Cinnabar Bowling Alley - Evening - Overcast
Eryk Nero
Part of Eryk wondered if the reason he agreed at all to go bowling was because it was for Aidan. The other part of him was still adamantly against the fact that he had friends. People who actually cared about him were not plentiful in his lifetime. At one point in his life it had only been one person, but now there was a handful of people in his life, people he cared about. Perhaps that was the real reason he had agreed to this, being in a public place with so many people?
Drake was currently trying to set up the machine, but seemed to be having a little difficulty doing it. They had all decided to do this in teams: the boys against the girls. Originally, he hadn't wanted to do it in teams, but the rotation made sense. Solomon, apparently, wasn't very good at bowling. Eryk could say the same, really. He might have been good at throwing darts, but a bowling ball was different. There was an art to it, or so he'd been told. He never really cared much about things like this.
“Alright, so, here's the lineup," Cyrilla stated after commandeering the machine. Drake had rubbed his neck sheepishly when she'd taken over. “Boys on the left side, girls on the right. First up will be Big Bro and Melly. After that, it'll be Kas, Drake, and Eryk for the boys team. For our team, it'll be myself, Ana, and then Nev. How does that sound to everyone?" she asked, glancing at the others.
Eryk shrugged his shoulders. They were all going to bowl and it didn't really matter in which order they went. Solomon didn't seem to object, and Drake grinned and gave a thumbs up.
No one else seemed to care too much either, so Aidan stood up to take his turn first. They'd all picked balls and rented shoes already—apparently part of the whole process. While there were a large number of people inside the bowling alley compared to, say, at Ana's, it wasn't more than were usually on the first floor of the office, and they had a lane entirely to themselves, along with the seating area they occupied.
Aidan frowned dubiously at the red bowling ball in his hand, then shrugged and launched it down the lane. It went faster than any of the others Eryk had seen people on either side of them throw, and crashed hard into the pins at the end, taking the left half of them out and knocking a couple others over when one of those ricocheted around a bit. The second cleared out half of what was left, leaving two standing.
Mel was better—she took all of them out in two throws before siting back down with the others. For some reason, she stuck her tongue out at Kas, who only grinned.
"Man, it's been years since I did this. I'm not sure I even remember how." He picked his green ball off the line and shuffled down the leadup, launching it at a meandering pace. Somehow, it curved a little as it went, rolling into the pins at an angle and knocking all of them down in the first hit.
Mel harrumphed. "Showoff."
“Years or not, you're still the first one who made a strike on your first throw," Drake retorted, grinning slightly in Kas's direction as he stood and grabbed his ball. It was a dark blue, almost violet color. Cyrilla had taken out a total of seven pins, frowning slightly when she'd missed the last three. Drake, on the other hand, didn't fare any better. His first throw had taken out three, but the second throw ended up curving towards the opposite side of the pins.
“Ouch, Drake. How did you manage to go in the opposite direction?" Cyrilla stated, wincing slightly as if on Drake's behalf. He shrugged his shoulders, brows still furrowed before he took a seat next to Mel. Eryk was next, and he grabbed the dark orange ball he'd picked out. It was lighter than what he was used to holding, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. He glanced at the pins in front of him, narrowed his eyes slightly before he tossed the ball. It wasn't nearly as fast as Aidan's, nor was it as coordinated as Kas's had been.
“Oh, man, the first gutter throw of the night!" Drake stated as Eryk gave him a flat look. He waited for his ball to return before giving it another go.
He missed again.
“We're just starting, Ryk! You'll get the next ones," Solomon stated as if she were just trying to be encouraging. It didn't stop him from furrowing his brows slightly as he took his seat, and folded his arms against his chest.
“Someone's pouting."
“I am not."
"Maybe a little," Ana said, smiling and holding up her thumb and forefinger in front of her, such that there was about an inch between them. Of the lot of them, she was the only one who'd brought bowling shoes with her, suggesting that this either was or used to be a hobby of hers. Or perhaps she simply needed them because there were no adult shoes quite small enough to fit her feet.
Her smile inched just a fraction wider before she stood to take her turn. She lacked much by way of strength; that much was obvious. But she threw in such a way that it didn't really look like it; the ball careened down the lane at easily the same speed as the much more athletic Mel's, knocking over all but one pin, and her follow-up neatly took that one out, landing her the same score.
