When Lily arrived at Galileo, there were only a few minutes left before the bell. At her locker, she saw Shirley and their friends gathered in a closed circle across the hall. Some of them eyed her as she passed; some of them whispered behind cupped hands. Had Shirley told them why she and Lily had fallen out? Had she started a rumor about Lily and Kath? The thought made her nervous, but it also made her angry.
Lily finished at her locker. Carrying her books in her arms, she turned her back on Shirley’s group and headed to Miss Weiland’s classroom. There was Kath coming down the hallway, carefully not looking at Lily as usual. And Lily suddenly knew what she could do.
“Kath!” she called. “Wait for me!”
Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw everyone in Shirley’s group turn their heads to watch. She saw Kath stop and look at her in surprise. Kath’s gaze flickered behind her, then back at Lily.
“What’s going on?” Kath asked.
“I thought we’d go to class together.” Lily felt her heart beat a little too fast in her chest as she waited for Kath’s response, and for a terrible moment she wondered whether she had made a mistake. Maybe Kath didn’t want to be seen with her either.
But then Kath cocked her head in Shirley’s direction and asked quietly, “You’re not going with them?”
“No.”
For a moment, Kath’s expression opened. Something like hope, or happiness, passed across her face, and Lily caught her breath.
“All right,” Kath said. “Let’s go.”
They went together, and Lily didn’t look back.
17
The bowling balls were lined up on the rack like a series of planets: marbleized blue and violet, sparkling red and deep green streaked with white. Lily chose the red one for luck, because she suspected she’d be terrible at bowling, and slid her fingers into the deep finger wells.
“That one’s too big for you,” Kath said. “Try this one.” She pointed to the smaller green one. “And don’t use your fingers to lift it—it’s too heavy. Carry it with both hands.”
Lily was surprised by the ball’s weight. “How am I supposed to throw this?”
Laughter drifted from the mixed couples group a few lanes down. Lily glanced over to see one of the men placing his hands on his girlfriend’s hips, coaxing her into position while she tossed a flirtatious smile at him.
“You don’t throw it,” Kath said. “Come over here.”
Lily carried her green bowling ball over to where Kath was standing, several feet away from the start of their lane. She could still see the flirting couple out of the corner of her eye; the way the woman leaned into the man’s hands.
“Square your hips,” Kath told her.
Lily turned toward her. “Sorry, what way?”
“The other way,” Kath said, looking amused.
And before Lily turned on her own, Kath reached out and touched her hip, gently nudging her to face the lane. She touched her for only a second, but Lily felt Kath’s hand through the fabric of her skirt like a spark on her skin.
“Now, put the fingers of your right hand in the holes,” Kath said. “You’re right-handed, aren’t you?”
Lily blinked and tried to shift her attention to the ball. “Yes. It’s so heavy.”
“Hold the weight of the ball with your left. Right, like that. Now bend your knees and lean forward—but not too much! You’re going to lead off with your right foot. Just walk toward the lane—keep your eyes straight ahead. Swing your right arm back—you see how they’re doing it down there? Right, swing your arm and just let go—no, you don’t need to throw it!”
Lily had tossed the ball heavily at the front of the lane. It smacked the polished wood with a wince-inducing crack, and then spun into the gutter.
“I told you I’m not good at sports,” Lily said ruefully. “Maybe I should have just stayed with Miss Weiland’s group.”
Over to their left, Miss Weiland was teaching several beginners, but Kath had convinced her she could teach Lily on her own. The rest of the G.A.A. girls were split up among half a dozen lanes throughout the Loop Bowl. The group of mixed couples and a party of four men beside them were the only non-G.A.A. patrons that afternoon.
“I should have showed you first,” Kath said. “Watch me this time. It’s all about timing. That’s what Miss Weiland says. You have to swing your arm in time with the way you walk. See?”
Lily watched Kath pick up a ball and hold it in front of her stomach. Then she started walking toward the lane, leading with her right leg as she swung the ball back with her right arm. She took four steps and slid her left foot along the polished wooden floor, extending her right leg behind her as if she were curtsying to the bowling alley, and let go of the ball. It rolled down the oiled wood and struck down half of the pins.