They were walking along the school yard the next day, hands linked together all warm and cozy like nothing’s changing between them. They saw students gathered in small groups here and there whispering, giggling. Obviously there was something interesting going on.
Hazel knew it was probably Marlon whose Lamborghini can be seen parked at the parking lot. Kids were taking selfies around it. Lee was observing the scene in bewilderment, he wasn’t aware of the new celebrity student attending Pinehurst Valley High. For some reason, Hazel failed to mentioned it while they were together at his house the day before.
“You’re going to be his student guide?” he asked in surprise when Hazel finally told him by their locker.
“Yeah,” she was nonchalant about it.
“And you didn’t mention any of this yesterday, why?” he shut his locker and waited for her answer.
She shrugged, “It just slipped my mind … I guess … there was something more important to discuss yesterday.” She smiled and bit her lower lip flirtatiously.
He looked at her. For a moment his heart skipped a beat, she still does that to him. Her smile, the way she flirted with him with her eyes so sweetly and cute. He knew he was going to miss her terribly and it was harder for him each day because it only means he was a day closer to being apart from her.
“Can we hang out again today?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said quickly, “Shit, no … I have to tutor the new student after school,” she remembered.
“No …” he frowned, “After that?”
She took his hand and pulled him towards the Sport’s Hall. “Sure,” she glanced at the clock above the Hall’s entrance, they have 15 minutes before the first bell rang.
He knew where she was going with it. They had a secret spot in the hall where they can make out without being detected.
The Sport’s Hall was a little different that morning because Marlon was there. He was already hanging out with a group of the cool kids who surrounded him like moths to a flame. Each and every one of them was eager in an invisible competition to be his new best friend.
They were sitting by the basket ball field right across the storage room where Hazel and Lee emerged before the first class started. Their hair was messy, her face flushed in different shades of red, and Lee’s bedroom eyes was visible even from across the room. He looked like he was struggling to gain back his composure while Hazel fixed his hair with her fingers. She was laughing sweetly and whispered something in his ear that made him wanted to push her back into the storage room.
“Who’s that?” Marlon asked.
The group took a quick glance at where Marlon pointed.
“That’s Hazel Williams,” Ricky assumed he was asking about the girl.
“No, the guy,” Marlon said.
“Oh … that’s her boyfriend, Lee Owens … a senior, he’s the star dancer … they’ve been using the storage room to make out for the past two semesters.” The kids laughed.
“Or under the bleachers after school,” another kid said.
“They go back to Lee’s house almost every day after school … they’re so hot and heavy making the other couples at school looks lame,” Darren added and everyone kind of agreeing with him.
In less than 10 minutes time, the kids shared more information about the two than he could ever elicit out of Hazel directly. Marlon realized he was hanging out with the right crowd if he wanted to catch up with everything at school.
In just one sitting, he found out who’s who in Pinehurst Valley. He needed as much information he can get to figure his way as a new student. He knew he could get it easily being who he was. Marlon never had any problem in getting acquainted with new people. They flocked around him wanting the chance to be in his closest circle. A privilege of having a movie star dad and super model mom, but also being super rich.
He found out that Gayle St. Michaels and Rhonda Bines were the two high school hotties that every boy wanted to lose their virginity to. Abigail Newman, Tracy Whitman, Lorena Johnson, were the ‘bad girls’ who trades sex for favors. Brianna Saunders and Georgina Hathaway are the party girls that sleeps with everybody, even with each other.
He was a bit disappointed to know that Hazel was not one of them. It would be helpful for him if she was a little bit on the wild side. Instead, he found out that Hazel Williams was actually the high school sweetheart. One of the nicest ones, the good girl who probably haven’t even slept with her first boyfriend. Though seeing her came out of the storage room with her hair all messed up, he was doubtful.
Nobody had one bad thing to say about his student guide. She was catching up with her studies to apply for college, her grades were climbing up, her brother was one of the school’s best soccer player, and there was an incident in last year’s prom where the school team captain broke up with his girlfriend because of little Miss Williams.
People talk a lot. Marlon can only conclude from what he’d heard that Hazel Williams is not one he can corrupt into getting everything he wanted out of Pinehurst Valley High. A kind of person he’d never come across with in his life where manipulation was a survival skill. He wondered if she was an uptight person, or will he be able to bend her a little bit into his liking. That was yet to be determined since he hadn’t spend much time with her yet.
The only thing he can count on, in regards of Hazel, was his charm. But then there was this Lee guy, and the way she looked at him was a challenge for Marlon’s irresistible charm, or so he thinks.
Hazel was not his type. Not that he knew what his type was. As far as he can remember, he was always surrounded by hot girls who came around his house to shoot videos, or hang out, or party. Marlon was used to people’s admiration, they always wanted to please him. Something he didn’t see in Hazel and it bugged him. She even rejected his invitation to share a joint in his Lamborghini, it was a first.
He even had to make the effort to look for her that day so they can do their study session together. That never happened … ever … people always look for him because they all wanted to be with him … all of them.