Bowling?

Ellery wrinkled her nose attractively. Bowling was something grandmas did. Grandmas and weird, nerdy, lanky boys in coming-of-age films that consisted of them wooing bubblegum popping, curly haired, Grease-esque girls. Sigh. The girls always fell for 'em, too, which just proved that they were brainless, because those bowling boys were NOT lookers. Not any of 'em.

"You can go bowling on grass. It's called lawn bowling." NOD.

Adi returned Moxley's thumbs up. Yup, yup! Music was definitely a great way to past the time. But of course they were learning about bowling. His Head of House's clothing gave it all away, didn't it?

Once again, the Hufflepuff listened to a few of his classmates' responses. Kate brought up an excellent point about the nachos. Yep, yep. Food at Bowling Alleys... yum! So WHAT did he know about the sport? Something came to mind so instantly he raised his hand. "Some persons end up having their ball roll into what is called the gutter which is on either sides of the lane. That's referred to as a gutter ball.''

Jet chuckled to herself when she realised what the professor was wearing was not a football wear at all. Clearly she needed these lessons.

Since she didn't know anything about bowling, Jet kept quiet, taking her notes as usual and not looking up as she did so. She was reluctant to consider that a sport, but she was not the one who made the decisions about that, so she would leave it.

High fives were WEIRD but Char didn't mind one bit. So the professor had got one, and a cheerful greeting and then somehow Char had even made it into a seat. The problem was choosing a sticker! Firstly, only ONE sticker, and secondly, which one should she pick? Char was less focused on picking one that reflected her actual mood and more focused on finding one that would be a fun mood to act like she HAD.

.... and sooooo..... she missed the questions. All the questions. Was there one? Two? Five? None?? Who knew, not Char.

SO MANY STICKERS!!!

Bowling was fun, and AJ was really liking what the Ravenclaw girl had to say about nachos. She really hoped the professor was down with letting them have some super tasty bowling alley treats. Mmmm. Her mouth was watering just thinking about it all.

Did she have anything else to add? Her classmates had pretty much covered it all, she though. Hmm. Oh, she had something. Something that nobody else had said just yet. Her hand went into the air. "If you really suck at bowling you can put up bumpers to keep the ball from going into the gutter." Usually kids used them, but some adults really needed to swallow their pride and use them too. Just sayin'.

Henric's attempt to reassure the snakette made her give him a weak smile. Good try....yup she almost failed. *sigh* This muggle stuff was seriously making her worry for her O.W.L. exams. Everyone one of these muggle classes was a step closer but....this was not going to be good.

Bowl-ing? What sort of past time was bowl-ing? Did you throw bowls at something? Fill bowls? Roll bowls? Bowl.....ing. Muggles were very odd individuals........She had absolutely no input and a lot of questions as to what muggles did with bowls now.

She listened intently to the other students , trying to glean an idea of what they were all on about. Balls, gutters, shoes, slippery floors, odd seating arrangements..........but....where did the bowls come in?

Whoa whoa whoa, hold your Hippogriffs and back it up. WHAT did her best friend just say!? You RENT shoes for this? You had to put on things that had been on other peoples feet? Muggle feet? He was joking right? Oh sweet pygmy puffs......he was serious. She was silently hoping and casting wishes to the powers that be, she did NOT want to put someone else shoes on. No no no no nopeity NO. She was a witch, she could try and transfigure some odd foot wear but she was not putting muggle sweat shoes on her feet!

So much stuff to write down! Ethan didn’t get the chance to contribute a nice, legit answer to the professor’s question because some of the answers thrown around, were sort of, new to him. Really, scores were called Turkey? And…you can actually do bowling on grass? And wait, hold up…they have to use shoes that were worn by other muggles? Okay, people might think that the purebloods are weird with their traditions and what have you, but renting a pair of public shoes that was, most probably, soaked in sweat?! That’s just plain gross, okay?

Ethan made a face as he wrote that one down, putting exclamation marks on his parchment. If they are going to try their hands on the said sport, there is no way he’d put on used, stinky, bowling shoes.

Merlin, muggles are disgusting.

Stressful? But she liked hosting a party. Its fun! Maybe she should had answered it with 'Going to the Party' instead.

What they know about bowling?

Well, for starter they do have a bowling alley back in Diagon Alley but someone already mentioned that so she's not going to repeat it. Bowling shoes, already mentioned. Hmm..What else? then something came to her mind. Candice quickly raised her hand in the air. "Its consider as throwing sports or throwing games." Nobody hasn't mentioned that, right?

