Piccolo frowned the minute he stepped inside the door. It's not gonna work, there's no way this is going to work...
"Come on, Piccolo," Leda called over her shoulder. "You're lagging behind!"
That was sort of the point... he thought as his expression darkened.
"I'll get us the lanes," Krillin said, taking out his wallet. "You guys get your stuff."
To his surprise, Piccolo felt a small hand work its way into his own. Looking down, all he saw were Pepper's sparkling green eyes, filled with adoration. He gulped. This girl always somehow managed to make him nervous.
"^_^ Come on, let's go get our shoes!!" she said brightly.
Piccolo squirmed his hand out of hers. "Eh, I don't think they carry my size..."
Leda looked back over her shoulder again. "What do you mean? They do too have your size!! I called and checked, remember?"
Glaring, Piccolo clamped a hand tightly on her shoulder. "I really don't think they carry my size, Leda!!!" he growled through gritted teeth.
"Ok, ok, I get the point!! Let me go already!!" his disciple wailed. When he realeased her from his iron grip, she said, "Gah, you always have to have it your way!!" She paused and readjusted her jumpers over her blue and white Capsule T-shirt. "At any rate, here it doesn't matter whether you want them or not. You've got have the right shoes, or they won't let you play." She pointed sternly to the front desk. "Now go get a pair of shoes!! And you need to find a ball, too. You do need one of those to play, you know." Before he could argue with her again, Leda ran off to the lockers to retrieve her bag.
Grumbling, Piccolo did as he was told and got his shoes from the front desk. At the same time, Pepper Lyn had started to cling to his arm again. "I've already got my ball, let's go find one for you!!" she chirped up to him.
The namek felt his face burn, and was painfully aware of the fact that his cheeks were probably turning purple. Why does she always make me so nervous?? he thought to himself, again prying her off his arm. "Er, right, sure."
"Hey," Krillin called as he approached. "Where's Leda?"
"Lockers," Pepper replied.
"Ok," he said. "I got us our lanes. We're all the way at the end, on 1 and 2." Noticing Piccolo empty handed, Krillin asked, "Hey, why haven't you gotten your ball yet?"
The namek's eyes drifted. "Oh, yeah, I was just about to go get it," he mumbled.
Krillin shrugged. "Ok then." He picked up his bag and headed down the alley. "See ya there, guys."
Piccolo scowled. "Yeah, right," he spat. There is NO WAY this is going to work!! he thought.
*************************
"Don't be so sore, Piccolo," Leda said, picking up her ball. "You were the one that taught me about good sportsmanship, remember?"
"Shut up, Brat!!" he snarled. Piccolo glared. How did I ever let that little imp talk me into going bowling?!
A loud CRACK made him cringe; Leda had gotten another strike.
"I'm not doin' too bad!" she said, walking back to the table. Piccolo was sitting there with his head down. "I broke 100 before I even hit the seventh frame!" She sat next to her sensei and nudged him. "Oh come on, P-San. You're doing fine!!"
His glare got darker. "No I'm not. It's the sixth frame and I've only got 23!! Pepsi's doing better than I am!!"
Leda rolled her eyes, turning toward him. "P-San, have you ever bowled in your life??"
"No.."
"Then what are you complaining about?! No one would expect you to be a pro on your first try!"
Piccolo snorted, watching Pepper take to the lane. Her real name was Subira Lyn, but she got the nickname "Pepper" from the freckles that lined her muzzle. She was a dingo, with dark black hair that stretched far down her back and stopping just above her rump.
She raised her ball to eye level, looking down the lane. Then she took off, taking a couple small steps, giving a little hop, then releasing her ball. It rolled crookedly down the lane, eventually landing in the far left side of the pin diamond. Pepper Lyn frowned. "And a gutter on first shot. I only got three this frame!!"
Probably three more than I'm going to get Piccolo thought passimistically. Reluctantly he got up and walked to the ball rack. Frowning, he picked up his ball and looked down the lane. He was just about to line up his shot when he inadvertantly began eavesdropping.
