Bowling
Author's Notes: A big thanks to all of those who supported me. A huge thanks to The Star Swordsman and theferretmenace for helping me on this chapter. Please R&R!
The next morning, Sean was the first to wake up. He gets out of bed and tiptoes into Violet's room. He softly nudges his sister. Violet's eyes sprung open. After a couple of minutes of stretching, she gets out of bed. The two of them quietly creep into Dash's bedroom. Violet nudges her little brother.
"You ready?" she asks.
"Let's do it." Dash answers as he opens his eyes. He springs out if his bed. Sean, Violet and Dash quietly and carefully creep down the stairs. The three of them waits until their father leaves for work. When the front door shuts, the children assemble in the kitchen, preparing their surprise for their mother.
A couple hours later, Dash sprints upstairs into Helen's room. He tiptoes quietly toward her bed. The sunlight shines inside the room and bounces off Helen's face. Slowly, she flips on her back and opens her eyes.
"MORNING MOM!" Dash screams, scaring the life out of his mother. Helen hides under the covers, but slowly reappears. She notices the huge smile on her son's face.
"Why, morning Dash." Helen says. "Sleep well?" Dash nods his head quickly.
"Got breakfast for ya." He smiles. Dash claps his hands. Helen sees Violet carrying Jack-Jack and Sean carrying a tray with her breakfast. He sets the tray on Helen's lap. Helen stares with awe at her meal.
"Kids." She gasped. "I…I…I don't know what to say. This is…very kind of you." Helen gazes at her pancakes with chocolate chips and raisins. She tastes them and her mouth felt like jumping.
"Mmmm, this is delicious." She said. "Thanks kids. This is really good." Helen finishes eating her pancakes. She then takes a bite off a banana and finally, drinks a strawberry-banana smoothie made by her children. After eating, she wipes her mouth. She smiles at each and every one of her kids. She gets out of bed and kisses Sean, Violet and Dash on the head.
"Thank you." She said. "But I'm curious. What's the occasion?"
"No occasion." Dash replies. "Today, we've decided to spend the whole day with our mom."
"Dash." Helen smiles. A small tear falls off her eyes. After wiping it off, she gives her son a great big hug. "Thank you, but what about your big soccer game today? I thought this game was important to you." Sean, Violet and Dash look at each other and break into laughter.
"Oh come on mom." Dash chuckles. "I know this game means so much to me, and I know the whole team is counting on me, but I've decided to stay with you. Besides, how can one soccer game compare to the greatest and the best super mom in the world?" A down poor of tears cascade from Helen's eyes. She gives Dash another great big hug. Dash can feel Helen's tear falling on him, but he manage to keep his smile up. Sean and Violet climbs on her bed and they both give a hug and kiss to Helen. She smiled as she gets out of bed. The three kids escort her down stairs into the living room, where Jack-Jack was playing.
"Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom!" Jack-Jack coos. Helen lifts the baby up and kisses his nose. She and her children sit down on the couch.
"So, what do you kids want to do today?" she asked. They all looked at each other, waiting for an answer.
"Can we…watch a movie?" Violet suggested.
"Nothing good is out." Dash said. "What about mini golf?"
"No way. I suck at mini golf." Violet admits.
"That's because you suck at it." Dash teases. Dash and Violet continue to argue with each other until…
"SHUT UP!" Sean yells. Dash and Violet were dead silent. They look at the eldest Parr child. "Guys, this is supposed to be a special day for mom. I expect you to be on your best behavior. Got it?" Violet and Dash glare into each other's eyes. Finally, they nod and shake each other's hand.
"I know I'm gonna regret this." Dash hesitates. "But just for today, you're cool with me."
"Whatever." Violet agrees. "So what do you wanna do Sean?" Sean looks down and starts to think. While he's thinking, Dash plays with his fingers and Violet curls in ball. Jack-Jack starts to suck his little thumb.
"Why don't we…" Sean finally said. Dash and Violet leans forward. "…let mom decide." He suggests. The kids, including Jack-Jack stare at Helen.
"How about we go bowling?" She smiles.
"Cool." Sean agrees.
"I'm in." Dash said.
"Yay!" Jack-Jack cheers. Violet's smile fades away. She takes off her headband, covering her face. The children get themselves dressed and head out the door. The Parr family enters the car and drives off.
The family enters downtown. They past by banks, the movie theater, tall skyscrapers and a park where Dash's soccer team plays. Helen, Sean and Jack-Jack watches as Dash's team scores a goal.
