“Perfect, babe,” Malin expresses to Matthew, and she begins to slip out of her boots. “The competition might be small! I’ve gotten a lot of birthday wishes, but also a lot of ‘I’m out of town on Sundays’ texts, which is totally understandable. I’m just really looking forward to bowling and hoping I don’t throw it as if it was a long range weapon.”

Dovie waves to Obadiah. “Hey!”

Malin replies to Esme with, “Oh, I’ve been really great, thank you,” in a sincere tone, and those blue-grey eyes glittering to have a genuine proof that she is doing very well. “But I don’t have to lead anyone but myself, so I’ve got it easy!”

Malin offers up a smile to Obadiah, and says, “Well, well, if it isn’t Nobie, all dressed up and ready to bowl.”

“Hey, Obes.” Esme waves when he comes in with a grin. She straightens up, wiggling her toes a bit in the unfamiliar shoes. “I’m happy t’ hear it!” She tells Malin, drawing her hair up and back into a quick ponytail.

Matthew says “Yes! “

Malin begins lacing up the rented shoes, gaze lifting up from the footwear as Teagan arrives. “Hello, Teagan. Welcome. How are you today? Are you a good bowler?”

Esme asides, “Gabe said he’s runnin’ a lil late but he’ll be here.” She upnods to Teagan and Amber in greeting as they comes in.

“I think that skirt is safe,” Malin says to Amber after a quick assessment. “Not in any danger attire-wise today, I fear. Other than people might hit on you.”

Matthew is waving Amber down and then points towards the bowling shoes, “The fees are covered, and if you need bowling shoes, I’ve arranged for those as well, should have your size!”

Dovie waves to Teagan and Amber also.

Obadiah smiles to all of everyone, “Friends. Family, Countrymen,” he greets everyone with a smile, and bobs his head to Malin, “I thought I would wear the brand new orange shirt just for your birthday.” He gives her a wink then looks to Esme and Dovie, and delivers dryly, “I will refrain, lest I be tempted to cheat as I am want to do.”

Obadiah glances over to Amber and in the most straight faced deadpan musterable by the chaotic fae says, “Hey baby. Are you an angel? Cause you are stiring all sorts of desires.”

Matthew grins at Obadiah, taking in his bright and formal attire. “Hey, you look like you’re ready for prom or something!” The bowling shoes are pointed out, “make sure you wear some bowling shoes before the games get going.”

Meandering into the bowling alley, Teagan has her phone in one hand and the other tucked into a jacket pocket. She looks up as Malin greets her, sending off another message before tucking the phone (for the moment) away. “Honestly? No idea. I haven’t done it since I was like.. twelve? But… It’s worth a try, right?” And she angles her way over to the counter to… stare at the shoes for a few long moments. Because bowling shoes are in that weird category of horrifying but also you kind of want to find an excuse to wear them all the time because they look kind of neat?

Amber lifts a hand in greeting as she shuffles in, maybe ruining the floors with her non-regulation footwear. As Matthew mentions, she glances down at her shoes before giving an apologetic shrug, “Sorry.” Then she pauses as Obadiah addresses her, giving a crooked smirk after, “You’re lucky I’m single right now. Nobody to thwap you for that, and I’m lazy.”

“What? I thought…” Obadiah starts to ask Amber but then holds up his hand. “Time and place.”

Matthew shrugs at Amber, laid back about the floors beyond pointing out that these are probably the shoes to wear. “For sure, lazy Sundays are important.”

Malin finishes tying a neat bow on both of her bowling shoes, and then stands up straight again. It took her a while, but she’s back to paying attention again.

Obadiah gets his shoes on and then moves to loiter with Esme and Dovie, before commenting to Matthew, “I put an order in for 20 of those gummy cubes with Ambrose. MegaBlue will be blue for sure.”

Teagan finally gets a pair of shoes in her size and hands over her sneakers. She pads over to a chair and sits down to put on the very stiff (but also less likely to see her land on her butt!) shoes, lacing them up snug. At least the green only *slightly* clashes with her blue top.

Dovie rubs her hands together, looking out at the bowling lanes. “How are the games going to work? Everyone keep your own scores, or one at a time?”

Malin beams brightly over at Obadiah, “It looks good!” she says of his new shirt. “And if you don’t cheat…” She glances between Obadiah and Dovie, and continues in a conspiratorial manner, “Then I’m going to assume you are an evil doppelganger.” A nod follows, but she snickers at the pickup line Amber receives. Then another nod is given to Teagan. “It’s been a while for me, too!”

“Ooh that’ll be fun.” Esme asides to Obadiah about the cubes with a chuckle to Malin’s comment about Obadiah cheating but she does seem curious about the answer to Dovie’s question

Amber shuffles over to find shoes her size to swap into. “Happy birthday again,” she calls out as she attempts to balance while putting them on.

