“Oh, my God! I can’t believe I did that!” Heather jumped up and down and threw her arms around Cindy. “What’s that called again?”
“A strike. You got a strike. You’re a natural, Heather. I told you you’d love bowling.”
Heather looked a little sheepish. “I know you did. And I do. But it really is hell on my nails.”
“Why don’t you cut them off?” Cindy suggested. “You can always have them done again later.”
Diana held her breath, waiting for the explosion. Heather’s long, highly polished nails were her pride and joy. But the anticipated explosion didn’t come. Instead, Heather smiled at Cindy and nodded.
“Good idea. Does anybody have nail clippers?”
“I do.” Diana found her nail clippers in the pocket of her purse, and handed them over quickly, before Heather could change her mind. Heather was certainly different, now that she was enjoying herself. Was it possible that she was actually human?
“How about a team tournament?” Jay suggested. “We could have the boys against the girls.”
Diana shook her head. “That won’t work. There’s one more of you than there is of us.”
“That’s okay.” Cindy grinned at her brother. “I’ll bowl twice. That’ll make it even.”
Jay shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea. We wouldn’t want to wear you out.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. Just get your team organized. And say a little prayer while you’re at it.”
While the guys went to the racks to find bowling balls, Diana turned to Cindy. “Jay looked really upset when you said you’d bowl twice. What was all that about?”
“He knows my average. That’s why he’s worried.”
“It’s that bad?”
“No. It’s that good. I was the Prairie Falls teen champ for three years running. If I haven’t lost my stuff, we’re going to beat the pants off them!”
“That’s great, Cindy!” Heather smiled, but she looked a little worried. “I just hope I don’t spoil things for us. Maybe that strike I got was just beginner’s luck.”
Cindy shook her head. “Don’t worry. You’ll do just fine. I’ll give you pointers as we go along.”
“Are you ready?” Hal walked over to join them.
“Almost.” Cindy started to write their names on the transparent grid that was showing on the overhead projector. “I just wish we had a trophy or some prizes. That’d make it more fun.”
Hal gestured toward the case of trophies on the wall. “I don’t suppose . . . no, we’d better not. They belong to the bowling alley.”
“How about using some of those stuffed toys under the tree?” Diana suggested. “We could make up little plaques to hang around their necks.”
Hal nodded. “Good idea. I’ll go get eight of them. Four for the winners and four for the runners-up.”
“Wrong.” Cindy shook her head. “You only need three for the winners. I’m bowling twice, remember?”
“I’ll help you, Hal.” Heather put her bowling ball on the rack, and hurried to catch up with Hal.
“She sure seems different.” Cindy turned to Diana. They were both amazed that Heather had offered to help. “Do you think it’s permanent?”
“I don’t know. She cut her nails, and she seems to love bowling. And she pulled her hair back into a ponytail without even checking the mirror. Those are very good signs.”
“True.” Cindy nodded. “Well . . . let’s just cross our fingers and wait. I didn’t think I’d ever say it, but there may be hope for Heather yet.”
It was a sudden death play-off, with one ball for each contestant. The boys had gone first, and now it was time for the girls to bowl. The boys had proved to be a lot tougher to beat than Cindy had thought. Paul was an excellent bowler, and so was Jay. Even Hal had held his own, although he claimed he’d never done much bowling. The boys would have won, hands down, if it hadn’t been for Larry. Although he had a very good average, his game was really off tonight.
“Uh, oh.” Cindy winced as Larry threw his first strike of the night. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. We all have to bowl strikes if we’re going to win.”
Heather nodded, and gave a deep sigh. “It’s all my fault. I really blew my last three frames.”
“That’s okay, Heather.” Diana patted her on the shoulder. Heather really did look miserable. “It’s just a game . . . right, Cindy?”
“Diana’s right. And you did incredibly well for a beginner. Is your arm getting sore?”
Heather rubbed her arm and nodded. “It is kind of sore. But we need strikes to win, and I’ve got to try.”
“Come on, girls,” Larry called out to them. “It’s too late to plan strategy. Why don’t you just admit you lost and save yourselves the trouble. There’s no way you can all bowl strikes.”
Cindy bristled. “Oh, yeah? Says who?”
“Says me.” Larry put his hands on his hips and his grin held a clear challenge.
Jay walked over to intervene. “Hey, Larry. Don’t give the girls a hard time. We’re not out to prove anything here.”
“That’s right.” Paul walked over to join them. “This is just a friendly tournament. It doesn’t really matter who wins.”
Even Hal got into the act as he walked over to take Larry’s other arm. “Take it easy, Larry. We’re supposed to be having fun.”
“Okay, okay.” Larry shrugged them off. “But there’s no way they can win. Maybe Diana and Cindy can pull off strikes in the pinch, but Heather’s going to bomb. She’s a waste.”
Cindy walked back to join Diana and Heather. She was shaking her head. “Competition really changes Larry’s personality. Jay used to be on a dart team with him, but he bowed out when Larry got nasty with the other teams. He told Jay he was using psychology to rattle them, but Jay thought it was more like a personal attack.”
“But what Larry said is true.” Heather looked very depressed. “I don’t think I could bowl a strike if my life depended on it.”
Heather’s words set Diana’s mind whirling. If Larry was using psychology on them, there had to be some way to turn it around. Suddenly she had an inspiration, and she turned to Cindy and Heather. “We can use psychology, too. Let’s think of somebody we absolutely can’t stand, and pretend they’re standing right in front of the head pin. That ought to give us plenty of motivation to bowl strikes.”
“That’s a really good idea!” Cindy started to smile. “I’ll use Dr. Oliver.”