"Krillin, you jerk!! How did your score get so high?! I didn't know you were this good!! Gah, compared to you, my score really sucks!!"
Piccolo growled. Here he was, stuck with a lousy 23, and Leda was complaining about her score of 104. Pausing for just a moment, the namek looked up at the screen that was displaying the scores. He nearly dropped his bowling ball; Krillin's score was 179!!
"^_^ Come on, Piccolo San!! Strike out!! You can do it!!"
He stiffened; it was Pepper calling to him. That was probably the LAST thing I needed right now... Grunting, he again lined up his shot. Taking a step forward he fired the ball down the lane.
"Hey!!" Leda called, leaning to watch the ball. "That's heading straight down the middle!!"
Piccolo's face brightened. It really was going right down the middle!! Maybe this time he'd get a strike!
"Gah!!" Leda moaned, turning away. "This is going to be painful, I can't watch!!"
Krillin nodded. "He's gonna be screwed."
The namek glanced at them over his shoulder in confusion. What were they talking about? Going down the middle wasn't a bad thing!! In fact, that was Leda's style; she didn't bowl with a hook like Krillin, she used a straight ball.
The crack of the pins pulled his attention back to the lane. With dismay, Piccolo's mouth dropped open as he saw the very last thing a bowler ever wanted to see: a 7-10 split. "What?!" he started to yell. "How did that happen?!"
Leda supressed a snicker. "Told'ja. Queen takes pawn. Checkmate."
Furious, Piccolo whirled around and glared at her. "Shut up!! It's not my fault, something strange is going on with the pins!!" He growled, looking back down the lane. "I threw it just like you do, and I ended up with an impossible shot!!"
"Actually," Krillin began, "you didn't do it quite the way she does. You're not supposed to aim for the headpin; it'll get you a split, which is exactly what happened to you. You've gotta aim for the pocket on either side of the headpin."
Piccolo snarled. "Gee, thanks!! You asshole, why didn't you tell me that in the first place?!"
"Well, you never asked."
A long string of Namekian curses escaped Piccolo's mouth in frustration. Leda flinched.
"Jerks," he mumbled to himself, retrieving his ball for his second shot. "They're cheating. *growl* Keeping information away from me like that..."
"Hey, cheer up, Piccolo," Pepper smiled, standing next to him on the lane. "^_^ After all, I think you're doing fine. You're not doing much worse than I am, anyway!"
He sweatdropped. "Um, thanks...."
Pepper Lyn beamed. "If you want any help, you can ask me, you know!" She looked down with a nervous laugh. "Of course, it'd probably do you a lot more good to ask Krillin or Leda Chan..."
Piccolo cleared his throat. "Er, right." Feeling sweat starting to coat his forehead, the namek lined up his shot and threw his ball. It went straight into the gutter.
"AAUUUURRRGGGHHHHH!!!!"
*************************
"Alright, Krillin," Leda called, setting down the pencil. "I've got all the scores for the first game down. You can start the next one."
" 'Next one'?!" Piccolo said immediately. "How many games are we playing?!"
"Three," Krillin said. "It's sort of a standard. Kinda like an unwritten rule."
The namek glowered. "Oh great..."
"Would you stop complaining?" Krillin mumbled as he approached the ball rack. "You're so competative. Can't you just relax and have a little fun??"
Piccolo just snorted. Yeah right. Easy for you to say, your final score was a 247!!! His eyes made their way over to Leda, who was lounging across the span of three chairs. And her... She got a 165!! His face darkened into a stubborn pout. "Even Pepsi had an 89. She only missed her average by two pins!! Hmph. How am I supposed to 'have fun' if everyone's so much better than me??"
"^_^ Oh Piccolo, don't be upset that you finished with a 43!! That's not too bad for a very first time, really. Considering you've never done anything like this before, it's pretty good!"
