I’ve got a spare set of gym clothes you can borrow
(Please come, Shirin is always such a sore loser and I need a worthy opponent)
(She strops every time)
Shirin
you keep making up rules!!!
of course I will strop!!!
The messages stop me in my tracks. I don’t even know what pickleball is, but the idea that they’ve been hanging out without me makes me feel funny inside.
I’ve always known that in every trio there is a duo, and that now they have to split their time between hanging out with me and Salman, I’m on the fringe of that trio. With them both interning at SWX this summer, the truth of that has never been more apparent and it hurts, like I’m being left behind once again.
Especially as all I have at work is an ex who is confusing me more and more by the minute.
So even though doing any type of physical activity is the last thing I want to do, and I certainly didn’t factor in social time in my diary today, I agree to meet them and play a sport that sounds made-up.
Poppy
I’ll be there
10
‘I thought just yesterday you said you were too tired to do anything after work and now you’re off to play paddleball?’ Ma’s tinny voice asks over the phone as I hang around outside the leisure centre, a stream of people walking past me.
‘It’s pickleball, Ma. Padel is a different sport entirely.’
‘Well, what’s the difference?’
‘I don’t know,’ I admit. ‘But Shirin and Lipi wanted to play, so I’m here.’
‘I’ll remember this the next time you say you’re too tired to go pottery painting,’ Ma mock-threatens.
I roll my eyes. ‘I see you every day at home, Ma.’
‘And it still shouldn’t be enough to appease you,’ she harrumphs.
‘How about I pick something up from the Indian around the corner on my way back as repentance?’
‘I’m listening.’
My face widens in a smile. Ma is so easily won over sometimes. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Don’t forget to ask for extra spicy!’ Ma adds before hanging up.
As soon as I push the leisure centre door open, I’m assaulted by an explosion of noise. After spending a day in a quiet office, it’s a shock to the system to be bombarded with sound. I walk through the group of screaming kids in the lobby and past the swimming pools, stopping only briefly to admire the way thepeople look like fish in the water, before walking towards the courts. It’s a beautiful summer afternoon so people are seated in the outdoor area with drinks and food, their sunglasses shielding them from the sun’s blinding rays.
When I get to the court, Shirin and Lipi are mid-game but it doesn’t stop Shirin from waving my way, causing Lipi to turn and smash the ball so hard it bounces off the wall.
‘Yes! Suck it, Lipz!’ Shirin dances on the spot, doing a terrible impression of an inflatable balloon at a car dealership. ‘Thanks for the assist, Pop!’
Lipi shoots me daggers with her eyes.
‘This one’s all Shirin, I had nothing to do with it,’ I defend myself as I step onto the court now that there’s no chance of a stray ball hitting me. ‘Busy out here. Never thought a leisure centre could have this much action.’
‘The courts fill up quickly,’ Shirin says after taking a sip of her water. ‘I was on the app as soon as the timetable was released. Couldn’t deal with the drama after what happened last week.’
