AGE( it is just a number)
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Episode 4
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Home In Tacoma
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Hazel Dakota
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With mixed feelings, I packed up everything I nee-ded into a big bag and Zi-pped it up
I was happy about getting the job and was at the same time sad that I will be spending the weekdays away from my family !
but what can I do? the pay is so mouth watering so I got no other option but to do it .
Are you really going to live over there?Alexia who had been watching me quietly asked with a cracked voice and I nodded without looking at her
She has been moody ever since I told her about the job offer and I could tell she was about to cry
But why can’t you just go from home? She asked and I sighed, turning to face her
Are we still on this! C’mon Alexia , you really nee-d to un-derstand me , I nee-d the job and you know it !!!
I know Hazel but I am just worried about mother, what will I do if she goes into shock? She asked with fear written all over her face
I sat down on the be-d and then took her hands into mine
Mother won’t go into shock, all you just nee-d to do is to make sure she use her drugs always. I as-sured and she nodded softly
And when I get my first pay we will take her to the hospital for better treatment. I added and Just then I heard someone snuffle
I looked in the direction to see my mom standing at the entrance to the room, crying
Mum! Why are you crying? Alexia asked ,freeing her hands from my grip
And without saying anything, my mom moved closer and Join us on the be-d
Mum! I called softly and she shifted her gaze to me
I am sorry Hazel for putting all the burden on you. She said softly but I shook my head.
No mum! Don’t says that! You ain’t burdening me , I want you to be fine and I will do anything to make that possible! I said , wiping off her tears
Thanks! She muttered and I nodded
So tell us more about the teenage boy you are going to be “baby sitting”. Alexia drawled and I smiled knowing she said that to lighten the mood
I will be serving him and not baby sitting him . I corrected and she rolled her eyes
What Is the difference?
I gave her a pla-yful glare and she laughed
I just pray he co- operates with you. My mum joined in the conversation and nodded slowly
Of course he will , I mean why won’t he!!!!!
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ha-rd in Castillo
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On getting to the airport, I checked in and got a boarding pas-s
I went over to the airport terminal and on showing my boarding pas-s , I got a first clas-s ticket !!
I found an empty seat and sat down patiently waiting for the flight announcement.
Glancing at my wristwatch, it was 21:00pm
Wheeew! Still got about fifteen minutes to my flight
I leaned on the chair and closed my eyes trying to recall everything my father told me
You nee-d to start a new life! You will be staying with your mother! Your name is ha-rd in! Jayden is alre-ady messed up!
Oh yeah! he got it right ! I am completely messed up!
But how will living with my mum feels like! Oh no! Mum! Did I really call her that!
She abandoned me when I nee-ded her most and come to think of it she was the reason why I ended up in prison, she was …….my thoughts was distracted by the airport announcements
“Good evening pas-s£ngers ! This is a pre- boarding announcements for flight 89B to Tacoma United States . We are now inviting you to begin boarding at this time , plea-se have your boarding pas-s and identification re-ady!!!”
And without wasting time , I jo-lted up from the chair and joined the queue
Your boarding pas-s and your identification boy! a security officer asked and I handed it to him
he went throu-gh it and then handed it back
“You can board the plane”
I walked throu-gh a short pas-sage to the plane and taking a de-ep breathe, I boarded it !!
29A! I muttered slowly as I looked around for my seat number and soon found it
It was a seat at the aisle , right beside a girl wearing a skimpy go-wn
I sat down and leaned my back on the seat
hello! the girl greeted and I shifted my gaze to her
She smiled and a tiny dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth and I must admit I was lost staring at her , she was damn beautiful
My name is Kim Na Na . She introduced and bit at my upperl-ips to st©p my self from laughing
What sort of name is that? I thought within
And as if re-ading my thoughts, she said
You can just call me Kimberly!
Kimberly, that is better! I remarked rudely and she smiled
Actually my mum is Ko-rean while my dad is American . She explained and I nodded without looking at her
That explains why she is so beautiful!
So what is your name? She continued but I ignored her
hello! She greeted , waving her hands in front of me and I scoffed
What do you what? I asked rudely , expecting her to back off but she didn’t , instead she chuckled and continued with her questions
Where are you from? You ain’t from America right ?
