A Day In The Life of Hazel Kamalachi; Chapter 10, The Mural

by Heather in the Earth Kingdom

“Don’t come in yet!” Hazel could hear Zoey and Cady giggling. She didn’t dare look into the shed, but instead, waited silently at the door—hoping with all her heart it would be something okay.
There were rackets echoing, and Hazel paced tediously in the snow. Suddenly Fiona’s voice rang out, “All clear, Haze! Come on in!”

“FIONA? What’re you doing here?” said Hazel, confused. Was everybody in the shed? But her question was soon answered.

“Same thing I’m doing here,” Another voice (Taylor’s) replied. Hazel bit her lip, and pushed open the door. It was pitch black, dark as a void; a dreadful feeling came over Hazel at once and she didn’t dare to turn on the light.
She could just barely see their silhouettes glistening, and Cady’s really stood out, her shoulders caked with snow. An icicle hung from the roof, as if threatening to drop and land on Hazel’s head, but it didn’t.

“W-well? What is it, I mean, you said that it’d—“ Her shrill voice was cut off by the light.
Her jaw hung open as she looked over the mural painted on the wall. One stick figure was painted sloppily with brown hair, another one at its side—but no hair. That, Hazel indicated, Jake and I. They were hugging. The next scene had four more stick figures (all girls) standing in a corner, looking embarrassed. Hazel swallowed.
Her eyes flickered to the next scene, where people were laughing at the four stick figures.
Cady’s eyes glared at her. “If you want to be our friend any longer, get rid of the puppy dog boy. He’s no good for us.” She snickered. Taylor maliciously poured her face into Hazel’s memory—the mad, mean face with the over-coated lip gloss lips.

“She’s right. Quit staying at his side day in and day out,” she drawled, her voice cold and icy that Hazel felt a chill up her spine. Fiona stepped forward.
“Forget what they said. We don’t WANT to be your friend. You’re such a loser. So, go on, moron,” she snapped, followed by endless laughter.

Zoey sighed.
“Hazel, I’m sorry to say I agree with them. What good is one lousy friend compared to four awesome ones?”

Hazel’s eyes watered, and she just looked at them. “Well, what do you want me to do about it?”

“Get rid of the note,” Cady said coldly. “The note Jake sent to you on Monday. The note he signed, ‘Your best friend.’ Drop it. NOW.”
She pointed to a bucket of paint that they had used for the mural. Hazel trembled as Taylor laughed.

“Yes, it should defeat your friendship—proving us more loyal to you than he ever was.”

Zoey nodded shortly. After five minutes of not dropping it, Cady stepped next to her and grabbed the note and dropped it into the bucket.
It floated for a moment, but then sunk down and down and down into the paint, now completely lost.

“That’s all. No reason for you to stay here any longer. Go cry on Jakey-wakey’s shoulder, okay?”

Tears poured out of Hazel’s eyes and she ran up Zoey’s driveway, clenching her fists and rubbing her eyes. She ran past Jake’s ivy-covered house, and crying softly, ignored him when he called out, “Everything okay?” from the window.
There was NO TIME for Jake right now. She ran into her house, and after she stopped crying, looked at the picture of her and Jake standing together at the carnival, hand’s around each other’s shoulders, Jake carrying two snow cones, and ripped it in half. Hazel smashed it into the trash bin, staring at the empty frame miserably.