Wombat Chase and Three Snooker Games (Part 6)

A Gloomy Night at Camp

Earlier in the day I took pictures of the tents being set up as well as my and Shawn huddling down where the doors to two tents were. Our bad planning had seen us place Shawn’s smaller tent too close to Ace’s tent in which the awning had to be specially tied over the smaller tent in order to stick. Through the night, because it was dark and Keith parked his car close to Ace’s tent we kept tripping over the ropes that tied it down.

With the mattress set we jumped out to what was the burnt out ashes of a simmering campfire. All of us looked down and out about being at Kangaroo Valley and as we somberly spoke of how depressing it was wasting our night I heard stories of how great it was every other time. The mistake came when Keith mentioned that we came in winter, when hardly anyone is around and because it was raining no one else would consider coming down, we were the stupid ones.

Near our arrival Keith mentioned how we had to head back to the pub to meet up with Binh but this time around Shawn had a conflicting distaste to our plans. Shawn was visibly drunk and verbally cantankerous to any other suggestion apart from sitting tight. Ned being his usual self tried to side with Shawn’s adversity but as Shawn went to a corner to urinate Ned was making hand motions as if to say “He’s crazy”.

Ned and Shawn headed off later in the night for some reason and in that time Keith and I headed into the tent to play cards with our newly bought deck. I gather that Shawn was probably talking shit about how shit the night was and some shit about our wanting to head to the pub as Keith and I were also looking at each other and shaking our heads. Ned wanted to head down which was a good thing but Shawn was the only problem.

Chasing a Wombat

Eventually, when they came back Shawn sounded like he wanted to come out with us so Ned must have said some favorable words to him. Before we left half an hour into our stay Shawn noticed a wombat prying around in the background. The both of us walked up to him with my camera and before it ran off I shun the torch at him and took a picture. Then there was the incident where Tyler and I chased a wombat through the muddy paths all the way down into a swamp of water on the side of the road.

Flashing the torch at him while continually chasing him I found it funny how the wombat plunged into what would have been knee height water for him and the big splash as he mistimed his trot was hilarious. I wish I had taken a picture of that little event at the exact time he hit the water but we can’t win them all. I wonder if the poor little wombat would have felt cold after that but I guess he either wanted the heat of our fire or the food in which we ate.

Back to the Pub

Finally deciding to head out to the pub at 8:30 p.m. we thought that would have been enough time for Binh and the rest of them to almost be at the pub. Shawn and Ned both decided to come with us which was a good sign but Shawn brought along his odious attitude. Arriving at the pub Keith immediately headed for the phone as a discouraged Shawn headed to bet on the pokies.

Ned commented how we should stick around Shawn and make him feel better but that didn’t temp me to walk over and watch him play the Egyptian Poky Game. Spinning up 15 free spins I thought that was the crowning moment that would liven up his night but out of all his spins he only achieved an extra three dollars, what a wasted opportunity.

As Keith was on the phone Binh walked through the front door of the pub and noted that he could see Binh as he was trying to ring through. Leroy, his brother, Tyler and Binh’s two younger friends he knows from the shop came along as well. Tyler came up with his usual brazen attitude and shook my hand, a treat that would become one of our finer comical moments of the night.

When we sat around the campfire later in the night we kept doing stupid handshakes, gripping continuously to finally punch hands and then elbows. Anyway, far from the immediate drama, Binh and the rest of them were asked for identification which I thought was funny once again from a small time pub. Nevertheless, they were all heading to our campsite but none of us wanted to leave the pub yet to show them the way. Binh wasn’t bothered as we gave him directions on where to find camp and then he left as we made our way to the pool tables.

Feeling no desire to head back to a pitch black cloudy night of campsite marvels, the four of us decided to stay back and relax in the atmosphere of a foreign pub. Although we were at a pub I felt completely at home and unhindered in any way because I wasn’t dressed up at all, I had my casual undermining clothes on, fit right in.