“But why?” Heather looked puzzled.
“He’s head of the chemistry department. And he made the rule about not allowing students to use calculators on exams. Professor Oliver’s the reason I almost flunked my chemistry final.”
Diana and Heather watched as Cindy got ready to bowl. There was a fierce expression on her face as she picked up her ball and took her place on the lane. Her steps were deliberate as she went into her delivery and the ball flew from her hand with much more force than usual.
“Wow!” Heather’s mouth flew open as Cindy’s ball mowed down the pins. “It worked! You’re up next, Diana. Who are you going to use?”
“I’m not sure.” Diana looked a little embarrassed. Before this bowling tournament had started, she would have used Heather for motivation, but she didn’t feel like doing that now.
“How about me?” Heather grinned at her. “I wouldn’t blame you.”
Diana could feel the blush rising to her face. Had Heather read her mind? “Uh . . . what do you mean?”
“I tried to get Jay away from you. That must have made you mad enough to throw a bowling ball at me.”
Should she be honest? Heather was certainly being very candid. Diana sighed, and then she nodded. “That’s true. I was really mad at you, before tonight. But you seem a lot different now. I think I’ll use Aunt Sharon. She’s always trying to convince my mother that I should go to an all-girls college.”
“Your Aunt Sharon sounds awful!” Heather nodded. “And I’m glad you don’t hate me anymore. I promise I won’t try to break up you and Jay again . . . honest.”
“Ready, Diana?”
Cindy motioned to her, and Diana walked up to get her ball. She did her best to visualize Aunt Sharon’s face as she stood at the end of the lane and concentrated.
“This is for you, Aunt Sharon.” Diana whispered the words as she stepped forward and let the ball fly. Then she closed her eyes and listened as the ball struck the pins with a very satisfying clatter.
“That was great, Diana!”
Diana opened her eyes to see that she’d bowled a strike. Then Heather came up and all three girls grinned at each other.
“Hey . . . this targeting really works.” Heather watched as Cindy picked up her ball. “Are you going to use Professor Oliver again?”
“No. He’s only good for one time. I think I’ll use Rita Carpenter. She’s the beautician who gave me this beastly hair cut.”
Diana and Heather watched as Cindy took her place on the lane. She glared at the pins for a moment, and then she bowled another strike.
“Uh, oh. My turn.” Heather looked scared. “Who am I going to use?”
Diana patted Heather on the shoulder. “Use someone who’s done something mean to you, someone who’s embarrassed you and made you want to cry.”
“Okay.” Heather took a deep breath and picked up her ball. “I know exactly who I’m going to imagine standing in front of those pins.”
Diana and Cindy watched Heather take her place on the end of the lane. Both of them looked a little uncomfortable as they caught a glimpse of Heather’s face. She really looked mad enough to kill.
Heather mouthed something under her breath and stepped confidently to the line. Her bowling ball hit the boards with a solid thunk and flew down the lane to knock over every pin.
“You did it, Heather!” Diana rushed up to hug her.
“Good for you.” Cindy nodded. “Who did you think about?”
Heather grinned at them. “I took your advice and thought about the person who embarrassed me. And I threw that bowling ball straight at Larry’s big mouth!”
“We got prizes for everyone.” Hal handed out the packages. “Since we couldn’t get trophies, we thought these would do.”
Jay grinned as he opened his package. “Oh, great. Just what I wanted. A stuffed something-or-other.”
“At least you put my name on mine.” Larry looked disgruntled as he ripped open his package.
“But we didn’t!” Diana was puzzled. “We didn’t have time, unless . . . Hal? You didn’t tag them, did you?”
Hal shook his head. “Not me. Heather and I just grabbed seven packages and carried them here.”
“Hey! This isn’t funny!” Larry stared down at his open box. “There’s nothing in here but a packing slip.”
“Here. You can have mine.” Jay exchanged boxes with Larry. “I’ll go out and get another package.”
Diana felt her heart begin to thud in her chest as she waited for Jay to unfold the piece of paper. But he didn’t. He just stuffed it in his pocket, and headed for the exit.
“Wait for me!” Diana stood up quickly, and hurried to catch up with Jay. She knew he was going to look at the paper in private and she wanted to be there.
The moment they were outside the bowling alley, Diana grabbed Jay’s arm. “What does it say?”
“I don’t know. And I’m not sure I want to know. I’m hoping it’s just a packing slip, but I’m not going to look right now.”
Diana nodded, but she shivered slightly as they walked to the Christmas tree. When they were seated on the bench in front of the tree, Jay took the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and read it.
“Is it from ‘Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town?’ ” Diana knew the answer, without even asking. There were deep worry lines on Jay’s forehead. He handed her the note without a word, and Diana read it out loud. It was another line from the Christmas carol, even more ominous than the first two.
“He’s making a list and checking it twice; Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.” Diana shivered and turned to look at Jay. “Who’s doing this? It’s scaring me!”
“I know.” Jay slipped his arm around her shoulders. “That’s why I didn’t let Larry read it. I thought maybe if he didn’t get the note . . .”
Diana nodded. “Right. But do you think it’s just bad luck? Or do you think that . . . ?”
“I don’t know.” Jay interrupted her quickly, before she could finish her thought. “Let’s get a package and go back. I’m going to talk to Larry in private. I’ll tell him about the note and warn him to stay close to us, tonight . . . just in case.”
Diana nodded, and they started walking back to the bowling alley. A chill had invaded her body when she’d read the note, and she was still shivering slightly. Jay’s arm was warm around her shoulders, and it came close to chasing away the chill. But it didn’t. Not quite.