He let out a slow, irritated sigh. "Pepsi... you are such a liar."
"No I'm--" Suddenly she paused. "Why does Leda have Krillin in a headlock?"
Piccolo snickered. "I didn't think she needed a reason." On a hunch he looked up to the scores. "Hmph, that's why. He got a strike on his first frame. She got a spare." Suddenly he noticed the flashing arrows next to Pepper's name. "Hey Pepsi, you're up."
Gently she started to nuzzle his shoulder. "So?"
That nervous feeling was gathering in his stomach again. "So... shouldn't you go take your shot?"
Pepper Lyn clung to his arm. "^_^ I will. In a minute."
Again he sweatdropped. "Hey, wait a minute!!" He started scooting his chair farther down the table. "Knock it off, go bowl!!" Piccolo looked toward Leda and Krillin for help, but only found them leaning on their elbows on the table grinning at him.
"Don't mind us," Krillin said, biting back a laugh. "You go right ahead!" Leda chewed on her bottom lip; she didn't trust herself to say anything without laughing.
Pepper giggled, sweatdropping. "Heh... Nevermind. It's my turn, anyway." She nuzzled Piccolo one more time, then skipped on down to the lane.
Obvious rage in his eyes, Piccolo stood up and grabbed Leda by the hair, dragging her over the table. "You know, I could use a little HELP here!!"
Leda's hands clamped over her sensei's fist, trying to pry it open. "Hey, we were just having fun!!" she grunted. "Let go of me!!" When he still didn't release her, Leda very calmly said, "Don't forget, Piccolo, we aren't out practicing right now; we're in a public area, which mean's you've got to somewhat behave as far as how you treat me. Otherwise you'll probably end up getting yourself arrested."
Krillin just watched, smirking.
Piccolo growled, knowing that Leda had a serious point. Reluctantly he let go of her hair and put his head back down on the table. "This sucks."
"Yeah whatever," Leda snickered. Turning to Krillin, she quickly put him back into his headlock and dragged him off. "Now, where were we?"
Sighing, Piccolo watched Pepper Lyn throw her second ball. The way she approached the lane caught his eye. Why does she jump like that? he wondered.
It was his turn. Getting up and going to the ball rack, he stopped Pepper on her way back to the table. "Hey, I noticed something... um, unusual about your style."
She blinked. "You did?"
"Eh, yeah. Um... what's that little jump for?"
"You mean my bunny hop?" Subira shrugged. "I don't know, I just do it!! Actually, it seems to help. You might want to try it, you look like you're really struggling." Her shining eyes met his. "And I hope you don't mind me saying, but you're acting like you really want some advice at this point."
Piccolo grunted. "Right..."
"It's really easy," she continued. "After about the third step, just do a bunny hop!! I don't know why it helps, but it does. Or at least, it does for me."
"Wait a minute," he said, holding a hand up. "I do NOT bunny hop."
"^_^ Yes you can!! Anyone can!!"
"Sure anyone can," Piccolo said, "but I don't."
Suddenly he felt someone clinging to his back. Looking behind him, the namek found his student hanging from his shoulders. "What do you want??" he asked in annoyance.
"I'm hungry," Leda said. "Can I borrow five bucks?"
"What?!" Piccolo screeched. "I'm not here for you to borrow money off of!! Go ask Krillin!!"
"No way!" Krillin shouted from the table, munching on some mozzerella sticks. "I paid for the lanes, you pay for the food!!"
Piccolo eased Leda to the ground. "But I don't eat!! What benefit would I get from it?!"
Krillin glared. "Could we??"
"Oh for the love of Kami!!" Piccolo snarled, pulling out his wallet. He took out a ten and gave it to the saiyan. "Here, but that's all you're going to get!!" Gently shoving her away, he said, "Now beat it!! I need to make my shot." Once she took off to the food bar he went back to pick up his ball, but noticed a bit of a problem; Pepper Lyn was sitting on it on the ball rack. Piccolo raised an eyebrow.
