The Exchange

Chapter 38- Blunt & Brutal

The park was reasonably empty as Sasha entered through the rusting metal gates. A plain of grass stretched out in front of her leading to the childrens' play-park on her left and the tennis courts on her right. An ice cream van was parked just outside the fence and a small queue had started to form as people followed the jangling music that issued from the speakers.

In the distance a peeling swing set creaked loudly as a little girl swung into the air so her legs flailed about in front of her. Bee's buzzed through the tall grass, occasionally landing on dandelions and other flowers hidden amongst the green stalks. The sun swivelled in the sky, it's hot rays beating down on screaming children who ran about with sun-cream slathered arms and legs. 

A game of football was being played on the field by a gaggle of young boys who had used their backpacks to create goal posts. Every so often one of them would shout about passing the ball or a cry would break out as someone scored. Sasha held a hand up over her eyes to block out the sun as she scanned the park trying to locate her friends.

Cass and Polly sat on a fraying picnic blanket, swigging from bottles of beer and sharing a cigarette in the shade at the back of the field. Sasha could smell the smoky tobacco scent as she got closer which was mixed with the sweet, floral fragrance of the earth.

Cass had a bucket hat on, shading her eyes from view and the bead bracelets on her wrist clinked together as she turned to watch her friends approach.

A nervous bubble had begun slowly inflating inside of Sasha as she neared the blanket before steadying herself to sit down. The last time she had seen them everything had been different, even though it was only a couple days ago. And although it wasn't visible on the outside she felt as though something had changed.

She didn't know how she would be able to tell her friends about the night shared in the field with Julien. It would sound wrong coming from her mouth as the topic was more suited to Cass or Polly. Or that was the way it had always previously been. Everyone knew their place in the conversation; Sasha would listen, Polly would complain about her boyfriends and Cass would giggle about all the guys who approached her and tried to get in her pants. 

Sasha was also worried about how things had been left with her friends after the party. With Cass suddenly disappearing and Polly becoming distant she felt as though their relationship had become strained.

She didn't know why but the looks on their face made her feel uncomfortable. Whatever they wanted to tell her, she knew she probably wasn't going to want to hear. 

"You came", Cass remarked taking a long drag of the cigarette. 

Sasha nodded, already beginning to feel out of place. She hadn't recieved the usual warm welcome and it made her feel sick to the stomach. This didn't look like a quick chat or debrief from the pool party- this seemed more like an interrogation.

"How are you?", she asked, fidgeting with a loose strand of the blanket. 

Polly stared at her with questioning eyes as though she were a stranger who had just sat down, invading her personal space.

"It was kind of a crazy the other day, huh", she commented, carefully observing Sasha's reaction.

Not wanting to give too much away Sasha shrugged, her smile fading, "Yeah I guess".

She didn't know why but in the past few days she had felt disassociated from her Cass and Polly. Regarding them now she almost felt like she no longer knew them, as if they'd each grown up and hadn't seen each other in years. 

She knew that that she was partly to blame for distancing herself from them but the confidence she placed within their relationship now seemed like a distant memory. Of course Sasha knew they were still friends but she was no longer certain about confiding in them and the trust they used to share now appeared flimsy and plastic.