Opening my eyes, a head of red hair and slightly crooked front teeth interrupted my view of the rainbow. “Jaime.”
He pulled me up, and a sharp pain traveled through the top of my foot to my shin bone. I pulled my sodden jacket off and wrapped it around my torso, making sure the length covered my exposed underwear.
“Ah.” I held onto his arm and leaned into him while I grabbed my ankle, and said, “I think I messed up my foot.”
He looked down. “Yep, purple and already swollen. Let’s get you to Student Health.”
Zoey ran over with my shoes and pushed past Jaime and the man standing behind him, who looked on with curiosity. “Rory,” she cried. “Your foot! Are you okay?”
The pain throbbed when I held my lower leg frozen, and any movement caused a lightning bolt to strike my foot from the inside out. “Eh, been better. Maybe that wasn’t such a great idea.”
“Doncha worry. I’ll take care of you,” Jaime said. “This is Owen.” I recognized the short, round guy from Sinead’s apartment and waved.
“Hi, Owen.” I winced as the pain shot through me like an arrow. “We met at Sinead’s. I’m Rory. And this is Zoey. She was there too.”
“You met?” Jaime looked between Owen and I, waiting for confirmation.
“Yeah, I was at Sinead’s picking up my sister’s coat. She left it there,” Owen explained.
“These are my new roommates,” Jaime said.
“I’m Zoey,” Zoey interrupted. “Nice to meet you, Owen.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Owen said. “Yeah, it’s best you get that looked at.”
I had no choice but to let Jaime and his friend carry me to the Student Health Unit, with Zoey trailing behind.
My ankle had swelled to the size of a water balloon, squishy and tender to the touch, and was twice the size of my other ankle. The nurse reassured me it was just a minor sprain and required rest, elevation, and ice. “You won’t even miss a day,” she promised, as I stumbled out of her small, dark office, unsure how to walk with crutches.
“How are we going to get home?” I asked Zoey.
“Maybe we can call a taxi?”
“Nah, I can get us a ride,” Jaime interrupted. “Owen, can you drive us home?”
“Sure thing.” Owen’s wavy brown locks framed his heart-shaped face, and his oversized soccer jersey hung past his hips. He carried the same smattering of freckles as Jaime did, and a single dimple showed on his cheek when he smiled.
“Me and Owen play Gaelic football together,” Jaime said, “So you might see a lot of him. I’m sure he’ll be coming around, won’t you, Owen?”
“I figured you played together.” I pointed to their matching maroon jerseys that said Galway across the front. “When you say football, do you mean soccer?” I asked.
“It’s a cross between soccer, American football, and rugby,” Owen said.
“I like your jersey,” Zoey said. “We’ll have to watch a game sometime.”
Zoey, Owen, and Jaime fell into conversation about European football, Gaelic football, and American football, while I hobbled behind.
I followed them to a tiny Peugeot coupe, trying to catch my breath from the one-legged hike through the parking lot.
“We’re getting in that?” Zoey asked. Her voice punctuated the final word, and her eyes widened. “I don’t think we’ll fit.”
“It’ll be grand,” Owen said.
Jaime pushed the car’s front passenger seat forward, and the headrest kissed the dusty dashboard. He motioned to the tiny space between the seat and the door frame for me to climb through. “After you.”
“Gee, Jaime,” I said, glaring at him, “It would be nice if I could sit in the front.”
“Your leg won’t fit straight out like that,” he said matter-of-factly. “If you sit in the front, your leg will hang out the window.”