Matthew flashes Obadiah a grin, “Oh, nice, I wanna try those out. Oh, and I told you Buck’s on the case right, for MPM’s next decorating run.” He doesn’t really elaborate further in present company, winking at the Mercer before attention is shifted to Dovie. “Well, I think one card will work and everyone can throw their name on one. There’re more just in case it’s teams… or multiple games going,” he explains. “But we can get one going now if everyone here is ready and watns to.”

Dovie nods eagerly at Matthew. “Yes, ready!”

Malin listens to Matthew and then nods to him. “I am ready,” she confirms after Dovie.

“MPM is the greatest idea yet,” Obadiah says with a firm nod to Matthew, clearly in agreement. “I am ready to go. Let’s do it.”

Teagan rolls to her feet and ambles over to the others. She’s still wearing her jacket at the moment, but it’s a good spot to shove her hands into. “Let’s go.”

“I’m ready t’ give it ah whirl.” Esme agress with the others.

Malin goes, “Oh, I do need a ball.”

Matthew nods at everyone and then reaches for a score card, “Okay…” and then he points towards the racks of bowling balls, “Everyone can grab one there, but… oh yeah, I got a ball for you Malin, but I got distracted, one second!”

Matthew says “Or if people want to buy their own balls, there are some for sale. “

Malin says to Matthew, “Oh, thank you. It’s a totally novelty style looking one because — like everything in this world to Obie, it is ‘blue.'” As she accepts the ball from Matthew, she says, “If you can draw your legs to your chest and have strong arms to hold them there and don’t mind being fingered, then you can be a novelty bowling ball, too!”

Esme tilts her head to try and get look at the bowling balls.

Malin hmms softly, taking a moment to consider what she just said.

Dovie holds her bowling ball with two hands.

Esme flashes Gabriel a smile when he comes in. “Just in time for tha first game.” She wanders over to the rack and picks out a greenish one after a few tests.

Obadiah says “I was really tempted by the purple one, I am not going to lie“

Gabriel walks in with a wave to everyone, “Hopefully I’m only fashionably late and not terrible so.”

“Hello, Gabriel,” Malin greets Gabriel after her, probably, accidental double entendre about novelty bowling balls. “We’re just getting started. There’s shoes here, they probably have your size,” is said as she nods to the rented pairs available here on the floor.

“Okay, so,” Matthew reaches for a score card while people sort out their bowling balls. There’s a whole rack of them running up and down the room, free for use, one need only pick the best one for them. “Let me just figure out our order of bowling. We’ll keep it simple and play as individuals, no team.”

Dovie nods at Matthew.

Teagan looks back over her shoulder and slips out to go take a peek at the balls for sale herself!

Teagan returns, ball-less. In every meaning of the term. “Okay they all look good.” A brief pause, “And I say that with blue being my favorite color.” She almost sounds disappointed that it wasn’t an easy decision and shuffles over to the rack of balls to find one that she can actually lift comfortably.

Malin holds up the blue bowling ball she has, turning it slowly and then saying, “Bowling balls sounds like a medical condition that would hurt as much as tennis elbow, if not worse.”

Matthew says “Okay! “

Matthew look around and then asks, “Can someone trash that stack of score cards, we’ll just work off this one,” he reasons.

“OKay, the order is on the score card, starting with Malin,” Matthew informs the group. And he moves to the first bowling lane.

Matthew then points towards the bowling rules, “If anyone needs a reminder of how to play, the rules are there.”

Malin listens to Matthew and then nods at him.

Teagan does get her own score card. Because if you get an amazing score, you want to have one to take home and show off. Even if you could just fake it. She does finally find a ball (it’s a mottled red, not blue at all! woe) that doesn’t strain her too much and carries it on over to plop down at one of the booths.

Amber has been distracted a bit by her phone, tap-tapping away. But she does kind of go with the flow over to the first lane.

Gabriel slides over to the bowling lane with the rest of the crowd, taking a moment to look over all of the rules written out.

“Seems easy enough I think.” Esme murmurs and then watches to see how Malin does on her first go!

Teagan does slip out of her jacket while she waits, draping it over the seat behind her. She’s gonna need the arm flexibility! Unless she granny rolls the ball on her turn.

Malin glances around and then goes, “Oh, do I go first?” She looks at the ball, then glances about some more. “Okay.” She lines one foot up with that centre dot, and then pretends to proceed to know what she’s doing.

Malin uses an a bowling ball: [STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! 45Those words flash across the screen over an animation of a bowling ball shooting from a cannon, knocking all the pins over. (USE BONUS45)] + 10