Sticks and Stones • Park Jimin

ix.

Jimin waited awkwardly on the side while every classmate was slowly picked for either team, even the girl who had a wrist brace and couldn't throw at all.

Then it was just him, standing between two lines of his classmates.

The captains were some girl he didn't know and, of course, Kyung-soo. Obviously neither of them wanted Jimin on their team.

But Jimin was wrong.

A second later, Kyung-soo's face lit up. "We'll take Jimin."

Jimin froze along with all of Kyung-soo's team, who stared at their team captain like he'd announced that they would all play blindfolded and handcuffed to one another.

After a long moment, Jimin slowly walked over to the team line. The kids next to him scooted away.

Kyung-soo made everyone huddle up to talk about the game plan, but Jimin was stuck outside the circle.

They all laughed at something Kyung-soo said. Jimin supposed it was something funny, but he didn't know. He was always being excluded. There were a lot of jokes he'd missed.

Then the huddle broke and their team got into position.

"Ready, set, go!"

Jimin paused. He'd already forgotten what the game was.

Dodgeball, he remembered in a sudden epiphany. He saw a purple ball roll towards his foot. He bent to pick it up and stood back up straight, holding the ball in his arms and debating on whether or not to throw it.

Then he felt a ball hit his head. Not from the opposing side. From his side.

He squeezed his eyes shut. Even though the balls were only made out of foam, they still hurt when they were thrown hard.

"Sorry!" Kyung-soo shouted, smiling apologetically. Although Jimin didn't really think he was apologetic.

"It's okay," Jimin said, but his voice was too quiet to carry.

Then another ball hit him in the arm.

"My mistake!" someone from his team shouted. One of Kyung-soo's friends, probably.

Jimin just nodded, frowning uncertainly. Then he was pelted with dozens of balls, hitting him in the head, his upper body, and certain areas that were extremely painful. He fell to the ground. The other kids didn't stop, not with the throwing or with the calling out of insincere apologies.

Jimin hurt. A lot. But his embarrassment was greater. He was embarrassed that it had taken him this long to realize why Kyung-soo had wanted him on his team. Because if they were on opposite teams and they hit Jimin, he'd be out.

But now, they could hit him all they wanted. The other team wouldn't even throw at him because they thought it was funny, and they didn't want the grand joke to end.

Jimin curled into a ball, putting his elbows over his head for some minute protection.

When the class was over, Jimin was dirty and sore, but when he finally stood up, he was still holding the purple ball in his hands.

He stared at it for a long moment. Then he set it down gently on the grass and went inside, limping slightly.