AGE (it is just a number
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Episode 6
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First day at Beacon high
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Hazel Dakota
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After putting the first aid box back to its place , I returned to ha-rd in room to clean up the mess
The room was empty and from the sound of the tap running , I knew he was in the bathroom
Using a long broom, I gathered the broken pieces together ;then use a dustpan to pack the pieces into a waste bin
I looked around to be sure everything was in order before leaving the room with the dustpan and waste bin ..
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Climbing down the stairs, I was on my way outside to dump the dirt when I heard my name
I quic-kly turned back to see Mrs Castillo coming out of the kitchen
And where are you going with that? She asked , staring at the waste bin
I want to dump it outside ma . I answered politely
Don’t worry Hazel , Rebecca will do that . She said and then signalled at Rebecca who was as-sisting the cook to set the dinning table
Go take that from her!
Yes ma. Rebecca answered , leaving what she was doing and rushed towards me
I handed the stuffs to her and then leaned on the wall not knowing what else to do
Should I go as-sist in setting the table? Should I go check on ha-rd in? Should I go to my room? Damn! I don’t even have a room here , my old worn out bag was still here in the sitting room
And why are you just standing there, come and have dinner and after which I will show you to your room . Mrs Castillo said , bringing me out of my thoughts and I sighed in relief
At last!
I went over to the dinning and sat down quietly
My mind drifted off to ha-rd in , the pains I saw in his eyes , what was it all about?
Did something bad happen to him! Did someone hurt him!…. wait a minute! he hasn’t eaten anything
Ma! I called his mom and she shifted her attention to me
What is it dear? She asked , placing a plate of bagel and grilled chicken into a tray
I am worried about ha-rd in , he hasn’t eaten anything. I stated and she smiled
Don’t worry dear, I will handle that today !
Having said that , she picked the tray along with a bottled water and headed up the stairs
Thanks goodness! I guess I am relieved for today!
I watched the cook dished out my food and after washing my hands, I began eating
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After eating, I as-sisted the cook in clearing the table and when I was done, i went over to the sitting room
I sat down on the sofa and watched the television as I waited patiently for Mrs Castillo
And In what seems like forever, She returned to the sitting room holding an empty tray
I am sorry Hazel , I had to stay with my son till he was done eating. She explained and I smiled lightly
It is alright ma!
She handed the tray to Rebecca and then gestured at me to come with her
Standing up , I picked my bag and followed behind her as she led me up the stairs to a room right beside ha-rd in’s
This is where you will be slee-ping. She said calmly and I nodded , looking around the room
It was a small room with less expensive furnitures but It was still beautiful
Thank you very much ma . I said in appreciation and she nodded
Sleep ti-ght Hazel! and remember to wake up early . She reminded and then left the room ….
I dropped the big bag at a corner of the room and then coll@psed on the hvge be-d
I was so tired!
Bringing out my phone from my pocket , I was surprised to see 20 missed calls
I4 from Mike , 4 from my from mum and the remaining two from Alexia
I quic-kly dialled my mom number and she picked it up on the first ring
Hazel! her loud voice rang throu-gh
hello mom! I am sorry for not picking the calls , I never knew when the calls c@m£ in . I said in a rush and she sighed
It is alright! I was just worried about you , how is that place? She asked
Fine mum! I answered truthfully
And I hope the boy is not stressing you up? She asked , chuckling
Erm uhm let me say he is just being a teenager!
Yes your baby. I heard Alexia say and I laughed
Don’t mind her!she is just …..
being Childish. I completed and we both laughed
Alright baby! Good night! My mom bade
Good night mum . I said and ended the call
Smiling, I was about dialling Mike number when his call c@m£ in
I received it
hello Mike! I greeted first
Hazel! Where did you keep you phone? he asked, sounding so worried
It was in my go-wn pocket but I never knew it was ringing. I answered truthfully
Oh! You really scared the hell out of me
Did I? I asked confusedly
Yes! Let’s leave that aside , how is the place? Do you like it? he asked
Sure. I answered and he sighed in relief
There was an awkward silence between us and then he asked
Have you thought about the dinner ?
Erm not really . I answered and he exhaled de-eply
But why Hazel! I really got something important to tell you
Something important! And what is that! I retorted
It is not something we can talk throu-gh the phone. …
Fine! Let’s meet up on Saturday. I said after giving it a little thought
Thank you so much Hazel! Thank you so much! I will call you later so we can talk more about it
Alright! Good night Mike!i said , yawning and ended the call…..
Today was so damn stressful!
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ha-rd in Castillo
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The sound of voices woke me up and I opened my eyes to see my mom staring down at me
Wake up baby! It is alre-ady morning
Stretching, I rolled on the be-d and ru-bbe-d my eyes still full of sleep
Damn! Of all time , why must she wake me now?
