Letterman

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Come lay her down here." The nurse instructs, ushering them further into her office and towards a small cot in the corner.

Jisoo sets Park down where she's told and backs off enough for the nurse to do her job. She lingers far behind, wanting to leave and rejoin the game but feeling obligated to stay. She hesitates for a moment, but ultimately decides it would be impolite to scurry off so soon.

"Is it broken?" Park asks, while the nurse flips her ankle over in her hands. "Can I play?"

The nurse shakes her head. "No. Unfortunately, miss..."

Rosie, Jisoo thinks, cementing the name in her memory.

"Miss Park, you won't be able to continue today, but it's just a sprain. If you stay off it for a bit, you'll be fine later."

Jisoo may not particularly like Rosie, but at least now she won't feel like a bad person for wanting to leave.

"Can I go now?" Jisoo is already inching towards the door. She can still hear sounds of the game from outside, the roar of the crowd. "My team needs me."

"Not yet." The nurse replies. Jisoo's hopeful look drops. "Why don't you stay with your friend here. I'm going to get ice."

"Thank you." Rosie murmurs as the nurse goes.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. She tries to hold her tongue, but she can't help but blurt, "kiss-ass."

Rosie lifts her head, looking mildly affronted and unsure if Jisoo even said anything to her at all. Her eyes harden a second later, clearly offended, as she rubs her sore ankle.

Neither of them say a word for the next couple minutes, both of them pretending the other does not exist.

Jisoo crosses her arms and leans on a nearby wall for support. Her muscles ache mildly from playing, but she still can't manage to keep them still. She taps her foot restlessly throughout the minutes, growing more and more anxious with every passing second. Jisoo has the horrible thought that her team is out there, losing worse than before without her.

She hears the crowd cheering outside and can't tell if it's for her team or the other. Her foot starts to move more rapidly, the audible tapping sound filling the room. Tap, tap, tap, tap...

"You should calm down." Rosie says, her voice a little sharper than it needs to be. "I'm sure your team can lose without you."

"We are not going to lose." Jisoo protests, but she's doubtful, and it shows in her tone.

The hint of insecurity slips through her voice like water, and she loathes it, hates to feel it buzzing right beneath her skin. Jisoo clears her throat to try and force it away. She steps forward on tired legs, straightening up to appear more confident in her response. Rosie is the one sitting on the lowered cot, and yet somehow Jisoo still feels tiny.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Jisoo says, through an air of nonchalance. She comes closer and silently notes how Rosie tilts her head up just a smidge to make eye contact. "We're the best players in town. We won ninety-nine percent of our games last year. No one even talks about your team."

Rosie shrugs. "Maybe we'll be that one percent this year."

It annoys Jisoo how unaffected Rosie seems.

Rosie opens her mouth, probably to irritate Jisoo further, but snaps it shut when the nurse returns with a small, plastic bag of ice. Rosie accepts the bag and holds it against her ankle, all animosity from before suddenly gone. In the presence of an adult, she appears to be an innocent angel. Even her eyes have gotten softer, gentle brown and as wide as a Disney character's.