Hazel POV
I woke up early in the morning to go to the hospital. Whenever I had the time, I would go to the local children's hospital and volunteer. I usually helped the cancer patients. It's usually where I was needed the most.
I greeted all the nurses, said hello to the children, and gave them the gifts I had bought or made for them. I was close to all of them, but there was one girl in particular whom I was closer to. Her name was Alice, and she had been there for over a year. Her family almost never came to see her, and she had a sort of nanny by her side all the time. I felt bad for her, which made me want to be with her longer than the other children. Most children had their family by their side, but not Alice. She told me her brother was the only one who would visit her from time to time, but he was still in school, and he only came when he had time. That made me angry, but I could see Alice light up whenever she spoke about him, so I obviously never said anything.
"Hey Alice!" I said as I walked into her room.
She looked up at me and yelled, "Hazel!" I ran to her bed and gave her a hug.
She looked a little down. She must have gone through another round of chemo. "How are you doing, Alice?" I asked her.
She looked up at me with those little green eyes. I felt my heart leap. This last round was definitely hard on her. "I'm ok. I just feel a little sick sometimes," she said.
"Hmmm, I know what will make you feel better. How about a tea party?" I said.
"Yay, a tea party," she said.
"Let's go invite the other kids," I said.
"Yay!! Let's go!" She said. I carried her, knowing she didn't have much energy.
We went to the play area along with other little kids. We were all having a good time. After we all played a few games, I made sure the kids went back to their rooms to take a nap.
I looked at the time, and unfortunately, it was time for me to go. "Aw, do you really have to go?" Alice said.
"Yes, I do. I'm sorry, Alice," I said.
"Aw, I wanted you to stay. There is a new doctor here, and he looks really mean. I get scared every time he comes to see me," she said with a sad face.
I looked at my watch. I could stay for another hour. "Tell you what, I'll wait with you today till the doctor comes, then I'll go, but I promise I'll be back tomorrow and wait till the doctor sees you again. How does that sound?"
Alice stood up and hugged me. "Yay! Thank you, Hazel."
"You're very welcome," I said.
I waited about 30 minutes with Alice, and we played while we waited for the doctor.
After that, the new doctor arrived in Alice's room. He looked at me and said, "Excuse me, who are you?" I could see why Alice was scared of him. He looked like he hated kids, and someone was forcing him to be there.
"Oh, that's Hazel. She volunteers here. All the kids love her," Nurse Penny said.
"Well, only family can be here, so Miss Hazel, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said with a stern face.
"No!" Alice started crying and hugged me.
“Umm Doctor. Could I please stay with Alice while you check up on her? I promised I would be here with her until you do so, and I would hate to break a promise,” I said.
The doctor hesitated, but Nurse Penny stepped in. “Doctor Anderson, if I may, Hazel here is like an angel to these children. She’s helped them through tough times, and they all have a strong connection with her. We weren’t able to get near a lot of children, but with Hazels help, the children have more trust towards us.”
I was touched by Nurse Penny’s words. “OK, I'll allow it,” Dr. Anderson said. He checked on Alice, and she cooperated with him fully. As he left, I overheard him telling the nurse, “Well, at least I was able to do a whole checkup without her bursting into tears like all the other times.”
“I don’t like him. He’s a stupid head,” Alice said.
“He’s just a new doctor. I’m sure he’ll get the hang of it soon,” I said. “Well, it’s time for me to go, honey. I’ll be back tomorrow, just like I promised,” I said. She instantly pulled me into a hug.
“Bye, Hazel,” she said.
“Bye, Alice. I promise I’ll be back tomorrow.” I gave her a small kiss on the forehead and then walked out.
As I walked out of the hospital, I checked my phone and saw that I had ten missed calls from Chloe.
I texted her, "I know I'm late, but I'll be home in 20 minutes."
She texted back with an angry emoji and said, "Fine."
When I arrived at our apartment, I could see people dressed up in bikinis and swimwear. They were definitely here for the party. Great.
Chloe was there in a gorgeous dress. “Hayz, you’re late! How am I supposed to do your hair and makeup now?” she asked.
“I’m not dressing up for this, Chloe. I’m just going to go in with you, and then I’m coming back home,” I said.
“But…” she tried to say.
“No buts, Chloe. The deal was that I was going to go. I’m going. I don’t want my makeup done, and I don’t want an extravagant hairdo,” I said.
“OK, how about a compromise? You let me straighten your hair and wear the dress I brought you, and I'll just add some mascara. You honestly don’t need makeup; your face is flawless,” she said.
I laughed at her comment. “Fine, but you only get 20 minutes,” I said. The sooner the night ends, the better.
“Deal,” she said. True to her word, Chloe took 20 minutes to get me ready. I said OK to the dress because I didn’t mind wearing it, but I put my foot down when she wanted me to wear high heels.
We made our way to the roof, and the moment we got there, everyone knew who Chloe was. As always, she would introduce me, but I already knew people didn’t care.
I looked around, and there were so many good-looking people here. I felt so out of place. Pretty much every girl here looked like they were models. Not everyone seemed like they were going to get in the pool, but the dresses they wore were just mind-blowing. Chloe and I were walking around when Spencer came up to us.
“Chloe, you made it,” he said, pulling her into a cheek kiss.
I could already tell Chloe was annoyed. “Yup, we made it.”
“Oh right. You’re roommate came too” he said. Then he looked at me “Harvest right” He said.
“NO its Hazel” Chloe said, sounding mad. “How were you able to graduate if you can’t remember a simple name?”
“Chloe.” I said as I hit her back.
Spencer just laughed. “Right so Hazel. Chloe, would you like to go dance with me”
“Um actually Spencer, Hazel, and I haven’t finished greeting everyone, so maybe later.” She said and immediately grabbed my arm, and we walked away. “God he’s so annoying.” She said.
I just nodded my head. Spencer has never been nice to me, so I honestly care too much to even talk to him.
Chloe and I saw Cara. She was someone Chloe and I actually liked. She was a model like Chloe, but she was actually down to earth. “Chloe, Hazel. It’s nice to see you.” She said, giving us both a hug. “Chloe how in the world did you convince Hazel here to come to a party?” Cara asked.
“It definitely wasn’t easy, but Hazel here has a crush on one of the guys here” Chloe said.
“Chloe” I said, hitting her shoulder.
“Really? Who?” Cara asked.
“Aiden Jameson” Chloe said.
“Really now? Girl, you have a good eye. He just broke up with his girlfriend, too!” Cara said.
“Never going to happen” I said to Cara.
“Well not with that attitude, it won’t” Cara said.
“Right that’s what I said” Chloe responded.
I decided to change the subject. “So Cara, who did you come to the party with?” I asked her.
“My new boyfriend. He is friends with the guy who is graduating, and he left me to talk to his friends. ”
We all continued to talk, and I looked up. I saw Aiden. He was with Spencer and some of his other friends. Whenever I could, I would steal glances at him. He was definitely out of my league.
Cara and Chloe decided to go dancing and to avoid the situation. I said I had to go to the restroom. There was a line to the restrooms so I decided to go to the pool house. There was a sign that said it was off limits, but that was only for non tenants. There wasn’t much inside except a bathroom and a closet and some chairs.
I used the restroom as I walked out. I heard Aiden and Spencer at the door. I panicked and went into the closet.