Awwww! That was supremely cute!

"Professor Moxley, would you mind showing me how to do beading? If you aren't too busy sometime?" It actually sounded like a lot of fun...and organic, too. And, as everyone knew, Reagan appreciated the organic life. Also, she appreciated cute, handmade jewelry. Why spend hundreds of galleons on something from a boutique when you could make your very own? And personalize it?

...and for the next queeeestion, well...

As her housemate [Davie] had mentioned, they had Shrunken head bowling in Diagon Alley, but Reagan had never been in there to play a game. Truth be told, she'd heard the heads were kinda rude. It most certainly didn't seem like an ideal place for someone like her. So, as the Professor had suggested, Reagan was buried down in a full page of notes; hand and quill carefully forming the words on the page.

Were they going to be bowling today?...withOUT shrunken heads?...

As the facts rolled in, Moxley busied herself with copying them down onto the board for those taking notes on the subject. She knew that not everyone would be familiar with the game and it was important to understand it before they moved on to the activity for obvious reasons.

Quote:

Bowling Facts

Vocabulary:

• Alley-Bowling establishment and also, group of lanes
• Lane-Playing surface.
• Bowling Ball- Hard spheres with three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle fingers, and one for the thumb
• Bowling Pin- Target of the bowling ball in various bowling games
• Gutter- Depression to the right and the left of the lane to guide the ball to the pit should it leave the playing surface. You want to avoid this!
• Gutter Ball- A ball that goes into the gutter
• Foul line-Line that marks the spot you're not allowed to cross on your line. Sometimes has lights or buzzing sounds to alert you that you have crossed it.
• Strike-All ten pins down on the first ball
• Turkey-Three strikes thrown in a row
• Bumpers-Rails blocking the gutter so younger players don’t get gutter balls

Locations:

• Bowling Alley
• Lawn

Attire:

• Bowling Shoes-Borrowed from alley or bought and brought.
• Bowling shirts-For those in recreational leagues or playing professionally
• Comfortable clothing is always good for movement purposes

Point of the game:
Players alternate taking turns, getting ten turns in total for a game. When it is your turn, you’re given two chances to throw the ball and knock down the pins. Points are totaled from all of your turns and the person with the most points at the end of the game wins!

Perks:
Bowling alley food is great (and probably not great for your health but everything in moderation)!

When it looked like all the facts had been shared, and those taking notes were ready to give her their full attention again, Moxley smiled and moved on.

”I’m pleased with all the facts that were shared and I’m very happy with those of you that drew the connection between muggle bowling and the shrunken head bowling that’s been made popular and that those of you interested might have tried in Diagon Alley.” Two thumbs up to those kiddos who’d mentioned this. ”While the rules are similar, muggles certainly do not use heads while bowling. As Mr. Bellaire pointed out, some do spook easy. There’s also the small fact that muggles don’t often see talking heads in their everyday life.” Couldn’t really blame them for being spooked when that was the case!

”Some might find it interesting to know that bowling dates all the way back to ancient Egypt! It’s also interesting to note that bowling can be played all year round, as it’s primarily done indoors! The fact that adults and children can take part is another reason why it’s widely popular among muggles.”

”Now before we get to our activity-yes, we will be doing a slightly more interesting version of bowling today but sadly, no nachos for us-I’d like you all to come up to the front of the room and find a partner, then select matching colored bowling shirts from this box.” Moxley produced a box from behind her desk and set it on top. Inside, a rainbow selection of bowling shirts waited for the students. ”Once you’ve finished, we’ll get going on our activity!”


OOC: Two posts for this, please! One for finding a partner, one for picking shirt color!

Awwww, the Muggles didn't play with shrunken heads?! How dull. And look at all the vocabulary they had to learn just for one game! Geez! Davie diligently copied everything down as the professor talked, trying to memorize all the terms before they played, and then walked up to the front to find a partner.

Anyone could tell by looking at him that he wasn't exactly the sporty type, but he was smart and good at magic stuff. Sometimes. Would anyone be his partner? :3

Knowing the game as well as she did and having played it many many times growing up (and still when she was home) Hady wasn't doing any note taking this lesson. That in itself was a bit odo for her but it was okay. Either way she was listening to her fellow mates answers as they were given.

So they would be playing some forms of bowling today? Nice! Getting to her feet the fourteen year old made her way to the front of the room and waited for someone to partner up with. It didn't really matter to much who it was as long as she could deal with them for the lesson.

Bowling?

