The Enthusiasts

22

Emerson excused himself, scraped a second bowl of soup off the bottom of the cast iron cauldron, and then left the dining area. He headed across the courtyard to the medic room in East House, wishing to check on Sasha. Upon opening the door, her back stiffened as she sat up and her hand leapt out off the couch in an effort to soothe the still-immobilized Cheeco whom she had covered in a thin white-cotton blanket as he lay still on his gurney.

"Hey, I brought you some. Don't say you're not hungry; you have to eat this."

Sasha said nothing. She just reached out for the bowl. Her insides were screaming out with pleasure, but she refused to let any of it show on her face. Lifting the bowl to her mouth she took a sip, and then several more in silence. It tasted really good to her malnourished insides. Finally, she set the bowl down on the corner table next to her. Cheeco's nostrils flared and his black snout seemed to rapidly pulsate upon discovering the new smell emanating from the bowl placed within reach.

"So, what?... You're here to tell me that I need to shape up, or ship out? You and the new girl are all good now. And my dog is a problem, so I'm on exile island after shoving Raggedy Ann on the playground?"

Emerson's eyebrows raised upon hearing several of Sasha's comments, all coming as a surprise to him. "Pfff, what?! You shoved Raggedy Ann? I didn't know about this."

"Oh, they didn't tell you? I was calling your girlfriend out on her velp. Then she decided to chime in about how Cheeco would have to be left for dead, and all those idiots agreed with her out there."

"Okay... And then she became Raggedy Ann? What the hell is Raggedy Ann? Who is Raggedy Ann?" Emerson questioned with a grin on his face. He wished to diffuse the ticking Sasha-bomb as best he could. For once Sasha had used a historical reference Emerson was unaware of. Though she wouldn't know the origins of the children's book character and matching loose stuffing-filled dolls, the term "ragdoll" had been used among the sparring competitors for as long as Sasha could remember. 'Tossed her like a ragdoll; I Raggedy Ann'd the bitch!' That's what Sasha had done to Gabby in the yard.

"Yeah, she's Raggedy Ann now. After I pushed her across the court when they all attacked me."

Emerson raised his hands as an offer of his surrender, as if she were pointing a gun at him while manning the cash register in a liquor store holdup. Slowly, he moved closer to the pouting girl sitting on the couch. Sasha looked unkempt. Her shortened dark hair was filthy and scraggly, fraying out in all directions. Emerson choked back his knee-jerk reaction to ask if she were trying to look like a mad scientist, as even their backhanded play on affection felt too cold to hear right now. Her hands were dirty, like she'd been out gardening all day. There was black, unmentionable grime crammed under her fingernails. He noticed new scars tracing over her arms and hands, which also appeared to be irritated and chapped after enduring the cold season. He hadn't noticed much of this just twenty-four hours earlier, yet her skin almost seemed to want to abandon her altogether now as she sat alone in the room. Her eyes were bloodshot with large protruding bags of exhaustion hanging underneath them. Emerson didn't think Sasha could cry, but had she been? He watched her finish the bowl of soup and set it on the table next to her again. As much as it pained Cheeco to move, he began a lopsided tongue lick from his position on the stretcher toward the empty bowl on the small table, eventually adding some front paw movement in a vain attempt to reach the broth residue plastered at the bottom of the bowl into his mouth. This made Sasha brighten briefly and she moved the bowl right next to his snout to both his relief and delight. Emerson watched in silence as Sasha went back to scratching her right thumb into the faux leather armrest on the couch. She wouldn't make eye contact with him. He sat down next to her, placing his hand on the top of her back and moving it around in a small circle.