K O A
I slam Kenneth Jackson into the lockers, his hand barreling towards me, I grab his fist, twisting his arm backwards and jamming his head against the locker door. I wipe the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
He chuckles, wiping his blood dripping mouth. "Your brother is a worthless piece of shit, just like you."
I jab my hand against his nose, hearing the bone snap. Blood oozes down his face, his hands shoot up to cover his nose, groaning in pain. "You broke my nose!"
"You deserve a lot more than a broken nose." I growl.
He pushes himself up, failing to punch me back. I jab my bloodied and bruised fist into his face, knocking him out cold. I push past the crowd of kids that formed around us. I scurry out of the school and to the empty football field.
"Hi Koa!" Opal Clemens walks up to me, with a bright smile planted on her lips. "How are you doing? How's your side?"
I pull my pack of cigarettes out, lighting one.
"Those are really bad for you."
I roll my eyes at her, "Does it look like I care?"
"No," she shakes her head side to side, "Not really." She fiddles with her fingers, "Does your side hurt?"
"Well it doesn't feel great."
Her green eyes flick up, staring into mine. "I'm sorry that happened. People can be the worst sometimes, they ruin things for us."
She lays her hand on my forearm, making my back tense up. I grab her wrist, squeezing it to the point it turns white, causing her to wince in pain. I drop her hand like it burnt me. I didn't mean to hurt her. "Fuck off Opal."
She picks up her book that dropped on the grass. She plasters a genuine smile on her face, "I hope you have a good day Koa."
-
Wilson Griffen taps his pencil against his notebook. "Koa, we made so much progress the last few sessions, why now?"
He looks at me blankly as I sit silently in the chair across from him. We kept our gaze, his eyes trail to look at the clock to the side of us. He twirls his beard hair around his fingers, "Why now?" I ask.
"Yes," he nods, "Why not talk to me now?"
I slide more into the chair, shrugging my shoulders. "Don't know."
He gives me a small, sympathetic smile. "Koa, I'm only here to help. You can waste your hour in silence, or we can make some progress. It's all up to you."
I twirl my plain black bracelet around my wrist, placing my elbows on my knees. "Fine." I huff.
Wilson's back stiffens, adjusting his position. "Talk to me."
"This girl. I hurt her, it was on accident."
"And what did you do about it?" He inquires, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Told her to fuck off."
"You didn't apologize?"
I wipe the sweat from my forehead, dragging my fingers through my hair. "Nope."
"Why not?"
"Come on doc, you know I don't apologize."
He fixes his glasses, his eyes stare straight into mine, like he's looking into my soul. "I do. So," he clears his throat, "this girl. What was she doing to anger you?"
"She won't leave me alone. I just need my fucking space. She thinks I'm in need of fixing. I ain't need fixing."
"Then why do you come to counseling?" He waits for my reply which never comes."Koa you said it yourself, you want help, you want to be fixed. So why not let her help? It would be good for you to have a little more human interaction than me and your family."
I stay silent, giving him a threatening glare, my fingers clench into fists.
"I'm not trying to anger you, Koa. Lets skip this topic, we'll continue it next session. Lets talk about your outburst this morning."
"What about it?"
He stands up, walking over to his desk, "Why did you beat up Kenneth?"
"He was talking shit about my brothers. They don't deserve to be talked about like that."
"No one deserves to be talked about badly, and it's good you stand up for your family. But, that doesn't mean you should go around punching people over it. What about Henry?"
My jaw tightens and my skin crawls at my fathers name. "What about him?"
"Has he.. done anything lately?" He queries, both brows raised, concern clearly written on his face.
"Even if he did, he has all the money in the world, a word wouldn't be said, and if someone said anything, then that person would be buried alive."
-
Through the corner of my eye I see Opal glance at me. I pull my hood over my face, tucking my earbuds in my ear. I can just feel her green beady little eyes staring at the back of my head.
She taps at my shoulder, I twist my back to look at her. A big smile quickly appears on her face, her green eyes light up. "You dropped your pencil."
I grasp the pencil in my hand, placing it back onto my desk. Kenneth Jackson glares at me from across the room. I exchange a menacing scowl, his eyes widen and he turns away, looking towards the board.
I taste metal, bringing my fingers to my lips, my lip busted open last night, it hasn't bled since then, surprisingly enough. I wipe the blood off with the back of my hand, laying my head on my desk, tuning out the world with my music. Music's one of my escapes, an escape I desperately need. It's the only way I'll survive in this ruthless world.
A life as woeful as mine isn't worth living. I'm nothing but a reject, who could love a boy with a stone cold heart?
My legs shake anxiously, I need to forget. I shove my chair, pushing myself out of my seat. All eyes staring at me from how hard I had banged my chair.
I hastily make my way into the bathroom, locking a stall and pulling some blue pills from my pocket. I tug on my hair as my hands tremble.
"Koa?" My brothers voice booms from outside the stall door.
"Go away Princeton."
"Dude, let me in."
I shove the pills back into my jean pockets, "I'm taking a crap, leave a guy to do his business."
He huffs, "Yeah right, I can see you through the crack. Unlock the door, Koa."
I sigh, resting my hand on the lock, sliding the lock with no hurry. I step aside, the door banging against the wall. "What Princeton? What is so important?"
His hazel eyes flicker between mine, "Hand them over." He demands, the palm of his hands up.
"Hand what?"
"Don't play dumb Koa."
I let out a heavy breath, hesitantly handing over the pack of pills. "How'd you know?"
"I saw you rushing this way. I knew something was up." He pours the pills down the toilet, "You've been off these for almost a year. Why do you need them, huh?"
I shrug, rubbing the back of my neck. "Don't know."
He pats my back, leading me out of the stall. "I love you Koa, you know that, right?"
"I do."
"Get back to your class. And behave yourself." He grins.
"Hell no."
Just as I sit back down in my seat the bell rings. Opal stands in front of my desk, placing a small bag of sunflower seeds in front of me, the corner of her lips curve into a soft smile before walking away.
-
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