Paganini's Puppet | Ryeji

Tendinitis

Ryujin POV
Yeji and I had already successfully rehearsed together multiple times. Our duet was coming along much better than I had originally anticipated. I could see she was making an effort to be civil with me, and I appreciated it? Although, I could never understand why she disliked me in the first place.  Her new demeanor towards me was nice to say the least. Maybe...just maybe, she wanted to reconcile and form a friendship?

"Oh damn. You really nailed those runs," I complimented her when we finished the piece.

"Thanks...uh...you're playing much cleaner as well," she replied in a slightly diffident way.

"Oh, yeah. I wasn't bowing as straight as I could have before."

"Mhm. Also...uh...you still seem a bit...stiff? I can tell your fingers aren't as relaxed as they should be."

She was right. My fingers were cramping so badly and I desperately needed to take a break from practicing. Not to mention, my back was starting to feel sore.

"Yeah, I really need to work on that."

"Let's run this piece one more time, and then we can head off to lunch."

We still had 10 minutes until our lunch break so might as well.

"Okay."

Maybe this wasn't the best idea, as I felt both arms tire out one minute into the piece.

I knew my fingers were going to hurt once we reached the fast variations.

As if the universe had read my thoughts.

Not a minute later, I felt a sharp pain strike my entire left forearm and wrist. A kind of pain I'd never felt before. A rigid, stinging, aching sensation that cramped all my muscles.

My mind raced in shock, regret, and torment. I had a gut feeling something like this might happen, but I never expected it to happen so soon.

I dropped my bow and clutched my arm as the pain became unbearable.

Yeji immediately stopped playing and turned her attention towards me once she heard the sound of my bow clank against the floor.

"Shit, are you okay?"

I bit my lip to suppress my tears.

"Fuck. I-it hurts so bad," I could barely let the words out of my mouth.

"Your arm? Wrist? Fingers? What happened?!" Panic was evident in her voice.

"My whole forearm. It feels like knives stabbing into it," I started feeling the tears stream down my face.

It was truly one of the most physically painful moments of my life.

"Shit, do you have tendinitis?"

No. This can't be. Not before the concert. Please.

"Ryujin?" She knelt beside me and placed her hands over my arm, giving it a light squeeze.

"Oh my god, you're so tense."

"God. Why does it hurt so much?!" I wanted to scream.

"You've been over practicing and your playing hasn't been relaxed. You most likely strained your arm and wrist. I can tell your fingers probably hurt too."

The tightness and aching in my arm made it impossible to move.

"Damn it. Maybe I do have tendinitis."

I badly needed to scream.

"Do you want me to get you an ice pack? I'll be quick."

I nodded my head in response.

She left the room and came back within a minute, carrying a bag of ice.

"Here, relax."

She took my arm and placed the ice pack over it. The cool sensation instantly reduced the aching.

After a few minutes of complete agony, the pain lessened.

"Hey, take it easy and stop practicing so much. Your injury will worsen if you keep pushing yourself." She looked directly into my eyes with concern.

"I- I know. I've just been really stressed about my solo performance and this festival. I can't screw up."

"You're not going to. Take a break. You really need it. And Ryujin...you're already an accomplished cellist."

I could feel myself slightly blush at that and turned away.

"Ahem... uh yeah. Thanks."

"Does your arm still hurt?"

"No, it's better now. Thank you for sticking around."

"It's no big deal. I'm going to go to lunch now. I'll see you next rehearsal then?"

"Okay."

She watched as the violinist took her leave. Part of Ryujin wanted her to stay, for what reason not even she knew. Maybe she'd never admit it, but Ryujin did enjoy the particular girl's company.

A sudden impulse pushed the cellist to catch up to her duet partner, to revel in her presence. She jumped up and quickly left the room, spotting the taller girl a short distance ahead.

As she trailed behind a second too late, an unfamiliar blue-haired boy swooped in. Watching as the boy put his arm over the cat-eyed girl's shoulder while they walked away together sure bothered the cellist.

Her ears perked up at their conversation. One which was a little too friendly for her liking.

"What's up, Soobin?"

"Hey beautiful."

"Hehe. Stoppp. Are you going to sit with me for lunch today?"

"Of course, princess."

Seeing them together made the girl cringe. But she felt something else as well. A feeling of longing.

Longing she were in his spot.

Why?

She contemplated her thoughts as she watched the pair walk off.

Longing to be the one walking her to lunch. Longing the two highest ranked students had a good relationship from the start. Longing to be close with the ice cold royalty. Longing to be more than just rivals.

Why couldn't Yeji have treated her this way? Why couldn't they have at least become friends?

Come to think of it, she would never be what Yeji wanted. The young girl couldn't help but compare herself to the boy. He was tall, she was short. He was rich, she was low-income. He was the standard Manhattan Arts cool kid, and she was...well...different.

Was this...jealousy?