Hey Romeo, Don't You Think You're Just a Tad Overrated?

~Sam's Bowling Alley~

"I hate you Roger," Cam groaned.

Roger had managed to finally drag Cam and half of the varsity boys' lacrosse team out to the bowling alley for a Saturday night out. Cam hated bowling. Mostly he hated it because no matter how hard he tried, he always made himself look like a fool, and that was definitely not good for his reputation or his…ego. Roger and Andy were currently splitting everyone up into two teams according to skill.

"Aw, shut up, Cam, you're ruining the fun," Andy waved a dismissive hand at him as he dragged Tyson onto his team.

"I don't want Cam on my team!" Roger protested as he suddenly noticed that Cam was the last free man remaining. "He sucks!"

"I got Tyson! You have to pick Cam! Too bad for you he sucks!"

Cam rolled his eyes. "I'm right here guys; I can hear everything you're saying, you know that, right?"

"Maybe we can like 'accidentally' skip Cam's turn every time he comes up to bowl," Roger was whispering audibly to Mark, his teammate.

"No freaking way! Cam has to bowl!" Andy insisted.

Cam sighed. "I think I'll just go back to the Academy…" he turned around and started walking towards the door.

"NO!" Roger and Andy yelled at the same time, pulling him back by his arm and the back of his shirt.

"What's the point of me being here if both of you don't want me on your team?" Cam demanded.

"Fine, I'll take Cam," Roger finally gave in. "We're still gonna kick your ass anyway!" he directed at Andy's team as he stepped up into the alley, a bright orange bowling ball in his hands.

Cam rolled his eyes again, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Immature idiots," under his breath as he sat down and kicked his sneakers off, shoving his feet into a pair of oddly-colored rental bowling shoes.

__________________

"There's only one alley left that's not reserved," the receptionist told Beth.

"We can't play teams guys," Beth announced as she turned around to face us. "But I think we can go against each other individually."

Will shrugged. "All right! I'm going to get the shoes. We'll let Pig over here get her stupid pizza first—" Will ducked as Alyssa swung at him, "—and Beth and Aurelie can go claim the alley."

We parted, the neon lights plastered to the ceilings and the walls flashing obnoxiously at us. Behind us, I could distinctly hear Will and Alyssa arguing as they headed off in the same direction.

Beth suddenly groaned.

"What?" I asked her.

"The stupid varsity lacrosse team's here," she muttered as we slowly approached our alley.

My heart sank faster than an anchor being plunged into the sea. I don't want to face Max right now, it'd be so awkward.

"He's not here," Beth said, reading my thoughts.

"What?"

"Max isn't here," Beth repeated. "Only half of the team's here," she noted as we sat down in the hard, plastic chairs surrounding the scoring monitor. Pure relief flooded through me.

For some reason, Roger Doherty noticed our presence immediately. "Hey, ladies," he greeted us in a deep voice, strolling over to our lane, trying to act suave.

Beth and I caught each other's eye and we tried our hardest not to laugh at his pathetic attempt to flirt. My heart jumped as I caught a glimpse of Cam sitting in the plastic seats in the next lane, shaking his head at his friend.

"Is it just you two?" Roger asked us.

I'd never really talked to Roger before, even though I'd heard plenty about him. "No, we're with Will and Alyssa too," I answered.

Roger's eyes lighted up. "Hey, you guys wanna play against us? So we can have three teams instead of two! It'll be fun!" he suggested.

I glanced at Beth.

"Why not, there are some cute guys on the lacrosse team," Beth whispered in my ear, so Roger wouldn't overhear.

I nodded. "Sure, why not? We'll join."

"Awesome!" Roger enthused. "Except on one condition…we're swapping Cam onto your team."

Cam snapped his head up at the mention of his name.

"What?" Both him and I said incredulously in unison.

Roger shrugged offhandedly. "Just to even out the teams a bit. And for other reasons too. Oh, and he has to bowl."

"Um…sure…" I agreed to Roger's strange condition.

"Alright, Pig has her slice of pizza and I have the shoes, so let's bowl!" Will announced his arrival as he threw a pair of mulit-colored bowling shoes at my face.

I caught them haphazardly. "Hey, we're playing against them," I informed Will and Alyssa as they joined us.

"Why?" Will asked, confused at first. "We don't usually hang around them."

"Who cares? They offered! And there are hot guys!" Beth whispered in a sing-songy voice as we all laced ourselves into the bowling shoes.