Eryk felt the frown on his face deepen. With the exception of Drake, everyone had managed to knock over half or all of their pins in their first throw. He hadn't touched a single one in his, and he felt a little irritated about that. He didn't usually care about whether or not if he couldn't do something that someone else could, but there was something about his friends being better at something he wasn't. He couldn't explain it even if he tried. Solomon was up next, though, and she looked a bit hesitant.
“Remember, Nev, you want to keep the ball in this lane, on the floor. Make sure you don't release it too early or you'll give everyone a fright like you did last time," Cyrilla stated as Solomon's eyes widened. There was a faint flush on her face that was barely visible in the dimmed lighting.
“It was one time!" Solomon retorted. She pursed her lips together, though, before taking a deep breath and tossing her ball. It hit the lane with a hard thud before it rolled slowly down the lane, knocking over one pin. Her second throw wasn't any better; she'd missed entirely and her ball landed in the lane next to theirs. Luckily, there wasn't anyone using it.
"You know I'm pretty sure the lane computer can't count that," Aidan remarked. "Which means you still have a throw left, Doc." He seemed highly amused by this, for some reason.
Ana, on the other hand, quietly stood and switched sides of the table, so she could settle next to him instead. "You... you probably haven't been bowling before, have you?" she asked, her tone quiet enough that it wouldn't carry to the others, still absorbed in what they were doing. "If you want... I can teach you?" She looked up at him with nothing but a little uptick to one side of her mouth, her eyes clear and perhaps a little bit... hopeful?
“I know, but still," Solomon frowned slightly as she glanced in Aidan's direction.
Eryk blinked in Ana's direction, though, tilting his head slightly as he regarded her. “I have not," he answered her first question. It was her second statement that had caught him off guard. She would teach him? If he wanted? Eryk still wasn't sure what it was that he did want. He never really wanted much because he'd been raised to not want anything. At least not for himself. Still, it did not stop the small smile that appeared on his face. Those were still rare, but they no longer felt out of place on his face.
“Would you have enough time?" he decided to ask. Between the shelter and his job, he could feasibly work in a day to practice, but the shelter required a lot of work. How she had managed before was still a mystery to Eryk, but he was here now, helping her. “I would not mind if that is the case." He would appreciate it.
“Oh, I managed to get one!" Solomon stated, pulling Eryk from his thoughts.
"Of course I do," she replied, the corners of her eyes narrowing with mirth. "I have all the free time in the world now that you're always around to help."
She scooted a little closer, positioning herself right next to him with a serious expression and turning her attention to the bowlers. Her leg was pressed against his, but if she noticed, she didn't seem to think anything of it. "So for starters, this is a good opportunity to show you some things." She nodded in the direction of Aidan, who'd stood to take his turn. "Aidan's pretty good, but mostly relies on being very strong. He can throw harder than anyone else, and so the ball travels basically straight down the line. That knocks over some of the pins, and he might get a few more with ricochet, but if he strikes, it's just luck."
Sure enough, he took out six, and then one more on the next toss when it whiffed on hitting any of the others.
"Mel's more skilled; she's probably played a fair bit. She tries for not-quite-straight on, hoping to hit from one side or the other. It makes spares easier because she's not likely to split—that is, if she hits on the left, she'll probably only end up with pins left on the right. It's not the boldest strategy, but it's consistent. Kas is tricky; he's probably better than me, actually. We can both curve the ball, but he's stronger and probably knows the math of the angles better than I do."
Eryk supposed that made sense. Kas was the genius of the group, after all. Strategy had never been Eryk's strong suit, though. He simply did as he was told, and that was it. He glanced in Cyrilla's direction when she went next, though it didn't look like she had any particular givens to how she bowled. She just tossed the ball and managed to take out nine of the pins before missing the last one on her second throw. She was smiling, so she probably bowled with having fun in mind, and not trying for anything in particular.
Drake's first throw had looked like he was concentrating too hard on what he was doing. It was probably why he'd only knocked down the three pins his first round. Eryk pulled in a breath and inwardly sighed. It seemed there was a lot to bowling than just throwing the ball.
“Does anyone want something to drink? I'm going to go get a few and a round of food," Cyrilla stated as she made her way back towards her seat, but didn't take it.
“Nachos," Eryk stated before turning his attention towards Ana. “How do you get the ball to curve?" he asked.
"Hey, Little Ninja." For some reason, Aidan gestured Cyrilla over, saying something beneath the general noise level. He still looked pretty amused by what was going on—he didn't much seem to care about winning, either. Then again, he'd been like that with darts, too. Eryk and Kas had been the competitive ones, there.
