Holiday Lanes

One

                   

It was a slow December night at Holiday Lanes. I was sitting behind the computer reading The Great Gatsby. I had read it in high school, but it's a required read for my literature class. I kind of hated my job. Nothing exciting ever happens in the middle of Utah. Everything is so bland.

"Excuse me?" I heard from the other side of the counter.

I put my book down, after placing a pen inside of it so I wouldn't lose my page. I gave a small smile at the group of boys standing before me. There were four of them. Two who looked to be the same age, one blonde and one brunette. One who looked a little older and had a small man bun. Lastly, one who looked the oldest and had a beard.

"How can I help you?" I asked politely.

"Can we pay for a few games now, even if we're going to eat first?" The one with the beard asked.

"Sure. How many games?"

The four of them looked to each other before coming to the decision on playing two games.

"Okay, that'll be $16. You'll be on lane one."

The guys handed me a twenty, and as I grabbing their change, someone said something in reference to The Great Gatsby.

"Wasn't that book just made into a movie?" The one with the man bun asked.

"It was, and it wasn't bad, but Fitzgerald wrote an amazing novel that I think is much better as a novel than a motion picture," I said simply as I handed the four ones back to them.

I grabbed a card and marked the number of pairs of shoes they'd need.

"Okay," I said handing the card over to them, "take this to the counter over there to get your bowling shoes and you're all set."

"Thank you, Vee" the blonde said, seeing my name tag.

"You're welcome."

The group of guys walked away, and I would be lying if I said I didn't secretly recognize them. The group was made of Corey Scherer (the one with the man bun), Elton Castee (the one with the beard), Colby Brock (the brunette), and Sam Golbach (the blonde). I have watched their content whenever I come across it for about a year.

"Vee!" I heard Mark, the manager, call from across the room.

I got up and walked towards where he was.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I need you to close for me tonight. I'm leaving in twenty minutes"

"Mark, I have an 8am class tomorrow, you know that. Why can't you close?"

"Because I don't want to, there's a party tonight that I'm going to. So, you need to close." He said with that stupid cocky smirk on his face.

"Fine, whatever." I rolled my eyes as I walked away.

Mark is a senior at the local high school. His uncle owns the place and that's why Mark's the manager. He only shows up for his shift half of the time, and when he does, he doesn't do any of his work. He's just such a jerk.

"The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly." I sighed as I sat back down on the barstool behind the counter. I finished the chapter I was reading and took out my notebook for my literature class. I opened to the page I had the beginning of my essay on and stared at the page.

It seemed like hours later when I snapped out of my trance, but really it had only been twenty minutes. Mark was clocking out and the only other employee here was the cook. I looked around the bowling alley and saw that the only people still here was the group of Corey, Elton, Sam, and Colby and two girls who I knew from town that had spent most of the evening here.

When I looked closer at the group of guys, they were all whispering about something. I saw them look around and then whisper some more. I wonder what's going on.