‘Okay, call me sometime.’ Anu wrote her phone number on the back of some receipt. ‘Any time.’ Pooja smiled, stuck the paper in her jeans and walked on.

‘So, did you sufficiently embarrass the girl?’ Pete asked as Anu sat down next to him.

‘I think so. But where was she going on foot? This is a good two kilometres from Verdant Green. If she was going for a walk, she could have done so within the property.’

‘Let her be. Don’t go all sleuthing on her now.’ Pete already knew Anu too well.

‘I will try not to. But no promises. She seemed nothing like the girl I met the other day.’

20

20

That afternoon Pooja showed up at the tennis court. But she was not dressed to play, nor had a racquet with her. Anu waved to her from the court. Pooja settled on a chair and looked at her phone (with the earphones, of course) the entire fifteen minutes Anu lobbed the ball back and forth with Pete.

Panting and wiping off the sweat, Anu sat down next to Pooja. ‘Glad you came.’

Pooja looked at her and smiled. An actual smile, not the fake one she had flashed earlier. ‘Well, you looked very worried about me. So I came by to tell you that I am all right.’

Pete didn’t approach them. Instead, he went to coach the kids. ‘I was worried because you looked a little hassled,’ said Anu still panting. ‘And you were walking on a busy street. People in Verdant Green will ostracize you for such acts.’

Pooja laughed. ‘I was hassled about something but nothing to worry about. You go on and play. I will see you around.’

When she got up to leave, Anu stopped her. ‘Why don’t you play? You are anyway wearing tennis shoes.’

‘… and jeans shorts! I can’t possibly play in these!’

Anu thrust the racquet into Pooja’s hands. ‘Go on. Show me what you got. Don’t try to be better than me.’

Pooja had no comeback. The girl didn’t talk much at all. Anu walked Pooja into the court and called Pete. ‘Pete, the kid wants to play.’

Pete smiled at Pooja. ‘Come on over.’

Pooja was good. So good Pete played a game with her. Anu watched them and sipped her Pepsi contentedly. She was glad Pete had another disciple. He had killed her with training on the previous day.

Friday evening came rather quickly but did not exactly turn out how Anu intended it to be. Her mother-in-law called her to say Padma aunty was back from her travel and she was going to join them for dinner. To give a bit of a story, Padma aunty was Sanju’s father’s widowed sister and she lived with Sanju’s parents. She was like a second mother to Sanju and a mother-in-law in the true sense to Anu; she thoroughly disliked Anu and expressed it freely.