Marching Down Victory Lane

Chalk Me Up to Confused

I'm first awoken by the feel of Orion's sandpaper tongue on my forehead, and then jolted awake by the sound of the garage door opening. Looking out my window, I realize it's Dad, home early from work. He's a writer for KRGV, the local news station, so it's kind of a shock to see him at home before the six o'clock news airs.

"Hey Dad" I groggily murmur as I make my way down the stairs to the living room.
"Hey Slick, how was school?" he says as he sits down on the couch and takes off his shoes. After that it's his tie, which he always tosses at Orion to play with for a bit. Eight years of playing with ties, and that spastic little cat hasn't managed to tear one up.

"Oh, just the usual. Just trying to make it these last three months before graduation. Oh, went bowling today with Tommy and Crystal. I somehow rolled a 245."

His eyes meet mine with a "Huh?" reaction, but before he can put what I said together, I grab the thermal printed scoresheet and shove it in his hand. Glancing over it, he chuckles and responds with "Tommy is still calling you Rocket Man, huh?" His eyes rove the paper, before stopping at one point, just for him to ask "What happened in the sixth frame? That open really killed a monster game"

I'm in slight shock, but I know my dad to be a smart person and he probably understands more about a sport like bowling than I do.

"Oh, left a seven-ten split."
"Ouch, those hurt. You know, I used to bowl when I was in high school, over at the old Ridgevale Lanes. That place was awesome, you kept score by hand, people smoked indoors. It was cool in a retro way."

"Really?" I asked. See, Dad played baseball really well in high school. Got a scholarship to Oregon State and everything. Sadly, he had a ligament tear during a game his sophomore year and couldn't pitch anymore. "I thought baseball was your life?"

"Not in these winters. So the team would switch to bowling when the snow started falling. Same motion."

"Hmm, guess it kinda is" as I make my way around the living room. "Oh, so you know how I need phys ed credits to graduate? There's a high school bowling league going on at Fusion, and if you stay the whole two months, you get a semester's credit, and that's what I need."

Dad looks up from the newspaper in his hand with a quizzical look on his face, only to say "I guess so. Your mom won't be too happy about you playing a sport, but you need the credits." I hand him the permission slip and go back upstairs to finish my homework.

Almost on cue, Orion starts his almost annoyed mewing, signaling that he wants out of my room. No sooner have I opened the door has he flown down the hall, down the stairs and into the kitchen, right into Stephanie.

"Crazy cat. Hey boys" she chirps as I stumble down the steps.

"Hey, how was your day?" Dad says as he gets off the couch and heads into the kitchen.

"Same old song and dance. Oh, we did finalize the sale on that new mall, building starts next week" Stephanie says in that sickly sweet voice she uses with her clients. One summer of being the office errand boy and I know that when she uses that voice, she's trying to charm her way to a deal.

"Hey Johnny, how was school?" She says over the clattering of pans.

"Oh, you know, same old stuff, different day" I sarcastically reply as I sit at the kitchen table. Orion jumps into my lap, because in his mind, someone sitting at the table means he's gonna get fed. I start scratching his ears, and become hypnotized by his purring.

I'm jerked out of my daze by the sound of paper being snapped off the table.

Stephanie has the bowling league permission slip in her hand. "What is this? 'High School Learn-To-Bowl Class'?" She snaps, and looks me dead in the eye with that "this ain't gonna fly" look. Another real estate poker face thing.