Those terrible nightmares took a toll on me and I couldn’t sleep till it was 6:00am
I sat on the be-d and blinked twice, staring blankly at her
Good morning baby! She greeted with a wi-de smile
Why are you here? I asked rudely and she sighed
It is alre-ady past 9 and you nee-d to get re-ady for school!
I slowly shifted my gaze to the wall clock and yes she was right , it was 9:27
I also brou-ght this . She said , tou-ching a black back pack and I nodded slowly
Everything you nee-d is in there. She quic-kly added
And without saying anything, I dragged myself up from the be-d and then walked slowly to the bathroom to freshen up
I felt so weak!
On returning to the room, my mum was no longer in the room
I went over to the wardrobe , opened it and stared in awe at the stack of different clothings
Jeez! how many years will I wear all this?
pu-lling out a black polo and a black jean , I hurriedly dressed up in it and then put on a black boot …..
I sat on the be-d to unZi-p the black back pack and just like my mum said, everything I nee-ded was inside it
Text books , note books , pen , pencils and a br@nd new iPhone
I smiled lightly
I brou-ght out the phone and stared at it , it was the latest product ……
And on scrolling throu-gh it , I notice hers and my Dad number was alre-ady saved on it …..
I kept the phone back in it and then Zi-p up the bag
Standing up , I sling the backpack across my shoulders and was about leaving the room when the door creaked opened and a short girl walked in
It was the same girl from yesterday, the one who treated my wound
Good morning ha-rd in! She greeted with a smile and before I could respond, she moved closer to me and held my hands to look at my bandaged palm.
Are you alright? Does it still hurt? Should I change the bandage? she asked in a rush and I stared at her with my eyes wi-de opened
What kind of girl is this?
She left my hand and then stood on her toes to t©uçh my forehead
Thank goodness you ain’t burning up . She said , sighing in relief and I huffed
Who are you? I asked and she smiled lightly
I am Hazel Da…….. she tried to say but I cut her off.
I didn’t ask for your name , I was trying to ask if you are human ! I retorted and I saw her go stiff
just because I let you treat my wound doesn’t mean you have the right to t©uçh me. I barked and she flin-ched , bending her head
I am sorry. She apologised and I could tell from her voice that she was about to cry
Whatever! I muttered and walked past her to to the door
Opening the door , I turned to face her and heaved a sigh before leaving the room
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Getting downstairs, I met my mum seated in the dinning eating
And on seeing me , she gulped down a glas-s of water and quic-kly stood up
Are you re-ady? She asked but I ignored her since she asked an obvious question
What of your breakfast! I s£nt your personal maid to you , did you see her ? She asked and I gave her a confused look
Personal maid! What is that? I thought within
And as if re-ading my mind, she looked towards the stairs and called a name loudly
Hazel!
And in a rush, the short girl c@m£ running down
I stared at her in surprise
Personal maid! Is she a maid!
Yes ma. the girl answered trying ha-rd not to meet my gaze
What were you doing up there! Why didn’t you serve my son breakfast? my mom queried her
Erm ma I am sorry erm I went to ha-rd in room to erm. She stuttered and then bit at her lowerl-ips
It was obvious she had nothing to say since she c@m£ into my room to t©uçh me !!!!
Why didn’t you serve him his breakfast? My mum repeated and I scoffed
The whole thing was beginning to bore me!
It is alright ma! She actually did c@m£ to ask me about breakfast but I ignored her . I lied and the girl looked at me in surprise
My mum looked at me and then back at the girl
Fine! Make sure you clean up his room before he gets back from school . She told her and then faced me
What will you like you eat?
Nothing, I will pas-s! I answered dryly
Are you sure about that? She asked to be sure and I nodded slowly
I will get something at the school cafe!!!
And without saying anything, she pick up her car keys from the table and then walked out of the house
I shifted my gaze back to the girl and met hers
She gave me a small smile but being me, I ignored her and walked out of the house to the garage
My mum was alre-ady seated in the car so I opened the car door to join her and without wasting time , she started the car and drove off …..
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The drive to the school was damn boring as the woman seated beside me kept on telling me what to do and not to do as if i was a little kid
Avoid fights! make good friends! be good and kind to everyone! Don’t let anyone see your tattoos!
I scoffed
And what does my tattoo got to do with all this? I asked , fixing my gaze on her
That is because they will all ………….
See me as a bad kid . I completed and she swallows ha-rd
I did not say so, I just wanted….. she tried to say but I cut her off
Can you plea-se just shut up and drive! I retorted, trying so ha-rd to hold my anger
She should be happy I am letting her advice me !