"Hey Dash look." Helen points. The boy smiles when he sees his teammates congratulating each other. A few minutes later, the Parrs reach "Metroville Lane." Helen carries Jack-Jack out of the car and the family enters the building. Inside Metroville Lane were arcades, pool tables, snack bars and of course, bowling lanes. It was full of people. The Parr family makes their way to the front desk. Helen gives her children a pair of bowling shoes.
"Can we use the bumper lanes?" Violet asked softly.
"I'm sorry sweetie." Helen apologizes. "It looks like all the bumper lanes are taken. Is that okay with you?" Violet looks at the other open bowling lanes without saying a word. The Parr family walks toward lane 20. While Sean, Violet and Dash put on their bowling shoes, Helen finds three bowling balls and carries them to Lane 20. She ties her bowling shoes tight.
"Go on and practice for a few minutes." Helen instructs. Quick as lightning, Dash springs to his feet and picks up his blue bowling ball. After a few steps, he rolls his ball down the lane. The blue bowling ball rolls in a straight line, knocking down 6 pins. Dash walks back and waits for his ball to reappear. He retrieves his bowling ball and once again rolls it. The ball curves to the right and nails 3 of the 4 pins. A wicked smile appears on the youngster's face as he skips back down.
"Beat that." He grins at Sean. Sean stands up and grabs a red bowling ball. He rolls it down the ally, but it curves to the right and falls into the gutter. Disappointed, he slumps back and waits for his ball. He picks up his ball and stares at the pins. Sean takes a deep breath and releases the bowling ball. Amazingly, the ball rolls in a straight line and nails all of the bowling pins. Sean looks back at Dash and shrugs.
"Show-off." Dash pouts. Jack-Jack just bounces on the chair and claps.
"Vi, would you like to go sweetie?" Helen asked. Violet shakes her head without looking at her mom, nor saying a word. "Alright. Let's get started. We'll go in alphabetical order. So first it will be Dash, then me, next is Sean and finally, Vi."
Dash is the first one up. He picks up his bowling ball and stares at the pins. After taking a deep breath, he rolls his ball down the lane. The curves and knocks down 7 pins. Dash smiles and gets ready for his second roll. He picks up his bowling ball and rolls it in a straight line toward the pins. He knocks 2 more pins and the number 8 appears on the board.
Helen was next. She picks up her red bowling ball and gazes at the pins. She kissed the ball once and rolls the ball down the ally. It curves slightly to the left and the ball hits all tens pins. A huge X appears on the board.
Sean picks up Helen's red bowling ball and rolls it in a straight line down the middle. He hits the middle pins and knocks down 8. Sean sighs noticing he needs to hit the two far pins. He grabs his bowling ball and rolls it down the gutter.
Violet slowly makes her way up. She grabs a purple bowling ball. She rolls it lightly and gently, but it falls into the gutter. She walks back with her head down. She can barely hear her little brother snickering at her. Violet picks up the bowling ball and rolls it again and it falls into the gutter once again. She drags back to her seat without looking at the big 0 on the board.
It was Dash's turn again. He steps up and rolls the ball. Dash cheers when he knocks down eight pins. He picks up his next bowling ball and rolls it toward the other pins. A huge smile appears on his face when the bowling ball knocks down the final two pins, giving him a spare.
After Helen bowled her second strike, Sean picks up his red bowling ball and once again rolls it into the gutter. He shakes his head as he walks back and waits for his ball to reappear. Once it did, he watches the pins carefully. He rolls the ball down the lane. Unfortunately, it curves left and knocks down 4 pins, ending his turn.
Violet slowly walks up and picks up her purple bowling ball. She gently rolls down the lane and once again, falls into the gutter. She frowns and gives a huge sigh. She picks up her bowling ball and prepares for her second roll. She sighs once more and then rolls the bowling ball. It falls into the gutter. Dash starts to giggle when his depressed sister walked past her. She curls up into a ball and looks down to the ground.
Dash steps up for the third time and roll his bowling ball in a straight line. He is able to knock down 9 pins. He retrieves his next bowling ball and prepares for his second roll. He releases the ball and it heads straight for the last pin. He looks back at his family and lifts his arms up. He waits for a sound of the bowling ball crashing into the pins, but all he hears is his bowling ball sliding into the gutter. He looks back with his eyes wide open. He shakes his head and sighs.
Helen gets a strike for the third time. Sean steps up and knocks down 7 pins altogether. Once again, Violet was up. She rolls twice and each ball lands in the gutter. The Parr family played for an hour. Finally, they are at the final frame. Dash bowls and is able to knock down 8 pins. He finished off with a score of 132 points.
