Daydream Believer

liv. the tournament and choosing teams

liv. the tournament and choosing teams

Bowling was one of the few things that was fun now. It was sort of weird, because it was my mom's idea for me to join in the first place, but I was starting to enjoy it. Michelle was the only person I really talked to on the team, but she turned out to be really nice.

It was Thursday afternoon again: bowling day. Usually I rode the bus home with Aaron, but on Thursdays, I got to walk to the bowling alley. The high schoolers' music was blaring when I walked inside. Michelle waved to me.

"Hey McKenna!" she screamed over the music.

"Hi Michelle," I said. I threw my backpack into a corner. I had a lot of homework, but it would have to wait. "What's up?"

Michelle rolled her eyes. "My basketball team sucks. I'm literally the only person on the team that's even good!"

"You play basketball too?" I asked.

Michelle nodded. "As well as soccer, swimming, gymnastics, hockey, and bowling, of course."

"You're crazy," I said.

Michelle grinned. "I know," she said. "Come on. We're getting our partners for the tournament."

"There's a tournament?" I asked.

"Of course!" Michelle said. "How else are we supposed to determine who the best bowler is? I've gotten second place every year and I need to get first this year."

Michelle dragged me over to where the other kids were gathered around Mr. Doyle. He was reading a list of names I didn't recognize, until he got to, "Michelle Pearson and McKenna Gregory."

"Sweet! We're partners!" Michelle said, giving me a high-five. "We have to win."

"I'll try my best," I said.

"You'll do fine," Michelle said. "You've been doing great in practice."

"Thanks," I said. "When does this tournament start?"

"Next week," Michelle said.

"Cool," I said. I picked up a bowling ball and rolled it down the lane. All ten pins fell down. Strike.