Golden

Chapter II: Watermelon Sugar

Selena was a junior in high school the first time she experienced what it was like to be high.

She and Harry had gotten into a fight.

It was about something small, now that she looked back into it. But to her 17-year-old self, it warranted going to a party to drown her anger with alcohol.

She went with some friends at some house. She had told her parents where she was going but she did not bother informing Harry. Not while she was giving him the cold shoulder.

It didn't go as she hoped. The thought of fighting with Harry was enough to kill any buzz the alcohol could give her.

That was when she saw someone discreetly passing along these red straws.

The stranger caught her staring at him so he sauntered over to the couch where she was sulking. He plopped down next to her and handed her one.

"No, thanks." She eyed the long red stick on the stranger's hand. The red crystals shone brightly even in the dim light.

"You don't even know what it is," the blue-eyed stranger sniffed the straw and smiled. "This, My Sweets, is my latest concoction. S'called watermelon sugar."

"And you're just giving it away?"

"Gotta give free samples first. Gets the business going, My Sweets." He placed an arm on the couch and leaned closer to her. "So how about it? You look like you need it."

What the hell.

"Okay."

He grinned widely at me, his yellowing teeth showing. "If you want more, I'll be around. Have fun, My Sweets."

She stared at the red straw in her hand. Then to the people around her. It wasn't like anyone was minding her then.

So she ripped it open and emptied the contents down her throat.

And one hour later, Harry found her tripping out of her mind.

It was how she felt right that moment.

This could not have been real.

That girl did not just stab herself to death before her eyes. Her skin did not just shimmer gold like it was absorbing in some sort of chemical that made her hallucinate.

This was not real.

Was it?

Because she was sure her eyes were not supposed to shimmer gold like that.

Maybe that girl injected her with some drug - some new concoction for the teenagers in town.

She had ran away after the girl fell dead on the corner alley. She ran without stopping until she was back home.

She locked the door behind her, even double bolted it.

Her parents weren't back yet so she headed straight to her bedroom and locked that door too.

She went straight to the shower, after throwing her blood-splattered coat to the ground. She scrubbed her skin so hard that she nearly rubbed it raw.

But even after she was done, her eyes still glowed gold.

She was on the verge of panicking when a knock came on her door.

She didn't hear her parents come back. But then she was so caught up with her thoughts to notice anything else.

"Honey? Are you still up?"