Nemesis: Chapter 20

Towelled off, after having milkshake poured all over her, Jessica was relieved when a bowling lane finally became free. Sitting down next to Lavender, as they put their bowling shoes on, her friend turned to her and said, "We're both pretty good at bowling, aren't we?" "Yeah, last time we played, Rosie, Georgia and ourselves all scored over one hundred. Georgia got one-hundred-and-forty if I recall. It was only Mia who was rubbish, but then she sucks at most sports doesn't she?" Jessica replied. Lavender continued, "Well I was talking to Carl earlier and he said that he'd only bowled once or twice before and I heard from Rosie that she easily beat Mike at bowling the last time they went and he's supposed to be the sporty one in the family. Luke is sure to be rubbish. I reckon that we can beat them. It's come to my attention that we girls are getting far too messy recently, it's about time that one of the boys got gunged. I have a few buckets of gunge lying around at home. How about we challenge the boys to a game of bowling; whoever loses gets gunged in Carl's tank."

"Sounds like a great idea", chimed in Carl interrupting, "except I don't want it to be a boys versus girls thing. Whichever person loses should get all the gunge, I don't want Luke dragging me down." Lavender conceded this request to her boyfriend and besides she didn't want to get gunged if Jessica proved to be useless. She herself always scored over one-hundred whenever she played, there was no way that she was going to lose.

When Luke found out about the bet, he suddenly became very nervous, for it was true, he was rubbish at bowling. Furthermore, he could barely stomach losing to Carl at pool, he didn't fancy being beaten by both of the girls at bowling too. Carl typed in everyone's names into the computer, it would be Luke's turn to go first. First ball up, Luke split the ten pins in two, knocking over just four in the process. Lavender nudged Jessica in the ribs, "Your boy is going to get messy tonight girl", she whispered. Luke ran in to bowl his second ball, but his aim was streaky and wild, the ball immediately dropping into the gutter. "Not a good start Luke, just the four for you", joked Carl. "Hang on, where are the bumpers?" asked Lavender worriedly. "Bumpers are for little children, this is a man's game", laughed Carl wickedly. Lavender shot a worried look to Jessica. Whenever they played on a girl's night out, they always used bumpers. No wonder they always scored over one hundred. Now, anything could happen.

"Couldn't we just put the bumpers up now, for the rest of the game? Asked Lavender. "But that would be unfair on Luke pet", replied Carl. "Couldn't we just start again then?" suggested Jessica. "Not unless you want to pay for a new game, we can't just reset the scores Jess. Anyway, Luke's already racked up a huge bill as punishment for losing to me at pool, I doubt that he could afford to pay for another game for all of us too", chortled Carl. The girls were worried, but at least they took comfort in the fact that Luke was clearly rubbish. Carl, typically, was all brute force when he bowled. Unfortunately, he also maintained a modicum of accuracy. He achieved a half strike on his first turn, much to his delight. Poor Lavender gutter balled both times on her first go and watched in horror as Jessica somehow managed to score eight.

Luke's second turn was hardly any better, scoring six, whilst Carl fist pumped after bowling a clean strike. Lavender's second effort was slightly better than her first, as she scored five. Yet she still firmly believed that she wasn't going to lose, she had never lost a game of bowling and wasn't about to start now. Jessica meanwhile continued her confident start and accurately knocked down her last two pins for a half strike. In the third round, Luke was starting to get his eye in and knocked down nine pins, much to his delight.

Carl, meanwhile, was starting to romp away with the game, but at least he missed a couple this time, scoring eight. Lavender meanwhile achieved her best score of seven and rather unsportingly cheered as Jessica rather wasted her double point score by only knocking down two. After the third round, Carl read out the scores. He was winning with 46 points, Jessica had 22, Luke 19 and Lavender just 13. He cuddled up to Lavender and rather patronisingly tried to give her a couple of words of advice. Lavender couldn't understand why Carl was suggesting that she aimed off centre, surely it made more sense to aim for the middle pin? Luke simply blushed when he realised that he was losing to his girlfriend. Jessica smiled and cutely laughed at her boyfriend's predicament.

Feeling the pressure, Luke gutter balled both times on his fourth turn, whereas Carl infuriatingly split his ten pins, scoring just six. Lavender jumped in joy on her next turn; she knocked down seven pins, she was no longer in last place. She looked over at Luke and made an L shape with her hand. Luke realised that she was calling him a loser, boy did her want to make her regret her overconfidence at the end of the game. Jessica continued her good form, scoring eight. Unlike Lavender, she chose not to gloat at her blonde boyfriend. Realising that he was losing, Luke started to panic. He began chucking the ball too hard and too wild and scored just one on his fifth go. He could no longer aim straight. Carl returned to form and bellowed in joy at his second strike. Lavender started to feel in the zone and kissed Carl upon knocking down eight.

