Chapter 1.7 - Bowled Over

In the blink of an eye, the summer had ended and classes were once again in session. Both Quinn and Kaz were motivated by their first year grades and made each other promise by way of a pinky swear that they'd make sure to keep their GPAs high so that they would both graduate with honours.

They found themselves both studying harder than ever, either together or separately, late in to the night. Sometimes Caroline or Anna joined them in the dining hall and sometimes they locked themselves away in their room.

This often meant, however, that Quinn struggled to get through her 8:AM classes no matter how much coffee she ingested beforehand. It helped that she was an excellent note-taker and that her knowledge of the composition of a shot was already one of her natural gifts, or so Professor Holloway was always telling her.

In general, Quinn managed to survive some days on the strength of her sheer love of photography. She always made sure to participate in Holloway's class since the marks were graded differently than her other classes and participation was a very large part of the breakdown. 

After one of those long, overly-caffeinated days, Quinn was sitting in the dorm's empty dining area, editing a shot on her laptop when she heard Kaz talking on the phone behind her, speaking in a low voice.

"No," she heard her friend whisper furiously. "You can't force me to do anything. I'm my own fucking person." There was a pause as Kaz seemed to listen to whomever was on the other end. "I don't fucking care if you don't like my fucking language." Silence fell over the room after that and Quinn realized she had been holding her breath. She had never heard Kaz get angry before and she wasn't sure if she should turn around or stay frozen in her current position.

A moment later her decision was made for her. Quinn heard her friend mutter something unintelligible and then the snap of the phone disconnecting. Kaz threw herself down in a chair on the other side of the table, fiercely opened her laptop and proceeded to stare at the screen, lips pursed, looking as if she was straining to keep a barrage of curse words from pouring out.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked, concern and worry mingled in her words.

Kaz didn't reply for a moment. She just continued to stare at her computer screen and tapped her long fingernails on the mouse. Quinn was about to try again when Kaz broke the silence. "Hey Q. Do you feel like bowling? Because I sort of feel like bowling." Kaz's words sounded strangely monotone, as if she were using all of her control to maintain an even pitch.

Quinn paused before she answered. Clearly her friend did not want to talk about the conversation. Quinn was tempted to try and draw out the source of Kaz's anger and tried to recall how Madeline, her former therapist, might have gone about it. But the fingernail tapping continued unabated and, truthfully, Quinn admitted that they could probably both use a break. Also, she had only ever been bowling once in her life and anything was better than the incessant drumming of Kaz's nails.

"Sure. Let's go bowling."

The bowling alley was a twenty-five minute walk away from their dorm but Quinn reasoned that the fresh air and exercise might do them both some good. Especially Kaz, she thought as she noted the way her friend was stalking down the sidewalk. It was the end of the day and Quinn tried to keep up with Kaz's brisk walk while simultaneously enjoying the pink sky that bathed everything around them in a soft glow as dusk settled in.

They were both quiet as they walked in to The Fast Lane bowling alley. Since it was a Friday evening it was pretty busy when they arrived but they were luckily able to score the last available lane near the entrance. Quinn knew the basics of bowling but she didn't know how to keep score so Kaz agreed to do it.

"Um...fingers in the holes?" Quinn asked. She heard a slight cackle behind her and flushed. "You know what I mean!" she retorted, although she was unable to help cracking a small smile herself.

"Yes my lovely Q. Fingers in the holes! Okay now just line up your shot and try to get it right down the middle of the lane without gripping the ball too tightly," Kaz instructed. "Know when to let go!" she added as an afterthought.

Quinn tried to follow Kaz's advice but somehow as she shuffled forward, instead of gently rolling off her fingers, the ball flew through the air, landed with a loud clunk and rolled down the lane as if it was in slow motion. It gently hit two pins on the outside and then lumbered over the edge in to the dark void. Her second and third tries were no better and then it was Kaz's turn.

Kaz gripped her ball with her right hand and rubbed it with her left while staring down the pins with an expression that was slightly unnerving in its focus. Like a cat, she slunk forward with an agility that surprised Quinn and smoothly released the ball which made it's way speedily down the middle of the lane and, with a series of resounding cracks, toppled every last pin.

"Holy shit dude!" Quinn managed once she had forced her jaw shut. "So I guess you've bowled before then." It wasn't really a question. 

"Woo!" cried Kaz, kicking her leg out forcefully. "That's just what the doctor ordered."

And so it continued for the rest of the game. Quinn tried her best to hit more than three pins at a time but she was clearly no match for Kaz. But frankly, she didn't give a damn. Kaz seemed to be burning off her anger and if she wouldn't talk about it, this was the next best thing, Quinn supposed.

Quinn cheered again at the end of the game. It was obviously no contest and, anyway, both of them had stopped paying attention to the score long ago. 

Quinn glanced outside at the growing darkness, checked the large wall clock at the other end of the alley and asked Kaz if she was ready to leave. Kaz, still grinning, nodded and they headed home, both of them walking slowly, keeping pace with each other. Quinn breathed in deeply, relishing the heady scent of a nearby magnolia bush and exhaled softly.

"Hey Q...." Kaz began and then paused. "Thanks a lot. I guess I needed that."

"No problem. Anytime" is what Quinn said aloud. But she couldn't help silently wondering who was on the other end of that phone. And who had the power to make Kaz that angry.