Page 66 of The Love Position

‘The bell’s late!’ Fearne cried. ‘It’s already five forty-five!’

The floor vibrated as people ran for the bathrooms.

Sophia pushed herself up to sit. She’d hardly slept, her nervous system still on edge after everything that had happened the previous day. Now she was too tired to even make her limbs work.

Picking up her wash bag, she stumbled to join the queue outside.

By the time she’d had a quick wash, brushed her teeth and returned to the dorm, Khloe-Narcisse and Paisley had already left.

‘Come on, ladies!’ Jessica said, holding open her duffle bag. ‘Put your dirties in here and I’ll get them in the washer before Satsang.’

Ever practical, Jessica’s solution for keeping their uniforms clean was to put them on to wash before Satsang each morning, then leave the temple to ‘go to the toilet’ forty-five minutes later in order to put them in the dryer. It was a genius solution and meant they always had a new set of clean clothes by the start of the first asana class of the day.

Sophia dropped her dirty t-shirt and trousers in the bag after Fearne and Tyger.

Jessica hoisted it to her shoulder. ‘I’m gonna have to leave now,’ she said to Sophia.

‘It’s okay, I’ll see you in there.’

Jessica ran out and Sophia quickly dressed, dragged a brush through her hair, then left.

Hurrying along the path, she was relieved to see she wasn’t the only person who was late, as she was jostled by people with harried expressions, all rushing towards the temple.

The ashram may have promoted community and tranquillity, but Sophia felt like she was in a race for the last lifeboat on a sinking ship.

In the distance, the ferry was pulling away from the jetty. She glanced at her watch. Six o’clock. Late! She’d been on the island less than a full week and she’d already been conditioned to conform.

Outside the temple was a bottleneck of people trying to enter. A flustered Miriam was by the door with her clipboard, trying to check everyone in as quickly as she could. However, it was still dark, and she was struggling to read the names on the sheet and tick off the right ones.

‘Hurry up!’ a voice said behind Sophia.

She turned to see Grace, whose face was scrunched up with annoyance.

‘I’m trying,’ she replied. ‘I can’t go any faster.’

Pressed between bodies, Sophia’s anxiety had already sprinted off the blocks and was around the first bend. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she got a lungful of body odour from the man in front and her stomach heaved.

Grace was tutting and huffing behind her, as if the delay was entirely Sophia’s fault.

Breathe! You’re nearly there.

The man in front moved, and she got to Miriam’s side.

‘Sophia. My name’s about two-thirds of the way down on the right-hand side.’

‘Okay, hang on a sec.’

‘Get on with it!’ Grace hissed.

Miriam’s pen slid down the sheet, then finally stopped. ‘Got you.’

‘Thanks.’

As Sophia went to move, she was shoved sharply from behind. Stumbling, she missed the first step, lost her balance and tipped forward.

Trying to avoid crashing into the man in front, she twisted to the side, but her foot slipped from under her.

Arms flailing, she reached for the statue of Shiva, but it wasn’t heavy enough to stop her fall and toppled towards her.

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