We Signed Up for Level Two

January tenth. The registration email said 'intermediate session' and I sent it to Simone anyway with no message, just the link, and she replied four minutes later with 'ok.' That was the entire conversation. We had been to the beginner clinic twice.

I want to be precise about what happened at the wall. There was a moment, maybe three holds up, maybe four, where my arms were already tired and I became briefly very aware that I had agreed to this. Not afraid. Just aware. The difference matters. Simone was below me doing the thing she does where her face goes very still and she watches without commenting, and I decided the next hold was reachable, and I reached for it. That is the whole story of the climb.

four holds up and already regretting nothing

Afterward we sat on the bench near the gear rack with chalk on our forearms and our borrowed shoes still on because neither of us wanted to be the first to move. Simone said, eventually, 'That was harder than last time.' I said yes. She said, 'Good.' That was also the entire conversation.

the bench at the end. chalk on everything. worth it.

The borrowed shoes are still borrowed. I have not bought a pair. But I noticed, walking back to the bus stop, that I was already thinking about which holds I'd try differently next week, not if there's a next week, but which holds. The impulsive version of me who sent that registration email apparently already knew there would be a next week. She was right, again. Annoyingly.