We arrived in Chamberlain just after 6 p.m. The parking lot was nearly empty, but it wouldn’t be for long. Chamberlain had the only bowling alley in a two-hour radius.
“World’s best pizza, eh?” said Felix with one raised brow.
I looked over at the rundown building beside us. The lights flickered and the whole place was covered in a light brown dusty coating, probably from a recent windstorm. “Give it a chance. Maybe it’s one of those diamond in a rough kind of places.”
“Alright,” he said, pulling into the parking space in front of the entrance. “This better be some good pizza.”
I followed him into the restaurant and nearly ran into the back of him when he came to an abrupt stop.
“Wow,” he said.
“What?” I asked, making my way around his large frame.
“Wow,” I echoed. “You really can’t judge a book by its cover.”
The restaurant was packed full of loud, rowdy people ranging anywhere from 6 years old to over 60. There were neon lights everywhere and wildly colored walls in every direction. The whole place smelled like pizza, making my mouth water almost instantly.
I blinked twice, not sure if I could trust my sight, but there it was.
Felix and I simultaneously turned to the parking lot. It was still bare, only five vehicles sat in the lot. We shared a brief look of confusion before a perky blonde waitress skated up to us. Skated up to us!
“You wanting a lane or just a table?” she asked, her painted red lips moving as she chewed a piece of pink bubble gum.
Felix flashed her his handsome smile. “We’ll take a lane if there’s one available.”
She spun in a circle, scanning the lanes.
“I think that ones on their last,” she said, pointing to the far left lane. “There’s a waiting list, you know.”
“How long?”
“Well, there’s a waiting list, but I didn’t say you had to be on it.”
She batted her eyelashes at him, and he didn’t seem at all discomforted by the fact I was standing right beside him. I nudged him on the shoulder and his smug smile faded.
“This your girlfriend?” she asked, skating side to side as though standing still was beyond her abilities.
“What!” I said. “No.”
Felix took a $20 bill from his pocket and shoved it into my hand. “She’s my niece. Annabelle, why don’t you go play some arcade games while I tell this pretty lady about how I raised you since you were just a baby.
She smiled giddily at him. “Oh, yeah. That’s cool.” She twirled a piece of her blonde hair around her finger and let it trace down her cleavage.
“Oh god,” I mumbled. “I’ll be at the lane.”
I walked away, tucking the bill into my front pocket.
I sat alone at the lane for far longer than reasonably dismissible. I knew this because the groups of people in the lanes next to me started to give me wavering looks. Of course, to them I looked like a lonely teenager waiting for friends that were unlikely to show. I guess they weren’t entirely wrong about that.
“Sweet girl,” Felix said, drawing my attention from my cell phone.
“Gross,” I said. “Did you even notice the red lipstick on her tooth?”
He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t see any lipstick.”
“Of course you didn’t.” I sighed. “You were too busy looking at her boobs.”
“Okay,” he said, rubbing his palms on his jeans nervously. “Let’s bowl!”
We bowled three rounds, each progressively more competitive than the last and with an ample amounts of trash talk. I was usually pretty good at bowling, but today my mind was elsewhere. As hard as I tried to forget everything that had happened this morning, I just couldn’t. The pain was fresh on my mind and heavy on my heart.
Felix bit into a giant slice of pizza. “So are we still pretending like everything’s okay?”
“What do you mean,” I said, strategically avoiding eye contact.
“Well, you had me drive two hours out for pizza and bowling, and don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you did. We don’t get to spend time like this anymore,” he said before taking another enormous bite. “And, I mean, I don’t know if you really realized how much you sucked at bowling today.” He slurped down his Coke and continued, “I killed you out there.”
“Ha! It was hardly the slaughter you make it out to be.”
“Pretty darn close,” he said, smiling smugly before continuing, “But stop changing the subject.”
“You actually brought that up,” I retorted.
“You’re doing it again.”
I sighed. I hated it when he was right and most of all, I hated how he could see through me like I was a thin sheet of glass.
I flopped my pizza onto the paper plate in front of me. “I dunno… my friends, at least I thought they were my friends, are acting weird. Very secretive.”
“I see,” he said. “But things aren’t always what they seem. Maybe you should give them the benefit of the doubt.”
I furrowed my brow. “That’s what Jane said.”
He shrugged. “If they’re really your friends the least you can do is wait it out. I’m sure all will be revealed sooner or later.”
I scowled. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours,” he replied immediately. “Always yours.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in my chair. “Well, start acting like it.”
He straightened in his chair and saluted me. “Yes drill sergeant.”
“Can’t you just do one of your moves again?” I leaned forward and smiled. “Somewhere tropical maybe?”
He frowned. “I thought you liked it here.”
I did like Burnwood. I liked the friends I had made and the life I could have here, but moving had always been my way of dealing with problems.
Felix lowered his slice of pizza to his plate. He had his serious face on, the one he had on when he told me I was forbidden from doing certain activities, like skydiving or rock climbing.
“Annabelle, I think you should understand something.”
Why had I mentioned moving? Now I’ve initiated the one thing I always hated doing. Why am I incapable of keeping my mouth shut?
“Burnwood is home,” he said, meeting my gaze firmly. “There’s going to be no more running.”
I was so relieved that I almost missed the choice of words used.
“Running?” I repeated.
“Moving…I meant moving.”
He diverted his eyes to the table top and fiddled with his fork.
What is it with everyone around me was acting so odd? What the hell were they putting in the water around here?
Burnwood - The Dragon Arum Page 17