11| game on

D I A N E

Yulia walked into the cake-tasting place with all the confidence of a woman who owned the place. Her long, straight, brunette hair swished behind her as she walked, and the floral dress she wore accentuated her figure. Her deep blue eyes scanned the room until they landed on me. A smile broke out on her face, and she strode over to me.

"Hello," she said, her voice sweet and cheerful. "It's so good to see you again."

I smiled at her, feeling a twinge of guilt at what I was about to do.

"This is Polina," Yulia said, beaming as she introduced us. I shook Polina's hand, feeling a bit uneasy under her cold stare.

"Pleasure to meet you," I said, trying to keep my composure. Polina merely nodded, her expression dismissive. "Likewise," she said, her tone dripping with disdain.

"Do you want you to come play tennis with us?" Yulia asked, a hopeful expression on her face. I froze, I couldn't play tennis to save my life, and I knew I'd embarass if I did.

"Oh no," I shook my head. "I'm not really a sporty person,"  I added, and Polina let out a scoff, clearly unimpressed. "Clearly," she said, casting a glance at my figure.

I fixed my posture, as I remained poised.

Oh, I let out a sigh, how embarrassing it was to witness another woman trying to put me down.

"Hey, Polina. Don't say such things," Yulia gasped, her words were fabricated with pretence. "No Yulia it's ok.

"I'm sure you and Yulia will have a great time on the court," I said, trying to sound cheerful. "Enjoy yourselves."  I said, about to walk off buy Yulia begged.

"Please, just give it a try," Yulia urged, her accent thickening with excitement.

"Alright," I relented, immediately regretting my decision. But it was too late - Yulia and Polina had already taken my response as a confirmation and were now leading me to the tennis court.

As we approached the court, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I was so out of my depth, and I knew I was going to make a fool of myself.

I sighed, pushing away the thought.

You agreed to this, I reminded myself. I picked up my phone and sent Claudia a text, asking her to accompany. Once she sent me a text confirming she was coming, I sent her my location. 

I pulled on the tennis outfit from the locker which I ended  up struggling to get the tight fabric over my skin. It was like a second skin, hugging my curves in a way that was both flattering and uncomfortable. But once I was fully dressed, I had to admit that I looked good.

I turned to look in the mirror, and I couldn't help but feel a surge of confidence. My curves were accentuated in all the right ways, and I felt like I could take on the world. Polina's words from before didn't matter - I knew I looked good, and that was all that mattered and I strode out of the locker room.

As I walked out to the court, the sun beat down on my head, making me sweat. I tied my hair into a messy bun, trying to keep it off my neck. I picked up a tennis racket and started to practice my swing, trying to ignore the doubt that was starting to creep in.

I told myself that I just needed to practice and that I would get better with time. I kept repeating that in my head as I swung the racket, trying to ignore the little voice that told me I would never be good at this.

I hit the ball against the wall, practicing my serve. I felt a little good for a second and tried it again, maybe I'd get better.

Not even a minute later, I was forced to swallow my words.

I was so focused on my swing that I didn't notice the person standing in my line of fire. I swung the racket, hitting the ball with all my might. But instead of hitting the wall, it hit someone else.

There was a yelp of pain, and I froze in horror. I had just hit someone with the ball, and it must have hurt. I slowly turned around, my heart in my throat. The person I had hit was rubbing their head, a pained expression on their face. "I'm so sorry!" I blurted out, rushing over to them. "I didn't see you,"

As I got closer, I recognized the person. "Yulia?"A red welt was already forming on her cheek. "My face!" she cried, her voice panicky. "You hit me in the face!" but I didn't feel guilty.

I reached out to touch her, but she flinched away. "Get your hands off me!" I immediately dropped my hand, feeling my face heating up with embarrassment.

"I'm experienced in these things," I said, my voice a little too loud. "I can help you."

Yulia glared at me, crossing her arms over her chest. "You've done enough," she said, her tone icy. "Trust me." Then, she turned to Polina, who was hovering nearby. "Can you fan me?" she asked, her voice suddenly sweet. Polina nodded and started fanning  her, I bit my lip to stop me from laughing.

"Let's go to the tennis court," Yulia said, startling me.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "My partner hasn't arrived yet. We can cancel and reschedule for another day." But Yulia wouldn't hear it. "No, we're going," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. I sighed, resigned to the fact that I was stuck here. I followed Yulia to the court, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

When we arrived, Yulia grabbed a racket and started to practice her serve. I stood there, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do. Eventually, I decided to try practicing as well.

I picked up a racket and tried to emulate Yulia's movements. But my serve was terrible, and the ball barely went over the net. I tried again and again, but my serve didn't improve. I could feel Yulia's eyes on me, judging my every move. I wanted to so badly to repeat what I had done but I refused to stopped that low.

Just as I was about to give up, I heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey girl!" My best friend Claudia was walking towards me, carrying a tennis bag and a big smile.

She was dressed in a tennis outfit identical to mine, but with a stylish cap that I refused to wear. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her teal eyes sparkled in the sunlight. She ran over and gave me a big hug. "How's it going?" she asked. "Not good,"

Claudia snorted as she stared at Yulia from afar. "What happened to her?"

"I might have, accidentally, hit her with the ball while practicing," I said awkwardly and Claudia's eyes widened as she let out a loud laugh.

"You did what?" She glanced over at Yulia, who was watching us with a scowl on her face. "It was an accident, I swear," I said.

"I was practicing my serve, and I lost control of the ball. I didn't mean to hit her."

Claudia shook her head, still trying to contain her laughter. "It's not funny," I said, feeling defensive.

"I know, I know," Claudia said, her voice still shaking with laughter.

"You know I love you, right?" Claudia said, her laughter subsiding. "I think she hates you more than ever now," she added, a mischievous grin on her face. "Now she can add 'hitting her in the face with a tennis ball' to her long list of reasons why she doesn't like you."

I groaned. "Why would you say that?" I asked, feeling exasperated.

"Claudia," I said, giving her a pointed look.

"You didn't have to say that." She held her hands up in surrender. "I'm just being honest," she said, grinning. "I'm a realist, that's all."

I shook my head as we started to get ready for the game. But even as I focused on the task at hand, Claudia's words still lingered in my mind. If Yulia thought that was bad, she hadn't seen anything yet.

I had a feeling this was going to be a long game.