And who told you that! I retorted and she smiled
Your accent tells it all! you are uhm … uhm.. London, did I guess right? she asked with a pout and I was f0rç£d to laugh
Did I? She repeated and I nodded
But my mum is American . I quic-kly added
Oh I see! So can we exchange numbers? she asked but I shook my head
But why? She asked clearly embarras-sed and I huffed
Because I don’t want to and can you pleeeesse just let me be , we have r0ûghly nine hours flight ahead of us and I nee-d to sleep!
having said that , I closed my eyes and leaned in the seat as the airplane took off ……..
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A loud ban-g jo-lted me up from sleep and I opened my eyes just in time to see the airplane land
At last! I muttered
I turned sideways to look at the pretty girl and was surprised to see her still slee-ping
She must be one hell of a sleeper!
Kim! I called , tapping her gently and her eyes fluttered opened
Where am I ? Where are we! She asked, ru-bbing her eyes and I scoffed
And without answering her stupid questions, I stood up , pu-ll-ed out my back pack from the open slot and then alighted from the plane ..
It was a bright day light and from the look of things, I guessed it was alre-ady mid- morning!
The wristwatch on my wrist was damn useless for now as it was set to London time
Slinging my backpack across my shoulders, I walked slowly to the waiting area
I was confused on which way to take , I had been to Tacoma just once and that was when I was very little …..
I looked around and a man on black holding up a white cardboard caught my attention
The name ha-rd in Castillo was written boldly on the cardboard
Oh yeah! he must be waiting for me!
I sauntered up to him and on seeing me , he knitted his eyebrow, staring at me curiously
You must be ha-rd in Castillo right? he asked and I huffed
ha-rd in! What a name!
Are you ? he repeated and I nodded tiredly
Oh! Good morning sir! he greeted , gesticulating with a bow
I stared at him in surprise
You must be very tired , can we plea-se be on our way? he asked politely and I scoffed
I nee-d to speak to… my mother first . I told him and he nodded
he brou-ght out a phone for his pocket, dialled a number and then handed it to me
I stared at the screen of the phone
The name Mrs Castillo kept on flashing on and off as it rang
She picked it on the third ring and I placed it on speaker
Hello Zuma! her familiar voice echoed throu-gh
Mum! I mumbled , I have really missed her voice
Hellooooo! She repeated and I cleared my throat
This is Jay.. erm I mean ha-rd in ! I said and the line went quiet
Are you there ma? I asked to be sure and I heard her sniff
Baby! Is that really you? Where are you now? She asked in a rush
Airport! I answered dryly and ended the call
Baby! How dare she call me that!
I handed the phone to the man and to my surprise, he bowed to receive it
What the fv¢k!
This way sir. he said as he led me to a black sport car with tinted glas-ses
he opened the car doors for me and I got in
Closing the door, he turned around, got into the driver seat and zoomed off ……
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Hazel Dakota
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Waking up early the next morning, i got off the be-d and rushed into the bathroom to freshen up
Mrs Castillo called me last night to remind me about the time for resumption which is 7;00am
She must be really excited!
When I was done bathing, I returned to the room with a towel wra-pped around me to see Alexia alre-ady awake
Good morning! She greeted first
Morning ! how was your night baby? I asked with a smile and she rolled her eyes
I am not your baby , that Castillo boy is! She retorted and I sma-cked her plain as-s pla-yfully
She laughed
Ain’t I right? I bet you can’t wait to see him!
Having said that, she went over to the the bathroom to freshen up
And yes , she was right , I really can’t wait to see “my baby”
I hurriedly dressed up in the same black go-wn with turtle n£¢k ,put on my white sandals , combe-d my long black hair , picked up my phone from the table , gr@bb£d the big bag and then walked out of the room to the sitting room…
My mum was still slee-ping peacefully on her small foam so I leaned over to pe-ck her and then ti-ptoed out of the house
I will call her later in the day!
Running all the way to the taxi station , I flagged down a taxi and got in breathing ha-rd
Where to ma’am? the driver asked
Castillo mansion. I answered and without saying anything more, he drove off
Wow! The Castillo residence must be very popular !
