The role of a lifetime 01

“Oh yeah, how about that then”? Britt called out, spinning around and looking at his best friend Jim,  miserably staring at the scoreboard above him.

Jim squinted his eyes as the large X appear on the big LED display above him, he knew it was over, he had lost another bet, “yeah well-done, mate looks like you got lucky again”, he called back.

“Lucky”? Britt scoffed, “I’m a bowling god, didn’t you see the pure skill in that last strike”?

“Fine, I’ll give you this one mate, you really showed them wooden pins, who know perhaps you can use your superhuman bowling powers to get a part in one of your next auditions”, Jim replied sarcastically.

The smile on Britt’s face disappeared, the two ultra-competitive friends had always competed in everything they did, and love to wind each other up with banter, but that last comment by Jim was a low blow, “You sound a little bitter there Jim, it’s not my fault I’m just better than you at everything, what is that now? Four in a row ”?

Jim sighed, he had been on a losing run latterly, he had lost the game of pool in the bar, picked the wrong team in the cup final, had terrible luck in the poker game, and now to top it all off he had just been destroyed at ten pin bowling.

“Oh, stop arguing you too, it’s just a game”, Britt’s girlfriend Natalia said sounding bored, looking up from her phone.

“Easy for you to say, Nat, your idiot boyfriend didn’t just blow a £1000 on a stupid bowling bet”, Jim’s girlfriend, Victoria, replied from her seat opposite Natalia.

“They’re both idiots, Vicky, do you know they bet £5000, last month on who could eat the most hotdogs in an hour”? Natalia stated.

“Really? Victoria replied shocked,” who won”?

“Who cares, you know what they’re like, always trying to prove who has the bigger balls, and besides, it’s not like they can’t afford it”, Natalia replied before returning to her phone.

She was right of course, both Britt and Jim, were made for life, having started a small online business in their university days, and after a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, they had recently accepted an offer to sell for £25,000,000.

The two men had mixed feelings about the sale, for Britt it was like a dream come true, he was young, rich and now had the time to follow his dream of becoming an actor, like his girlfriend Natalia. Jim on the other hand, loved the business, he and his friend had built from the ground up, and having poured his blood, sweat and tears into making it a success, he felt a bit lost now, having nothing to do with his time.

“How about double or nothing”? Jim asked, turning to Britt and brushing the dark hair of his fringe to one side.

“Sure man, if you think you stand a chance”? Britt replied arrogantly, “but if you lose this time you have to call me king Britt for the rest of the evening”.

“You're on, and this time you’re going down”, Jim shot back before turning to Victoria, “Vic order another round of beers will ya”?

Victoria sighed, after dating for three years, she loved her boyfriend, but lately, she starting to worry about him, he had become reckless wasn't acting like himself. “Sure babe, but you better win this time”, she shouted back.

Five hours later, in the early hours of the morning, the two couples sat on the sofa in Natalia and Jim’s apartment, extremely drunk and looking through Netflix for something to watch.

“Hey, put that one on Vicky, looks like a new episode just came out”, Natalia said from her left.

“Drag race? Really"? Jim exclaimed, “I don’t see the point of this show, it's just a bunch of guys dressing up and trying to act like women”.

“It takes a lot of talent to pull off a drag act”, Natalia replied slightly annoyed, “perhaps you should try it sometime and see”.

Britt burst out laughing, “that I’d love to see, man you would make such an ugly woman”, he announced, looking over at his friend.

“Not as ugly as you, dick, I’d make a much better woman than you ”, Jim slurred back,  from his slumped back position on the sofa.

“Oh yeah, want to put your money where your mouth is”? Britt called out, as Victoria and Natalia leaned in to listen where the conversation was heading.

“Err… no way man, you might want to dress up like a chick, I know you actors are a little fruity, but I’m not gay”.

Natalia looked offended, “Jim, that’s really offensive, it takes a lot of talent to act, I know tones of guys who have played the part of a woman at some point, and I can tell you now, they would kick your ass if they heard you call them fruity”.

“Ha, talent, acting is a piece of cake, just read a few lines and pull a few faces, easiest job in the world”, Jim replied.

“Oh yeah, how about you take Britt up on his bet then? There’s an audition for a part in a movie I’m going for in a few months, the leading lady, why don’t you two audition with me for the part? See who gets furthest in the process”? Natalia replied loudly with an angry tone.

“Natalia, please ignore him, he’s just drunk, he didn’t mean to offend you”, Victoria jumped in trying to play peacekeeper.

“He’s an asshole, that’s what he is, and you little miss perfect can fuck off, I'm not in the mood”, Natalia shouted back.

A furry washed over Victoria, one she hadn’t felt in years, she wasn’t about to sit there and be insulted by that bitch, she tried to tolerate her for Jim’s sake, but at that moment she couldn’t take it anymore, “how about you fuck off yourself, bitch, you know I think I agree with Jim, any moron can act, my Jim could easily get the part if he put his mind to it”.

“Yeah right, that idiot boyfriend of yours get the part, ha, he can’t get through a game of bowling without looking like a fool, he has no idea how much dedication and preparation it takes to land a role like that”, Natalia said smirking.

Having listened to the altercation Jim was also now furious, “Dedication for a simpleton like you perhaps, you know what? just to shut you up, I’ll take the bet, £50,000 says I get further than Britt in the audition”, he said, not really thinking things through in his drunken state.

“Feeling pretty sure of yourself there hey buddy”, Britt answered, “no way a bunch of simpletons can beat you right? Well, how about we make it more interesting, fuck £50,000 if you really think you can beat me, how about you bet your share of the money from the company sale? Or are you scared you’ll lose to king Britt once again?

Annoyed at the memory of losing the game earlier and the humiliation of having to refer to his arrogant friend as king Britt all evening, all he could think of was knocking his friend down a peg and wiping the smug smile off his face, “scared? What of you? No chance mate, fine, you're on”, He replied with a steely glare.

Britt smiled, “I guess we have a bet then, but as this is a big one, how about you get your lawyer girlfriend to draught us up a contract? wouldn’t want you to weasel out once you lose”.

Victoria was now having doubts, she knew how hard Jim had worked to build the company and he was now betting away their future, “babe, maybe you should calm down a little and think about what you are doing”?

“I knew it, little Vicky’s scared of losing, she knows her boyfriend is a loser and wants to back out”? Natalia said loudly before releasing and ear-piercing laugh.

With the sound of the cackling witch next to her, ringing in her ears, all common sense left Victoria, “loser, oh we’ll show you bitch”, she stated, grabbing a pen and the first piece of paper she found on the table in front of her.

The room fell silent as the tension in the room could be cut with a knife, the only sound to be heard, was Victoria scribbling furiously on the back of a flyer for Mr Wang's Chinese takeaway.