Boris Pavlikovsky and Kotku (Kylie Hutchins)

Boris Pavlikovsky and Kotku (Kylie Hutchins) meet in their Remedial Civics class at their Las Vegas high school, where Kotku, a year ahead and eighteen years old, sells Boris marijuana. Boris is immediately and completely smitten, declaring to Theo, "I'm in love" and describing her as "beautiful" and "crazy smart." Kotku, a scrawny, flat-chested girl with chipped black nail polish and a sharp, triangle-shaped face, is a local who has lived in Clark County her entire life, a fact that impresses Boris because she "can buy booze no problem" and knows places that don't check age. Despite her older, more experienced demeanor, Kotku is a poor student, stuck in the remedial class despite being a born-and-raised American citizen, a fact that Theo finds ironic given Boris's resentment of the same requirement for himself as a foreigner.

The Course of the Relationship

The relationship quickly becomes all-consuming for Boris, who begins spending every weekend and then entire days with Kotku, leaving Theo to eat dinner and watch movies alone. Boris's conversation becomes dominated by Kotku: her taste in music, her pizza preferences, her desire for an electronic keyboard or a Siamese kitten. He brings her to Theo's house, where the three of them get stoned, and Boris and Kotku roll around on the sofa while Theo sits with his back to them. Theo finds Kotku "desperate" and "a bitch," a judgment Boris dismisses, claiming she thinks of Theo "more as a little brother." The relationship is marked by constant, petty bickering over small sums of money and perceived slights, with conversations that sound like those of a married couple fifteen years in. Boris becomes intensely jealous, memorizing Kotku's class schedule and racing to find her the moment school ends, suspecting her of two-timing him. He even asks Theo to find out where a boy named Tyler Olowska lives, believing Kotku is flirting with him.

Violence and Instability

The relationship is punctuated by physical violence. After a fight, Kotku appears at school with a fat lip, which she nervously claims was caused by a car door. Boris admits to Theo that he hit her, saying, "I didn't want to" but that "She made me!" When Theo confronts him, Boris deflects, saying Theo is "jealous of her." This incident occurs shortly after Boris himself has been beaten by his own father, a pattern of violence that seems to normalize aggression within his world. Despite the abuse, the couple reconciles, with Boris telling Theo they dropped acid together and had a profound, loving experience where they realized "how much we loved each other, and needed each other no matter what, and how everything hateful that had happened between us was only out of love."

Impact on Theo and Boris's Friendship

Kotku's arrival marks a definitive shift in the dynamic between Theo and Boris. Before her, the two were inseparable, sharing meals, drugs, and a deep, unspoken bond. With Kotku in the picture, Boris becomes distant, and Theo feels a profound loneliness, missing "the whole impulsive mess of him." The relationship also introduces a new, darker element into their lives, as Kotku is connected to a world of harder drugs and more dangerous people. Boris's obsession with her leads him to neglect Theo, and the friendship is strained by Theo's open dislike of Kotku and Boris's defensive loyalty to her. The relationship ultimately contributes to the chaos of their lives in Las Vegas, a period marked by neglect, substance abuse, and the eventual, tragic death of Theo's father.