Ana beamed at him. "Well, you need to put a little spin in the way it rolls. Not too much, or it'll curve right into the gutter. I'll show you on my turn. For yours, try this time to focus on keeping it as straight as you can." She took his hand in both of hers, turning it palm-up, and wrapped her thin fingers around his wrist. "Pretend like your hand is just a continuation of your arm. Like this doesn't bend at all." She darted her eyes back up to him, the pad of her thumb resting over his pulse. "You rotated yours at the end last time, which is why the ball drifted into the gutter."
For a moment, all that mattered to Eryk was that her hand was on his. He wanted to hold it, however; it was his turn and he glanced out towards the lane. He'd forgo his turn if it meant he could just stay like this a little longer, but he wanted to learn. Nodding his head in Ana's direction, he stood and grabbed his ball. He did as Ana had told him, keeping his arm as straight as he could before he tossed the ball. It went dead center, and he almost thought he was going to get a strike, however; he knocked half of them over. It was better than last time, he'd have to admit. He missed his second throw, but he was satisfied that he'd knocked over five.
“It will be some time before I'm able to get the hang of it," he stated as he took his seat next to Ana.
“Yeah, but practice makes perfect, Ryk," Drake said with a light grin on his face. Eryk rolled his eyes softly before shaking his head. There was some truth to that statement, he supposed. It wasn't long before Cyrilla came back with a tray of food. There were about seven pretzels, three things of nachos, two hamburgers, and two large containers of chili cheese fries, it seemed. It was a lot of food, but Eryk assumed it was because there were a lot of people, and he and Kas could eat all of that and still have room for more food.
“More will be on the way in about thirty minutes," she stated before leaving again. She came back with three pitchers of beer and a few cups on a tray. There was a mixed drink, it seemed, as well, but she handed that one off to Solomon who looked a little confused. “Trust me, Nev, you want to try it. It's called a watermelon spray," Cyrilla explained as Solomon took it. She turned to Aidan, though and said something too low for Eryk to hear.
Aidan nodded, apparently satisfied by whatever she'd said, reaching for his wallet and handing her the monochrome black card inside.
Ana, meanwhile, took her turn, glancing back once over her shoulder with a slightly sheepish expression when she caught his eye and nodded. Her swing was a tad slower this time; it wasn't hard to pick out the slight turn of her wrist, and the ball did curve on its way down the lane, taking out eight of the pins. She cleaned up with a straight shot down the left side, then returned to sit down.
It was fairly clear by halfway in that the top spot would be a contest between Ana and Kas, with Mel trailing third, Aidan, Cyrilla, and Drake making up the middle of the pack and Nev dead last. Ana occasionally pointed things out about how the others were doing, but for the most part she seemed content to relax, though she did steal several nachos off his paper container of them with a little grin.
He didn't mind. He enjoyed sharing his food with everyone, even it meant that she would smile or grin at him. They had finished all three pitchers of beer before Cyrilla went back to order another three, and another watermelon spray for Solomon. Apparently Solomon had liked it enough, however; there was an obvious drunkness in her stance. Eryk knew she wasn't someone who could hold her drinks very well, and it was apparent in the way she was smiling and swaying.
“Watch this, guys. Watch this," she stated as she brought the ball up to eye level. She held it there for a moment more before she threw it. “See! I did it," she continued when the ball connected with the pins, and knocking them all over in a strike. She grinned brightly at the others as Eryk felt his brows furrow. That had to have been a fluke.
“Arceus, Nev, what the hell?" Cyrilla stated, trying to contain a laugh it seemed. Solomon just shrugged her shoulders, rubbing her thumb over her nose in a smug manner as she happily plopped down in her seat.
"I knew you'd be better at this drunk," Aidan said, shaking his head slightly.
Ana laughed softly. "Mel, Kas. We should watch out. Apparently Nev is one of those monks from the movies. Drunken bowling master."
"Oh arceus, she would be. Good thing it's too late for her score to catch ours or I might be screwed."
“I guess we'll just have to get her drunk the next time we come bowling to see just how good she is against the likes of you three," Drake stated, grinning a little.
“Agreed. Nev, you hear that? You gotta bowl drunk from now on."
