Life Lines

36: Hit The Ball

Chapter Thirty-Six

Schylar thought it would be fun, for the time he spent with me, to take me to the driving range. He didn't tell me where we were going and I didn't find out until he turned into the parking lot because there was a lot of other things out that way. I was hoping we'd do something fun, like see a movie or something random. I guess this could count as random...

"Schy..."

"Well, you haven't gotten to play in a while so I thought this would be cool."

I stared out the windshield and made a face. "You hate golf. In fact you told me it was the most boring sport on the planet and refused to watch it. You even said you'd never come to one of my tournaments because you didn't want to stand around all day just to..."

"Blah. Blah. Bladdy blah. Shut up. You know you want to hit a ball. You haven't done it in a while and I can already see you have an itch for it. So come on. You're hitting at least one ball."

So there I was, up in a station on the second deck and there was no Schylar to be seen. I was thinking a girl had caught his attention, which sort of made him a hound dog in my book. He had a girlfriend...at least that's what I thought Brittany was to him. But if he was flirting with someone else, maybe she was a different kind of friend.

A kind my mother told me never to be.

Ever.

Whack.

I watched the tiny yellow ball sail into the air, heading straight for the 200 marker.

"Damn."

I put another ball on the tee and spread my feet. The focus of where I wanted the ball to go was easy to picture. My goal was the 300 marker and I was going to hit it or I would never leave the range. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and...

Whack.

My eyes opened and I watched the ball go. It landed right where the last one did. The balls were deficient. That's what it was. Had to be. Last week I was hitting an average of 280. I gathered up my bag and the pail of balls, heading straight for the desk.

The attendant smiled at me. "Done already?"

"No. These are—well, I don't know. I want new ones."

I put the pail on the counter. The attendant frowned and looked them over. There was a really girly giggle from the entrance. I glanced over and spotted Schylar, chatting up a girl. Just like I thought he would be. I crossed my fingers that she would be a replacement for Brittany.

"I can assure you that these are our standard golf balls. They haven't been tampered with in any way."

I looked back at him, the irritation that was suppressed while I watched my best friend troll came roaring back. "Yes they have. I was hitting at least 280 just a few days ago. Now I'm only hitting 200 at best. Your balls are flawed. I want new ones."

"Nata—Ms. Abernathy, I swear..."

"I want to talk to your manager. Right now."

"That's not necessary..."

"Now."

He quickly got on the phone and dialed the man in charge. Their conversation was short and he hung up the phone, telling me the manager was on his way. I took a step away from the desk, not wanting to crowd him. By the way he was looking at me, he was scared. I'd scared him. Huh.

I caught sight of Kells in my peripheral vision. He was standing next to the entrance to the men's restroom and he was trying not to smile. I guess he was doing a distance observation because he didn't come over to talk to me. Well, at least he was there. That meant I hadn't made my choice yet...