Ball, Fly

After a moment the little vampire appeared in the bowling alley again. Tony could see a triumphant grin on his friend’s face, as if he had already won.

“Look, your little brother’s back,” George the Quick-Tempered pointed out.

“Where?” said Gregory, looking up at the ceiling.

“There, right in front of you!” replied George, giving Gregory a friendly shove.

“Oh yeah,” said Gregory, surprised. “He looks exhausted, the poor guy. Was running too strenuous?”

The little vampire decided to ignore Gregory’s comments. “Shall we bowl?” he asked.

“What, again?” replied George the Quick-Tempered, exchanging an amused look with Gregory. “All right,” he said. “One last round, for you! But I’m first!”

Tony could hardly suppress a laugh as he watched George the Quick-Tempered resume his shotput stance. This time he bent his knees a little deeper and thrust the ball through the air with a loud “U-aah!”

It was all in vain. There was a crash, followed by an angry, disappointed roar from George the Quick-Tempered, who had obviously missed.

Now it was Gregory’s turn. He had a very serious expression on his face as he balanced the ball in his raised left hand. Before throwing, he recited,

“Bowling ball, fly to the pin.

Knock them down for Gregory’s win!”

But his chant didn’t help very much. After a terrible crash, Tony heard him curse, “Just one? That can’t be true!”

“But it is true,” the little vampire giggled. “And what’s also true is that you’re about to see the bowler of the year!”

With that he crouched down, placed the ball on the floor and rolled it away from him with a powerful push.

Tony bit his tongue to keep from laughing. The way the little vampire had taken a frog pose to push the ball down the lane wasn’t very elegant. And it made what happened next all the more astonishing. For a moment the only sound that could be heard was the rumbling of the ball making its way down the bumpy, holey track. Next, Tony heard a series of loud cracks, and Rudolph let out a cry of joy.

“Six, six, six!” Rudolph shouted ecstatically.

Tony’s heart skipped a beat with joy and excitement.

“Six at once!” cried the little vampire, hopping from one leg to the other. “Victory!”

“Victory?” said George the Quick-Tempered with a contemptuous air. “Maybe if we were playing marbles, where you roll things around. But bowling comes from sailing, you should know that. In bowling, only those who toss the ball through the air can win!”

“Exactly!” Gregory agreed.

“That’s not true at all!” the little vampire objected angrily. “You have to roll the ball!”

“Roll the ball?” repeated George the Quick-Tempered, laughing mockingly. “And how do you know that all of a sudden, Roly-Poly?”

“I just know!” replied the little vampire—with surprising confidence, Tony thought. But after all, the little vampire was right, and he’d won!

“Besides, we decided that everyone was allowed to bowl any way they wanted!” added Rudolph in a firm voice.

“That’s true,” George the Quick-Tempered agreed. Apparently, he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said to Gregory.

“Yes, let’s go,” Gregory agreed. “I don’t want to play with a cheater.”

“You two are the cheaters!” cried the little vampire. “Because you’re sore losers!”

“Us?” said George the Quick-Tempered and Gregory at the same time, looking at each other in feigned indignation.

“Your little brother is extra-annoying today,” said George the Quick-Tempered. “A real pain!”

They grinned and turned to leave.

“You two are bums!” Rudolph called after them. “Mega-bum bags!”

“Mega-bum bags, how cute!” Tony heard George the Quick-Tempered say with a giggle. “Gregory, I hereby appoint you as my mega-bum bag!”

A roar of laughter followed, then a door slammed shut.

The little vampire clenched his fists. “Beasts!” he hissed, and disappeared from view.