“Oh, that sounds like it'll be fun!" Solomon retorted, sitting up straight in her seat. Eryk found himself huffing softly. His friends were strange, but he supposed he was strange himself. Perhaps they could do this more often, too? Between Marna's and this, Eryk felt like his world was becoming slightly bigger.
He found he didn't mind it so much.
Drake was currently trying to set up the machine, but seemed to be having a little difficulty doing it. They had all decided to do this in teams: the boys against the girls. Originally, he hadn't wanted to do it in teams, but the rotation made sense. Solomon, apparently, wasn't very good at bowling. Eryk could say the same, really. He might have been good at throwing darts, but a bowling ball was different. There was an art to it, or so he'd been told. He never really cared much about things like this.
“Alright, so, here's the lineup," Cyrilla stated after commandeering the machine. Drake had rubbed his neck sheepishly when she'd taken over. “Boys on the left side, girls on the right. First up will be Big Bro and Melly. After that, it'll be Kas, Drake, and Eryk for the boys team. For our team, it'll be myself, Ana, and then Nev. How does that sound to everyone?" she asked, glancing at the others.
Eryk shrugged his shoulders. They were all going to bowl and it didn't really matter in which order they went. Solomon didn't seem to object, and Drake grinned and gave a thumbs up.
No one else seemed to care too much either, so Aidan stood up to take his turn first. They'd all picked balls and rented shoes already—apparently part of the whole process. While there were a large number of people inside the bowling alley compared to, say, at Ana's, it wasn't more than were usually on the first floor of the office, and they had a lane entirely to themselves, along with the seating area they occupied.
Aidan frowned dubiously at the red bowling ball in his hand, then shrugged and launched it down the lane. It went faster than any of the others Eryk had seen people on either side of them throw, and crashed hard into the pins at the end, taking the left half of them out and knocking a couple others over when one of those ricocheted around a bit. The second cleared out half of what was left, leaving two standing.
Mel was better—she took all of them out in two throws before siting back down with the others. For some reason, she stuck her tongue out at Kas, who only grinned.
"Man, it's been years since I did this. I'm not sure I even remember how." He picked his green ball off the line and shuffled down the leadup, launching it at a meandering pace. Somehow, it curved a little as it went, rolling into the pins at an angle and knocking all of them down in the first hit.
Mel harrumphed. "Showoff."
“Years or not, you're still the first one who made a strike on your first throw," Drake retorted, grinning slightly in Kas's direction as he stood and grabbed his ball. It was a dark blue, almost violet color. Cyrilla had taken out a total of seven pins, frowning slightly when she'd missed the last three. Drake, on the other hand, didn't fare any better. His first throw had taken out three, but the second throw ended up curving towards the opposite side of the pins.
“Ouch, Drake. How did you manage to go in the opposite direction?" Cyrilla stated, wincing slightly as if on Drake's behalf. He shrugged his shoulders, brows still furrowed before he took a seat next to Mel. Eryk was next, and he grabbed the dark orange ball he'd picked out. It was lighter than what he was used to holding, but he didn't particularly care at the moment. He glanced at the pins in front of him, narrowed his eyes slightly before he tossed the ball. It wasn't nearly as fast as Aidan's, nor was it as coordinated as Kas's had been.
“Oh, man, the first gutter throw of the night!" Drake stated as Eryk gave him a flat look. He waited for his ball to return before giving it another go.
He missed again.
“We're just starting, Ryk! You'll get the next ones," Solomon stated as if she were just trying to be encouraging. It didn't stop him from furrowing his brows slightly as he took his seat, and folded his arms against his chest.
“Someone's pouting."
“I am not."
"Maybe a little," Ana said, smiling and holding up her thumb and forefinger in front of her, such that there was about an inch between them. Of the lot of them, she was the only one who'd brought bowling shoes with her, suggesting that this either was or used to be a hobby of hers. Or perhaps she simply needed them because there were no adult shoes quite small enough to fit her feet.
Her smile inched just a fraction wider before she stood to take her turn. She lacked much by way of strength; that much was obvious. But she threw in such a way that it didn't really look like it; the ball careened down the lane at easily the same speed as the much more athletic Mel's, knocking over all but one pin, and her follow-up neatly took that one out, landing her the same score.
Eryk felt the frown on his face deepen. With the exception of Drake, everyone had managed to knock over half or all of their pins in their first throw. He hadn't touched a single one in his, and he felt a little irritated about that. He didn't usually care about whether or not if he couldn't do something that someone else could, but there was something about his friends being better at something he wasn't. He couldn't explain it even if he tried. Solomon was up next, though, and she looked a bit hesitant.
