You are at a bowling alley.
(click-replace: "a bowling alley")[Naxos Lanes]
(click: "Naxos Lanes")[The floor is sticky. It smells like stale cigarette smoke. There is a [[jukebox->jukebox]] in the one corner, a dingy genderless [[bathroom]] behind wood paneling in the other. The [[beer]] comes in plastic pitchers. There is a mirror behind the bar. They seem to be out of size 8 and a half [[shoes]].]
(click: "mirror")[Glancing at your reflection in the mirror, you momentarily forget whose reflection is your own. (In fairness, it's been a bit dizzying since Crete and there hasn't exactly been time for self-care.) You are either [Ariadne] or [Theseus].]
(click-replace: "Ariadne")[a brilliant beautiful young woman,]
(click-replace: "Theseus")[a dashing and ambitious Alpha male]You are almost but not comfortable.
T is being a dick.
You watch him dry his hands at the air blower and pick up a swirled ball, heave it effortlessly down the lane for another strike. He is on pace for another 300 game but there is no longer any joy in the success.
You grab a House Ball, 10 pounds, and [[bowl->A frame 2]].You are bowling well but [[A is being exhausting->T frame 2]].A asks you if you know the meaning of the word “chunder.”
You consider what a good man is supposed to say to that in the company of a lady, choose silence, then bowl another [[strike. ->T frame 3]]
Just the other day, you felt that you both rescued each other from your past lives of loneliness and terror. Her cleverness was attractive.
Now, it feels as though you’ve tired each other out. As though your worlds are closed, your story over.
(click-append: "over.")[<p>Your ball returns, slowly.]
(click-append: "slowly.")[<p>A excuses herself to use the bathroom. You lean against the plastic molded seats and compose a text to P...]
(click-append: "P...")[<p>P is A's sister. (You all met on Crete.)<p>Maybe she can offer insight.<p>P, at least, is someone you can be [[honest->text T to P]] with.](set: $Theseus to true)
You type.
(click-replace: "You type.")[(transition:"fade-down")[(background:blue)[Being with A is exhausting. She needs me to bring all the energy to the relationship. Slay the Minotaur. Escape her father. Save the tributes. Free the kingdom. Sail the ship. Find a good island. Yeah, she gave me a ball of twine and it was amazing. I never would have escaped the Labyrinth with out her cleverness and I do love her. I really did. A’s a lovely girl. If she would just (text-colour:white)[elope]]]]
(click-replace: "elope")[(background:black)[damn auto-correct!]]
(click-replace: "damn auto-correct!")[(transition:"fade-down")[(background:blue)[emote. If she would just touch me. I need her to start the fire sometimes, you know? She just sits there and stares, evaluates, never initiates. If she would give me something to work with, you know? A ball of twine is just not fucking enough...]]]
(click-append: "...")[(background:black)[
<p>You click the [[blue send button]] that invites your touch.
<p>OR
<p>You hit the hard-to-find [[gray back arrow]] and return to the lattice tree of speech bubbles you previously traded with P beneath a Cretan date palm.]]You click send.
You get excited as P's text bubble shows a tantalizing ellipsis ([[...->Ptexts]]).It actually takes quarters.
You scrounge in your pocket and find a pair of silver Washingtons.
You plug them in.
(click: "plug")[The machine illuminates as though with radiance from a soul it does not possess.
[[You play Joan Jett.]]
[[You play Men At Work.]]]You ask T if he knows the meaning of the word chunder.
(click-append:"chunder.")[<p>He gives you [[a look.->A frame 3]]]It is your turn to bowl. You knock down six pins, then two more.
You decide to [[text->text A to P]] your sister. P is sometimes good about processing these things.Bowling alley bathrooms are sticky.
In the mirror you see the reflection of a person you once thought you knew.
Careful not to drop your phone in the toilet,
[[You use the urinal.->T frame 1]]
[[You use the stall.->A frame 1]]
When your business is finished here, you make your way out to Lane 8.(set: $Theseus to false)
You type.
(click-replace: "You type.")[(background:green)[WTF? Things with T started so well. I save his ass in the Labyrinth. Risk everything by going against my father. Leave behind my old life. Left behind the possibility of sensual splendor with M. I mean, M was...]]
(click-append: "...")[(background:green)[a beast]]
(click-append: "a beast")[(background:green)[, but he never hurt me. We used to, well, you know... Because of nights with M was how I even knew how to find my way through the Labyrinth. Not that I miss M per se, but you can’t help but compare. Don’t get me wrong. T was amazing. He swept me off my feet. With T, those first few days, it was like a fairy tale. T’s handsome, dashing, hunky, brave. We even made out up on the roof of his van, the Argo, under the stars...]]
