K O A

I stare at my shaky hands, popping a few pills into my mouth, embracing those short-lived happy moments to come. 

"Here." Sparkys' hands jitter, his eyes twitch and his foot is always at a constant tap. He smiles lazily, popping a joint between my lips. 

I inhale deeply, blowing the smoke into Sparkys' face. He laughs uncontrollably, taking the joint from my fingers. "It good ain't it kid?" 

"What else do ya have?" 

He leans over the side of the old worn out couch, pulling a bottle of absinthe off the ground, chucking it into my hands. I take a long swig, emptying almost half the bottle. 

"Whoa, calm down kid. This stuff is strong."

He prys the bottle away from me, "You're here to be happy, to forget, not to die."

"Maybe I wanna die." 

He pats my back, giving me the last of the joint, "Just take it easy." He rakes his fingers through his long blonde hair. He pulls a pack of cocaine from his pant pocket, forming a straight line on the coffee table. "You'll be happy soon."

-

O P A L

I grab a few hefty books from my blue locker, closing it before walking down the empty hallway. As I round the corner I see Koa struggling to open his locker. His hands quivering and his eyes bloodshot. 

"Are you okay Koa?" 

He swirls around on his heels, jumping back, making a loud clang against the lockers. "Ge-get away from m-me." 

"Maybe I should get Mr.Griffen." I mumble out.

His groggy eyes persistently flicker between mine. His hands shoot up and grab my arms, "No!" He snarls. "No, I ain't need no doc." 

"What's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" He speaks nonsense, rambling on, sounding like an alien. "Slow down." 

He trails off, his eyes glued to something behind me. He shoves me to the ground and darts off. 

"You okay Opal?" Knox Whiley asks, extending his hand out to me.

I grab his hand and dust myself off. "Yeah, thank you." I clear my throat. "When did you get here?" I ask with a small smile.

"This morning." He informs me, picking up the papers that went flying out of my books. "Have you seen Koa?" 

I nod, "Yes. He's acting really weird. I think I should get Mr.Griffen. He's really jittery and his eyes are red. Like he's high on drugs..."

"Shit!" He hisses. "Gotta go."

I follow far behind, going as fast as my legs will let me. Knox kneels beside Koas' seizing body, holding him on his side. I jog to the nurses office, telling Mrs.Hope what's happening.

-

I knock on the half open hospital room door. Knox raises his head from the palms of his hands, standing up and walking towards me.

"I made peach cobbler, I also brought some paper plates and forks." I give him a small sympathetic smile. I glance behind Knox, seeing Koas' limp body lie frozen, the only thing moving is the rising and falling of his chest. "How's he doing?" 

Knox rubs his face, letting out a fretful sigh, "He's okay right now. The doctor said he consumed 4 different illegal drugs." 

"Can I see him?" 

"Yeah." 

I follow behind him, Princeton is sitting in a chair with his knees to his chest, his head on his knee caps, and a light snore escapes his lips. I place my hand on the bed railing. Koas' wrists are in restraints. 

His eyes flutter open, his blue eyes scan the room. His arms shake violently, trying to break free from the cuffs. 

"Whoa calm down Koa!" Knox places his hands on his arm. 

"G-Get m-me out of he-here!" Droplets of sweat drip down his forehead, his breath quickens. 

Knox places his hand on Koas chest, "Take a deep breath, Koa." 

"Knox?" 

He nods and pats his chest, "Yeah bub, it's Knox." 

His eyes light up at the sight of his older brother, "Wh-when did you get here?" 

"This morning. I thought it was about time I saw my baby bros. I knew you'd be going crazy without me." He chuckles, giving Koa a knuckle sandwich.

The corner of Koas' lips lift into a smile, I haven't see that smile since Freshman year. "It's been awhile." 

"Three months." Knox loosens the cuffs, allowing Koa to free his wrists. 

I place the food I made on the side table. Koas head turns to me as I clank the dish against the lamp. "Sorry." I whisper. "I was just leaving." 