Not to be outdone, Jessica scored a nine. "Who needs bumpers?" Lavender laughed, at poor Luke's expense. Luke hadn't let her live down her gunging from a few weeks ago, it was surely now his turn to find out just how it feels to be slimed. Jessica just hoped that Lavender could continue her good form, for the brunette wasn't that far ahead of him. She wanted to see her boyfriend slimed but secretly didn't mind if Lavender took another turn in the tank instead. Lavender imagined Luke standing in the tank as she pulled the lever beside him. She refused to imagine the reverse happening, it wouldn't, would it?

At the half way stage, Carl still led on 62, Jessica was second on 39, Lavender had 28 and Luke a poor 20. Lavender was decidedly nervous, she was just one lucky strike from Luke from finishing in last place. Lavender's fears were well justified. In the sixth round, Luke finally took some pace of his ball and achieved a half strike. Carl, free from the worry of losing, finally got his first double strike. He had rarely played bowling before, he couldn't fathom why everyone else was so rubbish at it. Lavender annoyingly split her pins so she only scored six whilst Jessica outperformed her friend once again scoring a healthy eight.

On the seventh round, Luke made good use of his spares and scored an impressive eight. If anything, he deserved a strike, he couldn't work out why the final two pins refused to fall over. But ultimately, it didn't matter that he gutter balled his second ball, he had finally overtaken Lavender. Lavender pretended not to notice, but secretly, she felt butterflies inside. Carl, going for a turkey, completely messed up and knocked only three pins over. Going next, Lavender knocked down seven and glanced at the scoreboard as Jessica scored a disappointing five. Lavender was five behind Luke and eleven behind Jessica, if she didn't score a spare soon, she was done for. Going on form, Jessica was probably now too far out of reach. It would either be Luke or Lavender getting slimed.

In the eighth round, full of confidence, Luke shouted in joy as he knocked down his first strike. Back on form, and not wanting to be outdone by the weedy looking blonde, Carl scored his fourth strike. Having gutter balled her first attempt, Lavender watched in relief as her second turn knocked over six, a score which Jessica beat with ease, scoring seven. Lavender realised that she was now in real trouble.

In the ninth round, Luke scored a seven on his spare. Though he missed the three remaining pins with his next bowl, his score moved up to 70. Though she had a round in hand, Lavender was still only on 47, 23 behind. Unless a miracle happened, it looked very likely that Lavender was going to get gunged.

Having been cheering Jessica on all game, looking up at the scoreboard, Lavender realised that if she actually managed a strike, she could still catch the redhead. But for now, she was still twelve behind. She hadn't knocked down all ten pins all game, if she didn't soon, she was guaranteed to lose. Carl's good run game to an end as he scored only seven, leaving him on 115. Closing her eyes as she ran up, Lavender hurled her ball as hard as she could. The group watched in amazement as it hurtled towards the centre pin, was she finally going to get a strike? All ten pins wobbled, but the one at the far back desperately hung on. Lavender was terribly downcast, but at least she had scored nine. She tried to take the pace off with her second ball, to try to improve her accuracy, but in the end, she was just a whisker away. With one round to go, she was on 56. Lavender breathed in deeply, maybe she could catch Luke up after all. Nevertheless, she was still much closer to Jessica's score, who as her main rival, no longer deserved to be cheered as she ran up to bowl.

Perturbed by the lack of support from Lavender, Jessica ran up. She had been only four points behind Luke going into her penultimate turn and she really wanted to beat him. Jessica's determination to beat Luke paid off and she achieved a half strike. Lavender gulped in desperation. If Jessica scored just a few points with her spare in the next round, the brunette would no longer be able to catch her. Yet when Jessica looked at the scoreboard, she was both confused and disappointed. How could she be a point behind Luke when she scored a half strike and he had only knocked down seven? "Don't worry, I had spares count from my previous turn. You score double points on your next turn remember, you'll overtake my score then", Luke reminded her. Though secretly, he wished that she wouldn't. Carl read out the scores. "I'm winning on 115, Luke has shot into second place on 70, Jessica has 69 and Lavender is in last place on 56. But don't forget, Jessica has a spare on her next turn, so she'll score double. Lavender, if you don't get a strike next time, it's into the gunge tank you go."

