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Chapter 2
“Congratulations class of 2014!” The principal's voice boomed loudly into the microphone and the stadium soon rang with a chorus of screams and shouts. A moment later, blue and red caps cluttered the sky before they fell onto the Astroturf.
Finally. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth and when I spotted Courtney Perkins in the midst of the newly graduates, I couldn't contain it any longer. She caught sight of me the next second and was already sprinting towards me before I had a chance to move.
“Hazel!” She cried before crashing into me and then proceeded to give the most suffocating hug ever.
“Court, can’t breathe.” I laughed as she finally let me go and I was able to get air circulating in my lungs again.
“Oh you’ll live. I love you too much to kill you. Besides, we don’t want you dead before you get to enjoy your first taste of freedom, now would we?”
“That would be correct. It would be so tragic for you to be spending the entire summer without my presence.” I teased with a wide grin.
“True that. I would just die without being sarcastically insulted every five minutes.” She smirked. This was why I loved her. She was my feisty partner in crime and the only one who could tolerate all of my moods: sarcastic, over zealous, pms and all.
“I’m going to take that as a compliment. Now how are we going to celebrate this milestone accomplishment?” Before she could suggest anything, her mother called out from behind her. As she approached us, Courtney rolled her eyes.
“Courtney baby! Congratulations! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe my little girl is growing up and going to college and everything!” She said extremely perky before throwing her arms around her daughter and squeezed the living daylights out of her. Guess bone-crushing hugs ran in the family.
“God mom, can you get anymore embarrassing?” Courtney groaned as she attempted to free herself from her mother’s tight grasp. She dismissed her daughter’s remark and turned to face me.
“Hazel! Oh my goodness, how are you?!” She cried with that chirpy voice of hers. I could see why at times Courtney would want to crawl in the corner and just hide from the humiliation, but I would kill for parents to care for me like that…even if it meant having to deal with public embarrassment.
“I’m good.” I stuck with the short response, knowing if I said anymore it would be like begging for a very unwanted long conversation about my future to join the party.
“Are your parents here? It’s been a while since I’ve talked to Lucy.”
“No they couldn’t make it. My mom is out on a job interview and my dad got held up at work.” The lie fell seamlessly out of my mouth as if I had practiced it a thousand times in front of the mirror. With let downs like your parents, it gets easier within time to come up with convincing excuses to explain their absences for occasions such as this.
I bet you they didn’t even realize today was graduation. I mean I had the invitation out for a month in plain sight, sticking it on the refrigerator with the help of a promotional sombrero magnet for the new Mexican restaurant two blocks away, and l had brought it up a few times, but they either were really good at ignoring everything I had to say or they just really could care less.
“Oh I’m sorry to hear that honey. Do you think they’ll be back later tonight? We can throw a party for the two families! Oh it would be just-”
YOU ARE READING
The Lemonade Stand
RomanceAll Hazel Scott ever wanted to do was get away: get away from her alcoholic mother, her abusive father, and her clingy ex-boyfriend. So with senior year coming to a close, she only has a summer break to make her once mindless daydreams a reality bef...
