Hazel
Tucking a curly strand of golden hair behind my ear, I stepped off the loud bus and onto the silent, empty sidewalk. No one else got off with me. I hesitated, hearing the bus doors slide to a close behind me. I felt the ground vibrate as the bus trudged along down the road and around the street corner. A gust of wind blew my curly golden hair to the side, a few strands flying across my face. I blinked, shaking the hair off my face, but they simply floated down to rest on my forehead and jawline. I tightly clasped my backpack straps, taking a deep breath.
My heart raced as my feet turned, my mind spinning as I slowly, reluctantly walked down the warm sidewalk. The sun was casting its rays through the canopy of trees above me, a few dancing across my face and body. The breeze cooled the nervous sweat forming on my neck and face. A few birds sang in peace, somewhere hidden in the trees around me.
It was such a beautiful day to be miserable.
It felt like hours as I slowly walked down the sidewalk, my feet feeling heavier with each step, as if someone were slipping rocks into my purple shoes. But for long as it felt, it ended too quickly.
I stopped at the end of our driveway, slowly turning to face my house.
From the outside, it seemed like an ordinary brick, one-story house, with a one-car garage at the top of the driveway, two windows on either side of the front door. The small flowerbeds hovered at the front of the house were filled with purple, yellow, and blue flowers, vines creeping along the edge of the stone walkway leading to the front door. A silent, lonely willow tree swayed in the breeze in the lawn, an old, rusting white metal bench hidden among its curtain of pale leaves.
I loved my house; I truly did. But just like my mother, its exterior beauty was a trap: its appeal hid the craziness hiding inside.
Slowly treading up the driveway, down the curving walkway to the front door, and, after unlocking the handle, I quietly slipped inside.
The sound of the door closing felt like a crack of thunder on a silent, peaceful night. I winced, inhaling sharply, but no one appeared; no one called out.
I heard the clicking of claws against wood as I slowly set my keychain in the woven basket on the side table by the front door. I walked slowly into the hallway to my right, all the lights off, all the doors open. Entering the door on the right, I entered my bedroom.
A small bundle of fur squeezed inside before I had the door completely shut. Sighing, I collapsed onto my comfy, pillow-covered bed, my eyes closed.
I breathed in the comfort of my room; the faint remains of my cinnamon candles on the windowsill, the sweet taste of chocolate in my mouth as I contemplated grabbing a treat from my hidden stash under my vanity, the feeling of the soft pillows around me.
A sharp whine interrupted my thoughts. I opened my eyes with a groan and sat up, staring down at the enormously pregnant Aussie with her paws propped against the side of my bed, her brown and blue eyes shining as she formed her begging face. Her tongue stuck out to the side as she panted, trying with all her strength to jump up, weighed down by the five to nine puppies inside her.
She stopped jumping, and instead had a staring contest with me. Her puppy eyes won, and I sighed as I got up and dragged my fuzzy pink bowl chair to the end of my bed. She wagged her stump and jumped up onto the chair and then up onto my bed, crawling over to sit beside me. I rubbed her behind the ears as I pulled my homework out of my bag, slipping my shoes off my feet and onto the floor.
Just as I opened my American History notes, I heard yelling. I froze, fingers pausing on the edge of the pages. Kai stopped wagging her rear end, her tongue disappearing back into her maw. Her eyes turned worried.
"HAZEL! GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"
I slowly slid off my bed, my bare feet meeting the cold floor with a shiver. Before she could yell again, I was out of my room and into the kitchen.
My mother was leaning inside the fridge, her one free arm bracing herself against the edge of the door as she rifled through the fridge with her other. Her hair was pulled back with a large gold clip. She was wearing the same black skirt and black shirt from work earlier today, even though her shift ended after noon and it was already almost four. She turned as I entered the kitchen.
Her brown eyes were wide with surprise, her mouth twisted into a frown.
"Where are Jimbo's Pepsi's?" She slammed the fridge door closed.
I winced at the sound; hands clasped behind my back.
"I-I forgot to pick some up today. I'll go right now and- "
"Jimbo wants his soda now, Hazel. He's mad at you! Almost as much as I am. Now you go into Jimbo's room and apologize, then come make us dinner."
"But it's only..." I started to glance at the clock, but my mother's voice interrupted.
"Now!"
