Kawaii-Cherri: There's hints of what's going on but there won't be a revelation until chapter... eleven? I think. Everything is mostly explained in that one. I'm hoping that what I've written sounds good and believable. It's been around my head for the last three months, so I'm now going to burden you with it. Enjoy!
Chapter Four: Life is a yo-yo.
Music filled the room with tinkly, soothing noises and Caroline stood at the front and smiled at them all. Elspeth balanced on one leg; her other foot tucked up on the inside of her right thigh. Her hands were in the prayer position in front of her chest and she concentrated on her balance. Hayley wobbled next to her and Penny was on the other side, Penny held her position perfectly while Hayley teetered and struggled. They all wore their hair in buns, and either loose, comfortable clothing or skin tight exercise gear; Elspeth wore a mixture of the two, loose bottoms and workout bra.
Robin, Marnie and Jodi were in front of the girls and chatting happily with Caroline while they balanced. Hayley slipped and toppled into Elspeth who snorted with laughter, pushing her back upright. 'Yoba, Hayley!' Elspeth giggled. 'You giraffe!' She said as she broke the pose to make sure not to fall into Penny. 'You're like half a foot taller than me, you take me down and I'm at your mercy.'
Penny giggles and opens an eye to look at her friends. 'I thought you would be good at this, Hayley. You are so graceful in everything else,' she said, smiling.
Hayley struggled to get her foot back up to her inner thigh and balanced on Elspeth's shoulder. 'Look, just because I'm good at dancing, doesn't mean I'm flexible,' she mutters. Caroline announced that they were changing leg and Hayley swore under her breath as she had just managed to get back into the original pose. 'Damn it,' she sighed as she attempted to readjust.
'You said you wanted to exercise more and you didn't want to go swimming with me,' Elspeth pointed out. Both she and Penny easily re-adjusted and listened to the music and Hayley's complaining for a few minutes.
With a soft voice, Caroline spoke. 'Okay, ladies, onto your mats, we're going into the Cobra pose, known as Bhujangasana,' she said as she demonstrated. She laid on her belly and arched back, raising herself on her arms. 'You should feel your back opening up and your spine realigning,' she said over the groans of the younger women.
'That was far too many syllables just for a name,' Hayley whinged. Elspeth bit her lip so that she didn't laugh but Hayley continued. 'I shouldn't be bent about this way unless there's an incredibly handsome man doing it to me,' she muttered.
'Oh my, Yoba… shut up,' Elspeth hissed, seeing Penny shudder with held in laughter while they all bent backwards in the pose. 'You're gonna distract the rest of the class,' she mutters out the side of her mouth. 'You're supposed to behave,' Elspeth added.
Penny gave Elspeth some side eye, 'you're one to talk,' she whispered causing both Elspeth and Hayley to look over at her.
'What do you mean?' Elspeth whispered back, confused, and wondering what the comment meant.
They took a moment to change into the downward dog pose and it was finally something that Hayley couldn't complain about. She was too invested in what Penny was going to reveal. Penny looked over at Elspeth and grinned. 'I was talking to Sam last night, he was at the Saloon and I was going to pick up my mum,' she said in a conspiratorial whisper. 'Turns out he had been speaking to a certain friend…'
Elspeth felt her face go red and she cleared her throat and concentrated on the pose she was in, making sure that her feet and hips were placed correctly. Hayley picked up on it instantly. 'Excuse me, what's going on?!' She squealed loudly, causing her friends to hush her and the older women to look over at them. 'Sorry!' She said, wincing. Her attention turned back to Elspeth and how the red-haired woman was trying to look anywhere but at her friends. 'Your face is bright red! It matches your hair!' Hayley hissed.
'It's nothing!' Elspeth hissed back. 'Penny, tell her, tell her that it was nothing!' She said as she looked over at her other friend who was giggling, like some quiet, chaos gremlin.
Caroline instructs them to lift their left arm up and turn to face the ceiling. They all follow suite and Penny grins. 'Well, you say it was nothing but Sam said that Sebastian was really pleased and had mentioned it several times during the phone call,' she teases.
'Oh, fuck me,' Elspeth muttered, wishing she could just be swallowed by the carpet and its deep shag.
