Claire had left the fridge filled with ready to microwaved packets of food, milk, bread, cereals, eggs, and the stock cabinet with enough canned food for the apocalypse. She had left the list of important numbers to call, she re-stocked the first aid kit box with medicine, bandages like a mini-hospital storage room.
She left some money, her credit card number in case Hazel run out of food and wanted to order takeaway. She left her with a five-page rule of what to do and not to do while they were gone.
“No boys,” Claire repeated it at least a dozen times before she left.
“But Lee …”
“No boys, I don’t care if it’s Lee,” Claire said.
“Or Theo,” Max jumped in the topic.
“Well, Theo might have to check-in if you don’t answer his calls or messages, okay? But no sleepovers for boys … they all live around here, there’s no need for them to stay over,” her mom added.
She didn’t want to argue, “Okay.”
“I’ll be checking on you too, make sure you answer all my calls and messages or I will call the police,” Claire chuckled, she wasn’t kidding.
After a dramatic send-off where her mom actually shed tears for leaving her for a week, she was finally home alone. It was the first time her parents ever left her by herself.
She was on the phone with Jan for hours. She was going out with Kyle and couldn’t come for a sleepover until the next day.
“It’s our five months anniversary today, he’s taking me somewhere special,” Jan said.
“Aww … that’s so sweet … do you bring a condom?” Hazel laughed out loud.
“Of course,” she giggled, “We’re trying out some new moves, the last time we tried it from the back …”
“Stop! Save it for tomorrow, I want details but in person … it’s less exciting on the phone, you’re staying tomorrow, right? But no boys allowed, so you can’t bring Kyle here and use up all your condoms at my house.”
Jan laughed it off, “Of course … I’m staying a couple of nights and then I’m staying at Kyle’s … but don’t tell my mom, okay?”
Hazel rolled her eyes, “Fine … I’m used to you ditching me for Kyle now.”
“What about Lee? He can stay with you, can’t he? He doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
Hazel let out a sigh, “Not yet … he’s going to Mischa’s birthday party tonight, I told him I couldn’t come … they’ll probably make out in her bedroom or having an orgy, pfftt … I don’t want to be a third wheel there.”
“Ooooh … am I sensing jealousy here?” Jan teased her.
“No, I mean … I’ve always been the third wheel … everywhere … I don’t want to be Lee’s third wheel too, I’ve had enough of those.”
Jan’s laugh lingered, “He’s not going to do that, Hazel, trust me … he’s not into Mischa.”
“How do you know? They kissed, did you know that?”
“What? That kiss at his competition? Yeah … I saw it on Instagram, Lee’s cute, he’s super popular in the dance community … he’s like Jungkook from BTS … okay? A lot of girls probably wanted to smack their lips on him, but he only has eyes for you, have you seen his posts? They’re all you … and the captions? If he’s not hung up on you, I don’t know what it’s called.”
Hazel wasn’t convinced, she saw sparks between Mischa and Lee especially when they danced together, “I don’t know … you should’ve seen them together on stage, you’ll get what I mean … they’re so good together.”
“And that bothers you because …? Sometimes I don’t understand, you look like two best friends smitten with each other, all I want to say is … kiss him already! You’re jealous of Mischa, he’s jealous of Theo … how long are you going to pretend you’re not crazy for each other?”
“I don’t know … I’m not that sure he’s into me …”
“He is! Okay, I’m gonna be honest now, he swore me the secrecy but he told Kyle that he likes you even before you were introduced to him … why he ended up being your best friend and not smooching you in his dad’s BMW is beyond me … there I said it.”
“Urgh … you’re just saying it because you’ve been shipping me with him forever, if he feels that way about me, he hadn’t said anything yet … all I know he’d been kissing Mischa instead.”
“And you kissing Theo … right? Come on … are you still hung up on Theo? Do you know he broke up with Peyton at Prom?”
Hazel’s eyes widened, it was the first time she heard about it, “He did? I didn’t know that.”
“It’s what everyone’s talking about, it’s the biggest thing in Pinehurst Valley since World War II,” Jan laughed. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard that, didn’t Max tell you?”
“No, he didn’t mention anything about it and he left for Gastonburry this morning, why do you think he broke up with Peyton?”
“Beats me … from what you told me happened in Goldstone, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with you.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a call waiting, it was Theo.
“Hi … you busy?” there was a somber tone in his voice.
“No, I’m just talking to Jan at the other line, why?” she felt her heart beat faster after the news she just heard from Jan.
“Just checking on you, actually … I’m right outside, would you mind coming down for me?”
She was taken aback by his request, she peeked from her bedroom curtain, he was leaning at his car in her driveway.
“Okay, wait … let me tell Jan to call back later.”
“Kay.”
She tapped her phone to speak to Jan, “Speak of the devil he’s here.”
“Umm … who?” Theo was confused.
Shit. She tapped the wrong button. She tapped it again.
“Jan?”
“What?” it was Jan this time.
“Theo’s here … I gotta hang up, I’ll call you later?”
“What? He’s at your house? Whoaaa … suspense,” she sounded excited. “Maybe he wants to tell you how much he loves you all these times, and how he broke up with Peyton because of you,” she teased her.
“Jan! I don’t know why he’s here … can I call you later?”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do … but tell me everything, okay? Text me … I may not be able to answer your calls, and … condoms! Don’t do it without condoms.”
“Shut up, ‘kay, love ya’ … safe sex!” Hazel hung up.
She fixed her hair in the mirror and grimaced at her own outfit. She didn’t have time to change, it would be embarrassing if she took too long to come down. So she hurried down the stairs in her red plaid pajama pants and black AC/DC T-shirt.
She opened the door and Theo was still lazily leaning at his car door in his blue jeans and Nike shoes. He had his arms crossed in front of him. Having just learned about his newly single status, she was unusually nervous.
He smiled when their eyes met, “Care to join me for a ride?”
She didn’t know what to say. They had promised to go for a ride since the first time they kissed, but they never really got into it. She looked down at her clothes.
He laughed lightly, “Don’t worry about it, you look great, Mickey … we’re just gonna go grab some beers.”
She looked over her shoulder and saw the clock on the wall, it was 8 PM. “Do I have to bring some money?”
“Of course not, my treat … come on, hop in,” he beckoned her.
She took the key from her front door and locked it from outside, “Okay, but I can’t be long … my mom might call to check on me.”
“Sure, we’ll be back in no time.”