(click-append: "the stars...")[(background:green)[Now everything feels tight. Sterile. It’s like he doesn’t see me anymore. There’s no love in his eyes. WTF?]
(background:black)[<p>
You click the [[blue send button]] that invites your touch.
<p>OR
<p>You hit the hard-to-find [[gray back arrow]] and return to the lattice tree of speech bubbles you previously traded with your sister, P.]]They have quite the selection.
You order a pitcher of
[[Pabst->Pabst]]
[[Miller Lite->Miller Lite]][[You decide not to send this text...just yet. You wonder what your erstwhile companion is feeling right now.->THE ABANDONMENT @ NAXOS LANES]](set: $Theseus to false)
The liquid in the pitcher is amber gold, with a buzz cut of froth.
You drink from your plastic cup and pour one for your companion.
You bowl a few frames in silence.
You are with this person you thought you loved...
(click-append: "You are with this person you thought you loved...") [but you realize you've never felt more alone.
The color of your beer reminds you of urine. You drink another cup. Great. Now you have to [[pee->bathroom 2]].
Or you could [[hold it.->A frame 1]]]P replies almost immediately and asks where you are.
You text back.
(click-replace: "You text back.")[
(if:$Theseus is false)[[<i>We’re at a bowling alley. Naxos Lanes.</i>->P+A1]]
(if:$Theseus is true)[[<i>We’re at a bowling alley. Naxos Lanes.</i>->P+T1]]
]which is not a problem because that is not your size.
[[You wear a Size 7.->A frame 1]]
[[You wear a Size 11.->T frame 1]]
After slipping on your stylish footgear, you make your way out to Lane 8.
(A sign says it's free glow bowling every Thursday after 9.)(set: $Theseus to true)
The liquid in the pitcher is amber gold, with a buzz cut of froth.
You drink from your plastic cup and pour one for your companion.
You bowl a few frames in silence.
You are with this person you thought you loved...
(click-append: "You are with this person you thought you loved...") [but you realize you've never felt more alone.
The color of your beer reminds you of urine. You drink another cup. Great. Now you have to [[pee->bathroom 2]].
Or you could [[hold it.->T frame 1]]]You watch the armature extract the compact disc and music begins to play.
[[<i>“…I love rock n' roll. So come an' take your time an' dance with me. …”</i>->dance]]You watch the armature extract the compact disc and music begins to play.
<i>“…Where beer does flow and men chunder…”</i>
It is good [[bowling->T frame 1]] music. Bowling alley bathrooms are sticky.
In the mirror you see the reflection of a person you once thought you knew.
You are careful not to drop your phone in the toilet.
(click-append:"in the toilet.")[<p>No amount of twine would help there...<p>You exhale deeply while using the hand dryer, then exit to the alley. <p>They have the two of you on (if:$Theseus is true)[[Lane 8.->T frame 1]](if:$Theseus is false)[[Lane 8.->A frame 1]]]You dance. Your skirt swirls. You enjoy the feel of your body moving to the music, the way you used to dance in the palace with your sister, P.
[[T just looks at you, and not with longing.->A frame 1]]Her ellipses disappear... You text P again.
(click-replace: "You text P again.")[
(background:blue)+(text-colour:white)[[[[Really like your sis. What should I do?->P+T2]]
[[How do I end this gracefully?->P+T2]] ]]
]Her ellipses disappear... You text your sister again.
(click-replace: "You text your sister again.")[
(text-colour:white)+(background:green)[[[//How do we fix this?//->P+T2]]
[[//Not sure I even want to fix this//->P+T2]]]]P texts you back.
(text-colour:white)[(background:purple)[(if:$Theseus is true)[[Hang on sweetie! b there soon<3->P+T3]](if:$Theseus is false)[[Hang on sweetie! b there soon<3->P+A3]]]]Then, there she is at the door.
As P enters, it is as though a stormfront breaks.
You loved A in what became a sense of obligation. You realize now you are in love with P, the other sister who sweeps into the alley like a force of nature and slaps you playfully [[on the ass. ->END]] Your sister looks more attractive than you remember when you felt beauty hardly mattered compared to brains.
Curious.
(click-append: "Curious.")[
You thought you were cunning. But as P swopps in and slaps T playfully on the ass, you see him squirm with a delight absent from your encounters and in that moment you know she has outmaneuvered you both.
