Bowling Alley Aftermath
Midterms dragged on until Monday. On a typical Monday morning, you'd see a rainbow of expressions on students' faces. Girls chattering about last night's drama. Boys who'd pulled all-nighters watching soccer or debating for 100 minutes. Kids who'd gamed or partied like it was Saturday, looking half-dead from exhaustion. All crammed into one tiny category called a classroom.
So why am I rambling about this? Because today, pretty much everyone's face looked the same.
"Ugh, I wanna die."
"No isekai reincarnation on the shiny classroom floor?"
"Why did yesterday's me make that choice... I'm losing it."
Exhausted, eyes glazed over, spewing curses nonstop. The reason was simple: first day of midterms. Everyone was on edge. Just look over at Seol-ah's seat.
"O-okay, gotta cram something quick?"
She's flipping through her textbook like mad. I wondered if that even helped, but I had my own studying to do, so I let the thought drop. At least I was better off. I'd reviewed steadily every day, prepping properly for the exams.
Time flew by to Friday. The exam week vanished in the blink of an eye. The final bell rang, and students started rising one by one.
"It's over!!"
"Whew! Freedom tastes sweet!"
"Everyone hitting up somewhere fun tonight?"
Savoring their liberty. Some packed bags in a flash, others clustered up. Right now, no one wanted to think about results. That shared vibe kept the words "exam scores" off everyone's lips. Reality would probably sink in tomorrow. With that in mind, I grabbed my bag to head home.
Go home and crash... Haven't slept much with all this studying.
I stifled a yawn. Even with just an hour less sleep and an hour earlier wake-up than usual, I was wiped.
Gotta fix this sleep schedule ASAP.
I plotted it out in my sleepy head. I wanted to keep this routine at least until break—obvious choice. Break time? No helping it. School basically hands you that time to goof off, so you'd honor it.
Alright... time to head out.
I stood with my bag. Then, a hand naturally landed on my shoulder.
"...?"
I turned. Seol-ah, beaming ear to ear. That smile sparked instant unease. And unease? It hits about 75% of the time.
"Wanna hit the bowling alley?"
Boom—nailed it. She grabbed my shoulder tight, trying to drag me, but...
"Urghhh...!"
"You really think that's gonna work?"
She just grunted in vain. I shot her an incredulous look, and she fired back like she'd been waiting.
"If you wish hard enough, it comes true...! Saw it on an essay question!"
She puffed out her chest proudly. I was totally thrown, but...
"No such question."
"...For real? Not even one?"
"Where'd you even get that from?"
"......Hippocrates?"
Her voice lacked all confidence. Total one-eighty from her bubbly self, so I snorted before I could stop it.
"Don't laugh!"
She bristled, face flushing beet red—clearly mortified. But hey, silver lining: her antics chased off my yawn-induced drowsiness. No excuse to crash at home now.
I brushed her hand off my shoulder.
"Which bowling alley?"
"Dunno. Haven't picked yet."
She pointed to a group—the class's in crowd. I broke into a cold sweat.
"Them too?"
"Yup! All going together."
"Take-backs allowed?"
"Bzzzt! No cancels once it's said!"
She crossed her arms in an X. And so, I got roped into the in-crowd apocalypse. Damn. Shoulda just gone home to sleep.
Thirty-minute walk. Underground in a building about that far.
"Welcome!"
We piled into the basement bowling alley. Perfect timing—open sale in full swing, prices slashed way below normal. The owner-looking guy grinned wide. No wonder: me included, about twenty of us stormed in at once. Even kids from other classes had joined the in crowd. As an assa, I was more swept along than anything.
Everyone paid up. One guy even pulled bowling shoes from his bag like magic. No such luck for me, so I hit the shoe rack. Jackpot—one pair in my size left. Snagged 'em quick before anyone else, swapped in my shoes, and ghosted back to the group.
...
What'd make me uneasy blending with the in crowd? Bowling's a group sport. With few friends or familiars here, it screamed hell. But luckily—
I eyed Ha-yoon and Seol-ah on my lane.
"Huh—small world."
"What? We set this up ahead?"
They gave me weird looks instead. Seol-ah explained: they'd pre-picked groups. Simple rule—stick to the career project teams. All friends anyway, so consensus was to roll with it. That was why Seol-ah dragged me: Ha-yoon was in, so no strangers for me. Dodged awkwardness with others too.
Grateful, I grabbed a ball.
...
"Strike!"
Seol-ah's cheer echoed. Scoreboard flashed an X in response.
"How many is that already...?"
Ha-yoon muttered in awe. Makes sense—three X's on Seol-ah's board. Not normal good; she had talent.
Next up: Ha-yoon. She fitted her ball with flair, hurled it fast.
Thud!
The heavy roll veered to the gutter.
"...Ah. Gutter again...!"
She deflated. How many times now? Ha-yoon straight-up sucked at this.
"Tch... Next one's a strike."
She trudged back. My turn. Fitted the ball, posed—light step—straight roll—
Clack! Crack!
Crisp sounds, seven pins down. Second ball nabbed two more. Nine points. Scoreboard tallied steadily.
"I'm solidly average."
Seol-ah aced it, Ha-yoon tanked—I split the difference. Occasional spares, lucky strikes. Back to my seat with that thought.
"How do you do it so well?"
"Huh? Just PC bang vibes..."
Didn't even notice me back. Ha-yoon was grilling Seol-ah on technique. Answer? Pure instinct. Seol-ah demoed arm swings enthusiastically. Ha-yoon? Zero clue.
Eh, she'll figure it out.
Second time for me too. Better than asking a newbie like her. Needing the bathroom and spotting a lull, I slipped out quick.
Whoosh~ Urinal flushed clean. I hit the sink, washed up. Guy next to me did the same. Soaped thoroughly, heading out—
"Long time no see since the PC bang?"
He stopped me cold. Turned: class president Lee Geon-woo.
I nodded on autopilot.
"Yeah? Feels off though."
"'Cause we're classmates? You're weirder than I thought."
He eyed me curiously, a glint of interest. I moved to bolt—
"You and Ha-yoon seem pretty tight lately?"