"Eh.... Pepsi...."
"^_^ I'm not getting off until you bunny hop!!" she said in a sing-song voice. "Just once!! I won't ask you to do it again."
"Get off my ball," Piccolo seethed. He loomed over her. "Now."
Pepper just poinked his nose. "^_^ Bunny hop!!"
Piccolo started to growl again, but then stopped and thought about it. I may as well try it... he thought. If nothing else I can't get worse... Aurgh, but I'll look retarded!!
The namek thought back to the scores of the last game. Who am I trying to kid? I ALREADY look retarded. He sighed. "Alright, Pepsi, teach me your stupid bunny hop."
Delighted, the little dingo bounced off his bowling ball and stood next to him on the floor. "Alright, I just do it after my third step." She approached the lane and threw an imaginary ball. "Like that. Heh, of course, you're much bigger than me, so I don't know what step you'd do it after..."
"Feh!! Get out of the way. Just let me do this," Piccolo snorted. He raised the ball to his face. That nervous feeling was manifesting in his stomach again, but he forced himself to ignore it and released the ball, doing the "bunny hop" like Pepper had told him to.
His eyes widened. His ball was heading down the middle toward the pocket, like Krillin had told him to aim. "Hey, look!!" he said pointing. The ball crashed into the pins, knocking them all down.
"YES!!!!!" Piccolo shouted with a jump, ignoring an annoying buzzing sound. "I FINALLY got a strike!!!"
"Eh..... Piccolo...." Krillin began.
The namek ignored him, laughing to himself and grinning ear to ear. "Haha!! Take that, Leda!!"
"Um, Piccolo... you didn't exactly get a strike..."
"What?! What are you talking about??" Piccolo looked up at the scores. "What the--?! Wait a minute!! What's that big F for?! It should be an X, I got a strike!!"
Leda, who had just returned, set her food down on the table. "Well, you did knock down all the pins. You're right about that." Her eyes drifted. "But you fouled."
"Fouled?!?" Piccolo shouted. "What's a foul?!"
Krillin blinked. "Hey, since when do they serve okonomiyaki in the food bar??"
Leda bopped him on the head. "Quiet, fool."
"A foul is when you cross that line in your approach," Pepper answered, pointing to the black foul line at the start of the lane. "You're not allowed to go farther than that."
Piccolo started yanking at his antenneas. "AAUUUURRRGGGHHHHH!!!!"
Krillin sweatdropped. "Hey, take it easy, Piccolo!! Just do that same thing again without fouling and you'll pick it up!!"
"Yeah, right, like I can do that again!!" he spat. The namek retrieved his ball. Hmph. Well, I guess it worked. I just need to start from farther back....
Leda laughed. "Piccolo's dancing like Pepper!! Haha, domo kawaii, P-San."
"Shut up, brat!!" he barked, sulking back to the table and again putting his head down. His second shot had only rewarded him with four pins, and he wasn't please about it. Hmph. Screw that ridiculous bunny hop. I'll just have to figure something out on my own, I guess. After all, it can't be THAT hard. .....I think.
Krillin's first throw was another strike. Leda bounced up and started shaking him by the front of his gi. "How do you keep DOING that?!" she shouted.
"Waugh!!" Krillin wailed. "Sto-o-o-o-o-op!!" he managed between shakes.
"Aurgh... Oh well, that's ok. I've got a plan for my next shot, anyway. C'mere a minute..."
Piccolo's eyes narrowed. "Feh. Leave it to her to be coming up with a plan. She thinks she's so smart...."
Pepper Lyn leaned against him. "What's the matter with Leda making a plan?"
He flinched, startled, but decided to put up with her and let her stay there. "I don't know!! She's just so...... She's such a know-it-all!!"
"^_^ You're just jealous because she's better than you are."
Piccolo snorted, unwilling to admit that the little dingo was right.
