[*ring, ring*]
T: hello, worth health center
M: hi. i sprained my thumb, uh, wrestling. is there anything i should do for it?
T: hmm. do you have some bone disease you've never heard of?
M: no.
T: just ice it, take some tylenol, and don't engage in any other athletic activity today. you don't have a rugby game or anything?
M: well, no, but what if i have to, uh, wrestle again? should i tape it or something?
T (frostily): i would just advise not doing that.

stress and frazzlement. i've discovered the hard way whose target i am: alex, the boy who WON last year. ruthless soul, he leapt on me as soon as i walked into the dining hall this morning for brunch. luckily i had a book down my pants (thanks, rilke) and i managed to keep him at bay as we rolled around on the floor. someone handed me a tray which granted me a two second reprieve -- the rules hold that so long as you have both hands on a tray in the dining hall, you're off limits -- until he lunged at me again and wrested the tray from me, spraining my thumb in the process. he's a small guy but MAN is he tough.
we wrestled further. i kept screaming, "someone get me a tray!" until someone not distracted by the other kills happening two feet away (eliz's double kill: first her opponent and then her opponent's opponent, who turned out to be her girlfriend. sorry, stef) got me one and i held onto it for dear life.

i made it, shaking, to a seat. he returned a few minutes later, like the specter of death, and without even blinking pulled me and my chair down onto the floor. as i clutched the tray to my chest, he methodically reached into my pants to get the book. once he realized i had taken it out and put it on the table, he calmly picked it up, placed it in his bookbag, and walked away.

eliz and i lingered for a while, then dashed to the nearest dorm to hide out for a while. cautiously and circuitously, we made it back to our dorms, where we both intend to stay for as long as possible. alex actually lives one floor from me. i should leave a horsehead in his bed or something. oh man oh man. and dealing with conflicting loyalites is hard.