I turned and raced down the hallway to the guest bedroom. The bed was neatly made still, the lonely lampshade collecting dust. The curtains blew in the slight breeze from the open window. I knew my mother was listening, so I turned to the bed.
"I'm sorry that I forgot your Pepsi's, Jimbo. I hope you can forgive me."
The old frilly pillows gave no reply.
I was just leaving the hallway when my mother slammed her bedroom door shut behind her. I sighed and went back into my room. She probably forgot everything that just happened.
Homework wasn't as hard as I thought it would be for high school. Kai simply laid at my feet, a sadness about her. I wondered if dogs could feel what their owners were feeling, because we were one in the same now.
An hour or two passed, and I was rubbing my eyes in drowsiness when there was a soft knocking at the front door. Surprised, I jumped off my bed and ran to my window, pulling back the white curtains and peering outside. I couldn't get a good look at the front of the house, or who was here. Turning racing out of the room, I approached the front door and peeked through the peephole.
Oh god.
It was Frank, my neighbor.
The boy from my first day of school.
I hadn't seen him after the bus dropped me off that day, and we only saw each other every now and then, but only before school.
Why was he here?
I unlocked the door, Kai quickly at my feet from the sound. I slowly pulled it open, and shyly waved at Frank.
He was in a purple and black letterman jacket and blue jeans, very unusual after only seeing him in his school uniform.
He shyly waved back, a cute smile on his face.
"My grandmother finally let me escape the house, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to, uhm, hang out?"
"Uh...sure..." I smiled, my handles fiddling behind my back. No one in this town except Leo had ever asked me to hang out. And 'hanging out' with Leo was always sitting bored on a counter while he chatted with me from under a vehicle he was working on.
"Great. Are you free now?" He asked, a slight blush on his face.
"I can be. What do you want to do?" I struggled to keep my foot in front of Kai, who was desperately trying to escape. Frank looked down and chuckled,
"My house is really boring, and I don't know how my grandmother would feel about having people over without a month's notice and a formal invitation in calligraphy."
I laughed, opening the door, and waved for Frank to come inside. "We can go to the park. I'm sure Kai would love a walk. Let me grab some shoes and her leash."
Frank slid inside the front door and stood beside the side table; hands stuffed into his pockets. He nervously glanced around.
I ran into my room and grabbed the purple shoes off the floor and slipped them on, looking around for Kai's bright yellow leash. I pulled it off my coat rack on my wall and closed the bedroom door behind me.
Frank was kneeled beside Kai, running his hands through her merle fur. She was laying on the floor, shaking all over from excitement.
"I see you've made another friend. This is Kai." At the sound of her name, she leapt to her feet and ran to my own. I leaned over and snapped the leash onto her matching collar.
A few minutes later, we were out the door and walking down the street. Frank had been silent the entire time. Kai was racing ahead of us, dragging me along on the other end of the leash. For being heavily pregnant, this dog was hyper.
"So how is your school?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Oh," He seemed to have been woken out of a daydream. He blinked his dark eyes and smiled shyly at me. I turned my face away quickly so he couldn't see my blushing. "It's, uhm...hard. Rolland Prep is for smart kids. I don't think I fit in."
"Do you not think you're smart enough?" I asked.
"Compared to them, I'm not. I mean, I do well in math and science, but when it comes to writing essays and debate, I fall behind. I'm not good with words."
I turned to glance at him. He had shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, a sad look on his babyish face. His lips were pouty, and it made him look adorable. Then I glanced at the rest of him; not so adorable and cuddly. Huge muscles rippling down his arms through his jacket, broad shoulders, and long legs. There was most likely a six-pack under his grey shirt. I blushed at the thought.
"You know, I'm really good at writing persuasive essays. I don't understand it but putting words on paper to make a point comes naturally for me. If you ever need help..." I smiled up at him; my neck hurt from craning so far to see him.
"Thank you. I would really like that. I can't exactly ask any of my classmates to help me..." His voice drifted off.
"And why's that?"
"Most find me intimidating. Others think of me as stupid. I'd rather be tutored by a friend than a snobby trust-fund kid."
"And what if I'm a snobby trust-fund kid?"
He smiled, and our eyes met.
"I highly doubt that, Hazel."
And for the first time in my life, I felt happy.
Truly happy.
I felt...alive...