Craig Loses the Game

Timothy La Rocque

When Sarah Arden turned eighteen years old, she stepped off of the curb at the wrong time and was killed instantly by a bus. However, when she turned seventeen, she had a great time bowling with all her friends.
        It wasn’t a big group of people, eight, so they didn’t really disturb the disheveled owner of the Rock’n’Bowl that Tuesday night. His name was Robert Greensboro and he knew just as well as Sarah that absolutely nobody went bowling on Tuesdays; at least not in Taliscaid, Connecticut. When they arrived at the Rock’n’Bowl, the door was actually locked and Rob had to get up and open it for them.
        “Aren’t you guys open?” Satah had asked and Rob yawned twice before answering.
        “First of all,” he said, “it’s guy, not guys. Secondly, yes we are open, but it’s like roadkill in here. All smelly and really dead.”
        “So there isn’t anyone else here at all?” Sarah’s friend Lindsey chimed in.
        “Just me and Bud,” he replied, pointing at the beer keg set behind the counter. Rob talked further with them while picking out their shoe sizes from an oak cupboard near the doorway. He told them that it was like this every Tuesday and he didn’t understand why, but it bothered him. Having owned the place, Rob was a busy guy and he was busy every day of the week except for Tuesday. If he just kept on working as he did every other day, he wouldn’t notice how tired he became. Often he slept, and was about to until Sarah knocked on the door. They were told to keep quiet at their own discretion and Sarah and her friends complied.
        Sarah herself bowled two strikes and four spares over a total of six games. The winner of it all turned out to be Leanne. This disappointed Craig, as he was always deep-down a person who believed that a girl should never be able to come out on top in such a contest. He was the only male among them and in fact, he ranked last in the game. Of course, he was also keeping score and with some quick erasing, he became the only person who knew that.
        Afterwards, Sarah’s friends treated her to dinner and Cavella Restaurant. It was an expensive place and the meal came to just about a hundred and fifty dollars for the eight of them.
        It was nearly midnight when everyone got home and Sarah was in bed immediately, reminiscing about the day. ‘That was a really great birthday,’ she thought to herself. "I can’t wait till next year."