Yes, she knew about bowling. She had been before. To muggle ones and the shrunken head bowling alley in Diagon alley. She was pretty good at bowling. You know she was very competitive.

The seventh year listened to the others answers before she spoke. "Some bowling allies have leagues that play in tournaments. She noticed that Moxley was writing things on the board so Cinna started copying down what the professor was writing.

------------------------------

After catching up on the notes on the board, she listened to Moxley speak and added her own notes to what she has copied down. And it was activity time already. It was like classes were moving along faster and faster these days.

She was not complaining about that, all. She took a few extra minutes before getting up and heading to the front of the room. She needed to find a partner. "Who needs a partner?" And then they had to pick out a color of a bowling shirt. Fun

Olly stared at the board for a moment, trying to make sense of the game in general. Some of those terms he had heard, some he had not. He hoped there wouldn't be a test because he didn't think he'd remember any of this in the morning. Whatever.

Oooh, activity. As soon as those words were out of Moxley's mouth, Olly was already prepared to win. The fact that he didn't really know how to bowl wasn't important. He would win. But first he needed a partner. The obvious choice was Ellery but he was already at the front of the room and she wasn't there yet. Step it up, sis. Olly turned and nearly collided with a young Ravenclaw.

"Hi. Want to be partners?" The early bird gets the worm, Ellery.

Angel looked around and saw that Hady was looking for a partner. "Do you mind if I partner you?" Angel thought it would be amazing to be partners with a friend and especially to be partner with a friend as cool as Hady... Angel loved playing bowling though obviously she didn't play it that much and mainly it was in the summer.

"I know a bit about bowling." Angel said truthfully, she had gone a few times with her friends, but they always bet her because they went more than one a week in some cases, that was the only downside with being a muggle in this world all your main friends from primary school just did the usual stuff and you missed out though she wouldn't swap with anyone for the world.

SPOILER!!: Angel

Angel looked around and saw that Hady was looking for a partner. "Do you mind if I partner you?" Angel thought it would be amazing to be partners with a friend and especially to be partner with a friend as cool as Hady... Angel loved playing bowling though obviously she didn't play it that much and mainly it was in the summer.

"I know a bit about bowling." Angel said truthfully, she had gone a few times with her friends, but they always bet her because they went more than one a week in some cases, that was the only downside with being a muggle in this world all your main friends from primary school just did the usual stuff and you missed out though she wouldn't swap with anyone for the world.

It didn't take long before Hady had herself a partner. Or well someone that asked her to be partners. "Sure Angel," She agreed readily nodding her head. This should be fun and it'd surely help that she already knew the older girl pretty well.

"I've played a fair bit so I know the rules. I'm not the best at it but I'm not terrible either." Honesty right there. She knew better players and ones that couldn't hit a pin with the bumper walls up. So however decent or bad Angel was at the game it didn't matter to her. Right now they needed to choose a shirt color.

"Uh which color shirts should we wear?" Maybe not a house color since they were in different houses unless of course the older girl wouldn't mind green.

Bowling? Well this was going to be interesting and potentially exciting, even if Tia might have overlooked the fact that Moxley had mentioned a more interesting version of the hobby. Not that the sixth year was horribly bothered because she found bowling rather exciting even the regular way. It was one of those sports that even the least coordinated or athletic individuals could do.

But now what? Partners? Wasn't bowling a team sport?

Shrugging it off, she perused her classmates a moment, realizing she wasn't the most social person last year and barely knew anyone. It'd be weird to approach Zander and well, Caleb, she didn't know about. Which left her choices rather limited, in her mindset. So her brown eyes settled upon a girl around her age, with a spice for her name if she recalled correctly, though she couldn't be certain.

"Me. I need a partner." Tia smiled politely.

Ben was staying quiet about the bowling. Sure he had heard of it, might have even played once or twice, but it had been awhile and he wasn't sure he remembered much about it. Surely there were others who could offer a better insight in the game, especially from the muggle aspect. His pen was busy scribbling notes as he listened, making sure to at least copy down what Professor Moxley was adding to what was written up on the board. Occasionally he might add other random elements.

And now they were breaking off into pairs, the Gryffindor glancing at his best friend beside him. "Dragon chooses Hippogriff..." he mused as he got up to his feet, picking the slightly older boy. Surely Adi wouldn't mind being paired off with him, especially in this little adventure into the game and whatever the woman had planned to make it interesting for the class. They had had their fair share of fun moments together in this class.

Now they just had to pick shirts.

