my name is luminosity. luminosity kobal drecona.
i'm 16, i was born in chicago, illinois , where my dad lives. i miss him, it's been 7 years since my mom, my brother and i moved out of chicago and into california, with her new husband, Ben. ben andrews. i kept my dads last name, i don't accept Ben as my stepdad, only as someone who makes my mom happy . although he has his moments, just not with her, with me and my brother, malachi. malachi oriax drecona. he's 14, ben tends to insult us and how we act . arguments day in and day out while my mom is being kept busy somewhere. she's been out a lot lately..
but it isn't bad when i'm at school . i find less stress when i'm away anytime it happens. i have a group of friends, we've been close since 5th grade, a year and a half after i moved here. there's myself, janine, dakota, darlene ,vante , jason & gabriel . just us 6, from then till now, sophomore year. we go to cypress highschool. this place isn't all that bad if you take out the bitchy girls and fuckboys. speaking of school, i should get going , it starts in 40 minutes and Vante is picking me up.
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i shut my journal and grab my backpack, rushing out front where i see Vante. "hey lumi" he greets me. "yo" i respond , he flashes me a smile as i get in the passengers seat and we drive off.
the car ride was quiet, which was fine, it wasn't an awkward kind of silence. we got to school with 20 minutes to spare and ran over to where our friends usually summon every morning . "hey guys" i said as i high fived and hugged them . we had small talk and then headed to class . i have art class first period . my teacher doesn't do shit but hand us random assignments and sit in his office all day , giving us weeks and weeks to work on such simple drawings. i've been going into class late a lot in the past week, but he doesn't notice. we all sign ourselves in on the attendance sheet , which he keeps outside of his office, giving us perfect opportunities to ditch . i sat down at my assigned table , next to amelia , she's a good friend of mine in this class. we met on the first day this school year and have been friends since then. i pull out my drawing of a skyline and set it on the table , grabbing a pen and tracing the pencil lines.
———first period ends and i head upstairs for math class. my least favorite class of the day. i have algebra 2 and a short attention span, but i do have this class with a cute guy. his name is jordan. but i've never talked to him, ever. i'm too socially awkward for that , i admire him from a distance though . i get out my notebook and copy down the problems from the board . time seems to disappear because the fuckin bell rings and snaps me out of my daydream. i pack my stuff into my bag and rush out of class , meeting vante in the hallway. "let's go kid" he says to me , i roll my eyes and walk next to him. we talk about homecoming and what the group is planning . this years "theme" for us is red and black, i like it but that means i have to ask my mom for a dress behind BeNs back. "so you and i, dakota and jason and janine and gabriel as "couples" again this year right?" he asks . i nod. he puts his arm around my shoulder as we continue to walk . "good , i like having you as a fake girlfriend, you always look the best out of the group." i giggle . "i don't know if i should be offended or not" i respond before we walk into science. we walk in with his arm still around me, i make a quick glance at my ex boyfriend then take my seat next to Vante . he glares at me and sends me a text message . "i miss you" he says . i leave him on seen and put my phone away . vante smirks , trying to contain his laughter . "shhhh" i say while letting out a small laugh .
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an hour passes and i find myself sitting at lunch with all my friends. we have our own "designated" table . i listen to dakota crack jokes and the others laugh and add onto them. i let out a few laughs but i tend to stay contained inside my own mind . i love my friends but i don't like conversation i guess . i prefer hiding behind a screen , that's the only time i become social . we eat lunch and then go our separate ways for our remaining 2 classes since today it's only a short day . i skip my last two classes and take a bus home. i rush into my room and take off my sneakers and change my skinny jeans so that i'm in sweatpants . i leave my t-shirt on and toss my skinny jeans into the basket sitting in a corner in my room and then put my shoes up . i always keep my room looking "shipshape" to avoid conflict with Ben. he always complains when my room has a small "flaw". the last time i was out of order i got a backhand straight to the face . i pull out my phone and text my little brother , letting him know that ben isn't here and he can come home . malachi always hides out at his friends house during school. i don't blame him, he gets bullied a lot , and i'm not just saying that, i've seen it happen. kyle is supposed to be a junior but he dropped out and somehow became malachi's bestfriend. we're very close siblings considering mom sorta stopped giving a fuck after a few months . she cares about us but tends to neglect us for her "hollywood happiness". i've learned to live with it and so has he, we depend on each other a lot, well, he depends on me. he replies with "okay on my way" . i turn off my phone and turn on my t.v, watching criminal minds . about 20 minutes or so later i hear malachi come inside . "hey oriax." i yell softly. "hey ko" he greet me back. we tend to call each other by middle names or abbreviations of them anyways just to tease each other. "how was school?" he asks as he leans in my doorway. "boring. how was kyles place?" i respond . "didn't go there today , i went to school this morning then left after second period and went to this girls house." my eyes widen and eye brows raise. "school? a girl?" i ask confused . he lets out a nervous laugh "she's pretty cool. she's a freshman too and we both sorta dropped out , the only reason i went to school today was because there was a fight that i wanted to see" he told me as he came into my room and sat down on my bean bag. i smile. "that's pretty cool, who won the fight?" i ask. "marcus" he scoffs. "marcus klebold?" "yup, i'm glad, he fought karson myers, kid's got a big ass mouth" i shake my head . "anyways , what's this girls name?" he pauses for a second . "carlie" i think for a bit and my mind goes blank. "i don't think i know her" i respond . "i can introduce you sometime" "sounds fun, we could all hang out later if you'd like, i can sneak liquor and stuff too if you want" i respond. he nods "sick, i'll see if kyle and carlie are available" he says as he pulls out his phone , typing two texts . "6." "okay cool, 2 hours, text me when you're ready and i'll come pick you up" i say as he walks out of my room. "will do".
