Page 52 of Choose Us
“I am not.”
“Name one thing you’re not good at.” Brooke said between mouthfuls.
“Fixing cars.” I would love to be able to fix cars; it seemed like such aninvestment.
“One thing that isn’t a profession you have to spend years training in,” Brooke hit back.
“Easy. I can’t play tennis.”
“Really? Tennis?”
I’d had a hard time figuring out how to swing the racket without it flying out of my hand at high speed, or swinging completely off balance and whacking my shin instead of the ball. It was not an easy sport. I credited the professionals.
“What? I was obsessed with Serena Williams when I was a kid. I watched the Grand Slams religiously with my dad. I even asked my mum for a tennis outfit for Christmas one year. I tried to play, but it wasn’t for me, anyone could’ve beaten me blindfolded with one hand tied behind their back.” I said.
“Huh. You told me you were great at badminton as a kid? How are you good at that but terrible at tennis? They’re basically the same thing,” Brooke said suspiciously.
“Go figure.” I shrugged. “Not sure they are though. One requires grace, a light touch, and lightening reflexes; the other requires the power of an ox and a grunt that would put a Russian porn star to shame.”
Was it only me who found it uncomfortable watching women and men grunt and sweat with my parents in the same room?
“Where you bad because you were expecting to be Serena Williams?”
I devoured the last mouthful oftamagoyaki. I would certainly be coming back for another before the endof my trip.
“Maybe.” I laughed.
“Okay, did you ever win a tournament playing tennis?”
“Once, I think.” The other player was worse than I was. I didn’t think it was possible. Turns out there were other kids who were also bad at tennis.
“I knew it! You have to give me something else.” We stood and dropped our traysin the bin.
“Okay, I don’t know... Dating.”I chuckled.
“I begto differ.”
“My recent dating history has been bleak.” I nudged her slightly; it was intended as a joke, but her gaze hit the floor and she didn’t respond. “I’m joking.”
The pavement was so narrow and densely packed with people that when Brooke dodged an oncoming pedestrian, she slipped off the edge and narrowly missed the large fluorescent orange cones cordoning off the road.
“Shit!” she yelled. I grabbed her arm. My lightening reflexes from my badminton days werepaying off.
“Careful.”I chuckled.
“Shall we walk around the outside?”
“I think that’s agood idea.”
We went into the centre of the street where there was more wiggle room. A man stood waving a large green flag and shouting, “bluefin tuna.” I thought about it, but Brooke’s strong walk past the short bearded man reminded me she wasvegetarian.
“So...” Brooke slid her body sideways past a woman with a suitcase and a man with several large bin bags. I felt like we were in an old school Nintendo game where you had to duck, dive, and weave your way around obstacles.
“So what?” I smiled.
“With you saying recent dating history—” A man on a white moped sped through the middle of everyone. He pulled up with a screech outside a food stall with a giant eel and skewers of meaton the sign.
Eww.