"No, you can stay Opal." 

"It's fine, it's late, and I don't want to impose. I just wanted to make sure Koa was okay." I tuck my hair behind my ear, "Feel better soon Koa." I give Koa a small smile before exiting the room. I brush my sweaty palms against my skirt. 

I wish Koa could be happy. What a lonely world he must be in, to feel he needs to search for his happiness. Maybe if he stopped looking for his happiness, he'd realize it was right in front of him.

The button for the elevator lights up once I click it. I feel something grab my wrist, circling me around. "Opal, you can stay longer. You took all that time to get here."

I wave my hand in front of me, "It's fine Knox. Koa doesn't want me around, I wouldn't want to make things worse. I hope he finds happiness." I walk into the elevator, Knox stares at me as the doors close shut.

-

I glance up from my book, searching for Koa. It's been a week since I've seen him; I just hope he's doing okay. I close my book, tucking it under my arm and walking towards the front office. As I enter the waiting room, the door to Mr.Griffens office swings open, Koa Whiley runs his fingers through his dark hair, his eyes meet mine. I break our gaze and grab a water bottle from the vending machine. 

"Here." I pull a bag of sunflower seeds from my backpack, pushing it into his hands. "Glad to see you back, Koa. I won't bother you, hope you feel better." I smile before exiting the room.

I wander back outside, spotting Polli on the bleachers. "Hey sis." Polli gives me a half smile. 

"Hey Polli, whatchya doing?" 

"Just scouting for the hot boys." 

"Lurking like a creep." I giggle. 

"It's not creepy if they don't know."

I chuckle, "Sure." 

"Where's Briar? Or his other hottie of a brother, what's his name again?" 

"Blake, I think." 

"Whichever one I can get, I'll take. Hey." She nudges my arm with the back of her hand, "Could you do me a tiny itty bitty favor?" 

"Sure Polli." 

"Talk me up will ya?" 

I grin, "You don't need talking up."

"Aye, I know I don't, but it'd still be nice." 

"Hey Opal." Knox smiles, walking the bleacher seats up to me. 

"Hey Knox, what brings you by?" 

"I Uh," he rubs the back of his neck as if it were sore, "could I talk to you for a sec?" 

"Of course, I'll be right back Polli." 

"Okie dokie." She waves me off, turning her attention to her phone. 

We wander down the bleachers and to the grass. "So," he places his arm around my shoulders, "I know you've been trying to be friends with Koa, get him to open up and feel like he has a friend. I just wanted to say I appreciate that, Koa is desperately needing a friend, although he won't admit it. You should keep trying, keep pushing your way into his life, eventually he'll open up." 

"Why does he keep pushing me away?"

"It's.. a difficult story to tell, he's been through some," he pauses for a moment, inhaling the cool air around us, "trauma." 

"What do you mean by that?" 

"Something happens at home. It's out of our control, as long as we're there, it's out of our hands. It's his story to tell, that's if you'll ever hear it. It's not a good one. But I, I don't want to say demand, that sounds harsh, but I advise you to never go to my parents house, ever, unless you have a death wish, I'd stay away."

He takes his fingered through his almost black hair, his bright blue eyes pierce into mine. "I know it's a lot." 

"Just a little." 

"Could you possibly just keep trying to be his friend again?" 

"Um yeah, I wasn't going to stop trying, I was just giving him a break. I didn't want to make things worse through his healing process." 

He grins, leaning against the backside of the bleachers, towering over me. "You're really awesome Opal, you know that?" 

"Oh thank you."  

He leans forward, butterflies erupt in my stomach at our proximity. He plants a kiss on my cheek, "Thanks Opal, you're a really good person." He gives me one last smile before walking to the parking lot, wrapping his arms around his brothers. 

I hear whistling coming from above me, I look up and see Polli staring down at me, waggling her eyebrows. "Go Opal! Get some!" 

I feel my cheeks pinken, "Hush!"