“I’ll be right there!” Rosalyn yells as she yanks a t-shirt on over her head and heads for the front door. Stopping in front of the mirror in the hallway, the eighteen-year-old tugs her long brown hair into a ponytail and shrugs at her reflection.
“Could be worse!” she thinks aloud, sticks her tongue out and dashes for the door. Dani, her best friend since elementary school, is waiting out front. This is their summer break–the first after graduation–and since they are going to different colleges in the fall, they plan to spend almost every waking minute together.
Dani is leaning up against the porch railing examining her perfect fingernails. Her red hair catches the fading sunlight just right and looks like molten lava cascading down her shoulders. She stands up straight, holds her arms out, and says, “You’re really going out in that?”
Rosalyn thought her safety-green t-shirt was appropriate for a night at the bowling alley. Late-Night bowling involved black lights, a disco ball, and a live DJ. Other than working construction or jogging at dusk, what occasion would someone wear a neon-green shirt? It had been just hanging there in her closet, shining like a beacon. Wear me!
“Absolutely!” Rosalyn exclaims, “You should see this thing glow!”
Dani, unamused, rolls her eyes and trudges towards her car. “Well, you don’t have time change I guess. We’re meeting Amy and Sarah for pizza before we get there.”
Rosalyn shrugs off Dani’s frustrations and hops into the car, ready for an awesome night.
~*~
Ten minutes later, they pull into the parking lot of their local pizza place. It was a typical hole-in-the-wall joint where the girls could get big slice for low prices.
As Dani shifts her car into park, she reaches across to the glove box and pulls out a pair of scissors. Her green eyes dance with mischief as she says, “I know just how to improve that shirt of yours. Take it off.”
“Here? Now? No way!” Rosalyn can’t believe what her friend is suggesting.
“Oh come on. Don’t be such a pansy.” Dani rolls her eyes. “Would you rather do it here or at the bowling alley?”
Rosalyn glances around. At least this is a dark parking lot, she thinks before giving it another try.
She says, “Dani, I like this shirt the way it is.”
“The way it is… is lame.” Dani rolls her eyes and tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Now take it off! Honestly, it’s like you’re determined to be alone.”
Well, Rosalyn though, that’s what this is about.
Dani knew just where to jab to make her point. While Dani had bounced from boyfriend to boyfriend throughout their high-school years, Rosalyn had one boyfriend freshman year. And he turned out to be more interested in Halo and Call of Duty than she could handle.
With a sigh, Rosalyn glances around, then slips her shirt off over her head.
“Hurry,” she says to Dani. “And try to leave me with at least half of the material, will you?”
Cackling with glee, Dani starts snipping away at the neckline. Rosalyn’s eyes widen when she cuts it almost shoulder to shoulder, then snips down the sides making little gashes in the material. Holding the now-customized shirt in front of her over the center console to admire her work, Dani nods with approval.
“That should do it!” She tosses the shirt at Rosalyn.
Plucking the shirt off her head, Rosalyn pulls it back on. They step out of the car and its really only then that she can appreciate what her best friend has done. Most of Rosalyn’s shoulders are exposed; the shirt hangs off one side. There are fine strips of pale flesh showing through the sides of the shirt.
“Well it’s a little… drafty,” Rosalyn says, shrugging to get comfortable. As a final touch, Dani reaches back into the car to grab a chunk of shirt and ties it around her ponytail. Glancing her over one last time, Dani leads the way into the restaurant.
Compared to Rosalyn, Amy and Sarah were the typical high school populars. Bleached blonde and a little too bubbly. As soon as they see Dani and Rosalyn walk through the door, the squeals begin.
“Heeey ladies!” Amy gushes, “Nice shirt, Rozzy!”
Rosalyn hates that name but she smiles anyway. “Thanks, Amy” she says, ignoring Dani’s exuberant I-told-you-so dance in the background.
~*~
A bite to eat and a half-hour later, it is time to wait in line at the bowling alley.
The four girls huddle together talking about their day and the night to come. They pay, get their shoes, and head to their lane. Right away, Dani takes charge entering names on the screen.