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i made a few calls and texts around and finally set up some arrangements on drugs and alcohol. you might think i'm a bad influence on my brother but we've been introduced to much worse . i sneak into ben and my moms room and take a couple hundred from his sock drawer, he won't notice . and besides they shouldn't be home for 4 more days anyways , they're on a VaCaTiOn. i go into the garage and head over to where i'm supposed to meet Zumex. he's a dealer and he's old enough to get alcohol too, we're pretty tight, he doesn't consider me a client anymore, anyways . i meet him and hand him $400. "Lumi, i already told you that i'll only charge you $100" he says . "i don't care , take it ." he hands me back $100 and i hand it back to him. "just accept it as a tip, thank you." i say as i hug him and hand him the $100. i grab the 4 cooler bags full of alcohol and the two brown paper bag of drugs. choose your poison was plastered on them . "bye Zumex" i say as i salute him and hop in my car , he shakes his head and walks off. i drive home and call malachi. "hey i'm outside" i say . he hangs up and comes outside dressed in all black. i look him up and down. "emo much?" i joke as he gets in the car. he gives a half smile and brushes his hair out of his face. "we're going to Kyle's place" he says as he looks through the stuff i got . "oh so we're getting WASTED wasted" he blurts our , i purse my lips , "you know it,.. hey is carlie meeting us over at his house?" "yeah she lives in the same area, she's already there". i turn up the music and tap my fingers on the steering wheel to the beat.
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fuck i'm dizzy, i can hardly see a thing. weed, cocaine, percs , ecstasy, shrooms everything you could think of with alcohol and lean on top of it . i stumble into kyle's room and lay on the bed , smiling at the ceiling . i go back out to the living room and the music is still blaring , i begin dancing with the rest of them.
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i wake up and my body hurts. what the fuck . i sit up and look at malachi passed out on the couch with carlie on his chest . i gush at it for a little while then stand up , making me see black dots. i stumble into the bathroom and splash water onto my face to wake up more. i check my phone , it's at 37%, im surprised . it's 12:46 pm. shit , we had school today . i go back into the living room and try to wake malachi up. he doesn't budge and plus carlie is here so i should probably let him stay, i know he'll come home today at some point. i grab a bottle of vodka and 6 more joints that were laying on the table and head out to the car , finding my keys were missing . shit . i put the stuff in the back seat and go back inside to look for my keys . finally i find them in the kitchen , in the fridge , what the fuck . i go back out and head home .
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malachi eventually showed up and we just sat in the living room watching netflix . soon i became tired and went downstairs. i put on my playlist and fell asleep.
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the next 4 days went by and we're fairly uneventful, vante came by a couple times looking for me but i always told malachi to tell him i wasn't there and he hadn't seen me. he dropped off homework everyday anyways and i finished it that night then went back to sleep. but today Ben and my mom are supposed to come home today, their flight gets here around 6 and they're supposed to have on of his friends drive them here . it's currently 6:39, great soon they'll be home and i'll have to deal with ben's bullshit while my mom is blind to all of it . he's a great actor. but like i said , if he makes my mom happy then i'll take his bullshit . i tidy up the living room so that he doesn't flip shit and take the trash out . i sit on the back patio and smoke a joint before going back inside .
- i go inside right as they walk through the front door . i'm snapped out my high and rush down the stairs only for my mom to see me and follow me . "heyyy lumiiii" she says dragging my name out , "hey mom.. how was your trip?" i ask desperately trying to act normal. "it was fun, how was you and your brothers week alone??" she asked. i nodded "it was fine.." i respond while laying down. "going to bed already?" she asked . "yea.." i say . "alright sweetie , i love you , if you need anything just come ask me or Ben okay?" . "okay mom, i love you to-" "LUMINOSITY GET YOUR ASS UP HERE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW!" ben yelled. my moms jaw dropped. i roll my eyes and got out of bed , walking upstairs. she followed me and as soon as i reached the top of the stairs he got in my face . "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT LEAVING MESS AROUND THIS GODDAMN HOUSE?" i paused and looked at the ground, noticing one pillow on the ground , "sorry" i say in a sarcastic tone. "DONT GET THAT FUCKING TONE WITH ME OR I WILL-" "you will what?!" my mom said from behind me. i swear i saw all color leave his face . "she is my daughter Ben , why are you yelling at her ? you've never done this before." she said , squinting her eyes at him. he gritted his teeth , "i- uh.. i thought you were upstairs, why were you down there?!" he asked . "i was checking on my kids?" she said while coming up from the stairs completely. "don't talk to my kids like that ever again" she said. he scoffed . "okay." he said in a dry tone , then turning to me giving me a nasty look before following my mom upstairs. i was left with a blank face and went back downstairs, getting in bed and putting my earbuds in , blasting tf outta my music.