Next, it was Helen's turn. She has bowled altogether 9 strikes. She is going to finish off with 3 more strikes and 300 points. She stares at her children and then at the pins. After releasing one single breath, she moves down the lane and rolls the bowling ball. The ball crashed into all of the pins, knocking all of them down. Dash jumps for joy. Sean and Jack-Jack claps their hands while Violet smiles. Helen prepares for her second roll. She gets her bowling ball and gazes at the next set of pins. She rolls the ball to the right. It curves to the left and crashes into the center pin. The bowling ball hits all of the bowling pins and Helen's children begin too cheer.
"Go mom!" Dash yells.
"Knock em all down!" Sean cheers.
"Mom, mom, mom, mom!" Dash giggles. Violet says nothing. She smiles and claps her hands. Helen smiles. A small tear falls from her eye. She picks up her red bowling ball and holds it in front of her face. She looks at the pins and took a deep breath. The building is covered with silence. Every single person in the building watches Helen with intensity. She closes her eyes and kisses her bowling ball as if she's kissing her children. She opens her eyes and finally rolls the ball down the lane. Everyone in the building stares at the bowling ball as it slowly moves toward the pins. The red ball collides against the pins and they all went down, giving Helen a perfect game. The crowd went berserk. Everyone was standing on their seats, on chairs or on tables. Helen looks back and sees everyone clapping her hands. She smiles at her children. Sean, Violet and Dash run up to her and give her a great big. The people celebrate Helen's success for a long time. Slowly and gradually, the celebration begins to fall. After the last person left, the Parr family continues their game.
Sean finishes by knocking down 7 pins, giving him a total score 101. Finally, it was Violet's turn. She steps up and picks up her purple bowling ball. She slowly rolls it down the lane, but alas it arcs to the right and falls into the gutter. She looks back at her family. Dash roars in laughter. He laughs so hard; he falls off his seat and rolls on the floor. Jack-Jack joins his brother. Violet has never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. Her eyes filled with tears. Her heart is falling apart. She runs out "Metroville Lane" with tears in her eyes. Helen gets out of her seat and runs after her daughter. Dash continues to laugh. A furious Sean gives the boy an elbow to the gut. Dash groans in pain.
"Owwwww!" he squeals. "What did I do?"
Outside of Metroville Lane, Violet sits on a bench with her hands covering her face. She curls up into a ball. She takes off her headband, allowing her black hair to cover her face. For minutes, she sat alone, and cried. Helen finds her daughter sitting all by herself. She walks toward the bench and sits next to her. Violet notices her mom on the bench. She scoots over to the edge of the bench, away from her mom. Helen smiles as she elongates her arms and wraps them around her daughter's head. She slowly brings Violet closer, until they are sitting next to each other.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Helen asks.
"Nothing." Violet mumbles
"Nothing huh?" Helen laughs. "Then answer me this. Why are you curled in a ball? Why are you is your hair covering your face? Why are you crying?"
"Well I," Violet answers. She looks at her mother with her face all wet. "I don't know. I just don't know. I mean…well I…I didn't mean to…I…I…I…"
"You're what Vi?" Helen asks. Violet gazes into her mother's eyes and gulps.
"I'm sorry mom. Sorry for ruining our family time. Sorry for ruining our fun." Helen stares at Violet for a long time. She smiles and gives her daughter a great big hug.
"There's no need to apologize Vi. You didn't ruin anything. This is all I wanted from you kids. I didn't care where we go or what we do. All I wished for is to spend quality time with my children. This is the happiest day of my life Vi." She embraces the teenager and plants a small kiss on her forehead. Violet smiles as Helen wipe her tears off her face. The two of them walks back into Metroville Lane. They walk back to their lanes. Sean is busy playing with Jack-Jack, while Dash finishes his candy bar.
"About time sis." He says as he tosses his wrapper away. Violet sighs. She picks up her bowling and gazes at the pins. She shakes her head and drops the bowling ball to the ground. She looks at her mother.
"I can't do it mom. I can't do it." She moans. Helen smiles, stands up and walks toward her daughter.
"Would you like me to teach you my way Vi?" she asked. Violet nods her head. "Ok. First, picture the bowling ball as a clock. You want your thumb and fingers to be in the 1 and 7 spot. Keep a firm grip on the ball. Now, take three steps and when you release the ball, keep your arm straight. Don't rotate your wrist or else you'll break you hand. After you release the ball, follow through, like this" Helen takes a bowling ball and rolls it down the lane, knocking all ten pins.
