Chapter 3: Bowling at Arsenal Lanes
One hot first Saturday of August 2018, I met my childhood friends, Sarah, James, and Henri, along with one of my other best friends, Carly Shay and her parents, Sam and Freddie, at Arsenal Bowling Lanes in Lawrenceville. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "I have brownies and beer for everyone to eat before we bowl," Carly told us. After our snack, we got our bowling shoes and our lanes set up. Sarah, Carly, and I were on one lane, while James, Henri, Mrs. Shay, and Mr. Benson were on another. My team had the lane with bumpers. "You know, James," Mrs. Shay told James. "We like to go bowling here around every Halloween." "I just love Halloween, Mrs. Shay," James declared. "It's one of my favorite holidays, and the only day of the year where you can pretend to dress up as anybody but yourself." "What was your favorite Halloween costume?" Mrs. Shay asked. "You should already know that," James replied. "A cowboy, of course. I especially loved handing out candy to the younger kids at age 15." James went first on his team. He got a bunch of strikes and spares in a row, and he did the cowboy salute. Henri took his turn after James. He also scored a lot of strikes and spares. Then, while Mrs. Shay bowled, Henri and Mr. Benson talked. "Do you like the Power Rangers, Mr. Benson?" Henri asked. "I sure do, Henri," Mr. Benson replied. "That's what I dressed up as on Halloween," Henri continued. "That's cool," Mr. Benson remarked. After Mrs. Shay was done bowling, Mr. Benson took his turn last. Meanwhile, I chatted with my team members, Sarah and Carly. "When was the last time you went bowling, Carly?" Sarah asked. "After we bowled together at Zone 28, I went bowling on Good Friday with my family. It's a tradition we have had every Easter weekend since I was 14 years old." "Watch how I can bowl without the big ramp to roll things down," I told my friends. Sarah and Carly watched me bowl. I got 2 spares in a row to kick off the final game. "That was very good, Angel!" Sarah complimented me. "Yeah, I'm still not very good at bowling," Carly agreed. Sarah took her turn to bowl after me. She got a strike on her next throw. "Good job, Sarah," Carly remarked. "Now, it's my turn." Carly took her turn bowling. She bowled a few strikes and spares the last game, too. After the games were over, Mrs. Shay and Mr. Benson ordered a pizza to share with us, since they didn't have lunch to eat at home. Pretty soon, it was time for me to leave. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"