You literally [[drop the ball->END]]] And that's the story of the Abandonment @ Naxos Lanes.
(click-replace: "And that's the story of the Abandonment @ Naxos Lanes.")[
If you are Theseus, it's [[not as though you live happily ever after...->TF1]]
If you are Ariadne, it's not as though abandonment is [[the end of your story.->AF1]]
]
Sure, you get //this// girl (or, more apt, she gets you?).
(click-append:"(or, more apt, she gets you?).")[
You even get married beneath arcades of purple balloons in this same bowling alley.
(click-append:"bowling alley.")[
But when P meets your son from another mother (you honored him with ringbearer status), she falls into a greasy, passionate lust for your son.
(click-append: "your son.")[
[[(Must be good genes?)->TF2]]]]]Far from it.
(click-append: "Far from it.")[
You dropped the ball on your foot, actually.
(click-append: "actually.")[
For a reason.
(click-replace: "For a reason.")[Well, two reasons.
(click-append: "two reasons.")[
First, you //are// a bit tipsy from all the beer.
And, second, your sister isn't the only person who knows the [[art of manipulation.->AF2]]]]]]You take Naxos Lanes to court for your broken toe--claiming inadequate balls--and win your suit.
(click-append: "your suit.")[
You purchase Naxos out of receivership and rebrand it as Bacchus Lanes.
(click-append: "Bacchus Lanes.")[
You add an extensive craft beer and wine selection and replace the bar with distressed wood. (You also replace the bathrooms and upgrade to a touchless AI jukebox, but keep Glow Bowl Thursdays.)
(click-append: "but keep Glow Bowl Thursdays.)")[
Turns out you are [[a pretty good businesswoman.->AF3]]]]]Anyway, your wife takes your admittedly virile son behind the pinsetters and tries to make out with him.
(click-append: "make out with him.")[
When your son resists (so he claimed), P crashes out through the bowling pins down the lane claiming he tried to rape her.
(click-append: "tried to rape her.")[
Honor must be served, so you hire a hacker to reprogram the boy's Tesla, which goes wild and drags the ragged body of your son through downtown.
(click-append: "ragged body of your son through downtown.")[
P kinda goes nuts and hangs herself on Facebook Live.
...
(click-append: "...")[
You end up licking your wounds at this nice cliffside retreat, where the owner unfortunately pushes you over the edge to your [[death.->TF3]]]]]]As you fall to the ragged basalt below, the life you might have had with Ariadne flashes before your tired eyes.
If only she'd[[...->TF4]]You never see your sister again.
One night, when you see TMZ air a segment on Theseus from the corner monitor above the bar
(click-append: "above the bar")[, you consider whether [[you all got what you deserved->AF4]] from this life.]Perhaps you [[dream...->THE ABANDONMENT @ NAXOS LANES]]You become known to Generation Z mainly from a celebrity obit segment on TMZ(click-append: "obit segment on TMZ")[ that actually does a pretty fair job,
(click-append: "fair job,")[ but the segments that go viral on Twitter paint Phaedra as a feminist heroine vanquishing the patriarchy.
(click-append: "the patriarchy.")[
Maybe you shouldn't have fought so hard to slay the Minotaur. Maybe this is just what ultimately happens when the mother of your love interest wants to be fucked by a bull from inside a wooden cow. Maybe this is ultimately because Minos couldn't get it up for his wife. You don't know anymore. All you really wanted with Ariadne was to feel loved. Instead, you felt observed: naked instead of nude, stone-ab cold instead of heartbeat warm.
The ocean waves press inexorable against your battered body and the moon passes through the dark above.
[[...->dream]]
]]]T
Your sister
And you
(click-append:"T")[ got a woman to push him around.
(click-append:"sister")[ became a feminist icon vanquishing the patriarchy.
(click-replace: "And you")[You got unlimited drinks at Bacchus.
(click-append: "Bacchus.")[
It dulls your brilliance. For all your purported intellect, being smart didn't salve the pain of rejection, prevent the betrayal of your own blood, or get you the guy. You'd think long and hard about why this is or what you could have done differently, or if you should have even bothered tossing that ball of twine to that lost guy who turned your father's kingdom upside-down and made you feel like a badass heroine of your own story so much so that you froze in awe until it was too late
(click-append: "too late")[, but it's ladies night and you own the joint, so you pour yourself another drink, buy a round for the house, and let the old times fade away.
[[...->dream]]]]]]]