Luke was still trying to work out if he could lose. After a few calculations, he realised that he still could. So, he took the pace of his first ball and knocked over seven. Fortunately for him, the three that stayed upright were all next to each other, so after taking extra care he rolled his final ball very gently and accurately and achieved a vital half strike. His last spare was far less successful, knocking over just five, leaving him with a final score of 85. Having scored just twenty from his first five goes, his score was fairly respectable. But would it be enough? Lavender would have to get three strikes in a row to beat him, but knowing his luck, despite being useless all game, Lavender would probably make it happen. He would have to wait nervously to find out. Enjoying himself, Carl also scored eight on his final turn. This left him with a score of 123. Unless Jessica scored a turkey, he was clearly going to win. Strangely, nobody wanted to high five him however, as they were all too scared about losing.

Lavender knew that it was all or nothing. Pausing for breath, she retreated for a hilariously long run up. She tried flicking her wrist and releasing the ball with her thumb first as Carl had suggested. The ball spun on the bowling lane and curled in towards the centre pin. The ball moved as if in slow motion as Lavender willed it on and on. Suddenly the ball crashed against the pins, which wobbled and shook and collapsed to the ground. Lavender had scored a strike! She jumped for joy and high fived Carl. "That will put your score on 66, Lavender, you still need to score at least four to avoid losing on your next two spares", her boyfriend reminded her. Pumped up, she ran in and knocked over seven pins. There was a chance she might not lose. On her final attempt, she barely kissed one of the pins, just knocking it over. Her final score flashed up on the screen: 74. Luke breathed a sigh of relief. He could no longer come in last. Jessica checked her score, she was on 69. She hadn't been losing all game, but now the pressure was really on. She was mightily relieved that she had a spare from her previous throw. She desperately hoped that she wouldn't mess it up right at the end.

With her first ball, she only had to score three to beat Lavender. Jessica decided not to risk it by bowling too hard. She decided to go for accuracy not power. If anything, Jessica took too much power off and her ball curved away to the side. Fortunately, she clipped the final pin which took another one down with it. This moved her score onto seventy-three. Lavender screamed in delight, she still had a chance to avoid the gunge. Jessica ran up to bowl her final ball, Carl put his arm around Lavender's shoulders and wished her good luck. Luke shouted in encouragement at his girlfriend, who pumped up released her final ball. Her ball came spinning in towards the centre, Lavender couldn't bear to watch. The ball crashed into the middle pin and knocked over another seven pins. She jumped for joy, she had beaten Lavender and would have her revenge for losing to her at pool. Lavender put her face in her hands, she had lost. The girls looked up at the scoreboard for the final score. As Jessica's final points tally flashed up, she wondered if she had beaten Luke. She wasn't sure, but ultimately it didn't matter, she hadn't come last.

Jessica's score flashed up: 73. She looked over at Lavender in confusion, had she lost? Why? Carl began to chuckle, "Jess, you overstepped the mark on your final bowl, you fouled and thus scored nothing, your final throw doesn't count." A sudden realisation hit Jessica, she was going to get gunged yet again. Lavender shouted out in delight, she had pulled it out of the bag, right at the last. She couldn't wait to get home. Luke looked nervously over to his girlfriend, like their first date, their second one had hardly gone to plan, Jessica was going to get slimed.

After having a bite to eat, which Luke had to pay for (hence both Lavender and Carl had dessert) the group stopped off at Lavender's on the way back to Carl's to pick up the gunge. Arriving at Carl's they discovered that Rosie and Mike were still out, much to Jessica's relief, as she wanted an audience as small as possible for her second forfeit of the day. Still in her shoulderless floral dress, Jessica stepped into the tank. Luke filled the top with blue gunge and invited Lavender to pull the trigger. The two girls stared into each other's eyes, Lavender had been hoping for a long, long time to gunge Jessica; up to now it had only been Mia who had had the privilege. Lavender pulled down on the cord, blue gunge washed down all over the stunning redhead.

The slime enveloped her pretty head, completely obscuring her vision. She stumbled forwards to the front of the tank, close enough for Lavender to pie her in the face. Cream stuck to her cheek and forehead, she looked a scary sight indeed. "Jess, I reckon that you could wash the blue gunge out of your dress, it would be a shame to ruin it by gunging it any further. Why don't you take it off?" Lavender suggested. Jessica looked accusingly at Lavender and shook her head in disbelief. Nonetheless, she did as she was told and lifted the dress above her head. Suddenly she remembered that she was wearing her skimpy purple lingerie underneath and it was now on show for all the world to see.

