Finding Amity

Chapter 27

I couldn't wipe the smile from my face as I texted Dustin on the bus ride home. He didn't tell me where we were going, just said to dress casual and be ready by 8.

When I got back to the dorm, Pippa had messed up her side of the room and left, leaving me to figure out what to wear on my own.

Once when getting dressed for a party, Pippa told me that red is what you wear when you're trying to get attention or planning on an "adult sleepover", that shorts that longer than mid-thigh are for nuns, and green brought out the colour of my eyes while giving off a cute-innocent vibe (whatever that means).

So, I settled on a pale green linen skirt and a cropped white button up, with some nude heeled sandals. My hair was a mess, uneven brown kinks resting beside my head. I quickly ran a straightener over it and tied it into a long low ponytail, pulling out two little strands at the front of my hair like Pippa always did.

I looked over myself in the mirror, nodding in approval just as a knock came from the other side of the door.

"Coming!" I called out as I grabbed a notepad and pen to write a quick note to Pippa reading "on a date, be home 10:30".

I opened the door to greet Dustin. His hair was gelled back slightly, in an unsuccessful attempt to tidy it up, and he wore a blue button up with pink flamingoes over it, along with tan cargo shorts.

I stifled a laugh as I realised Cooper had worn almost this exact same outfit once.

"Hey." I grinned.

"Hey." He smiled back.

Dustin had booked a lane at a bowling alley and arcade called Alley Cats. Once we grabbed some bowling shoes and made our way to our lane, I realised I hadn't been bowling since I was a kid.

"Are you any good at bowling?" Dustin asked as he picked up a metallic green ball.

"Uh, I'm not sure." I admitted. "I haven't been in a while."

"Its pretty easy to learn again." He smiled, taking a shot at the pins. He took out 8, leaving two on the left. He grabbed another ball and rolled again, earning himself a spare. The tv screen above our lane showed an animation of a bowling pin dancing with "SPARE" blinking over it.

"Good job." I congratulated him. "Now watch me completely fail at this."

"Its like riding a bike, it'll come back to you."

I picked up a orange ball and cradled it while I placed my fingers in the holes. I moved it onto my right hand, my wrist dropped slightly under the sudden weight. Dustin reached out to grab the ball just in case, but I managed to balance it in my palm.

I walked up to the alley and tried my best to roll it gently, but ended up throwing the ball and watching it bounce a couple feet before rolling directly into the gutter. I turned to Dustin and winced. "What were you saying again?" I joked. He chuckled at my utter bowling incompetence.

"You still have another shot." He reasoned. "Here, I'll help."

I picked up a baby blue ball that was little lighter than the first one and walked up the alley. Dustin followed and stood beside me.

"This time, try to step forward with your left foot, focus on where you want the ball to go, and use the momentum to bowl. Okay?"

I nodded. "Got it!"

I followed his directions, focusing on the middle front pin hoping for a strike, and rolled. The ball stayed on track, only travelling away from the middle of the alley towards the end, knocking over 6 pins.

"I suck at this." I whined jokingly to Dustin. He smiled and patted me on the shoulder.

"If it helps, I can get the bumpers put up. At least then it can't go down the gutters." He chuckled.

We continued our game, Dustin (shockingly) won, but I did manage to get one strike and I was wearing that achievement like a badge of honour.

We grabbed a hot dog each from the mini 50's style diner inside the alley, then headed over to the arcade corner.

"I might suck at bowling." I started, placing tokens in the air hockey table. "But I will destroy you at air hockey."

"Oh, it's on!" He laughed as he took his position at the opposite end.

I pulled the flat puck out from a shelf in the side of the table and placed it on top, gearing up before hitting the puck across the table with a loud thwuck. We started a fast rally, the puck sliding back and forth at the spend of light. I bit my lip, trying my focus on the game.

Eventually, I won, 5 to 3, before we wasted away the rest of our tokens on a shooting game and multiple runs at a basketball game.

While we played, Dustin told me about his family. He grew up in Knoxfield in North Dakota, and moved to Oregon for university to be closer to his grandparents. I told him that I lived with my guardian Carrie and Cooper in California, but didn't explain why. I think he could tell I didn't want to go into detail, so he changed the subject. He told me about his best friend Noelle who's a live-in patient at a nearby hospital. I granted him the same courtesy of not asking for more detail.

We had a lot in common, we're both studying neuroscience, but I already knew that, but we were also top students in high school, both preferred science class to gym or art, and both of us love horror movies, though his favourite is Saw and my favourite is The Shining.

"So..." He started when we reached the door to my dorm room.

"So." I repeated.

"I had a lot of fun tonight, Amity."

"I did too."

He took a step closer to me and I could feel a blush creeping up my neck. "What do you think about going out another time?"

I closer the gap between us, bringing my mouth up to his and kissing him lightly. "I think that would be fun." I smiled, watching him walk down the hall to the stairwell before stepping into my dorm room.

Inside, Pippa was running around the room in her pyjamas, looking for something beneath the piles of clothes on the floor. She turned to me frantically, black smudges of mascara dripped from her eyes like she'd been crying.

"Pippa, what's wrong? What happened?" I questioned.

"Its-its Isaac."