CH 20

Twenty minutes into the bus ride. The four of us arrived at our destination, a bowling alley.

Keiichi and I have been to this place many times, and I think Saejima and Kohinata have probably been here too. The reason is that the facilities are large and substantial, and there are no other bowling alleys in the vicinity, which is a compelling reason.

After submitting a completed form to the receptionist, we each rented the right size shoes. We then selected the right weight from a colorful selection of bowling balls and headed for the lanes.

Since we were going to the trouble – we decided to use two lanes and play against each other.

The teams were divided according to the scores we had checked before we started, and we played three games, with the winning team buying the juice.

“Keiichi …… estimated my score low, didn’t he? I’m not sure I want to go to such lengths to buy him a glass of juice.”

As I changed into my rented shoes, I looked at Keiichi, who was in the lane next to me, rolling his shoulders in circles.

If I remember correctly, Keiichi would have scored better than me more often than not. Whenever we played in a bowling alley, it was usually a game, and I vaguely remember which of us won more often.

But this guy said, “Tomoki is definitely better than me. Tomoki should be paired with Kohinata for balance since Kohinata seems to be able to throw only a light ball. Is that okay with you ladies?” As a result, I was paired with Kohinata, who was said to have the lowest score among them.

Considering that I could be paired with Kohinata if I bought him juice, it was probably a surprisingly inexpensive deal. But still, for some reason Saejima had a bitter look on her face when was talking to her. …… I wonder what that was all about?

“Tie the laces of your shoes tightly. It’s dangerous if you fall down.”

I called out to Kohinata, who was tying her shoelaces next to me, as if I were a guardian.

She looked up at me and nodded her head. I could feel her intention to “Leave it to me!”

Her outfit today is not the fluffy one she wears when she comes to the coffee shop, but rather a rather large white knit outfit with pants in the same plaid pattern as her hat.

Bowling alley on a holiday with a girl in cute plain clothes – it’s like a date if one erases the presence of Keiichi and others friends from one’s brain. …… No, it might be more like a parent-child outing. At the very least, Kohinata would not be thinking of anything so frivolous as a ‘date’.

Finally, the first game began. The first throw was from the boys on either team.

We threw twice, with Kageichi getting 9 and me getting 8. Well, the first game is just like getting used to the game

“Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve thrown a ball, so I don’t really know what it feels like! HaHaHa!”

“But it was great! It was so fast I almost thought the pins were going to break!”

I could hear their cheerful voices coming from the next lane. Keiichi is more of a power style than a skill style. From the girls’ point of view, it must have looked like an impactful pitch.

And me and the Kohinata team.

“I guess that’s about it. To be honest, I’m not that good, so don’t expect too much.”

When I said that, Kohinata nodded slowly with a blank expression on her face and then gave a thumbs-up. I guess she was signaling good, but her fingers were so tiny that a “gnock” sound effect seemed more appropriate than a “gugg” one. Cute.

Kohinata then walked up to the place where the ball was placed and talked with Saejima about something. Kohinata seems to be acting a little suspicious, but I wonder what kind of conversation they are having.

“both in good shape. It’s going to be a good match.”

While I was absentmindedly watching Kohinata and Saejima talking, Keiichi approached me from the seat across from him. –I’m not sure what is he talking about

“Just because …… Kohinata can only throw a light ball doesn’t mean her score is low. Don’t know if you’ll get hurt, right?”

“Eh? Is Kohinata good?”

“I don’t know,……, but unknown means it could be either.”

Maybe she’s better than any of these people. I don’t have much hope.

At my rather flustered way of saying it, Keiichi laughs, “Hahaha.”

“Well, I’ll make adjustments if the gap is too wide so that it will be a good match. To tell the truth, Tomoki is more comfortable playing with Kohinata than with Saejima, isn’t that right?”

“Well yeah. I mean, that’s what you’re after, after all.”

I knew it would be something like that.

Keiichi just set it up so that Kohinata and I would be paired up, and she didn’t make a false declaration for the sake of juice – I guess that’s what he meant. It’s more like witty or meddlesome …….

Well, whether we lost or won, if we ended up having ‘fun’, that’s all that matters.

☆ ☆　☆　☆　☆

~Conversation of the girls~

“Aaaa-Suuu-Kaaa?”

“………… (Pui!)”

“Just because you want to be paired with Sugino-kun, doesn’t mean you should pretend to be bad at it?”

“………… (Sowasowa)”

“You can’t fool me by looking away!?”

“………… (Fukifuki)”

“Why do you suddenly start polishing the ball? You don’t always do that!”

“………… (pochipochi)”

“Well, what is it …… “Juice, please”! It’s terrible! You’re not going to go easy on me or anything?!”

“…………”

“–Haaa. If my team loses, I’ll ask you to buy me juice at school next time, okay?”

“…………(Kokukoku)

“Okay, then! I’ll do my best not to show Karakusa-kun how bad I look!”