paradisalost | just dropped in ...

Who: Mark Hunter & Raenef the Fifth
What: Bowling Lessons!
When: Saturday
Where: The alley in town
Rating: PG-13 for Mark's mouth? IDK.

For once, Mark was wearing his bowling shirt with his glasses. Normally, he saved the coveted black shirt with "Dick" embroidered over the pocket for his broadcast nights, but ... well, it was a bowling shirt, and it occured to him earlier that he'd never actually bowled in the damn thing. Sacrilege.

So, he stood at the foot of the path that led from the castle down into town, waiting for Raenef, trying to run over the rules of bowling in his head. There weren't many, that he could remember. Mostly just "throw ball, hit pins, get strikes, no gutterballs, toes behind the line", right? Right. He was pretty sure, anyway. It wasn't as though he'd ever been part of a league - or any good, either. It had mostly been about fun, back home ... and since that was what it was going to be about here in Paradisa, too, he wasn't about to worry too much about it.

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Raenef had decided it would be a good idea to leave a little earlier than he had originally planned, only because he still wasn't familiar with the city and he didn't want Mark to have to wait forever for him. So, when he does get to the town, he jogs the rest of the way to the destination: the alley. It probably would have been a better idea to ask Mark what he looked like but it couldn't be that hard to spot the guy, right?

Right! He just kind of wanders around aimlessly at first but then, when he spots a guy who can't be too much older than him, he scurries on over. Hello, Mark, meet your new-found friend in Mr. ~~girly-looking~~ Rainbows and Sunshine over here. He's grinning from ear to ear as he waves and jogs the rest of the way over.

"Hey! Are you Mark?"

He tilted his head a little, looking the kid over. Well, he'd never judged people by their appearances before, and now was a shitty time to start. So he grinned, thinking no more of it. "Yeah, that's me. Lemme guess.... Raenef?"

Never judge a book by its cover was never so true a statement as in the case of Raenef the Not-So Evil Demon Lord. He's just going to keep on grinning like a fool as he nods, taking a moment or two to try and fix his ponytail. One day he would discover the epic hair tie that is the scrunchy.

"Yep, that's me! Thanks again for meeting with me. .. Oh! And it's nice to formally meet you."

Mark was already thinking he should try and steal a couple from Nora for the guy, but that was beyond the point. "Nice to meet you too! ... So, bowling? The alley's down this way...."

"Bowling. Lead the way!"

He turns toward the direction of the alley and starts to walk despite his previous statement. It should be easy enough to find, right? Bowling alley, bowling alley.. yeah, watch him walk right past it.

Mark reaches forward and grabs the back of Raenef's shirt before he can wander too far past, laughing.

"Dude. Hit the brakes, this is it."

Raenef makes a startled noise, giving Mark a temporary deer-in-headlights look before busting that grin out again. Considering what the building looks like, he probably should have put two and two together.

"I guess I got ahead of myself! So, this is bowling.. "

"Yep! Now, uh ... do you know what size shoes you wear? This is relevant, I swear." Mark stuffed his hands back in the pockets of his jeans and led the way inside. There was, somehow, against his expectations, the faint smell of shoes, floor polish, and fried food that he remembered from bowling alleys past.

"... Geez, when this place does something, it doesn't do it halfway."

".. Shoes have sizes?" He looks down at his feet curiously, standing on one leg so he can look his shoe over. If he had to guess what size, what would it be? After taking a moment or two to mull it over, he looks like he's had a eureka sort of moment.

"My foot isn't big, but it isn't small either, so.. medium!" Or not.

Mark laughs, and pulls off one of his own shoes for demonstration. "Where I'm from, shoe sizes are numbers... see, look, I'm a 7." He holds it out so Raenef can see the little tag stitched on the tongue of his worn-out sneaker, hops a few times to keep his balance, then shoves his foot back into his shoe.

"They should have a foot sizing thing in there, though, so it won't be too hard to figure out what size you are. C'mon." He gestured toward the door, inviting him to go in first.

"Numbers sure would make it a lot easier to pick out shoes!" Raenef leans in to inspect said tag then laughs, nodding. Okay! He could get this shoe thing down, how hard could it possibly be to pick out a pair of shoes? If he was right then his feet were just a little smaller than Mark's, so maybe a five or a six would work for him.

"No sweat! I think I have an idea of what it might be. .. Hey, thanks!" He walks in before him and immediately gawks as his previous walking pay slows considerable to allow him enough time to take all of this stuff in. He'd had a picture in his mind when Mark told him about bowling but this blows his mental picture right out of the water.

"Wow.. !"

Mark wanders in beside him and takes the place in, too - it's his first time checking it out, after all, and he can't help but gape a little, himself. It looks like one of the older alleys from when he lived in New York - all retro and old-fashioned ... but less worn-out, and more like it'd just opened. There are a few random townies bowling in the lanes, and maybe a few castle residents he doesn't know, too ... He casts around with his eyes until he spots the rental counter, and pats Raenef on the shoulder.

"Pretty cool, huh? ... C'mon, I think we get our stuff over here."

"Really cool!"

He is still in the process of gawking when Mark pats his shoulder, which snaps him out of his trance briefly. Okay, counter! This was where he got his shoes, right? He balances himself on one legs and holds up his leg to show the person behind the counter his boot.

"Excuse me, Mister! Can you help me find a shoe that fits? I've never been bowling before but I think.. a medium will do!" Hobble, hobble! He almost falls over once or twice but manages to catch his footing all while wearing the dorkiest smile ever.

The guy behind the counter raises an eyebrow - another one of those crazy Castle Residents, hoo boy - and goes to get the shoe sizer. Mark reaches out and catches Raenef by his upper arm before he can fall on his butt.

"Hey, careful!" He laughs. "Don't worry about showin' him your foot, they've got a thingy that'll tell him how big it is." And lo and behold, out comes the guy with the sizer - which probably looks like some weird alien thing if you've never seen one before. He puts it down on the ground and glances up at Raenef. Mark grins at him - "It's cool, I got this. Would you mind grabbing me a pair of sevens? ... Here, Raenef, have a seat. I'll show ya how it works."

"Hey thanks, Mark!"

You know, for not letting him fall on his butt. When he sees the shoe sizer he gives it a suspicious look because it looks less like a sensible object and more like some kind of torture device. Does he really have to put his foot in that? Well, if Mark seems to think it's harmless then it must be true.

He takes a seat like he's asked to do, staring at the sizer all the while. He's watching you, Mr. Sizer!

Putting the sizer down on the floor, Mark slides it toward Raenef's foot. "Okay, you've gotta take off the shoes you've got on now, so we can get the right size, but ... you put your foot down flat on it with your heel up against this part."

just dropped in ...

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