Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
[Mary Oliver]
• • •
The novelty of being the new kid had started to wear off. The school corridors were familiar, the faceless students now had names, and the teachers had stopped letting him slack off. The first couple of months had been fun; he was a new person in a new town living a new life. But now his house had become a home and he was getting tired. The streets of London seemed further away than ever.
"What's up?" Rhea asked Kody over a plate of macaroni cheese in the school's crowded canteen, "You look down."
He was playing with his food; a telltale sign of a lack of energy. "I'm bored." He replied honestly.
"Of us?" Christopher asked jokingly.
"Nah." Kody replied, only half serious.
"You should come over for dinner tonight." Isabel offered, "My Mum's doing a roast."
"Thanks, Issy." Kody said sincerely, and he meant it. She was sweet, kindhearted, and considerate. She had quickly become one of his closest friends.
"Can I come?" Christopher nudged her, eyes wide with longing, "I can not miss one of Jane's roasts."
"No." She declined simply.
"What?" He moaned, "Why not? Babe-"
"Because I saw you last night, and the night before that, and the-"
"Fine." He pouted, "Can you save me some potatoes though? The crispy ones with the-"
"Oh my god, you are unbearable." She snapped, and the irritation that flashed in her crystal eyes proved that she meant it. She dropped her cutlery and stood up abruptly. "Come over at seven, Kody." She told him, tying her golden hair back with a scrunchie. Kody had noticed that she did that a lot - tried to find something to do with her hands whenever she was feeling anxious. "See you later." And she left, just like that.
"What the fuck just happened?" Rhea stared between the pair of boys, her expression blank.
"I don't know." Christopher watched his girlfriend walk away, knotting his fingers into his ginger curls in frustration. "Why can Kody go but not me?"
"Maybe they're fucking." Rhea giggled, winking at Kody suggestively.
Kody sighed heavily, "Not helpful, Rhea." He murmured, getting up from the table and following Isabel without a word. He tried to find her but the corridors were empty.
"Kody!"
He turned around at the sound of Arlo's soft voice. He was stood in the middle of the hall, clutching multiple folders, backpack hanging from his shoulder. He was wearing his glasses today. "Hey." His lips melted into a smile at the sight of him. Dimples, freckles, green eyes. Fuck, he could stare at him forever.
Arlo looked over his shoulder nervously, presumably checking that no one else was around. "You busy tonight?" He asked. They hung out most nights. They did homework together, watched movies, listened to music, played board games, assembled puzzles, and whatever else elderly couples liked to do at seven PM on a Saturday night. Kody liked it. They were comfortable together.
"I said I'd go to Isabel's for dinner." He told him apologetically, "What about after school?"
"I can't. I've got a doctors appointment."
"Is everything okay?" Kody's entire demeanour softened with concern.
"Everything's fine." Arlo insisted, but when Kody's gentle amber eyes shot him a quizzical glance he elaborated, "It's nothing, Kody. It's just a checkup; I have them all the time. Doctors love changing my meds at every chance they get."
"Are you sure?"
"Jesus, I'm sure, go have dinner with your girlfriend." He teased.
"She's not my..." He paused once he detected the sarcasm in his voice. "Speaking of, have you seen Isabel? I can't find her."
"No, sorry." Arlo shook his head, "Is she alright?"
"I don't know." He said honestly, "Look, I gotta go, but I'll text you. Good luck with your appointment."
"Just a checkup." He gave him a cheesy thumbs up which Kody read as 'fuck you'.
He couldn't find Isabel anywhere and instead resolved to wait until later to talk to her. Something was bothering her, but he couldn't tell what. She was distant and quiet and never joined conversations unless she was directly addressed. He wasn't sure what it was but something had changed. He was hoping to find out what that something was over dinner.
Kody and Sophia walked home in silence that afternoon. She was acting differently too. "Hey, Soph, how was-?"
"Are you dating Arlo?" She stopped walking, twisting around to face her brother straight on. "Tell me the truth. Please."
"What?" His brows shot up in surprise.
"Darya says you're over there all the time." She explained. "Kody, you need to tell Mum and Dad if-"
"We're not together."
"Kody, I'm not going to tell them. You can be honest with me."
"I am being honest. We're not together."
"So, you're just fucking or...?"
He scoffed, "Have you heard the word 'friend' before?"
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, come to think of it, I might have heard that term once or twice. Some kind of sushi, am I right?"
He laughed, and the pair continued walking. "He's a nice guy, okay? I like him. As a friend."
She shook her head and began laughing, "Why don't you ever invite him to ours? You're always going there."
"His house is nice. He's got a dog and everything." Kody wasn't sure what the real reason was. Maybe he liked keeping Arlo all to himself, shielding him from his intrusive family. That, and the fact that his parents would automatically assume they were dating if he took him home to meet them. Which they weren't, much to his annoyance.
"You really do think I'm an idiot, don't you?" She questioned dryly. "There's clearly something going on between you and Arlo."
"I'm telling the truth-"
"If you try to tell me you don't have feelings for that boy I'm gonna-"
"You're gonna what?" He chortled.
She punched him in the shoulder. Hard.
"Ah, fuck, what the fuck was that for?" He exclaimed, hitting her back.
"Ow! You can't hit me, I'm a girl!"
"You're my sister, it doesn't count!"
"That's not how it-!"
"I can hit you as much as I want, Soph-"
She broke into a sprint, laughing like a maniac, gripping onto her bag tightly. Kody ran after her, a smile plastered onto his lips. He realised as he chased his sister down a civilised tree lined street, that this was the most alive he'd felt in weeks - apart from when he was with Arlo, of course.
That night as he changed into a vaguely respectable shirt and sprayed on some cologne, Sophia entered his bedroom, Pistachio the rabbit sitting in her arms as she stroked the animal's silky fur. "Where are you going?" She asked, placing the rabbit down and letting her freely hop around Kody's bedroom.
"Isabel's."
"Are you fucking?"
"Are you gonna ask me that about everyone I spend time with?"
"Probably."
"Well, she has a boyfriend." Kody explained as he searched through his cupboard for his favourite green bomber jacket.
"And if she didn't, would you?"
"Probably not."
"Because of the thing with Darya, or because she's not your-?"
"Darya? What thing with Darya?"
Sophia hesitated, opening her mouth a couple of times before simply settling on "Shit."
"What are you talking about, Soph?"
"Nothing."
"Well, it's not nothing because you said-"
"I said nothing."
"But you didn't say nothing, you said-"
"Kody." She raised her voice, eyes wide with alarm. "Listen to me very carefully." She ordered. "I said nothing." She scooped her rabbit back into her arms and turned to leave, "Have fun tonight."
"Thanks." He murmured, mind wandering to a million different explanations for his sister's slip up. He tried his hardest to clear his head before leaving. He would simply ask Isabel what was going on, and if she didn't want to talk about it then it's none of his business and he can forget about it all together.
On his way to her house he passed Alex smoking a cigarette by her front door. It was a regular occurrence to see her there. Occasionally he would stop and join her, but tonight, he didn't have time.
"Hot date?" She smirked, scanning him up and down as he continued on his way.
"Oh, I wish."
"Hey! Kody?"
"What?" He stopped.
She grinned, "Whoever it is, he's probably too good for you."
"Oh, shut it, I'm a catch, just ask..." His face fell. 'He'. "Wait, did you say...?"
She tapped on her temple knowingly, "Your secret's safe with me." She laughed.
He sighed and continued walking.
Well, fuck.