Pickled

| seven |

Chapter Seven

Diana's forearms ached, and for once, it wasn't because of work.

Her gym class had started their volleyball unit, and it was safe to say Diana was less than pleased about it. On the other half of the gymnasium, the boys were starting the soccer unit – something Diana would much rather have been doing. It didn't involve arms, which were appendages she already used far too much working at the pickle shop.

"I'm just saying," Diana quipped to Millie, while they waited for the other team to switch positions before setting the ball, "it's unfair the boys get to play soccer and we don't. This is discrimination."

"We're doing soccer next week," Millie replied dryly. She was leaned forward with both hands resting on her knees, watching the girls on the other side of the net.

Diana absentmindedly tugged at the hem of her shorts, wishing their gym uniforms didn't shrink so much in the wash. The cheap nylon material liked to absorb only the bad smell of sweat, rather than the sweat itself. She was constantly putting the shorts and t-shirt through the wash, but the fabric shrunk as a result.

"Well, I still think these uniforms are ridiculous," Diana added. It was something she liked to mention every gym class.

On the other side of the net, Angela Tyler tossed the volleyball above her head and struck it with the heel of her hand. Millie, in the center of their court, bent her knees and popped the ball back into the air. It spun slowly to her right, so Diana launched herself into the air and attempted to spike the ball over the net. Her timing was off, as usual, so the ball clipped the face of the net and fell on their side of the court.

"I hate this game," Diana snapped, scooping the ball up and tossing it to the blonde girl behind her.

"You know," Millie began as they rotated positions, "I think you like to complain just for the sake of complaining."

"Shut up."

On the other side of the gym, the boys were setting up a scrimmage after completing a few passing drills. Diana watched longingly from her place behind the net, wondering if she shaved her head she'd be able to join the boys' gym class.

She'd spotted Alex across the gym at the start of class and he, of course, had waved excitedly in return. Now, Diana saw he was joking around with his friend and setting himself up on defense. Bored, Diana found herself wondering if Alex was half as good at soccer as he was at lacrosse.

"Stop staring at your lover and pay attention," Millie interrupted.

Diana turned to her with a protest already on her tongue, seeing Millie was grinning and struggling to hold back laughter. "I wasn't –" Diana began murderously, but the girl behind her set the ball so she couldn't finish her sentence.

Millie really knew exactly how to push her buttons.

This set, Diana actually succeeded in getting the ball back to the other side, though her sore muscles ached in protest. She would be preserving jars of cucumbers tomorrow afternoon, so Diana already predicted that her arms would be dead weight by Saturday.

Although, being physically unable to screw the jars shut might get her out of working tomorrow.

The volleyball game continued at a slow pace, with Diana constantly glancing up at the clock partly hidden behind a metal cage to check the time. Gym wasn't over for another twenty minutes, and she felt ready to explode.

Their gym teacher, Mrs. Evans, finally allowed them to take a quick break. Diana followed Millie over to the bleachers and gratefully uncapped her water bottle. She wasn't thirsty, but she'd use any excuse to stop playing volleyball and give her arms a rest.

"Heads!"

Diana spun to the right and impulsively stuck out her sneaker to stop the soccer ball, letting it bounce to a sudden halt before her feet. She looked up, plastic water bottle in hand, to see Alex jogging over to her.

"Well, look who it is," Millie commented teasingly. Diana turned to glare at her, but she avoided Diana's gaze and took a drink of water to hide her smile.

"Nice catch," Alex said warmly, stopping in front of Diana. His grin was wide and his hair was sweaty. "You should be over there playing on our team."
"I wish," Diana replied dryly. "Volleyball sucks."

"Not as good as soccer, that's for sure," he agreed, and Diana shot Millie a look with raised eyebrows, as if to say, See?

Diana bent down and picked up the ball, handing it back to Alex. She glanced behind his shoulder to see his teammates were watching, some laughing together and others squinting hard, like they were trying to read lips.

"I think your team is waiting for you," Diana said pointedly, nodding to the other side of the gym. A few of the boys noticed her gesture and quickly pretended not to be eavesdropping, instead hastily trying to stretch their legs.

Alex sighed, tucking the ball under his arm and starting to turn away. "Duty calls. See you guys later."

As he ran back to the other side of the gym, Millie snorted into the back of her hand. Diana turned to glare at her hotly, warning, "Don't say anything."

"I wasn't going to," she grinned.

Mrs. Evans called them back to the volleyball court for their last set, though Diana didn't see why they couldn't just end class a little early and go straight to the locker room. It was Diana's turn to set the ball, but of course she couldn't quite get the angle right so her team had to forfeit their starting turn.

She rolled the ball under the net to the other team, nursing the heel of her right hand. Behind her, Mrs. Evans spoke from the sidelines. "We'll work on it next class, Diana. You'll get it."

Diana kept her back to the teacher and pulled a face, curling her lips and rolling her eyes. Next to her, Millie barely contained a laugh and whispered under her breath, "I'd like to see her try to set the ball."

It had probably been fifty years since Mrs. Evans had played any kind of sport. Diana was going to mention this to Millie, just to make herself feel better, when the other team tossed the ball up and the final set began.

In less than a minute, the other team had scored a point – which wasn't Diana's fault, this time. She rotated positions and Millie held up her hands to catch the ball from the other team.

Something bounced against Diana's shins, then, and she looked down in annoyance to see it was the soccer ball again.

"My bad." It was Alex, running over to the girls' side of the gym. "I forgot to say 'heads' this time."

"You're doing this on purpose," Diana pointed out, but it gave her an excuse to pause the volleyball game for a minute so she wasn't about to complain. 

Alex smiled sheepishly, bending down to grab the ball and shrugging as he did so. "Okay, you got me. This one was intentional. I wanted to know if we're still on for this afternoon."

Diana could practically feel Millie's presence over her shoulder, but she elected to ignore her. She nodded, playing with the back of her wrist because she suddenly didn't know what to do with her hands. "Yeah. You know where I'll be."

As Alex jogged back, Millie punched Diana's shoulder with her mouth hanging open. "You two have plans? As in, a date?"

"It's not a date," Diana snapped, glaring back at her. "He's helping me study Spanish."

Mrs. Evans had blown her whistle to signal the end of class, so Millie tossed the volleyball back into the basket. As they started for the girls' locker room, Diana could see Millie giving her a knowing look out of the corner of her eye.

"It's a date," she insisted.

"Bite me."