Amy wants to do nicknames so AMES appears on the screen. Then, of course, DANI. Rosalyn knew she was next, in their usual alphabetic order, and sure enough ROZ starts to appear on the screen.
“Dani…” Rosalyn starts.
“Relax, it’s just bowling!” Dani says sharply. But she stops there.
Could be worse, Rosalyn thinks, and shrugs it off. She glances back up at the screen to see SAREBEAR under her three letters and knows it could be worse.
As the frames start to pass, a group of guys takes the lane next to them. Instantly postures change, and giggles get higher pitched. Rosalyn just tries to focus on the game, but screams of “This is my jam!” break her concentration.
Sure enough, that new hip-hop song with the high-pitched female singer comes on. The one that gets played way too much.
Rosalyn steps up, sends the bowling ball down the lane and hits eight pins. A split. Perfect. She turns around to see her friends dancing. In a circle. Together.
She takes her time selecting another bowling ball from the ball return. Slowly, she lines up and puts an extra spin on the ball as it leaves her hand. It rolls down the lane, curving towards the left pin, nails it and sends it flying across the lane to knock down the other pin.
“Yes!” Rosalyn jumps up in the air, fist pumping in victory, and turns to her audience.
Only they’re not her audience. They’re still dancing.
She glances over at the lane of guys, and one of them looks away from her flashy friends and catches her eye. The tattoo on his forearm bulges as he flashes her a thumbs up, then raises an eyebrow towards his friends. Rosalyn smiles and walks back to her table to interrupt the dance party.
Sarah saunters up to the ball return and grabs a ball. Tossing it down the lane carelessly, she somehow manages to get a strike. Rosalyn jumps when the other two girls erupt into cheers. She claps along with Dani and Amy but remains seated.
The game continues that way. Rosalyn’s score is well above the other girls, but when it’s her turn to bowl they’re too busy chatting or dancing or making googly eyes at the boys next door. Occasionally Rosalyn makes eye contact with the outcast of the boy’s group.
After a particularly amazing spare, Rosalyn turns around to see Dani staring at her with new interest. She hurries back to the table. Sarah and Amy have made a team bathroom trip, so it’s just the two of them.
Dani gasps. “The guy with the ink was totally checking you out!”
“With the ink? You sure?”
“Oh, come on! Don’t pretend you didn’t notice. You guys have been flirting all night.”
“Oh, him. I mean, no we haven’t. I mean….” Rosalyn’s face flushes as she sits back down. “You really think he was checking me out?”
“Yeah, it’s got to be the shirt. But he’s not bad looking. Roz… you should go for it.”
The first remark stings a little—the idea that she couldn’t have attracted someone without Dani’s help–but Rosalyn brushes it off as her heartbeat quickens. Now that she’s thinking about it, they have been looking at each other.
“Why so serious?” Amy yells as she pops up behind Dani, startling Rosalyn out of her daze.
“Tired of waiting for you slowpokes,” Dani quips, “Hurry up, will you Bear?”
As Sarah prances up to the ball return yet again, Rosalyn heads to make a request at the DJ’s table. Dani declines to join her.
As she pours over the songbook looking for something halfway decent, she hears someone close behind her.
A smooth male voice flows over her ears. “Hard to find anything good, isn’t it?”
Rosalyn’s limbs turn to jelly. Luckily, she’s already leaning on the table with one arm. She glances over her shoulder and, sure enough, it’s him. His brown eyes have a little sparkle to them when he smiles.
“You’re telling me,” she says, grinning. “I was hoping I could at least find some classic rock in here. I’m definitely over the fast bass and autotune.”
Rosalyn is amazed that she was able to form a coherent thought, let alone a relatively witty one!
“If you ask the guy, he’s got some good stuff on his computer. It’s just not in the book because he got tired of people crossing it out. Everything from The Beatles to Metallica. I even think he’s got some 80’s rap on there.” The guy smiles again and brushes his shaggy brown hair off his forehead.
He walks to the side of the DJ’s table around the pile of equipment, gesturing for Rosalyn to follow. He gets the DJ’s attention, then heads back over to the book.