Lavender laughed at her friend's expense before pulling the chord for a second time. Red gunge rained down on Jessica, mixing in with the blue. Remembering what happened to Mia last time, Lavender chose to throw her next pie at Jessica from afar. Fortunately, her aim was better than it had been when she was bowling and it hit her straight in the face. A third pie was thrown at her chest and hit Jessica square between her breasts. Laughing, Jessica slipped over in the gunge. Sitting down, she took a face full of orange gunge as Lavender pulled the chord for a third time. Jessica lay down on the bottom of the tank. With her chest heaving in the air, black slime rained down on her hitting her on the stomach and her cleavage. Lavender scooped up the excess gunge in a bucket and poured it over Jessica's head. She repeated this a further three times until Jessica's entire face was covered in gunge. Lavender then picked up a tiramisu and rubbed it into Jess's face.

As Jess stepped out of the gunge tank, Carl handed Lavender the water hose. She sprayed her friend up and down, first aiming the spray straight at the redhead's slimy face. Jessica screamed as the cold water engulfed her, but at least he was finally starting to get clean. Her dress and underwear were ruined and she hadn't brought any spare clothes. What could she wear on her way home? Carl said that they ought not to go rummaging through Mike and Rosie's stuff, so as to borrow Rosie's clothes, as it would be rude to take them without asking. Though it was still light outside, it was starting to get late and Jessica wanted to go home. Furthermore, she wanted to take off her soaking lingerie that was uncomfortably sticking to her skin. Lavender volunteered to drive Luke and Jessica home, but she wasn't wearing enough herself to enable her to lend Jessica any of her own clothes. Carl suggested that he could lend Jessica his large raincoat. She put it on and found that it reached half way down her thigh. In a fit of pique, she slipped off her knickers and unhooked her bra. The coat was large enough to cover all her lady parts. Underneath the coat, which she now zipped up, she was completely naked.

Jessica and Luke sat in the back of Lavender's car. Luke was worried, his first two dates with the gorgeous redhead had been complete disasters. Jessica had got really messy both times. Nonetheless, Jessica had still really enjoyed herself and let her new boyfriend know. She lent in to kiss Luke on the mouth. Trying to not get distracted as she drove them home, Lavender watched in her rear-view mirror as Jessica guided Luke's hand inside her raincoat. Losing her inhibitions, she slowly unzipped the coat down to her chest. As Lavender pulled into Jessica's drive, the redhead sat on her boyfriend's lap. Yes, he was rubbish at bowling and not much better at pool, but she really liked him. For what nobody else knew was that first time that she had fallen into the lake, it had been Luke that had come to her rescue. At the time he didn't know who she was and had still come to her aid. As he rowed over to her in the lake, she had hidden her naked body from him under the water. But since then, she had come to reassesses her opinion of him. He didn't have any muscles, but he really had a heart. She no longer felt the need to hide her naked body from him. Her heart filled with passion and she threw off her coat. She draped her arms around his neck and cuddled up to her boyfriend.

Much to Lavender's annoyance the young couple began to make out. She sat in front in uncomfortable silence as the naked Jessica tried to unzip Luke's jeans. Wanting to go home, Lavender wound down the rear windows. She jumped out the car and opened up her boot. Jessica and Luke meanwhile continued to get passionate on the backseat. Lavender knocked loudly on the side of the car. "Jessica", she shouted, "Jessica!" desperate to grab her attention. Annoyed, Jessica broke off from Luke and stuck her head out of the window. "Lavender, what?" she asked just as the brunette slammed a lemon meringue pie into her face. Lemon and cream ran down her cheeks and onto her drive. Craning her neck out further she exclaimed, "Lavender what on earth?" just as the brunette poured a packet of custard over the naked girl's head.

"Wait until you're home until you start making out next time", demanded Lavender. "Now don't get any custard on my seats and hop out!" Shocked, Jessica draped Carl's coat around her body and headed for her door. She unlocked her house and stepped inside, before looking over at the car. "Luke, what are you waiting for, come inside", she shouted. Luke swung open the car door and raced towards Jessica. Unfortunately, as he did so, his jeans slipped down to his ankles, slowing him down. As Luke ran towards her, the redhead threw off Carl's coat once again. But with her boyfriend slowed down by his falling jeans, the girl stood exposed to the street far longer than she had intended. As Jess stood naked on her porch, Lavender hoped for her friend's sake that she was the only other person watching. Couldn't she have waited until she closed the door? Lavender looked behind her to check whether any cream had seeped into her car. Shaking her head at the antics of her friends, Lavender thought to herself that it would take more than a lemon meringue pie and custard to interrupt their night of passion.