“Remember, Nev, you want to keep the ball in this lane, on the floor. Make sure you don't release it too early or you'll give everyone a fright like you did last time," Cyrilla stated as Solomon's eyes widened. There was a faint flush on her face that was barely visible in the dimmed lighting.
“It was one time!" Solomon retorted. She pursed her lips together, though, before taking a deep breath and tossing her ball. It hit the lane with a hard thud before it rolled slowly down the lane, knocking over one pin. Her second throw wasn't any better; she'd missed entirely and her ball landed in the lane next to theirs. Luckily, there wasn't anyone using it.
"You know I'm pretty sure the lane computer can't count that," Aidan remarked. "Which means you still have a throw left, Doc." He seemed highly amused by this, for some reason.
Ana, on the other hand, quietly stood and switched sides of the table, so she could settle next to him instead. "You... you probably haven't been bowling before, have you?" she asked, her tone quiet enough that it wouldn't carry to the others, still absorbed in what they were doing. "If you want... I can teach you?" She looked up at him with nothing but a little uptick to one side of her mouth, her eyes clear and perhaps a little bit... hopeful?
“I know, but still," Solomon frowned slightly as she glanced in Aidan's direction.
Eryk blinked in Ana's direction, though, tilting his head slightly as he regarded her. “I have not," he answered her first question. It was her second statement that had caught him off guard. She would teach him? If he wanted? Eryk still wasn't sure what it was that he did want. He never really wanted much because he'd been raised to not want anything. At least not for himself. Still, it did not stop the small smile that appeared on his face. Those were still rare, but they no longer felt out of place on his face.
“Would you have enough time?" he decided to ask. Between the shelter and his job, he could feasibly work in a day to practice, but the shelter required a lot of work. How she had managed before was still a mystery to Eryk, but he was here now, helping her. “I would not mind if that is the case." He would appreciate it.
“Oh, I managed to get one!" Solomon stated, pulling Eryk from his thoughts.
"Of course I do," she replied, the corners of her eyes narrowing with mirth. "I have all the free time in the world now that you're always around to help."
She scooted a little closer, positioning herself right next to him with a serious expression and turning her attention to the bowlers. Her leg was pressed against his, but if she noticed, she didn't seem to think anything of it. "So for starters, this is a good opportunity to show you some things." She nodded in the direction of Aidan, who'd stood to take his turn. "Aidan's pretty good, but mostly relies on being very strong. He can throw harder than anyone else, and so the ball travels basically straight down the line. That knocks over some of the pins, and he might get a few more with ricochet, but if he strikes, it's just luck."
Sure enough, he took out six, and then one more on the next toss when it whiffed on hitting any of the others.
"Mel's more skilled; she's probably played a fair bit. She tries for not-quite-straight on, hoping to hit from one side or the other. It makes spares easier because she's not likely to split—that is, if she hits on the left, she'll probably only end up with pins left on the right. It's not the boldest strategy, but it's consistent. Kas is tricky; he's probably better than me, actually. We can both curve the ball, but he's stronger and probably knows the math of the angles better than I do."
Eryk supposed that made sense. Kas was the genius of the group, after all. Strategy had never been Eryk's strong suit, though. He simply did as he was told, and that was it. He glanced in Cyrilla's direction when she went next, though it didn't look like she had any particular givens to how she bowled. She just tossed the ball and managed to take out nine of the pins before missing the last one on her second throw. She was smiling, so she probably bowled with having fun in mind, and not trying for anything in particular.
Drake's first throw had looked like he was concentrating too hard on what he was doing. It was probably why he'd only knocked down the three pins his first round. Eryk pulled in a breath and inwardly sighed. It seemed there was a lot to bowling than just throwing the ball.
“Does anyone want something to drink? I'm going to go get a few and a round of food," Cyrilla stated as she made her way back towards her seat, but didn't take it.
“Nachos," Eryk stated before turning his attention towards Ana. “How do you get the ball to curve?" he asked.
"Hey, Little Ninja." For some reason, Aidan gestured Cyrilla over, saying something beneath the general noise level. He still looked pretty amused by what was going on—he didn't much seem to care about winning, either. Then again, he'd been like that with darts, too. Eryk and Kas had been the competitive ones, there.