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On Getting to the school, my mom drove into the compound and parked out in front
“Beacon hills high school “. I re-ad the hvge inscription on the wall
I alighted from the car and my mum did the same at her own end
What kind of school is this? I thought aloud , staring at the green building
It is a school attended by only the rich . My mum answered and I rolled my eyes
It looks like a crèche to me!
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We walked throu-gh a long pas-sage and I notice the stares from every female student we c@m£ across ….
I wasn’t surprised, I was alre-ady used to it
From my school back in London to the prison house , I was always praised for my good looks …
We st©pped in front of a office with the tag “principal” and to my surprise, my mom walked in without knocking
Does she know the man? Or is she scre-wing him also?
I stared in surprise at the man seated behind the desk , he was so fat that I fear he would bur-st any time soon
And on seeing us, he flashed my mom a smile and then nodded at me
ha-rd in Castillo right! he asked and before I could answer, my mum bu-tted in
Yes!
And without saying anything else , he handed me a form to fill and I did
I handed it back to him and he went throu-gh the details
his eyes wi-de-ned as he re-ad it and he looked at me
It says here that you went to a correctional school , can i plea-se know your offence?he asked and my mum shifted uneasily on the chair
Actually you see , he committed no crime his dad s£nt him there because of his stubbornness . My mum answered meeting my surprise gaze and I looked away
What a brilliant liar!
Oh! If that is the case , welcome to Beacon high. The principal said , picking a paper from the table and then handed it to me
It is a map. he quic-kly added and I nodded abs£ntmindedly
I studied the map and then looked at the principal
Can I go to the clas-s now? I asked and he nodded
You are in Grade 12A. he stated and I huffed silently
I know!
Taking few steps to the entrance, my mom called me
I turned back to face her
What? I mouthed at her and she threw the car keys to me which I easily caught
What should I do with it? I asked , looking at the keys and then back at her
You will be nee-ding a car to come back home and that is it
Really! Then what about you , how will you get home?
I will make use of a taxi !
Oh! I exclaimed softly and walked out of the office
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Following the direction on the map , I pas-sed throu-gh a very long pas-sage to a clas-s with glas-s door
I stood at the entrance of the clas-s and all eyes turned to look at me including the teacher standing in front
And you are? The teacher asked
ha-rd in Castillo. I answered and whole clas-s was rippled with murmurs
Quiet! The teacher barked and the clas-s bec@m£ silent
Are you by chance related to the famous writer Brian Castillo? She continued
Damn! This is all messed up . I cursed silently
Are you? She repeated
Yes, he is my grandfather. I answered dryly and she rushed to hold me as if I was some celebrity
Welcome ha-rd in! Welcome to Beacon high!she said and then faced the clas-s
Richa-rd ! Is there an empty seat? She asked and a boy with blond hair answered
Yes, there is one beside mine and another beside Kimberly. he answered
Good! So where will you like to seat? Is it with Richa-rd or ……….Kimberly? She asked, pointing a girl with black hair…….. wait a minute! the girl , I have seen her before… uhm .. uhm … yes , the half – Ko-rean girl I met on the plane
The girl win-ked at me and I looked away
I will seat beside Richa-rd . I answered and the blonde haired boy smiled
Why are they all behaving like teenagers! ..what am I even saying? We are still teenagers
And With my hands in my pocket, I went over to the seat and sat down
hi ha-rd in! the boy Richa-rd greeted with a smile
Hi! I responded dryly
So back to our clas-s , in the novel “Befriending a ghost” how would you describe the relationsh!pbetween Sasha Alfredo and Declan Davies? the teacher started and a girl in front raised up her hands
Go ahead . The teacher urged her to and she cleared her throat before talking
Declan and Sasha relationsh!pcan be describe-d as perfect as you all know , Declan made a promise to marry Sasha even after taking her vir-ginity…..:
That is bull$h!t! I retorted loudly and all eyes turned to me
Do you have anything to say Mr Castillo? The teacher asked and I nodded
Good! then shoot it!
Declan probably made the promise so she won’t feel guilty after scre-wing her . I answered
and her eyes wi-de-ned in shock
I am sure she wasn’t expecting to hear that!
What exactly are you trying to say Mr Castillo? She continued
Simple! There is no such thing as love , love is just a fantasy that simply don’t exist
And why would say so?
