Lottie

Chapter 4 -- Tennis should be illegal

A/N Haha i'm so bad at updating... ;)

I groaned as we headed out to the tennis courts. Tennis was by far my least favourite sport. In fact, every sport was my least favourite.

“OK, get into your groups!” I trudged towards my usual spot, in group B2. I heard Malee’s footsteps behind me and she grabbed my arm.

“Yeah?”

“Um, do you know what group I’m in?”

“Uh…did you say you’ve lost just under 90% of your vision?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you’re probably with me. Welcome to B2!” I laughed and nudged her slightly. She giggled back but I could tell she was a bit nervous.

“Listen, don’t worry. Nobody is expecting you to be a tennis star – it’s fine! Besides, I am terrible so even if you are, you’re not alone.” I heard her take a deep breath.

“OK. Thanks.” I heard her footsteps beside me.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m jogging on the spot. Why?” I snorted. “What?” she asked innocently. I continued to laugh.

“Did you used to be sporty?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“That explains it then.” Malee muttered a confused ‘what’ but I ignored it. She’d find out pretty soon how much of an anti-athlete I am. I heard a whistle blow and I slumped my shoulders. The torture began.

                                                                        ~

“OK! That’s enough technique practise. Let’s get some doubles games going! Partner up!” I groaned and decided to sit cross-legged in the middle of the tennis courts.

“Lottie?” I heard Malee call out, slightly frantically.

“Down here,” I mumbled. I didn’t bother getting up. I was not playing more tennis.

“Can I go with you?”

“Are you sure you want to?”

“Uh…yeah.”

“I’m not getting up you know.” She laughed. I didn’t understand what was so funny though - I wasn’t joking.

“Come on, I think we’re about to start!”

“OK.” I didn’t move. After a pause I think Malee realised I seriously wasn’t going to get up.

“Lottie, seriously! Please, it’s my first game. Please just get up?” She sounded kind of desperate so I stood up grudgingly. So much for not playing tennis. We started, and I listened out carefully. I heard it bounce once, but it was on Malee’s side. I heard her swing frantically, swiping nothing but the air. It bounced again, and Malee heaved, and I heard her racket fall her side.

“15-love!” someone shouted out. I reached out for Malee’s arm, chuckling a little.

“Sorry,” she said.

“It’s fine. I was just going to tell you that the ball can bounce twice, you know. You can still hit it.”

“Oh.” She sounded kind of surprised, in a good way. The B1s are allowed to have it bounce 3 times. Sometimes I wish I was 100% blind like them, so I could have an extra bounce. I told my mum this once, but she just said I was being ridiculous. I guess she’s right, it probably wouldn’t even improve my tennis. Oh well, it wasn’t like I cared. We continued to play and to be fair, Malee was doing most of the work. She was pretty good, actually, for someone who isn’t used to our type of tennis. By the sounds of it, she kept whacking it, and it kept going off the court. I don’t really blame her though, because our tennis courts were smaller. I could tell that she was getting frustrated though. The other team served, and I heard it bounce towards me. I listened, and started to reach out my racket to hit it. Instead of hitting the ball, it collided with something else.

“OW!” Malee yelped. I reached out for her, and she gripped my wrist.

“Are you OK?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine I think. I thought I’d run for the ball and then you hit my shoulder.”

“But you’re OK?”

“Yeah.” She sounded out of breath – probably from actually running. I knew that this was probably terrible for Malee because it was her first game and she had already gotten hit on the shoulder, but I couldn’t help myself. I started to laugh.

“I knew you shouldn’t have gone with me,” I grinned. After a moment or two I heard Malee start laughing too.

“Yeah, I think I’ll go with Jens next time!” she laughed and I walked back to my starting position. I didn’t mind if she went with Jens – it meant that next time I could sit on the floor in peace.