off the ramp that launches the ball over the turquoise dyed water, and the ball rolls right into the hole.

Victor scoffs. "Are you kidding? How did you do that?"

"Just lucky," Benji says, and something about the humility makes Victor flush. How is he supposed to get fake mad at Benji if he's not even reveling in his skill?

Victor is up next, then Bram and Simon, who all manage to complete the first hole in two strokes. Simon is in charge of the scorecard and marks this down as they move to the next hole. Victor and Benji walk close together, fingers brushing. Behind them, Bram is saying, "That two just looks like a random scribble," to which Simon retorts, "You try writing with a shitty little pencil and walking at the same time."

The results for hole two are similar to the first. Somehow, again, Benji makes a hole in one, knowing the exact timing so that the animatronic pterodactyl doesn't peck his ball off course.

"Seriously, how are you doing it?" Victor asks as he takes his own shot. He tries to follow Benji's example, but the dinosaur's beak comes down right as his ball is passing, sending it spinning in the wrong direction. Victor pouts at Benji as they step aside for Simon and Bram to golf.

Benji chuckles as Simon meets the same fate. "Okay, maybe it's a little unfair. My dad used to take me here all the time when I was younger. I used to be really afraid of the ocean so I hated the beach, which meant every time we were here for vacation him and I would get to go on this little bonding trip to play mini golf together."

"Oh, that's really sweet. I guess you got over that fear?"

"Well, yeah," Benji says, ducking his head with an embarrassed smile. "A lot sooner than I told him, actually."

"What do you mean?"

He sighs. "I kept up the charade of being scared of the water so that we could keep going mini golfing together. I was afraid it would stop if I told him I wasn't afraid of the ocean anymore. It was one of the only times we really got to spend quality time together. I know it sounds stupid. I probably should have just been honest and asked if we could come alone together anyway, but..."

"No, I get it," Victor says, laying a hand on Benji's shoulder. Being so physical in public still makes him fidget, but something about having Bram and Simon with them alleviates this to an extent. "Do you still come here with him?"

"Nah," Benji says, studying the end of his club at his feet. "We stopped when I was eleven or something like that. I mean, we've stopped coming to the beach altogether since I started high school, but even before that things were always weird. A lot of times him and my mom would argue that it was too expensive to take me to do something separate from the rest of the family, and then I think my dad started associating that house with fighting with my mom. So we just sort of. Stopped."