Locals at the Pool Table

Heading to the pool tables we placed some money on the table which showed that we wanted to be next, grabbed some drinks and sat down waiting our turn. There was a bunch of guys hanging around the pool table area playing doubles. There were three ladies with them in which one of them looked hitched, the other looked like she was hitched but was ugly enough to flirt with other guys and the third was a reticent but a curvature of beauty.

She had that typical country body, full of curves but I liked her rounded ass to perfect the roundness of her breasts. Everything else just fell in place on this girl, not too skinny but with just a little roundness to her lean belly. Seeing her wearing a G-String only lightly through her pants was an added bonus, country girls know how to please too.

When the others finished their game Keith set to put his money into the machine but the guys from the previous game wanted to know if they wanted to go doubles, as in competition. Keith agreed to his suggestion as a friendly game of snooker began. The guy who asked for the friendly game of snooker had a pot belly, a fairly lengthy goatee and pants that probably started from his but crack and for that reason, were flat down his ass.

They didn’t show any definition at all because they were so low but I guess, his stomach has to start somewhere. The guys who played doubles against Ned and Keith were more into chatting to the chicks and their friends than playing their shot but after a little while they got into the groove of competition. These guys were hitting great shots, sinking brilliant balls but I was also impressed by the calm and composure of what seemed a younger and inexperienced couplet.

Three Games of Snooker

Yet, even though at first the other two looked intimidating with their previous shots the first game was won by us, with them still having four balls on the table. Walking over to Ned and Keith he shook their hands for a good game and then asked if we wanted to go again seconds later. Of course, we really couldn’t refuse their offer so we stuck around for another friendly game.

The first game of snooker with numbered balls seemed like they weren’t really into it. The guy with the goatee who looked like a biker seemed to me like he was missing a shot or two purposefully but it didn’t look that way at the end of his first game. The second game looked most likely that the locals of Kangaroo Valley would win but the rebels of Campbelltown powered home with another victory from the jaws of danger.

This time around you could see the anguish on the biker’s face as he looked a little squeamishly agitated for a couple of seconds. Maybe it was his getting drunk that created those abhorrent faces but it didn’t seem very sporting when he walked over to Keith, handed him the pool cue and uttered “Here, play with yourself”. Such words did not win the hearts of our actions but yet, as the better player of pool who was consistent with hitting shots through the whole night racked up, we asked a third time if they wanted to play against us.

Somewhat oblivious to the last two games he agreed to our offer and for the third time they paid for the game. At the end of the night Keith was proud that he didn’t have to pay for any of the games, maybe that’s why the guy got a tad angry. Anyway, despite this better contender who sunk almost impossible shots, they were sunk again for a third time. This talent from the start of the sticks (Our Campbelltown) was beginning to boggle my mind, some home-grown talent before me.

A Stranger at the Bar

Whilst they played their game of pool I bought myself some chips and a drink of orange juice, talking to the girl in black and the large breasts at the bar. A guy started talking to me as if he knew me while I was ordering at the bar and that created a weird connection between us. As he told me his name I sat there oblivious to any further conversation from my behalf and when he uttered “Have you got a name or should I make one up for you”

I finally clicked. Nevertheless, from there our conversation didn’t even look close to lifting off as I stood there unaware of what to really say as I waited for my drinks and then took off back to the pool room. He must have thought I was a dickhead for not being able to hold a conversation otherwise, he probably thought I was just some out of town bum who didn’t want to associate with lowly scum like himself.

As Keith and Ned were playing their third game I done what I had been doing in the last couple of games, preoccupying myself with the marvels of the reticent girl and the other lady operating the jukebox. There they stood dancing on the floor for a little while and as the balding guy who was the great snooker player came up and chatted to me after their third loss the girls danced in front of us.

However, all I could do was watch them dance around, fearing to tread where others would walk lightly. With the conclusion of our third game and my lame conversation with the snooker player who was making an effort with me, we headed back to camp. Why am I so inadequate when it comes to talking in person, why am I so impregnable…