Hayley grinned wickedly and her eyes drifted over the open doorway. 'Looks like someone might want to,' she said, her voice heavy with implication. Elspeth turned her head to look at Hayley and looked over to where she was gazing. There was Sebastian, talking to Abigail in the doorway. Although they were in conversation, his eyes met Elspeth's.
Elspeth squeaked and felt her elbow buckle and she hit the floor, pain ricocheted up her right side and she moans in a pile on her mat. Fucking hell… Way to make it obvious, Elspeth. You dippy bitch, she thought to herself as Penny helped her back to her feet. All the women crowded around her, she had hit the ground hard and everyone was concerned. The moment had even drawn Abigail into the room. Elspeth winced and stretched out her arm, 'honestly, I'm fine. I just wasn't concentrating,' she tried to calm everyone.
Abigail moved past her mother, 'damn, Elspeth, that looked like it hurt,' she said. 'Y'sure you're okay?' She added. Sebastian had drifted into the room with Abigail and kept a respective distance from every-one else.
'Honestly, honestly, I'm fine,' Elspeth said as she was fussed over. 'I'm embarrassed more than anything,' she admitted. 'Carry on, I'm just going to take a moment,' she said as she shyly spotted Sebastian. Hayley grinned at Penny and her friends rallied the other women back to the mats for her; Hayley even made a point to draw Abigail into conversation about her shoes, that took the attention away from Elspeth. She walked over to her water bottle and bag, which happened to be near Sebastian.
He cleared his throat and gave her a small, sheepish smile. 'Are you alright?' He asked. 'That looked like quite a fall,' he said quietly. His hands were in his pockets and he seemed a little hunched over, as if he didn't want to draw attention to himself.
Elspeth could smell the smoke that clung to his clothes and his underlying cologne. Fucking hell. Now I've let myself think about future prospects, turns out I find him quite attractive and that's both sudden and annoying. Yoba, I hope I don't start looking at all the men in this town like this. One is enough. And he's elusive, yet seems to be hindering my week, she thought to herself. She wore an embarrassed smile and nodded. 'Yeah, I'll be fine. More my pride than anything,' she said as she rubbed her bare arm. There seemed to be a friction burn that she would need to put a cream on.
Tilting his head, he nodded and smiled a little more at her. 'Looked painful. What happened?' He asked.
'It's hard to concentrate when someone is staring at you,' she said without thinking as she unscrewed the lid on her water bottle. Taking a sip, she looked over at him and saw the flush across his cheeks. Elspeth had been joking but it seemed that she had hit it right on the button. She subtly coughed on the water and disguised it as clearing her throat. 'Um… how was the sashimi?' She asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.
Sebastian nodded, grateful that they were skipping past that topic. 'It was really good. Fresh and you prepared it really well. Thank you. I've washed out the tub, I had asked my mum to give it back to you-'
'Yeah, she um, she gave it back to me today. I'm glad you enjoyed it. If I make more, would you like some?' She asked as she popped her water bottle back on the top of her bag.
His expression seemed to fall for a moment and she wondered why. 'Oh… uh…' he looked awkward and then he sighed. 'Thanks, Elspeth. That's sweet but you don't need to,' he said quietly. His enthusiasm when talking about the food said one thing and then he went out the left field and said the opposite. Elspeth decided not to press the issue here and now, Haley and Abigail were done with their conversation and the class were half following Caroline, half eavesdropping.
'Hey,' she said, shrugging her shoulder and trying to stifle the feeling of rejection. 'No problem. I'm just glad you like it,' Elspeth said with a fake smile. 'I'm gonna get back to class. Have fun with Abigail.'
For a second, Sebastian reached out a hand to almost stop her but jerked it back instantly when he realised that he shouldn't touch her. 'Um. Thanks… you… you look after yourself,' he said with a slight stutter as he nodded at her and backed up. Elspeth smiled at him and grinned with a wave to Abigail before returning to the group.
Once Elspeth had returned to her mat, there was a little shuffle around and Robin ended up next to her. Elspeth felt her stomach drop when she saw the giddy look that Robin gave her before they entered the child's pose. Robin at least waited until Abigail and Sebastian had left before she began. 'Soo…' she says in a whisper.
