In My Head

Lights On ~ Logan

I open my eyes. For a second it's so blurry I can't see. I'm on the ground, surrounded by tons of people I have never seen before in my life. My heart pounds. What's going on? Where am I?

Someone's hand on my shoulder-a kid with black curly hair and tawny skin-Kaden. Thank god, someone I recognize. "What happened?" The words take forever for me to get out, like trying to blow up an air mattress by mouth after running a thousand miles.

"You're okay, you just got knocked out," Kaden explains.

I struggle to sit up, but my body won't listen to me. Everything hurts: my head, my back, my neck, even my ears hurt. I feel glued to the ground. "How did I get here?"

Kaden says something about a beach house and Stephanie; maybe she's one of the random people standing around, watching me lie here like an idiot. The urge to sit up hits me again, but I can't even move a muscle this time. My back is killing me. What am I lying on? It feels hard, bumpy, like a road, a sidewalk, a driveway?

"What am I doing out here?" I ask.

"You were playing Beer Basketball," Kaden answers, obviously scared that I can't remember.

I squeeze my eyes shut. Beer Basketball? It doesn't ring a bell, but if it made me hurt this much, then it must be the worst game ever. I sigh. So this is what it's like to black out? This is what it's like to wake up inside a crowd of people, without a clue as to what just happened to you.

I could never get used to this.

"Hey, you still know who I am, so you can't be that hurt," Kaden says, which makes me feel better, even if it doesn't make my head hurt less. Kaden grabs my hand and helps me sit up. For a split second it feels like I'm floating away. The crowd cheers at me. I try to push the voices away, but they won't shut up.

"Dude, don't get up yet." Jake comes over and kneels next to us. "You'll get a horrible head rush and fall over again."

He's right, he would know. He's the one who always takes care of Kaden. Jake reaches forward and touches the back of my head. It burns, pulses and pounds, hard. Ow ow ow! I push his hand away.

"Good news," Jake says. "You didn't crack your skull open, but you probably knew that. You're bleeding a bit. Just take it easy for a while." He disappears just like that.

Thanks for telling me something I already knew, Jake.

Throbs of pain. "Ugh, my head," I groan. Never in my life have I had a headache this bad. I could puke any second, the pressure is so overwhelming. Beer Basketball. I must be really drunk, unless this is what it's like to wake up from a seizure. That's an uncomfortable thought. "I didn't . . . you know, shake or anything?" I ask.

"No." Kaden shakes his head.

Thank God! My head swims with a rush of relief.

"Just knocked out," he says. "You laid there for like a minute and then woke up."

It feels like I've been asleep for hours. I can't believe I was only out for a minute. I start to feel better now that I know what happened. I never realized before how much that matters. I wonder how long it takes Kaden to realize he's on the floor because he just woke up from a seizure. No matter how many times it happened, I'd want someone to tell me, so I could skip that moment when nothing makes sense.

"Logan?" Kaden grabs my shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"It's almost ten thirty."

"Okay?" I poke at my head-god it hurts.

Kaden comes closer. "I didn't bring any pills with me."

I check my watch. 10:20 That gives us, like, half an hour to get home before he needs to take his meds. We need to leave now.

A super-hot girl is suddenly sitting next to me. "Hey there."

I raise my eyebrow at her. "Hey, sexy. Did you bring me a drink?" I am so thirsty!

"No, silly. You don't have to drink if you get fouled."

Is that what they call it when someone knocks you out? I am never playing Beer Basketball again. Finally, I recognize the girl, and then I realize that the guy who was just over here couldn't have been Jake, because we moved. "Steph, I think we should go," I say, relieved that things are finally starting to make a little sense.

"Aww," she whines. Her lips turn down into an exaggerated frown. "But it was just starting to get fun."

"I can't play anymore, my head is killing me, and we gotta be home in half an hour."

"Your curfew is eleven?" She wrinkles her forehead at me.

"Our mom is lame." I shrug, but I bet I want to get out of here just as badly as Kaden.

"Fine, let's go," she says, and Kaden pulls me to my feet. The blood rushes to my head, and I sway a little as the four of us head for the car.