"Now you try Vi." She said. Violet sighs. She closes her eyes and thinks about what her mother has instructed her. Finally, she regains her confidence and rolls the ball straight down the lane. The Parr family watch as the purple bowling ball glides into the pins. There is a sudden crash and all ten pins were knocked down. Violet squeals and jumps for joy. Helen springs out of her seat and cheers. Jack-Jack bounces on his seat and claps his hands. Sean smiles and he too claps. Dash, just stares at his sister, looking unmissed.
"I did it mom! I did it! I got a strike!" Violet runs to her mother and jumps right into her arms. The two of them embraces each other and exchange kisses. Tears shed from each other's eyes. Next, she walks toward Sean, who was carrying Jack-Jack. Jack-Jack kisses her sister on the forehead and gently hugs her. Sean places the baby back on the seat and he gives Violet a great big hug. A minute later, she looks straight into the eyes of Dash. Dash just smiles and nods his head. Violet giggles and gives him a hug.
"Lucky shot sis." Dash warns. "But you won't be so lucky on the next game." The two of them grins at each other. Finally, Helen starts out the second game. Sean, Violet and Dash get ready to bowl. Only this time, Helen will sit out and watch her children play.
Dash was the first to roll. He feels confident he will be his older siblings in this game. He rolls the bowling ball down the lane. Disappointingly the ball lands right in the gutter. He sighs and tries again. Only this time, the ball rolls straight down the left side and only knocks down four pins.
Sean picks up his red bowling ball and rolls it down the lane. It curves to the right and knocks down four pins. Sean then walks back and grabs another bowling ball and rolls it. The ball moves to the left and heads for the gutter. Sean can hear Dash laughing like crazy. But suddenly, the ball curves to the right and hits three pins. Sean walks back and stares at Dash. Sean smiles and shrugs.
Next, it was Violet's turn. She steps up with her purple bowling ball. She remembers what her mom has told her. She clears her mind and gaze at the pins. Finally, she rolls the ball down the lane and into the pins. She smiles when the bowling crashes into the pins, knocking all of them down. She skips back to her seat and watches as an X appears on the board.
The Parr family bowl for a whole hour. When Violet rolls her last ball, the kids all check the scores. Dash felt disappointed. He got a total score of 110 pins, but he had the lowest score. Sean finished with 173 pins, but Violet however won the game with a total of 237 pins. Finally, the Parr family returned the bowling balls and their bowling shoes in exchange for their shoes. The family enters the car and drives off into a nearby restraint. Helen orders salad. Sean wanted a hot dog, Violet ordered nachos and Dash orders a burger. The family receives their food. Helen parks the car and the family sits by the lake, eating their lunch.
"Kids, this is the happiest day of my life. I've waited so long to spend time with you guys." Helen said.
"We had a lot of fun too." Sean agrees.
"Thanks for taking us bowling and to lunch mom." Violet said.
"I didn't know you were that good in bowling mom!" Dash said with excitement.
"Are you kidding honey?" Helen laughs. "I bowled ever since I was little. When I was young, before I started fighting crime, my dad would take me bowling. He watches me as I struggle to knock down one pin. Kind of like you, huh Vi?" Violet nods her head.
"Then what happened?" Sean asks.
"On my last roll, I dropped my bowling ball, fell to the floor and cried. I thought I was never going to hit the pin. Then my dad told me, "Helen, if there is any doubt inside your heart, you'll accomplish very little. Believe in yourself, in your family. You'll achieve more than what you expect from yourself." After he said that, I've gotten a lot better ever since. And to this day, those powerful words he told me echo within my mind." Sean, Violet and Dash drop their mouths.
"Wow!" Violet exclaims. "That's beautiful mom."
"No wonder we have such a strong mom." Dash comments.
"No doubt about that." Sean coincides.
"Mom!" Jack-Jack giggles. Helen smiles and gives each an every one of her children a hug and a kiss. Finally, the kids finished their food and throw away their trash.
"Now, let's all go home." Helen says. The children agree and they walk toward the car. But before they can reach it, there was a huge explosion in the parking lot. The impact sent the family flying. They land softly on the grass. While Helen consoles Jack-Jack, Sean, Dash and Violet noticed a woman in green. Her hands turn into flames and she throws fireballs into buildings, the streets and towards other people. The children glare at the witch.
"Evila!" they growled. Helen looks at her nemesis and she too scowls at her.
"Let's get her!" Dash yells as he springs to his feet.
"Hold on Dash." Violet orders. Dash looks back at the teen. "Maybe it's best if we let mom decide." The three kids stares anxiously at Helen. She constantly looks back at Evila and then at her kids. Suddenly, she grins. Sean, Violet and Dash nod their head and Helen takes out the super suits out of her purse.