'Yes, Robin?' Elspeth said, bluntly but not cruelly.
'It's about my Sebby,' she replied with a shy look. 'He seems to light up when you're about. It's nice.'
Elspeth fought against her blush and concentrated on her pose, keeping her balance. 'It is nice. I don't know him that well and um… he's… nice,' she said trying to act nonchalant.
'Well, if you want to spend some time with him, he likes to swim. He goes swimming quite often, even when it's bad weather,' Robin reveals as if letting Elspeth into a great secret. 'Do you like to swim?'
She nodded. 'Actually, yeah… I used to swim for Nationals. I was thinking about going down to the beach later this week. Swimming in the ocean is so different to a pool, so I've got to be careful,' Elspeth said honestly. 'I wouldn't have thought that Sebastian would be into swimming,' she added with a little surprise.
Robin leaned back as she followed Caroline's instructions. 'Ever since he became a teenager. I don't mind, it gets him out of his room and the exercise is good for him. Especially seeing as he smokes. I wish he would give it up but I suppose all young men have a vice,' she chatted happily. 'Want me to let him know that you'll join him for a swim?' Robin asked.
'Oh… no. That's okay. I wouldn't want him to feel pressured. I'm sure we'll just run into each other at some point. It's okay,' Elspeth said with a smile. Caroline led them in some meditative breathing for the last few minutes and then thanked them all for coming. Robin gave Elspeth a quick side hug before leaving her to Penny and Hayley. They pestered her for what happened but she insisted that there was nothing to talk about. Even when they were walking back to the farmhouse, Hayley was swinging off her arm.
'Come ooooon, Elspeth. You've got to tell us what's going on. Sebastian is a bit of loner but y'know… he's cute,' Hayley said coyly as they walk past Elspeth's growing plants in her crop fields. 'I've seen him in his swimwear, y'know. The boy be looking fine,' she teases making Elspeth groan.
'Enough,' Elspeth said, rolling her eyes.
Penny giggled and adjusted her bag. 'You said that you weren't interested in dating,' she said softly. 'What changed?' She asked.
Elspeth let them into the house and greeted Buddy as he came through the doggy door. 'Look, nothing has changed. I was just… talking to my sister the other day and I realised that the farm is in a good place and I could start perhaps thinking of the future. That's all,' she revealed. 'I mean, we could say that Sam and Alex are already spoken for,' she said giving her friends a look and for the first time that afternoon, feeling that she had the upper hand. 'Maru likes Dr Harvey, so I don't want to tread on her toes. So, y'know… I just started looking at people in a different light and I realised that I don't really know Sebastian and yeah… Hayley is right, the boy be looking fine,' she repeated, making Hayley snort in laughter.
Buddy leapt up at Penny who was happy to smother him in love. 'Aww, I think it's sweet. You two would make a nice couple. I don't know him that well either, but I think you suit each other,' she said giving Elspeth a smile.
'Hold on, I just want to get to know him. I'm not going to jump him or anything. There's no coupling up or relationship thing going on here,' Elspeth said as she placed her bag on the table and began to offer the girls drinks.
Hayley leans on the table and grins at Elspeth as she pops a grape into her mouth from the fruit bowl. 'You don't have to be in a relationship to sleep with him,' she said wickedly.
'Hayley!' Both Penny and Elspeth said in unison.
'Don't act so uppity! You know I'm right,' she snorted and gave Elspeth a look.
Elspeth sighed and gave her a look back. 'Enough. Don't make this weird. I know what this town is like, the last thing I need is people talking about it and putting pressure on him. Especially, when there's nothing to put pressure on. He seems uncomfortable enough with socialisation without you harpies making it worse,' she said, matter-of-factly. 'Just let me get to know him. We'll either end up friends or… maybe something better. I don't know. I'm trying not to think about it.'
'Yeah, alright,' Hayley said, taking another grape and rolling her eyes. 'I promise to be good,' she mutters making Penny snort.
I hope you enjoyed.
I know things are slow at the moment but they'll speed up. It isn't like my other fiction which is a hella slow-burn. Elspeth is a lot more... forward than Rina.
Be well. Keep safe.