Suddenly Pepper jerked upright. "What are they doing?!"
The namek stood up. "What the--??"
Leda held her ball up to her face, aiming her throw to come, while sitting atop of Krillin's shoulders. "Ok!!" she shouted. "You ready??"
"Yeah!! Here we go!!" he yelled, running toward the lane. They gained momentum, and Leda reared back her bowling ball. Then, just before they hit the foul line, Krillin slammed his brakes and Leda jerked her arm forward, firing the ball like a rocket. It flew down the lane and crashed into the pocket. All the pins, except two in the front, seemed to explode from the diamond.
Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "That was.... different..."
*************************
"Why do you call me that, anyway?"
Distractedly, Piccolo glanced quickly at Pepper Lyn. "Huh? Why do I what?"
"Why do you call me Pepsi?"
"Oh, that." He shrugged. "I don't know. The 'pep' part came from Pepper. I guess it's just the first word I thought of that had 'pep' in it." He leaned on the heel of his hand, half-heartedly watching Krillin get yet another strike. "Could be worse, I guess. You could've gotten stuck with 'Poopsie' or something."
Pepper's face scrunched with the thought of being called such a thing. "Ack, I guess you're right." She beamed up at him. "^_^ I like that you have your own little nickname for me, though!"
"Right..."
The little dingo frowned. Piccolo was really starting to get upset about his score. It was the seventh frame, and his score was sagging at 47. Higher already than what he'd gotten the first game, but still quite a bit behind the others.
Suddenly she grinned. "Piccolo!!" she whisper-called. "I just got a fabulous idea!!" Snickering, Pepper Lyn began whispering into his ear, and Piccolo's face brightened.
"Hey," he said, "that is a good idea!!" The namek grinned evilly. "Heh. He won't know what hit 'im." He snickered, watching Pepper take to the lane. He didn't really even see what she got; he was too busy thinking about their little scheme.
His turn rolled around again. Piccolo bit back another laugh as he passed Leda and Krillin, who were arguing about whether or not Mountain Dew was better than Surge, and walked onto the floor. Taking his bowling ball from the ball rack, Piccolo approached and threw without even thinking at all about what he was doing. His mind was focused entirely on Pepper's plan. His attention was returned to the lane, though, as was everyone else's, at the sound of a loud CRACK.
"Whoa, check it out!!" said Leda, who was stradling Krillin's back and had been beating him over the head with her bowling bag. "He finally got one!!"
Krillin looked up. "Huh?? You mean one that counted??"
"You did it, Piccolo!!" Pepper praised, jumping up and down. "^_^ You got a strike!! You got a strike!!"
Piccolo's mouth hung open in shock. "I... I got one..." Then it seemed to really sink it what he had done. "HAHAHAHAAAAAAA!! I GOT ONE!!!!" He turned around and started taking his bows. "Thank you, thank you, sorry but I don't do autographs..."
Krillin stood, knocking Leda off in the process. "Right. You're full of it."
"Sure..." Piccolo whistled as his eyes drifted, one of his hands behind his back waiting for the dropoff. At the same time, Pepper Lyn casually wandered over to him and slipped a ketchup packet into his hand. Turning away, Piccolo slit open the top of it, then waited for the right moment. Pepper crawled onto his back to get a better view. It made his stomach churn, but the namek put up with it anyway.
Krillin lined up his shot, and began his approach. Just before he reached the lane, Piccolo flung the ketchup packet onto the floor directly in his path.
"What the--?!?" Krillin shouted, skiing on one foot as the ketchup carried him across the floor. "OH CRAP!!!" He lost his balance and fell right on his butt, sliding speedily down the lane. Once he caught sight of the big wooden pins in his path, Krillin's eyes widened and his voice rang out over the bowling alley.
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!"
Krillin crashed into the pins feet first, sending them flying into other lanes and down his own. A long, pained wail could be heard from the backdrop, and Krillin was seen curled up in a little ball at the end of the lane.
