Hazel's Hitchhiker

9: You Can't Say 'No'

Hazel

It was hard not to feel bad for Joey. His dad really did seem like a prick. Part of me wondered what happened with his mom. But I didn't feel completely comfortable asking about her.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Joey. "Are your parents really that controlling? Like when they made you do that internship, couldn't you just have said no?"

Say no? His question had me bursting into laughter. If only it were that easy.

"The word 'no' doesn't exist in my family. And being the youngest of my siblings, it's literally impossible to say 'no.'

"Hazel, are you ready to go?" Shouted my dad as he put his plate in the sink.

"Yes, I'm ready," was my response walking down our stairs. "Let's get this over with."

About to walk out the door, he pulled me to the side and gave me a stern look. "Hazel, this internship isn't something you get over with. This summer is pretty important. I hope you realize that. Now get in the car. We can't be late. I have a surgery to perform in two hours."

The car ride to the hospital was a rather quiet drive. My dad had no interest in talking to me and listened to his favorite AM radio show. It was a morning show involving doctors taking in questions from listeners. Tuning out what he was listening to, my attention was drawn to the screen of my phone as I texted Amber. Apparently, Phillip had liked one of her Instagram Posts which was causing her to freak out. It was a picture of the two of us together at a party that I didn't want to go to. Amber desperately wanted to get more pictures of us together in hopes that Phillip might like those pictures.

"We're here," announced my dad after he found a parking spot at the hospital and began getting out of the car. Those words meant nothing to me at the moment. My mind was focused on Amber's problem with Phillip. "Hazel, did you not hear me? We're here."

"Oh yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

That very moment, my phone was taken right out of my hands and into my dad's pocket. His stern face met my confused face. He looked like he had aged twenty years.

"You'll get back your phone at the end of the day." A frown found its way to my face. "Don't give me that look dear. You have an unhealthy addiction to that phone and you're not focused on what's going on around you."

"I'm sorry dad," I claimed sounding like a broken robot.

He nodded for a moment and scratched the top of his nose. "Hazel, I still don't think you understand how important this internship is. I've told you many times how hard it is to get this internship. Do you realize how important this is to your future? Do you realize how much of your future is at stake here?" Before I could respond claiming that I understood, he continued speaking. "I can tell you right now that you don't understand. You're not our little baby anymore. You're seventeen about to be a senior in high school. You're going to graduate and go out into the real world. It's time to start growing up."

Start growing up? What the hell did he think I was doing? I hated hearing those words. Hearing that statement for the millionth time gave me a headache and caused my throat to scratch up. In moments I would likely vomit.

"Honey let me tell you something you might not realize. You know how your oldest sister Hannah decided to drop out of college and move to LA to pursue her dream of becoming an actress?" He didn't wait for my response which was good because I didn't want to give him one. "When was the last time we saw her? Can you remember the last Christmas or Thanksgiving that we saw her?

"She lives in New Mexico now with her fiancé," I quietly claimed hoping he would hear me. "She's doing pretty decent for herself."

"Regardless, I'm sure you can't remember the last time we saw her." A sorrowed looked took over his eyes making him look older. "God blessed her with an amazing brain. She was smart, funny, charming, and she had what it took to be an amazing doctor. Several people told me that they saw her going places. And of course, one day she just decided after watching 'Death of a Salesman,' that she was interested in acting. One month of being at the U of A, she just drops out and heads for LA only to waste her damn life. She's got no money. She's got nothing." His sight turned towards the front and ignored my sight. "She's wasting her life." He began to sound angry. "She's wasting her talents and her gifts. She's wasting it all."

For the next minutes, a strange silence took over the car. I always thought Hannah was amazing and never understood how she was wasting her life. But it didn't matter what I thought because, in the end, she was wasting her life which meant I was wasting my life. And wasting my life wasn't acceptable. Once the strange silence ended, my dad got us out of the car and we made our way to the entrance of the hospital. 

Joey stayed quiet once I told him my story. It was probably for the best. We exchanged some words once we reached Arizona, but those words died once we realized that Arizona wasn't much different than California. It all felt the same. Maybe things would start to feel different once we got further into Arizona.  In just a short time, we would be reaching Kingman. We were making great time. Austin would be in our sight before we knew it. Things would be different once we reached Austin. Good old Austin was awaiting and Joey was again asleep.

"No. Damn it," I whispered to myself once I saw the check engine light come on. About ten minutes later, it was still on. Maybe I could ignore it and still get to Austin in time. Joey ruined everything once he woke up.

"Hey, it looks like the car is starting to overheat."

Another great chapter! Thanks for reading! Remember to comment and vote! See you next time!

What is one dream you'd like to accomplish?

Is Hannah wasting her life?

Should Hazel have had a positive attitude towards the internship?