Angel smiled when she realised that Hady wanted to be her partner this was so cool, she couldn't wait and it seemed that Hady had played the game before. Angel thought about seeing if Hady wanted to play for a chocolate frog but she had a feeling the Professor might not like her asking something like that and she still wasn't happy about the non existent hi-five though Angel still thought it was hard when her heart was broken in a million pieces. It was going to take her years to glue it back together one piece at a time.

Angel looked at the Hady as she asked about the colour. "How about a dark blue" Angel was trying to figure out how to do this, she wanted them to look professional but how did a bowler look she hadn't really seen a professional match though she knew they took place.

Janelle listened as her classmates shared all that they knew about bowling. She was happy to know that someone shared her feeling about bowling alley food. She smiled as Hady talked about the tasty nachos. Janelle was generally familar with bowling, but she did take a few notes as the conversation progressed.

Now it was time to start the activity portion of the lesson and apparently, Janelle needed a partner. Standing up, she scanned the room, looking for someone who might be in need of a partner. She had someone in mind, but before she could make a move, her potential partner was taken. Oh well. There was no use staying silent on the matter. "Anyone need a partner?", Janelle asked loudly. She would keep looking, just in case no one came to her.

It was one thing about activities she dreaded most. Finding partners. It wasn't that she didn't like working with people, she did. It was always so awkward asking people to buddy up. It was even harder this term because the people she used to partner up with wasn't there anymore.

She was really hoping that she wouldn't have to ask again. Hello, totally good bowling right here. She could just grab a firstie if she needed too.

It the seventh years relief a girl, was her name Teà not wait that wasn't right. She hadn't talked to the girl before but had seen her around. Oh Tia that's what it was. "Okay, I pick you." Returning the smile. "I'm Cinna. What color shirt do you want to get?" It didn't matter to her she'd look fab in any of those colors. Even on a ridiculous looking bowling polo shirt. The fashion laws she was breaking for this class. It was a good thing she liked Moxley.

Well if the girl didn't pick her after she said she needed a partner, Tia probably would have been offended and wondered if she had something on her face that was dreadful. But thankfully not the case. And her name was something to do with spices, so ten points for Tia for knowing her peers.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tia." Tia replied, though the girl probably knew that or she would have asked. But it felt proper to state her name anyway. Looking over the colour selection, Tia frowned a moment at the style. They might not have been the 'cutest' shirts, but at least some of the colours were attractive and they had only an hour to endure wearing these shirts. So it wasn't too bad, right?

What colour. It probably wouldn't do to select red or blue, since they were from different houses, so kneeling down to flick through the box of shirts, she found two small cotton-candy pink shirts. "How's this?" She held it up for Cinna to see. Cinna didn't strike her as the girl who was anti-pink, but who knew.

"Yes," Davie answered immediately. Yes yes yes please, he needed a partner, and he was especially happy to partner up with a boy he knew was also a first year. "I'm David, by the way," he introduced himself properly, and then squinted over at Moxley's box of... clothes? Muggle clothes?

"...I think we have to pick out uniforms." Ooo-kaaay.

Right, David. Olly had heard that before but he hadn't remembered because it had never been relevant. But he would remember now. "Hi David, I'm Oliver." Now that it was all settled that they were partners they needed their shirts, as David pointed out. Olly moved over to the box and reached inside.

"Uh, want..." he grabbed the first one he touched, not even paying attention to the color until he'd pulled it out. "Purple?" Why not?

No, Brooklyn didn’t particularly care that bowling dated back all the way to ancient Egypt. She’d never particularly cared to go bowling, whether the Muggle kind or the shrunken head kind that happened in Diagon Alley, and the lesson wasn’t making her any more interested in the subject. Especially as it came out that not only were they expected to partner up, but they were supposed to wear bowling shirts like the one the professor had on. She just hoped there weren’t shoes in that box too. At least there was the slightest chance she could be lucky with the shirt color. There were a few colors she generally tried to avoid, after all, but she wasn’t holding out hope that the shoes would be cute in any way. No, she’d keep her own shoes on.

After a moment, though, she did stand up and go over to the box. Figuring a partner would come to her. She refused to call out that she didn’t have one, especially since Hady had gotten a partner seconds before she’d gotten up. That eliminated one good option, but then she was thankful that another not-so-good option was eliminated too. She wouldn’t be forced to work with Adi anyway, thanks to Benny. It just left everyone else, and she’d peeked into the box for a moment to check what colors were left. So far there looked to be a few that she could tolerate left, so she just needed a partner.