A chorus of laughter greeted him not only from his lane, but also from all the other lanes in the bowling alley. He glared. Why I oughta... SOMEONE is going to pay for this!!! he thought, painfully rising to his feet and tenderly walking back down the gutter.
Leda and Pepper were about to die laughing, and Piccolo was wearing that big smirking grin of his (which for him was approximately the equivilant of roaring, foot-stomping laughter). Krillin limped over to the trio and spat, "Alright, which one of you did it?!"
"We didn't!!" Pepper quickly replied, grappling Piccolo's neck as his cheeks flushed purple. Leda would have spoken in her own defense, but she was rolling on the floor laughing with tears streaming from her eyes. She could hardly breathe, let alone speak.
Krillin's focus quickly zeroed in on her. "So, it was you, huh?! Why when I get through with you--"
"Settle down, Krillin," Piccolo said, biting his lip. "I was the one that did it." In an attempt to get him to stop glaring at him, the namek quickly added, "Hey, at least you got a strike, right??"
"I don't think it counts..." Pepper Lyn mumbled thoughtfully.
"It doesn't," Krillin sulked, collapsing into a chair and curling up into a ball again. "I'd like to think it does, but doesn't. I didn't use a bowling ball."
"Who cares??" Leda giggled, taking her ball from the rack. "Let's just count it! You earned it, after all. After taking all those pins in the crotch, I'd say you earned yourself a damn 300 game!!"
*************************
"Dance!!" Krillin shouted, snapping at Leda with his bowling towel. "Heh heh, dance, woman!!"
"Ow!!!" she yelped, jerking away from the stinging cloth. "Knock it off!!" The saiyan scowled, looking up at the scores. "I don't know how you do it. You're always in the lead. You beat us all first game and second, and now you're beating us all this game!!"
Krillin folded his arms and smirked, standing hipshot. "Yeah, so?"
"So, stop it!"
Piccolo snickered. "Now look who's jealous."
Ignoring her sensei's comment, Leda dove to her knees in front of Krillin. "Come on, just let me win one time!!"
"You're pathetic," Pepper mused, leaning on her friend's head.
Leda snorted. "I know I am. I just get so annoyed!! I've never once broken 200, and Krillin does it like it's nothing. I mean, he just got a 289!! He almost got a perfect score!!!" She frowned. "I only got a 144."
Piccolo nudged her with his knee. "Get up. Don't be such a whiner. It's not becoming."
"Aren't you up?" Leda asked, trying to aim his focus elsewhere.
He looked at the score screen. "Yup." Calmly and confidently he went to the ball rack and retrieved his ball. After he got that first strike, Piccolo quickly picked up on his technique and developed his own style, finishing with a 116. Currently he was closely competing with Leda for second, and Pepper Lyn wasn't far behind the two of them. Krillin, on the other hand, had a commanding lead over all three of them.
Piccolo approached the lane and was about to throw his ball when he noticed some kind of flash. He paused. "What was that?"
"Nothing," Leda scoffed, lowering her camera. "Just me capturing that beautiful little bunny hop for all the world to see!"
"You WHAT?!?" Piccolo charged at her. "Gimme that camera!!!"
"WAUGH!!" Leda bounced into the air, dodging the namek's swipes and taking off in the other direction. Krillin and Pepper allowed this little game of cat-and-mouse to continue for a while, but finally decided to intervene when the namek had his disciple against a wall.
"Alright, that's enough," Pepper said, pushing between them. "I'll take the camera." She poked Piccolo in his purple-gied chest. "Go take your shot, Big P."
He gulped, never really sure how to answer when she called him that. ".....Right."
Returning to the ball rack, Piccolo paused. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shook his head and decided to walk it off, and quickly returned his attention to the lane. That sensation was still nagging at him, though, and caused him to hesitate again. Bah.. It's probably nothing he thought.
