[Talk - Ishi]
Ishi slumped in a chair at one of the tables, head buried in her hands… I walked up next to her and put a hand carefully on her shoulder.
I nodded weakly.
Something not a lot of people know about Ishi is just how hard she fights to keep her bravado up. It’s the reason she’s such a good captain for her roller derby team– she can take anything you throw at her with a shit-eating grin on her face. Until something happens that really shakes her to her core… and all the walls come crashing down.
We sat there for a while as Ishi sobbed into her hands, and I kept an eye out for anyone approaching– she always hated it when people saw her cry.
Eventually, though, she sniffled and looked up at me with a strained smile.
She did, in fact, spit on her palm as we did our secret handshake, and I spat on mine. Everyone knows you can’t break a spit promise.
I gave her one more hug before leaving to talk to the others. It hurt so much to see her like this… But she deserved a chance to let her feelings out, too.