Chapter 4: Brother and the Bowling Alley

I followed my brother again. I am probably going to miss my class again. But I had to. He was going into a bowling alley. I have been snooping around more ever since I saw him with the California Legatus Palladium card. But he has not made a move ever since the modeling incident.

Which reminds me, our place is packed with packages and letters from the Clothes Shop begging him to return as a model.

I digress. My brother finally made a move and he is at the bowling alley. He is talking to the owner of the bowling alley and pointing at the poster of an amateur tourney with a prize of 1,000,000 Korean Won for the top scorer.

"I know you want to but I can't allow you!" The owner refused.

My brother had his hands together and pleaded.

"You know I have regulars that would complain if they found out that you were allowed to play here!" The owner was steadfast in his resolve.

"Is there a reason why he is not allowed to bowl here? Did my brother cause a ruckus here before? Why does he want to play in the tournament? Did he run out of money and our parents are not paying off his credit card?" I wondered.

"Even if we allow you to play, we would need an extra player to get you in and everyone who said that they were going to be here is already here." The owner added.

"Why not let this young lady play?" A voice behind me said. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and I saw the older gentleman who spoke. "She looked wanted to join but was too shy to."

"No! I am not here to play!" I rejected the proposition. My brother was already looking at me with the confused owl look that seemed to say 'Why are you doing here?'

"Oh don't be shy, I will pay for your entry fee!" The older gentleman said.

"But sir, I can't let him play!" The owner rejected it.

"Oh c'mon, Mr. Owner, it has been years since then. I am pretty sure he has not been like THAT anymore." The older gentleman interjected. "Besides, if he does not play. She doesn't either. Do you want to disappoint the next generation of bowling enthusiasts?"

I opened my mouth to object but no words came out of my mouth.

The owner sighed and said "He... plays."

My brother fist pumped to celebrate the fact that he got to play.

...

My brother was playing against a different player. He bowled a strike in the first frame.... Another strike in the second frame. He got a turkey .... Wild turkey... golden turkey...

He destroyed his opponent with a perfect game.

"Umm miss? Your turn." My opponent called me. He was a nervous looking fresh out of college guy. I looked at my score. Nothing but gutter. I sighed and I grabbed my ball.

"Miss, I can teach you if you would like." My opponent asked in a very... creepy(?) nervous tone.

"No, I am good." I rejected him outright.

I stood at the start of the lane getting ready. I began to swing my arm back.

"Umm.. miss, you are holding it wrong." The opponent came up behind and got hit by the ball. "Oof."

He collapsed. While the ball bounced into the gutter.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I am fine..." The opponent said with a painstaking smile

"Okay." I said and promptly ignored him.

...

I obviously lost. Even a baby would have beaten my score. But my brother... he just won't stop getting a perfect game. Even the older gentleman who was wearing a Buddha-like smile before was fuming with anger.

"I should not have let him play." He muttered angrily.

The owner of the bowling alley was facepalming like he knew this would have happened.

My brother destroyed the competition with nothing but perfect games.

The owner went up to my brother with a thick envelope and handed it to him.

"Don't you dare come back here ever again." The owner said while gritting his teeth.

"Yeah! Don't dare come back in here punk!" Other contestants shouted.

My brother gave no flying care and lifted the prize like a green sword wielding character getting a heart-shaped item in a 'Legend of' game.

...

I walked outside with my brother. He was gleaming at his prize winning.

"So... why did the bowling alley owner try to stop you from playing?" I asked. "Was it because you are too good? Or was it because you caused a mess there before?"

My brother stopped looking at the envelope and put it away. He took out his phone and typed something in there. He showed me the phone screen when he was done. It was the picture of the National Bowling Agency's Professional Player Profile page. There on that page was my brother with his picture.

"So... you were a pro that entered an amateur competition? That is such an asshole move!" I denounced.

My brother shook his head furiously. He pointed to a line in his profile.

"Last played professionally three years ago. Retired from professional bowling three years ago."

"But still, you were a pro and you went to an amateur tournament!" I countered.

My brother shook his head more viciously and typed something on his phone and showed me. It was the poster of the amateur contest.

"All amateurs and former pros* are welcome! *Former pros need to be retired for more than two years."

"Well... that was on them..." I said. My brother nodded.

"But, you were a professional bowler? When did that happen? Why did that happen?" I asked.

Brother furiously typed something on his phone. He showed it to me. It was a newspaper article from a couple years back:

"The celebrities Min Kim and Ina Lee were trying out to become a professional bowler but they have not made the cut. Min Kim was devastated when a last minute entrant pulled off a perfect game which raised the minimum requirement to become pro above what Min Kim was able to score."

There in the picture was my brother and his friends from high school with signs reading "We Love You Ina!" in the background.

I managed to piece the evidence together.

"You... were at the bowling pro tryouts to cheer on Ina Lee. You happened to enter at the last minute and became a pro?" I asked hoping that I am not correct about this ridiculous conclusion.

My brother gave me a thumbs up.

"Wait... I have never seen you bowl before! Where did you learn how to bowl?!" I asked.

My brother gave the same owl look as if he wanted to say. 'What do you mean? We have played a lot of Bowling before.'

"We never bowled together before! When did w.." Then I remembered. All the times that my brother and I would play "W** Sports" on the N******** W**.

"N********** W**... Sports.... Bowling... ?" I muttered in confusion. My brother gave a big thumbs up and walked towards the sunset...

So... My brother took the bowling skills he learned from playing a motion video game. Went to a national bowling try out to cheer on a celebrity. Entered the tryouts last minute. Played a perfect game which caused another celebrity to fail in becoming a pro. Stopped being pro shortly after. Three years later begged to play in an amateur tournament to win 1,000,000 Korean Won.

"What the heck?" I muttered. My brother turned around and gave me a toothy smile and a thumbs up.

"What the heck is wrong with this guy..." I wondered.