Just as he was about to raise the ball to his face, though, he suddenly felt a pair of arms coming up from behind him and hugging him around the waist. Piccolo was so startled that his arms jerked out to both sides and his bowling ball was sent flying. He whirled around, furious, but only saw Pepper Lyn's loving face beaming up at him. "^_^ Don't just stand there!! Take your shot!!" she chirped.
Piccolo's breaths started heaving as he raised a shaking fist, but he couldn't bring himself to hit her. Pepper wasn't like Leda; she didn't know how to fight. If he attacked her, she wouldn't be able to defend herself.
"Congradulations, Piccolo!!" Leda called from the table, looking down the bowling alley with a pair of binoculars. "You just got a strike 30 lanes down!!"
"Bravo!!" Krillin applauded. "Heh, you need to teach me how to do that, Piccolo!!" He walked down to the floor. "My shot, anyways."
"Oh no you don't!!" Leda shouted, diving to the floor and clinging to one of Krillin's legs. "You have got to let me beat you once!!"
Krillin wobbled and shook his leg, sweating nervously. "Let go of me, you psycho!!" He hobbled the rest of the way to the ball rack, dragging Leda on the ground behind him, and retrieved his ball. Again he shook his leg. "Let go!! It's my turn!!"
Leda growled. "No!! I'm gonna sabatoge you if it kills me!!" Growling again she bit his leg.
"OW!!! LEDA!!!" Krillin fell to the floor and hurled his ball toward the table. He glared. "Did you just forget about your Namek teeth?! Those things are sharp!! That really hurt!!!"
"Oops... sorry.." Suddenly she realized she tasted blood. "Uh oh. Hey, are you ok?? Did I break the skin??"
Krillin pulled up his pantleg. "Aurgh, yes!!"
Leda sweatdropped. "Heh... Sorry!!"
*************************
They were down to the last frame, and all four of them were within a few pins of each other. Leda's sharkbite to Krillin had slowed him down enough to allow the others to catch up, and they were now competing heavily for first place. It was everyone for themself.
Krillin approached the ball rack, wishing desperately he had a pair of crutches. Not only had he encountered all those pins in the second game and had recently received a rather deep sharkbite, he'd also been fighting and sparring with Leda all day. Krillin was black and blue from top to toe.
He winced as he picked up his ball. "Pfft. Forget crutches, I want a wheelchair." He paused for a moment, looking back to the table. Leda was watching him intensely, waiting to see what she would have to match when her turn came. She's determined to beat me Krillin thought to himself, turning back to the lane. Hmph. She can try, but I'm going to prove to her that cheating isn't going to get her anywhere. She won't beat me!! Grunting, Krillin thrusted his ball down the lane, and was rewarded with another strike.
He let out a breath. "Well, there's one down..."
Groaning, he retrieved his ball for the next shot. Krillin was sore and tired, and also rapidly becoming less and less interested in whether he beat Leda or not. Now he was focused on just getting the stupid game over with. Carelessly he flung the ball down the lane, and surprisingly enough got a 9. Impatiently he waited at the ball rack for his ball so he could take his final shot, and when it returned to him, Krillin blindly threw it at the lane. It went straight into the gutter, but as he collapsed onto the nice cold floor, Krillin just told himself it didn't matter and that he didn't really care. His final score was a 188.
Leda snickered. "Good game, Krillin." She cracked her knuckles. "Hope mine's better!!" Stepping over the fallen man, the little saiyan hurried to the ball rack and got her bowling ball. Her eyes grew determined, and she chucked the ball down the lane. The familiar CRACK of the pins told her that she got exactly what she'd wanted.
"Ok," she told herself. "Now do it again."
She threw her second shot, getting the same thing she'd gotten in the first. Leda jumped in the air and squealed. "Yes!! A double!!"
"You're gonna beat me.." Krillin stated between pants. "Heh... I hope you do."