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i wake up only a couple hours later to find myself in the backseat of Ben's car. "what-" "don't ask questions or you'll be punished." he said . i looked in the back noticing all of my stuff packed in my suitcases and bags. i wasn't in the mood to get yelled at or hit so i stayed quiet . a little after i woke up we were at the airport . "your flight leaves at 2. take your bags and leave" he said , handing me a plane ticket . i didn't ask anything so i just did what i was told , i got out of the car , got a dolly for my bags and got them out . "where am i goi-" "just go. NOW" he said getting aggravated. i took my ticket and baggage and went to check out .
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i was being sent to chicago..
worst part is , i don't think anyone knows but me and ben.
my flight left 19 hours ago, no layovers. no stops. and there's 11 more hours left .
- it's currently 4:00 pm, i'm not supposed to get there until 8 tomorrow morning . great.
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i'm finally here . but now i have to wait for my bags to all come around .
about 45 minutes later i had all my bags ,
i struggled outside not knowing where the fuck i was going or what the fuck i was supposed to do, until i saw a sign with my name on it .. middle name . it was being held by a man in a red suit with sunglasses on . i walked over to him . "uh, hey i'm kobal.." i said shyly . "get in the car and i'll take you to your destination." he said . i didn't deny it , i really couldn't deny it since this was all happening. i put my bags in the back seat and got in the passengers side. "i'm guessing i'm not allowed to talk?" i said quietly but loud enough for him to hear. "you can, my name is Derrick. i work for someone you know .." he trailed off . i nodded.. "okay.." i said while sitting back and checking my phone . seeing that it was 9 in the morning now.
—soon we arrived at a huge house , bigger than Ben's.. it was painted all black on the outside with red trim... my homecoming colors.. i frowned. "so this is where i'm supposed to be ?" i asked "i don't know anyone who lives in this big of a house .." he kept quiet and got my bags out of the bag , carrying them to the front door . he rang the door bell and spoke into a small device located on his shoulder . "present." he said , the door opened and it revealed a tall woman . "hello kobal ." she said while holding her hand out for me to shake , i did so and looked up at her to keep eye contact. "this way." she ordered, but in a soft voice. i followed her as she led me downstairs , flashbacks much 🙄. she opened a door and i saw a man with longer hair and a soulpatch. "she's here Mr.Drecona." i paused . "d-..dad?" i asked . he nodded . "kobal i've missed you so much.." he said while standing up and hugging me . i hugged him back, not believing this . "i-.. i don't know what to say.." i stuttered. he smiled . "i'll have mandy show you to your room, it's upstairs , then at dinner i'll explain everything" i nodded and followed her upstairs to the 3rd floor, which was an attic, empty but finished . it had beautiful black wooden floors and the walls weren't colored, just a blank canvas. "here's your room, if you want anything let me know." mandy said as she walked out of the room . i sat in the middle of the room and opened one of my suitcases. i saw the closet in the corner of the room and propped the door open . i began putting my clothes away.
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all of my things were unpacked , all i needed was a bed.. i went downstairs to ask mandy and i got halfway down the stairs and i saw a group of men in the living room . they were all sitting and drinking some alcohol while my father spoke to them in italian. "stasera consegniamo" he said as he took a swig of the unidentifiable liquid in his cup. i hid so that i wasn't visible to them , but i could see them . i observed the group of men and i saw one that was mildly attractive.. i'd never had a boyfriend of course, just because i was cut off from being social with others & stuck to my friend group. Vante was the closest i ever had to a boyfriend , but we never committed or had anything real . i looked at this kid and he seemed out of it . probably wasted . i looked at him a bit more, admiring him until i felt someone tap me on the back, sending a shock up my spine. "don't pay any attention to them" mandy spoke as she helped me up off the ground . i looked at her, "uhh, yeah .. sorry i was looking for you and i got caught up by looking at them an-" "it's fine but don't let your father see you when he has those meetings, what did you need?" "just a bed ." i said . she face palmed "those idiots probably put it in the wrong room" she sighed . i bit my lip out of nervousness and stood there. "go up to your room and i'll have your bed brought up there" she said as she walked towards a different room . i didn't say anything , i just walked up to my room . it was currently 4 pm. i decided to text malachi.
