Hazel, not Hazelnut

Chapter One: Grandpa's House

The sun rarely gave a break, it bore down on anyone in sight. The dark blue van rattled across a cobblestone road in a Chinook area of Calgary. Hazel sat in the van with sweat dripping down her forehead, as the sun shone through the windows mercilessly.

   "Are we there yet?" Hazel asked, then took a gulp from her water bottle.

    "Almost there, your grandpa will be so glad to see you." Hazel's mother answered as she swiveled her head, showing her curly orange locks. Hazel slumped down in her seat. They were driving towards their Grandpa's house for a visit, the only reason she had agreed to come was that her Grandpa had a pool, she didn't know him very well.

     The bumpy road turned smoother as they entered what looked like a sea of flowers. Hazel imagined the amount of pollen in that field. As if on cue, Sam started coughing and sneezing in the seat next to her. Sam was her brother, born with the same curly red hair as her mother. While Hazel had black hair that matched her father. She got her deep blue eyes from her mother.

     "You okay, Sammy?" Her dad asked. Sam was allergic to pollen, and deathly allergic to dairy. He had to carry an epinephrine pen with him at all times. She was glad her mother was a nurse. Just thinking about needles made her nervous.

     "Yup." He coughed again.

     "We should take your inhaler when we get there." Her dad fretted.

     Hazel always got jittery when they were talking about allergies. She wondered what it would feel like to be Sam. The thought made her shiver. Hazel leaned out of her gray seat as the van made a sharp turn onto an even bumpier road.

     "Here we are!" Her mom exclaimed as they pulled to a stop at a newer-looking house. Hazel saw her Grandpa hobbling off the yellow painted porch to greet them. He was grinning with delight.

     The inside of the house was neat and clean with space for many people, but none to fill it.  Hazel liked her bedroom, her grandma had made the quilt on her bed before she passed away. She knew what she wanted to check out. Hazel slipped into her yellow bathing suit and skipped out the back door. The pool was more amazing than she had imagined! Her grandpa had a slide, a diving board, and an assortment of diving tools. Just before she could jump in, she heard a voice behind her.

    "Ah, Ah, Ah, not without sunscreen you're not!" Her mother stepped out of the screen door by the house, she handed Hazel chalky, white sunscreen. After a lengthy lathering of sunscreen, Hazel hopped into the pool. The water was freezing! She shivered, and climbed the ladder onto the side.

     "I suppose I haven't adjusted the temperature in a while..."  Hazel's grandpa was saying to her mom.

     "Oh, Dad!" Her mother scolded. Hazel realized he must have the pool for just his grandkids. She imagined him sitting on the edge of the pool waiting for his grandkids to come use it. The thought made her feel guilty about not wanting to spend time with him.

     A couple lawn chairs sat beside the pool, they looked warm from the heat. Hazel shivered over to those. She laid down, but the chairs scratched her like straw. The glass door that bordered the house from the backyard slid open as Hazel's dad and Sammy charged through in their swim trunks.

     "Should be okay, now," Hazel's Grandpa croaked. The boys didn't hear that before diving in. Hazel didn't want to go back in, her friends in her grade five class had told her to get a tan. She decided to do that instead. After laying in the sunshine for a long while, Hazel saw her mother sit down beside her.

     "Lovely, isn't it?" She said, "It's like this all summer." Hazel replied with a tired murmur.

      "Hazel, the real reason we came here, was to house hunt."

     "WHAT??" Hazel sat bolting upright, "we're MOVING??"

     "Your dad and I talked it out, and there's a much better job for me here."

     Hazel sat there in shock.

     Her grandpa walked over with a couple plates of chocolate butter and blueberries.
"Would you like some? It's my famous blueberry Nutella platter!" He said, presenting the plates to her.

     "Sure," Hazel said, taking a plate. Then turned to face her mom, "Where will we go to school? Will I be able to see any of my friends??" Hazel dipped one of the blueberries in the Nutella, and popped it into her mouth.

     "We've seen a couple good houses so far, some really near the hospi-" Her mom stopped, Hazel's ears were really itchy. "Daniel?" Her mom stared at Hazel with wide eyes.

    "MMhhmm?" Her dad splashed out of the pool. He turned pale when he saw Hazel's face. He was out of the pool instantly.

     "What?" Hazel asked, but choked on the words, feeling short of breath.
Hazel's mom sprung up and raced towards the side of the pool where Sam had left his epi. Hazel felt itchier, breathless and a sense of terror.

     "WHAT??" She tried to shout as her mom pulled the epi out of its case. "What are you DOING?"

    Her mom pulled the blue safety cap off it. She screamed as the needle poked into her thigh.  Her mom recited, "Blue to the sky orange to the thigh, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

     Her dad was on the phone already. "Yes, come quickly." He said urgently.

     Hazel was crying now, the epi pen stung. Her mom lifted her off the chair and into the house, Hazel watched her grandpa stand by the pool utterly shocked. Looking at the platter like it was a murder weapon.

     Her parents brought her to the front door where Hazel could hear sirens. They sat her down on the door stool. Her heart felt like that of a hummingbird's, beating into a hum.

     "Hear that?" Her dad said to her, "Those are for you." She blinked back tears and hugged her parents, her limbs kept shaking. The ambulance unloaded a stretcher and strapped Hazel onto it. Hazel was hoisted into the back of the ambulance. Her mom got in with her while her dad stayed behind. A paramedic got into the back with them as the ambulance started driving.

     He checked her throat, heartbeat and ears, then discussed what had happened with mom. "We still have to go to the hospital sweetie," Her mom told her, then Hazel was hugged tightly. Hazel nodded, still shaking. She looked at her mom, whom to Hazel's surprise looked more scared than she felt.

     When they arrived at the hospital, a nurse dressed in teal scrubs with grey hair rushed to escort her to a room near the entrance. After laying her down in a bed, the nurse proceeded to talk to her mom on the other side of the room. Hazel caught a few words. "Unexpected...and...maybe" Her mom said.

     "Overnight...brief...Intravenous" The nurse was saying as her mom walked back over. The sheet and bedding felt rough under Hazel's shaking hands.

     "Hazel, We're going to do an I.V, stay still." Hazel saw the nurse preparing a needle.

     "Why?" She said, now freaking out a bit more.

     "It's alright" her mother said, "You'll be ok." And before Hazel could do anything, there was a needle in her arm. They laid her down on the bed facing the curtained entrance, the medicine stung as it entered her arm making Hazel feel really exhausted.

     "It's okay for you to rest, you've had a big day." Her mom was saying. Hazel closed her eyes and fell asleep.

     She knew it was too good to last, Hazel woke up in the night to hear a conversation between her mother and the nurse. "She'll be okay after a night's rest." The nurse said, matter of factly.

    "But what after that?" Her mother asked.

     "Well, it seems she has manifested allergies like your son's, but to nuts. It doesn't seem so serious that touching one could hurt her, but eating one could be fatal." The nurse replied, "I think it would be best to carry an epi on her when she isn't at home, be careful." After that, Hazel heard no more.