Ana beamed at him. "Well, you need to put a little spin in the way it rolls. Not too much, or it'll curve right into the gutter. I'll show you on my turn. For yours, try this time to focus on keeping it as straight as you can." She took his hand in both of hers, turning it palm-up, and wrapped her thin fingers around his wrist. "Pretend like your hand is just a continuation of your arm. Like this doesn't bend at all." She darted her eyes back up to him, the pad of her thumb resting over his pulse. "You rotated yours at the end last time, which is why the ball drifted into the gutter."
For a moment, all that mattered to Eryk was that her hand was on his. He wanted to hold it, however; it was his turn and he glanced out towards the lane. He'd forgo his turn if it meant he could just stay like this a little longer, but he wanted to learn. Nodding his head in Ana's direction, he stood and grabbed his ball. He did as Ana had told him, keeping his arm as straight as he could before he tossed the ball. It went dead center, and he almost thought he was going to get a strike, however; he knocked half of them over. It was better than last time, he'd have to admit. He missed his second throw, but he was satisfied that he'd knocked over five.
“It will be some time before I'm able to get the hang of it," he stated as he took his seat next to Ana.
“Yeah, but practice makes perfect, Ryk," Drake said with a light grin on his face. Eryk rolled his eyes softly before shaking his head. There was some truth to that statement, he supposed. It wasn't long before Cyrilla came back with a tray of food. There were about seven pretzels, three things of nachos, two hamburgers, and two large containers of chili cheese fries, it seemed. It was a lot of food, but Eryk assumed it was because there were a lot of people, and he and Kas could eat all of that and still have room for more food.
“More will be on the way in about thirty minutes," she stated before leaving again. She came back with three pitchers of beer and a few cups on a tray. There was a mixed drink, it seemed, as well, but she handed that one off to Solomon who looked a little confused. “Trust me, Nev, you want to try it. It's called a watermelon spray," Cyrilla explained as Solomon took it. She turned to Aidan, though and said something too low for Eryk to hear.
Aidan nodded, apparently satisfied by whatever she'd said, reaching for his wallet and handing her the monochrome black card inside.
Ana, meanwhile, took her turn, glancing back once over her shoulder with a slightly sheepish expression when she caught his eye and nodded. Her swing was a tad slower this time; it wasn't hard to pick out the slight turn of her wrist, and the ball did curve on its way down the lane, taking out eight of the pins. She cleaned up with a straight shot down the left side, then returned to sit down.
It was fairly clear by halfway in that the top spot would be a contest between Ana and Kas, with Mel trailing third, Aidan, Cyrilla, and Drake making up the middle of the pack and Nev dead last. Ana occasionally pointed things out about how the others were doing, but for the most part she seemed content to relax, though she did steal several nachos off his paper container of them with a little grin.
He didn't mind. He enjoyed sharing his food with everyone, even it meant that she would smile or grin at him. They had finished all three pitchers of beer before Cyrilla went back to order another three, and another watermelon spray for Solomon. Apparently Solomon had liked it enough, however; there was an obvious drunkness in her stance. Eryk knew she wasn't someone who could hold her drinks very well, and it was apparent in the way she was smiling and swaying.
“Watch this, guys. Watch this," she stated as she brought the ball up to eye level. She held it there for a moment more before she threw it. “See! I did it," she continued when the ball connected with the pins, and knocking them all over in a strike. She grinned brightly at the others as Eryk felt his brows furrow. That had to have been a fluke.
“Arceus, Nev, what the hell?" Cyrilla stated, trying to contain a laugh it seemed. Solomon just shrugged her shoulders, rubbing her thumb over her nose in a smug manner as she happily plopped down in her seat.
"I knew you'd be better at this drunk," Aidan said, shaking his head slightly.
Ana laughed softly. "Mel, Kas. We should watch out. Apparently Nev is one of those monks from the movies. Drunken bowling master."
"Oh arceus, she would be. Good thing it's too late for her score to catch ours or I might be screwed."
“I guess we'll just have to get her drunk the next time we come bowling to see just how good she is against the likes of you three," Drake stated, grinning a little.
“Agreed. Nev, you hear that? You gotta bowl drunk from now on."
“Oh, that sounds like it'll be fun!" Solomon retorted, sitting up straight in her seat. Eryk found himself huffing softly. His friends were strange, but he supposed he was strange himself. Perhaps they could do this more often, too? Between Marna's and this, Eryk felt like his world was becoming slightly bigger.
He found he didn't mind it so much.