By the time it was the evening of the bowling date, Kent was so nervous he could hardly function. He put his shoes on the wrong feet, twice and nearly used toothpaste to shave with. He looked at himself in the mirror.
“Relax, Kent. It’s just like meeting her at the coffee shop, or ice cream in the park.” He didn’t believe himself. “I’m doomed.”
He was ready an hour early, but he couldn’t stay in the apartment without running into the risk of completely changing his outfit again or managing to talk himself out of going. He nearly turned back twice as he went down the stairs in his building and then tried to convince himself that he forgot his phone once he was outside, even though he knew it was in his pocket. He looked up at the perfect sunny day and was trying to see if there was even a hint of rain.
His phone rang. “Hello?”
“Quit looking for reasons to get out of this and get to the bowling alley.” Imogene stated without any sort of greeting.
“Did Dex?”
“Kent, I know you, Dex didn’t need to tell me anything. Go, or I’ll escort you myself.” She hung up before he could protest.
He walked the remaining mile to the bowling alley as though walking his last steps to his execution. The neon lights that happily blinked “BOWLING” essentially read “TURN BACK NOW” as far as Kent was concerned. He walked through the doors and was greeted by the sound of bowling balls crashing into pins, just like how he imagined his potential love life was going to sound as it came crashing down.
Kent glanced over the crowd and didn’t see Violet’s trademark headphones. He sighed, he could still leave and nobody would know.
His phone vibrated with a text message. On the screen was Imogene’s name and under it read, You’re probably at the bowling alley by now. Get your shoes, take a breath, and have fun. I will come down there if I have to.
Sometimes he wondered just how much Dex told her and just how well she knew him. Kent knew that Dex mostly only knew big, newsworthy things, sort of like a human Wikipedia; so Kent’s love life was most definitely not on the list. That left it to Imogene’s own knowledge of his personal life. That information in her hands was most definitely dangerous. Thank goodness she was his friend rather than his enemy.
He walked up to the counter and got his bowling shoes. He tried not to think about who wore them last or how well they were cleaned as the teenager behind the counter seemed to hardly care about anything other than the screen of her phone.
With a shaky breath, Kent sat down and put the shoes on. He tucked his under a chair and set about trying to find a ball.
“I always get stuck with the pink ones meant for little kids.” Violet said from behind him. “I completely lack upper arm strength.”
Kent nearly dropped the ball he was holding. He turned. “Hey.”
“I’m not going to bite.” She picked up a green ball and then set it down. “Just relax.”
“I just, I don’t do this often.” He found a red ball that his fingers wouldn’t get stuck in.
“What, bowl? Believe me, I’m no pro either.” She sighed and picked up the pink and purple swirled ball she had been trying to avoid. “Yeah, the only one my fingers fit in and that I can lift.” She walked towards a lane. “Come on, lane 3.”
She sat down at the score computer and typed in her name. It took Kent to realize she had written The Florest. “What’s your superhero name?” She looked at him.
He couldn’t help but smile. “Seriously?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought of one. We all have. The name we’d want printed in the papers when the mayor calls us for help. So, what is it?”
“The Firefly.” He felt an odd sense of pride at finally saying it out loud. For once, he felt awesome.
“Nice.” She typed it in and the game had started.
They didn’t talk much, the first few frames. They both were trying to throw something other than gutter balls and have at least somewhat of a decent score. If Kent had to be honest with himself, this was the most fun he’d had in a long time.
“How was your grandmother?” Kent asked after he bowled his second consecutive gutter ball.
“Good, she’s knitting me a sweater for Christmas.” She bowled and hit two pins. “She always knits me a sweater for Christmas.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Usually pretty good, unless she tries something experimental, like the one year with the vest cloak thing.” She rolled another gutter ball. “I’m usually much worse at bowling.”
Kent laughed. “Me, too. You must be lucky.” He picked up the ball.
“She wants to meet you.”
He nearly dropped it on his foot. It rolled so slowly down the lane that it took a full five minutes before it tapped one pin over. Kent stood motionless the entire time.
“Are you all right?” Violet stood up and walked over to him. “Kent?”
“She wants to meet me?” His voice was much higher pitched than he intended.
She shoved his shoulder. “Nothing that serious, geez. She just is interested in all my friends, being that I don’t have a million of them.”
He cleared his throat and tried to regain some composure. “You told her about me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She shrugged. “We’re sort of a minority. There’s a bunch of normal people and there’s a bunch of enhanced abilitied people. We’re just the ones whose ability is so obscure that nobody really needs it. We’re not part of the normal crowd and not part of the ‘super’ crowd. Therefore it’s harder to make friends outside of our group.”
He had recovered enough to bowl his second turn. “I can see that, I guess I never really thought about it. I figured it was my own awkwardness that kept my friend list down.”
She smirked. “I wouldn’t completely rule that out, but I sort of think it’s endearing.” She picked up her ball and regarded the pins with a pro bowler’s focus. “The few other guys I’ve dated have either been totally preoccupied with my ability, but they were normal people. The others were abilitied, but they were totally obnoxious about it.” She lowered the pitch of her voice to mimic a conversation. “Yeah, so I was at the mayor’s last night for dinner, you know, for putting out that fire at the orphanage with the water that shoots from my nostrils.” She threw the ball and got a strike. “Even the Nose Hose, who has the worst super name by the way, thought he was leagues above me.”
“I don’t think anyone could be better than you.” Kent said it before he could stop himself.
Violet turned at met his eyes, she smiled sweetly. “Really?”
“…a-at bowling.” He added lamely while furiously blushing.
She smiled knowingly, but there was still the light of the compliment in her eyes.
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