Satisfied she’s made a couple of awesome additions to the night’s playlist, Rosalyn makes her way back to her group. It’s come back around to her turn to bowl again. She sees her name up on the screen and waves happily at her friends as she heads to the ball return.
Rosalyn takes a deep breath to calm herself before hurling the ball with precision, a flick of the wrist sending it on a curve. It veers left, then comes back to hit the center pin, knocking every single pin over!
Rosalyn throws her arms up and whirls around. For once, the other girls are actually watching! But they don’t look pleased. Rosalyn tunes back in to her surroundings and hears the reason why.
The days of parachute pants and giant boom boxes have made a comeback as “Can’t Touch This” blasts through the overhead speakers.
Rosalyn’s face lights up. “Oh, oh, oh! Can’t touch this!” She sings along as she starts to dance back and forth. “Stop… HAMMERTIME!”
“You did this, didn’t you?” Dani says, “You’re such a dork!”
“Haha, yes!” Rosalyn grins.
Dani rolls her eyes and looks back at Amy and Sarah. “I told you it was her.”
After few songs back in the modern era, Rosalyn is been forgiven. The girls are laughing and having a good time, and Dani is actually bowling a good game. The boys have not been forgotten, especially the one with the tattoo. A couple of them have come over to mingle with Amy and Sarah.
A familiar song comes on. “We’re no strangers to love….you know the rules, and so do I!”
At the same instant, the other girls glare daggers at Rosalyn. The boys glance at their rebellious friend.
“It wasn’t me!” Rosalyn laughs, holding her hands up in surrender.
She looks over at the boy with the tattoo, and smiles a crooked smile. He raises his eyebrow.
Rosalyn’s eyes dance with glee as she scurries off, saying, “I’m going to get a drink. I’ll be right back!”
As Rosalyn attempts to force-feed the stubborn vending machine her crumpled dollar bills, she hears that voice again.
“Try these instead.” The boy with the tattoo trades her quarters for her bills But as he walks away, Rosalyn notices a small folded piece of paper in her hand with the change. She unfolds it to find a note.
“text me sometime- Daryk”
He’s written his number there as well.
Her hands now shaking, Rosalyn can barely push the change into the machine. Clutching her bottle of iced tea, she runs back to the table.
The lane next to theirs is empty. Amy and Dani have bowled their last frames, and everyone’s just waiting for her. Rosalyn sets her beverage on the table and throws her bowling ball down the lane without a second glance. Dani looks at her with questioning eyes, and Rosalyn just smiles back. One more hurried throw and it’s Sarah’s turn.
Dani asks, “What is going on?”
“I’ll tell you when we get to the car,” Rosalyn says, practically floating back to her seat.
~*~
The game ends. Shoes are untied and brought back to the counter. With hugs, the girls part ways.
Dani and Rosalyn barely close the doors on the car when Rosalyn bursts out, “He gave me his number!”
“Who?” Dani searches through her purse absently looking for something.
“The guy with the tattoo on his arm!” Rosalyn gushes, “It’s a rose by the way. With thorns and stuff. His name is Daryk!”
“It’s probably a fake. Like you could handle him anyways,” Dani says as she vacantly brushes a fresh coat of lip-gloss, staring into her rearview mirror.
The girls ride home in near silence.
Rosalyn steps out of the car barely holding back tears as she clutches the tiny slip of paper to her chest. The house door bangs shut behind her. She leans back on it.
How could Dani be so cruel?
As she thinks back to the whole night—the shirt, the nicknames Dani knows she hates, the way she stared daggers and made fun of her for her music selections, the way she had gone for Daryk and then been told he was basically out of her league—Rosalyn feels her heart clench in her chest. That’s not what a best friend is supposed to be like, she knows that.
Through tear-blurred eyes, she sees his name and number… and pulls out her phone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Leah Alarie lives in Vermont and enjoys spending time with her fiancé and their pets. She works as a veterinary technician by day, and a writer by night. Her other passion is her modified Subaru, which she plans to do auto cross with this summer.