O P A L
I watch Koa unwrap his earbuds from around his neck, pushing them into his ears, lifting his hood to his head. He lays his head against the cold brick wall, closing his eyes and tuning out the world around him.
I dust my dress off before sitting next to him, my arm against his, causing his eyes to flutter open and stare back at me. "Hi Koa!" I chirp, waving at him.
He rolls his eyes before closing them, completely ignoring me. "Here's more sunflower seeds!" I push them into his chest, dropping them into his lap. "Are you feeling better?" I wait for a response which doesn't come. "Well I hope you are, it stinks to not feel well."
I chip off the paint on my nails, watching a squirrel take another squirrels food. "OH!" I exclaim, causing Koa to jump. "Did you know Cap'n Crunch's full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch?"
He stares at me blankly before taking his attention away from me, once again ignoring me. I pop open my book and gaze down at the page, but the light gusts of wind keep flapping it to different pages. I huff and close my book.
"What happened to your hand?" Koa inquires, gesturing towards my scratched up bruised hand.
"I just smashed it, I'm clumsy. It happens more than you'd think."
He nods silently, his eyes glued to the back of my hand.
"So," I tuck my hair behind my ear, "Are you going on the field trip tomorrow?"
"My fathers paying for it, so yeah, I kinda have too."
"He's paying for the trip? Well that's awfully kind."
He spits, letting out an exasperated laugh, "Henry is the opposite of kind."
"Whys that?"
"He's a fucking inconsiderate bastard that deserves to die." He seethes, giving me that don't start with me look.
"Oh..." I manage to mumble out. "I'm sorry Koa, I wish things were different for you."
He twists his neck to look at me, chewing on his bottom lip, causing it to bleed. "Yeah, so do I." He pushes himself off the ground and storms away from me.
"Hey Opal!"
I turn my head and look up at a smiling Briar. "Hi Briar."
"Is this seat taken?"
I shake my head, "Nope, your welcome to sit."
"Thanks."
-
K O A
I chew on the inside of my cheek as Wilson's brown eyes stare back at me, I can tell he's thinking, trying to read my face.
"What are you thinking about, Koa?"
I shrug, turning my head away from him.
"You obviously have something on your mind. The way you chew on the inside of your cheek, your hands fidgeting with one another, the bouncing of your leg. What's going on in that head of yours?"
"I... feel hopeless. My life isn't worth living."
"Is that why you took all those pills the other day?"
I gulp down the lump in my throat, nodding slowly.
He clasps his hands together, leaning forward. "Why do you feel this way?"
I chew on the drawstring to my plain black hoodie, gluing my eyes to the coffee table that lays between us, slinking into the chair. "I guess... my father."
"Because of all the things he's done and said to you?"
"I guess so."
"What about your brothers? Don't you think they'd miss you?"
"Maybe, one can never truly know what another person is thinking. Life for them would be better if I were gone, they'd have the weight of worrying about me off their shoulders."
He drags his fingers through his neatly combed back salt and pepper hair, "Believe it or not Koa, there's people on this planet that would miss you dearly."
I chuckle, unable to fathom that a person could truly love a boy like me.
"I'm not joking Koa, when have I ever joked around with you?"
"I don't know."
"So, Opal Clemens."
My jaw tightens and my back straightens, "What about her?"
"She's the girl you've been talking about, correct?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"She obviously wants to be friends with you again."
"What about it?"
He adjusts his rasin colored round glasses, "Maybe it'd be good for you if you let her in a little."
"What do you mean?"
"Talk to her, don't run away when she starts being friendly with you."
"What's the point of letting someone in? She'll just end up running away from me, or I'll end up dead, leaving her in sorrow. So doc, what's the point?"
He clears his throat, standing up, sitting on the coffee table in front of me. "The point Koa, is love. Love is an extremely powerful thing, that's if you'd ever let love into your heart, then you'd understand what I mean. You'd feel... happy. Happiness, one of the many things your heart longs for."
"Your preaching to def ears doc."
"Maybe, Maybe not. Time will tell." He flips through his notebook, licking the tip of his finger in order to turn the pages. "So, what tipped you? What made you hit the iceberg? Why'd you really take those pills in the first place?"
"To forget." I murmur.
"To forget? To forget what?" He inquires, his groomed eyebrow raised.
"Henry." My voice cracks.
He lays his hand on my knee, giving me a reassuring nod. "It's okay Koa, this is a safe place. Did he.. touch you?"
I nod slowly, pilling my eyes away from Wilson.
"Okay," He jots down a few things into his notebook before looking back at me. "What else Koa?
"You know what else, Wilson."
-
I feel a hand clasp my shoulder, I turn around and jab the person in the face, causing them to stumble back before falling to the ground.
"Who the hell are you?"
The dude gives me a frightened grin, "Briar Bennett, I'm the guy you punched two weeks ago."
I grasp the collar of his shirt, shoving him against the lockers, "Yeah? And why the hell would you lay your hand on me?"
"I-I'm Sorry, I was trying to tell you that you left your earbuds." He gulps, pulling my earbuds from his jean pocket, his palm flat.
I snatch them from his hand, wrapping them around my neck. "Th-Thanks.." I cringe at the word, almost gagging.
"Could you let go of me now?"
"Oh yeah, sure." i shove my hands into my hoodie pocket, shoving the door open and walking to the parking lot.
"Hi Koa!" Opal waves, giving me a smile.
I roll my eyes and ignore her, continuing to walk towards Knox, waiting outside his truck with Princeton.
"I hope you have a good evening, tell your brothers I say hi-"
"Get the hell away from me."
She stops in front of me, making me stop abruptly. Her big green eyes look up at me, "You're bigger than the sea your sinking in, Koa Whiley."
Comments (0)
See all