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The drive to the Castillo mansion was a tiring one as we got caught up in traffic
$h!t! I never knew a small city like this have this much traffic!
In what seems like forever, the driver st©pped in front of the mansion and I paid him after alighting
I rushed to the hvge gate and knocked on it
Luckily for me , the security man opened up without anything silly questions and on seeing me , he smiled wi-dely
Welcome miss………..
Hazel! I completed and he nodded, opening the gate wi-der
I walked throu-gh the gate and headed straight to the sitting room dragging my bag
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Entering the sitting room, I found Mrs Castillo pacing up and down
Good morning ma! I greeted and she looked in my direction
I pla-yed with my hands shyly waiting for my query but there was none instead, she scurried towards me , grinning like an idiot
My baby is alre-ady at the airport! She squealed excitedly and I smiled lightly
It was obvious she really missed him!
Come with me ! She said and I dropped my bag beside the sofa before following her up the stairs to a room
She pushed the room door opened and we both walked in
Wow! Wow! I exclaimed softly, looking around the obviously expensive room
The be-d was made with latex spring, the walls glas-s marble and a hvge television hung at a corner of the room ……..
I bet the room cost a fortune!
So this is ha-rd in room and I want it to be always clean . She said and I nodded sheepishly
And also you will be the only one attending to him . his food , water and any other thing he nee-ds will be brou-ght to him upstairs !
Really! Is he an handicapped? I thought within
But ma, why upstair… I mean can’t he join you in the dinning? I asked picking my words
She was quiet for a moment and I swear, I saw the tears which she immediately wiped away
It will be a good thing if he does that but I doubt he will!
Oh! I exclaimed softly
But don’t worry I am sure he won’t be stressing you much because he always loves to be on his own!
Alright ma! I said not knowing what else to say
Hazel! Do you know why I employ you? She asked softly and without waiting for my response, she continued
It was because you are so simple and also because of your accent
Accent! I repeated and she nodded
You are from London right? she asked and I nodded
my son is also from London so I employed you hoping he will be a little bit free with you !!!!
Oh! I un-derstand fully well ma ! I agreed with her and she smiled
Get to work, make sure the room is clean. She instructed and then left the room
Is she kidding me! how can she ask me to clean a room alre-ady clean
Well! I will just take a look around
I walked slowly round the room staring and tou-ching anything that caught my attention and i must say , everything caught my attention
The hvge flower vases , the paintings on the wall , the fancy re-ading table and even the re-ading lamp
I rolled on the be-d , I jumped on it , I opened the expensive looking wardrobe and stared in awe at the stacks of clothes neatly folded in it , the shoes in the rack , the caps , the hoodie !!!
Jeez!Will he be running a boutique?
I made the be-d that I scattered and then went over to the bathroom to inspect it and as expected it was sparkling clean !
Returning to the room, I brou-ght out my phone from my pocket and was about calling my mum when I heard Mrs Castillo scream
And in a rush , I dashed out of the room , scurried down the stairs and got outside the compound just in time to see a boy on black alight from the car ….
Is this ha-rd in? I wondered, staring gobsma-cked at him
When I was told I will be a “personal maid” to a teenager I never knew it was someone as h0t as this ..I mean his face might be 17 but his b©dy is way older than 17
I watched him go stiff when his mum hvg him
And without minding, She held him ti-ghtly as she cried on his shoulders like a baby but he just maintained a straight face
I felt a tug at my cloth and I turned sideways to see the chubby maid , what is her name again? Uhm uhm Becca ,yes Rebecca
What? I mouthed at her and she rolled her eyes
Won’t you go help Sir ha-rd in with his backpack, you are his personal maid right? She asked and I detected something like jealousy in her voice but I quic-kly waved it off
Oh yeah! I am his personal maid
And without thinking, I rushed to him and tried to collect his back pack from him
he pu-ll-ed away from the hvg and then shifted his gaze to me
his de-ep green eyes bore into mine and I clearly saw the anger in his eyes
I swallowed ha-rd nervously
he stared at me for a while and then walked past me to the sitting room with his mother still hovering around him ….
I t©uçhed my che-st and exhaled de-eply
What just happened? Is this the teenage boy I am meant to handle !!!!!
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Hazel! Sorry 🤣
TBC