The mixling blinked. "Whoa... I never thought I'd hear you say that." She stuck out her tongue and smiled. "Thanks for the encouragement!" Leda took a deep breath. "Alright, here we go!!" She approached and released, and to her dismay, only got 7.
"Dammit!!" Leda growled to herself. "I was this close to getting a turkey!!"
"But look at what you did get," Piccolo called from the table.
Looking up at the scores, Leda saw that her final score was 197. Her eyes widened. She'd beaten him!! She'd actually beaten him!! And not only that, this was the closest she had ever come to breaking 200. Letting out a sigh of relief, Leda crumbled to the floor next to Krillin, smiling with satisfaction.
"Uh oh," Piccolo mumbled, looking around. "Pepsi's still in the bathroom. Eh... Now what?"
"Let's just skip over her," Krillin suggested. "She can finish when she gets back. Things'll go faster that way than if we wait for her."
Leda motioned Piccolo toward the control console. "Push 'Enter' for changes, then select 'Skip Bowler', then highlight Pepper's name and push 'Enter' again," she instructed.
After swearing at and arguing with the computer for a moment, Piccolo finally got the flashing arrows to bypass Pepper Lyn's name and settle next to his own. As he was approaching the ball rack, he examined the scores. There was no way he could beat Leda or Krillin, he saw, but he still had a shot at third.
Which, to his frustration, he didn't do too good of a job competing for. Over the span of both of the shots for the frame, he only got 5. His final score was 171. Piccolo growled about it for a while, then decided to forget the fact that he'd screwed up and just pleased himself with his score.
A couple minutes later, Subira bounded back to the table. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting!!" she said sheepishly, going straight to the ball rack. "I'll try to be quick."
"Please do," Krillin mumbled.
The little dingo let out a breath. "Ok, here goes!!" Very loosely, Pepper bounced to the lane and released.
Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "Whoa... A strike without even trying."
Pepper beamed. "^_^ Kewl!!" Retrieving her ball, she did the same thing again, getting a double, as well as more surprised looks from the others. When it came time for her third and final shot, Pepper Lyn's manner changed. Her perky smile was replaced by a focused and determined stare, eyeing the pin pyramid at the other end of the lane. Slowly she raised the ball to her face, and then took off, using more speed then usual. The ball flew down the lane.
"Come on, do it!!" she shouted as it moved closer to the pins.
The ball made a loud crashing noise as it collided with the pins. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. One by one the pins fell, until only one was left. It tilted, leaning farther and farther to one side, seemingly balancing perfectly at a 45 degree angle...
And then righted itself.
Pepper's mouth dropped open in shock and disappointment. "But.... But.... No!! Aw, man!! I was so close!! Just one, I missed by just one pin!!!"
Suddenly a yellow, screw-like blast shot past her head, charring the one remaining pin into nothingness. Pepper Lyn whirled around and found Piccolo standing behind her, his hand still in the firing position. He smiled down at her.
"No, you didn't."
Still on the floor, Krillin and Leda looked at each other, dumbfounded. Pepper had just gotten a turkey on her last frame; she had just beaten all three of them, just like that. She had won the final game. Her score was 202. Leda and Krillin just couldn't believe it.
Pepper tackled Piccolo and wrapped him in her tightested hug. "^_^ Thank you thank you thank you Piccolo San!!" she praised, cuddling and huggling him.
"Hey!! Hey now!! Don't get carried away!!" Piccolo ordered, trying to escape the little dingo's grasp. He gradually began to move away from her.
"^_^ But I need to thank you!! Come back here!!" Pepper replied, following him.
Piccolo began to sweat. "Wait a minute!! No, stop!! Hey!!" Finally he broke out into a full run. "LEAVE ME ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!"
Pepper Lyn giggled as she gave chase. "^_^ Come back here!!"
Krillin and Leda laughed, slowly rising to their feet and cleaning up the lane. They didn't know it, but they were both thinking the same thing as they watched Pepper chase Piccolo around the alley.
Some things never change...
By Leda Chan
