Sprawling out on the prickly grass, Kai exhaled, more defeated than fatigued. After two weeks of declined invitations, she’d finally gotten Sol to commit to tennis, but this morning, the day they were supposed to meet, the chick had still managed to cancel, citing a recent adjustment to her work schedule. Kai scoffed at the thought. Sol’s Waffle House could have been staffed by a team of actual waffles. It got so little business during the day that Sol and Kai had once rolled a joint at a table, smoked it, fell asleep, woke up, fell asleep again, woke up again, Febreezed the entire restaurant, and then waited around for another two hours before any customers came. That bitch wasn’t working.

Kai bolted up, trotting to her open garage. Her meager transit options stared back at her: bike, skateboard, worn Asics. Theo’s busted Civic briefly felt like an Escalade.

Kai chose the bike. A few hills later, she was frantically pedaling down State Route 314, receiving ambiguous honks and shouts as cars veered around her. Was she being hit on or being warned she’d get hit? Kai wasn’t sure, but these drivers were stressing her out. She couldn’t wait to get to Old National so she could ride on the sidewalk. Wow, was she actually looking forward to going to Old National? That was a first.

Seconds after she turned onto Flat Shoals Road, a rowdy Corolla nearly made contact with her back tire. “The street is not a bike lane, boo-boo!” the driver, a spectacled older black woman, informed her. Kai agreed, banking onto Castlegate Drive, a side street. She wasn’t about to battle over the road in the midday sun. Changing plans as she rolled down Castlegate, she decided to go to Sol’s house, near Godby Road. If Sol was there, she’d crash and talk to her one-on-one. If not, she’d go home, turn on the air conditioning, and try to hit the lottery with another tennis invitation. It wasn’t a solid plan, but when the sun was this relentless, liquid, gas, and plasma weren’t so bad.

Worn duplexes decayed in real time as Kai sped through Castlegate. She exited the neighborhood just as quickly as she’d come, drifting into a nameless residential strip with refreshingly empty streets. Fifteen minutes later, she was creaking across Sol’s front porch, sweat surging down her face. Sol better have something good to drink, even that awful-ass tea, Kai thought, extending her sweaty arms to ring the doorbell. No answer.

She rang it again.

Nothing.

Flustered, Kai turned and scowled at Sol’s re-stolen bike, which was parked in the front yard.

“I know you’re in there!” she shouted, thumping on the glass storm door with her open palm, its hot glass irritating her skin. The door leered back at her, unfazed.