Hope I Wake

Part Two

'Welcome. You must be the new girl. You are a bit late, but it's okay because you're new.' The teacher looks friendly. Hazel is relieved that she didn't end up having a strict teacher for the first class. She would have made a terrible first impression. This woman is in her early 30s and has a pretty face. Hazel quickly walks to an empty table, puts her books down and tries to follow the material. She looks for a pencil to note what the teacher is saying.

'Shit', she mumbles.

'What's the matter newbie?' The boy next to her starts smirking. Hazel feels annoyed.

'Nothing, it's just-'

'I'm sorry but first you interrupt my class. Then you start talking through my story. You're not making the best impression at the moment.' The teacher doesn't look friendly anymore. Hazel looks to the right. The boy is laughing with his friends.

When the lesson continues he whispers: 'Yeah newbie, you're not making the best impression.' Hazel rolls with her eyes. She still has no pencil, but he hands over a pencil and winks. She sighs.

'It's alright. No, I don't have any friends yet. Yes, the teachers are nice' It is lunchbreak and Hazel sits outside. She was too scared to sit with a group of friends, that is why she decided to call her mother. At least she wouldn't look lonely. She could be on the phone with a friend or something, nobody knows it is her mother.

'I know. It is going to be fine. I just have to give it some time.' After her father passed away was her mother unable to move on in that house. Everything kept reminding her of her husband. She needed a fresh start. Hazel immediately got why her mother wanted to move out. She said: 'We're going to do this together. We're in this together mom. I love you.' They spent that night crying together on the couch. Her mother means the world to Hazel. She would do anything to make her smile.

'Oh mom I think I heard the bell. I have to go. I'll be home at 5.'

She walks back into the building. Her new school is pretty big. There were only 500 students at her old school. Suddenly she feels very lonely. Hazel has never been very popular but at least she had friends. The only social contact she had today was with the teachers and that one annoying guy. She knows it is normal because it is just her first day. Hundreds of students are storming into the building behind her. She is still looking for the right classroom. Hazels fourth class is English. She has already gotten lost a couple of times in a few hours. She remembers the boy from the first class. He is walking up to her. Five boys are walking behind him. They are all wearing sport jackets. They are red and have the logo of the school on them. The school is called Red Rocky High. It is because the school is very near to the Rocky Mountains. The sportsteam is called The Red Rockers. Hazel likes the jackets. She has always liked the color red. The boy is standing in front of her.

'Hey newbie. You look a bit lost.' Hazel wants to like him but she doesn't trust him. He is too popular to talk with her. The boys behind him are smirking. She keeps her distance.

'Well I am actually. I have English now but-'

'It is over there. Just down the hallway and then right.'

'Oh uh, well thanks.' Hazel feels her cheeks getting red. She quickly walks away from the boys. She can hear soft mumbling behind her.

She stands in front of a closed door. It doesn't really look like a classroom but she has no idea where else it could be. She opens the door. It is a little space. The space is completely dark. Hazel sees a little rope. That must be the lightswitch. She pulls the rope down. The space gets filled with light. She is relieved that it really was the lightswitch. But it is not the classroom she was looking for. She is standing in the broom closet. 'What is-'

'Miss, may I ask what you are doing here? Why are you not in class? Are you sneeking around?'

The janitor is standing in front of her with his arms crossed. He looks really pissed.

'I'm so sorry. I was looking for the English classroom but then a boy told me to go here and I-'

He pushes her out of the broom closet. 'Yeah I get it. Now hurry up. You are late. Your classroom is there around the corner, next to the toilets.' Hazel racewalks to her lesson.