Isn’t is obvious! it usually end up in pain , disappointments and when married , divorce ……
There was an awkward silence in the clas-s and then the teacher broke the silence with a nervous chuckle
You are so funny ha-rd in! we will continue in our next clas-s . She said , picking up her books and rushed out of the clas-s
That was so Amazing! Richa-rd remarked and I shifted my gaze to him
You really killed the teacher! he added
Killed! how did I kill her? I asked with an arched eyebrow and he looked around the clas-s before answering
She just got divorced by her husband not quite long
Oh! Really!
he was about to say something when a boy on glas-ses joined us
ha-rd in! You must be a damn pla-yer . he retorted
And you are? I asked, seizing him up and he grinned like a fool
Pardon my manners! I am Steve , the clas-s president
Oh! a crazy nerd! I thought with in
So tell me ain’t you planning on getting married? he continued but I ignored him
He seems like the lousy type and I hate lousy people……
Just then , a lanky man walked into the clas-s and he went back to his seat
The mathematics teacher . Richa-rd said In whispers and I nodded slowly
The man looked around and when his gaze met mine he smiled lightly
ha-rd in Castillo right? he asked and I nodded
Good! Your mum just donated a hvge amount of money to the school . he stated and I scoffed
What is my business with that! Why must he tell me ?
You should thank her when you get home. he added and then picked up a marker to write on the board
Oh right! She just succeeded in showing off her wealth like she always do!!!!
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The hours dragged on and it was soon time for lunch break
I wanted to remain in clas-s but Richa-rd and Steve f0rç£d me to come along with them so I had no other option but to go with them ….
We soon got to the cafe and I followed behind them as they walked towards a table where two girl were alre-ady seated
Can’t we just seat alone? I asked and one of the girl raised her head to look at me and to my surprise, it was the half – Ko-rean girl
Hi ha-rd in! She greeted with a smile, we finally meet again?
And without answering her , I sat down beside her as the others stared on in surprise
Wow! Wow! What are we missing here, do you both know each other? Richa-rd asked and she nodded
We met in the airplane
Oh! He exclaimed , nodding
So what do you want to eat? She asked, moving closer to me
Any thing edible I answered, bringing out my wallet from my pocket but she st©pped me
Out tuition covers everything!
Having said that, she stood up , signalled to the second girl and they both went over to counter
I watched her go and bit at my lowerl-ips , staring at her long legs
She was damn S-xy in the short blue go-wn she was wearing .
She is the h0ttest girl in the whole school . Richa-rd said , staring at her also
Obviously! I stated and he smiled
Do you like her? he asked and I shifted my gaze to him
Do you? I threw the question back at him and he chuckled softly
I do like her but not anymore , so do you like her? he repeated and I sm-irked
I don’t d@t£ , I just scre-w
Just then , Kimberly and friend returned to the table and for a reason best known to her , Kimberly ordered my food and hers in the same plate
and When I asked why she did it, she just smiled
do you really mean what you said back in the clas-s? She suddenly asked
Yep! I answered, popping the p
Really! So what will you do if I tell you I love you ? She continued with a s£dûçt!vesmile and huffed
Then get prepared for heartbreak!
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Hazel Dakota
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Standing in the compound , I glanced at the wristwatch for the umpteenth time
It was 16:45pm and ha-rd in was yet to be back from school
Why! I thought all school closes by 16:00
I was being very careful not to allow what happened this morning to repeat itself
Leaning my back on one of the cars parked out in front, I wondered what could have happened if ha-rd in didn’t cover up for me , I probably would have been jobless by now
But why did he help me ? I thought he didn’t like me ….
Jeez! That boy is really weird!
Just then , I heard a car honked and the security man rushed to open the gate
He is here! ha-rd in is here!
Standing upright , i waited for him to drive in and when he did I ran to meet him
he opened the car door and on alighting, his eyes met mine
Welcome! I greeted and as expected , he ignored me and walked into the house
What a snub!
I dashed into the sitting room to the kitchen and met the cook preparing Lunch
I nee-d ha-rd in’s Lunch . I said to the cook who just nodded
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I stayed with her watching her cook and when she was done, she dished out ha-rd in’s food on a plate and then placed it gently in a tray
Opening the refrigerator, she brou-ght out a bottled water along with a glas-s cu-p and put it in the tray
You can take it . She said without looking at me and I picked up the tray from the cabinet and carried it upstairs to ha-rd in room
I kicked his door opened and walked in
he was laying on the be-d with a head phone on his ear and on seeing me , he re-moved the headphone and sit up on the be-d
Erm I am sorry for not knocking , my hands are filled up . I apologised
Like you always knock before . he drawled
Ignoring him, I placed the tray on the stool in front of him and then sat down on the be-d
And why are you still here? he asked with a frown and I smiled lightly
He looks so cute even when he frowns!
Are you even listening to me ?why are you still here? he snapped me out of my silly thoughts
I am your maid remember? I reminded , expecting him to s£nd me out of the room but he didn’t ; instead , he placed the tray in front of him and started eating ….
I watched him eat and noticed he was picking on the food
Don’t you like the food? I asked and he looked at me
And why did you ask?
Because You are picking on your food.i answer his obvious question
He stared at me for a while and then smiled
I like you Hazel. he said and I felt my heart raced fas-ter
Did he just say he like me !
as my maid . he completed and my heart sank
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TBC
This ha-rd in is a Case