"I like the way you think," Will winked at us.

"Hey guys! We're starting a new game now! Enter your names in for your team!" Roger called over to us from the next lane.

"This is so stupid," Cam suddenly said from right behind me.

I jumped at the proximity. "You always do that!" I clapped my hand to my heart as I turned around to face him. He gave me a questioning look. "Never mind," I muttered.

"You're joining our team?" Alyssa asked, suddenly looking ecstatic.

"Yeah. Roger's a jerk," Cam intoned, bored.

"Hey, Aurelie! You're up first!" Will called as he plugged all our names into the machine. "Alphabetical order!"

I frowned. "Shouldn't it be Alyssa then?" I asked.

A sly grin came over Will's face. "I put her down as Pig. She's going after Cam."

I stifled a laugh as Alyssa flew at Will with an enraged screech. Cam cast me a confused look. I shook my head and mouthed, "Long story." He nodded.

"I've never bowled before," I said nervously as I picked up a turquoise ball labeled 8 lbs. Was I imagining it, or did Cam let out a relieved sigh from behind?

"That's okay. Just try it! Just like, throw the ball down the lane," Beth instructed, motioning with her arm.

I stepped up to the alleyway nervously, testing the weight of the ball in my hands. "Here goes nothing," I sucked in a huge breath and aimed for the bowling pins at the end of the long alley.

Our team watched anxiously as the turquoise sped down the lane, magically staying in the center. With a loud crash, the ball connected with the pins.

"All right! You knocked down nine out of ten pins!" Will leapt up from his seat, cheering. "Go again! Try to get a spare!"

"Again?" I inquired as I picked up a brown ball this time, also weighing at 8lbs. "Here we go," I muttered as I launched the second ball in the direction of the lone, stubborn, pin.

Wild cheers greeted my ears as it was knocked down. "You got a spare Aurelie! You got a spare!" Alyssa yelled.

"You're a natural!" Will joined in.

Roger whistled from the next lane. "Beginner's luck, Aurelie!" I stuck my tongue out at him. "You're gonna need it since you have Cam on your team!" he called.

"Shut up!" Cam immediately yelled back at Roger.

"My turn!" Beth picked up a multi-colored ball, a determined look in her eye.

"Why did Roger say that?" I asked Cam as I sat down next to him. The neon lights cast colorful shadows across his long sleeve black shirt and his face, strangely making him look somehow extremely hot. I blushed, averting my eyes. Stop thinking that! He doesn't look hot! He does NOT look hot! They're just stupid lights!

"Don't ask," Cam muttered, glancing at the screen at his name, which was right under Beth's. It was like he was dreading something.

"Are you…not good or something?"

He turned and cast me a reproachful glare, his dark eyes burning.

"Aw, I missed three," Beth sighed as she flopped down into the seat next to mine. "Cam, it's your turn."

Andy and Roger suddenly appeared by our side as soon as Cam stood up reluctantly. Andy held a small, black, camera in his hand, and he wore a wide grin.

"You're so immature," Cam muttered as he tested out a ten-pound red ball in his hands.

Roger guffawed. "Wait for it," he whispered as we all watched our junior-class prefect step up, his brows drawn in concentration, his sleeves pushed up and the ball in his right hand.

Cam pitched the ball with what it looked like perfect precision and—we all burst out laughing.

"I give up," he grumbled angrily as he tried to stalk back to the plastic chairs, wincing in pain, where we were all collapsed over each other, laughing until tears streamed out of our eyes.

Andy could barely hold the camera up properly, and he had to hold onto Roger for extra support.

"Is your foot okay?" I asked, trying to sound concerned, but failing miserably and breaking out in peals of laughter instead.

"Go on, you have another shot," Will managed to gasp out.

"I'll pass," Cam said coldly.

"Ahaha—you dropped the ball…on your foot hahaha…" Roger collapsed again, clutching his stomach.

Andy sniggered, replaying the video again and again on his camera. "Hey, Aurelie, take Cam's second shot for him, will ya?" he requested.

"Me?" I pointed at myself. He nodded. I shrugged and I stood, picking up a heavier ball this time for more control, as Alyssa had suggested.

"STRIKE!" Alyssa and Will let out a huge whoop as they jumped up.

My jaw dropped open.

"Well, actually, it's a spare, since Cam completely missed the first one," Roger pointed out, breaking down again.

Cam crossed his arms sourly, muttering something along the lines of, "It's just beginner's luck."