Requital hope

Twenty-four

We reached the center of the park amongst many other students. I guess a lot of them were interested in taking part in the last event since more turned up than last time. I caught sight of one teacher standing on a log to heighten themselves above the students.

"All right, quiet down everyone!" She started. "As you all know, this wonderful trip will soon end. Today will be the last activity. We'll be heading into town and treating you guys to ice cream and bowling. I know bowling might not be your ally-" She chuckled to herself. I and several other students couldn't help but smile, some even laughed at her joke. "but just give it a chance. I just know you'll have fun. And if you still decide not to play, you can tag along and hang out with your friends or something." She finished. A lot of them were excited. I know I was.

There were so many people going that they had to take a few buses. Zhan sat in the seat beside me. I was happy, very happy. He seemed like someone I could truly rely on. He always seemed to be there for me.

We drove a few minutes and reached the town. We stopped at our first destination. It seemed to be a pretty popular ice cream shop. It was chaotic with everyone trying to enter, since there were so many of us. The school had enough funds to treat everyone though. As the crowd calmed and people started receiving their ice cream Zhan went up and got one for each of us. We sat on a bench off to the side, away from all the commotion. They told us all to meet up by the bus in ten minutes, so we had a bit of time. The ice cream was pretty good. It wasn't anything special but it did well to combat the scorching sun.

On our way back to the bus I ran into the leeches who threw stones at me. They would have attacked me right then and there if it weren't for Zhan's presence. I wanted to hug him even though he didn't do anything. Just having him there made me feel safe. As the guys got on the bus they locked their sights on me. I hope they lay off me at school. I really didn't need them attacking me.

When we finally returned to the bus we took our seats, with him sitting next to me again. It took about another ten minutes to reach the bowling place the teacher mentioned. During that time Zhan and I traded some foolish jokes about things we saw in sight. I couldn't stop cracking up at how bad they were. Zhan was smiling the whole time as he watched me struggling to hold back. This would most likely turn out to be a great day. I was already having a good time.

Bodies flooded through the doors of the buses as everyone exited. Many of them were just on the trip to hang out. I'm looking forward to bowling, even though I probably suck at it. I, Zhan, and a handful of other students followed behind the teachers and instructors as they headed into the tall building. The outside had a flashy sign and was well decorated. The area had the same smell as the outside of a mall. The lighting changed as we entered through the glass doors. The place was dim. You could still see everything there, it was just a little dark. A teacher walked up to the guy behind the desk and showed him some cards. He nodded, then the teacher came back to our side.

"Alright, let's go bowling!" He shouted with a clap. There were several lanes to play in. I noticed only a few people besides us were there. Zhan stuck close as we followed one of the teachers to a lane. It evened up to about five people per lane. I spotted Cheng and his friends across the room. They were already in a game. I watched them a little, while a teacher prepared a game for us. He went first, knocking over seven pins. He seemed to

be pretty excited. On his second shot, he managed to knock over another pin, leaving two behind. Next up was some blond boy. He knocked over six with his first ball. The second he managed to pull off a spare. Zhan went next. He got six as well. He only managed to hit another three, leaving one behind. He was currently in second. A brunette girl named Haley was up next. I only know her name by overhearing an earlier conversation. In total, she knocked over six pins placing her in last. It was finally my turn. I grabbed a ball from the dispenser and made my way to the lane. I readied myself then threw the ball. To no one's surprise it swerved right into the gutters.

Haley and the blond guy giggled at my awful shot. Zhan looked a little concerned but also a little amused. I didn't take offense to any of it since it's exactly how I imagined it. I got another ball and took another shot. Same thing, the ball ate the gutter.

"Have you never gone bowling before?" The blond boy asked. I shook my head. This is my first time.

"Sorry, I don't know much about this." I said, looking down in guilt.

"At least now I won't be the last." Haley cheered. The next round began and the teacher scored another eight. The blond boy got eight. Zhan got a strike, and Haley got seven. Once again it was my turn to throw. I sighed as I carried my ball to the lane. I wanted to compete with the others so I tried my best to focus. It seemed to be working quite well, that is until I felt a presence at my side. I glanced up to spot Zhan next to me.

"Here." He said as he bent over me, sliding his hands to mine. I unintentionally whimpered at the tingles crawling up my arms. He slid his chin over my shoulder and he tightened my stance. He used his knees to adjust mine. pushing them out a little. He guided my hand as I made the toss. I almost jumped with joy when I saw that I scored a nine. I felt like hugging Zhan, but I contained myself. He stood there smiling at my reaction.

"That isn't fair." Haley scoffed.

"Now, we're only playing for fun, there's no need to get so intense." The teacher spoke to Haley.

"Can you help me for my next run?" She asked Zhan, giving him a little pout. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"You seem to be capable on your own." He replied, giving her an apologetic look. She didn't know how to take it. She was happy about the compliment but upset that he wasn't going to help her. To be honest, it was a relief to me.

I took my last toss on my own and missed the last pin. That was to be expected though. It didn't go in the gutter this time at least.

The teacher got a strike on the next turn. He cheered rowdily. We all found it humorous though. His comical banter throughout the whole game made it more fun. The blond boy got nine, Zhan also got nine, and Haley got eight. It was my turn again. I tried to mimic my stance from the last run so that I could knock over at least one pin. I tossed the ball and watched it closely as it rolled down the lane. And just as I hoped I knocked over one pin. I was satisfied. I couldn't help but to smile in joy. I got another ball and took another go. This one went right into the gutters.

"Drats." I muttered under my breath. Overall I was still pleased that I knocked over a pin. I'm guessing it showed because Haley and the blond boy were giving me a strange look.

The game pretty much continued like that. It ended with the teacher taking the cake. Zhan and the blond boy were tired for a second, and Haley came behind them. Of course I took the place of last. I had fun though. I know I handled it better than Haley would've, so it was probably for the best. Things started getting a little noisy in the building as more students flowed in. They were probably getting bored outside and wanted to take part in the activities.