Chapyer-3

A week had passed since Dad left home. We thought he probably wasn’t coming back, but around midnight that same week, he returned.

I didn’t talk to him much.

He didn’t talk to me much either.

Everything felt weird.

But at least he was back.

30 July 2021

Today was Friendship Day.

I had bought a bunny friendship band for Hazel. It cost around twenty-five rupees. Mom and I had bought it the previous Friday.

Mom knew Hazel.

Actually, I talked about Hazel so much that Mom probably knew more about her than anyone else in Delhi.

And because of that, she loved teasing me.

"You like her."

I always denied it.

That wasn’t true.

Probably.

The bus horn sounded and I rushed outside.

Then I remembered I had forgotten my bag.

Mom ran after me and handed it over.

I got on the bus.

Hazel wasn’t there.

For some reason, my mood immediately dropped a little.

I went to the second-last seat and sat down. Then I took my mask out of my bag.

Mom didn’t know that I wore a mask at school.

Not that it mattered much.

It only covered my nose, and the scar was still visible anyway.

I was looking out the window when I saw Hazel.

She was riding on a bike with her dad.

Her dad was trying to stop the bus.

The driver looked in the side mirror and pulled over.

Hazel quickly got on.

Her eyes were red.

Like she had been crying.

"Why are you crying?"

Hazel didn’t answer.

"Even if you missed the bus, your dad could've taken you to school on the bike."

She stared at me for a few seconds.

Then I thought about it myself.

Actually, yeah.

Her dad could've easily dropped her off.

For some reason, I started laughing.

Hazel gave me a look that made me feel like I was the most annoying person in the world.

After that, she didn’t speak to me for the entire bus ride.

I kept saying sorry.

She kept ignoring me.

I apologized again.

She ignored me again.

Then we reached school.

I was completely sure she wouldn’t sit next to me today.

But when I entered the classroom, she walked straight to my desk and sat beside me.

I didn’t understand.

If she was angry, why sit next to me?

If she wasn’t angry, why refuse to talk to me?

Girls are weird.

I lightly tapped her shoulder.

Hazel looked at me.

"What?"

Her voice made it very clear that she was still annoyed.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the friendship band.

The bunny one.

Hazel looked at it.

The girl who had been angry at me a second ago disappeared instantly.

A huge smile spread across her face.

So bright that I felt like it could light up the whole classroom.

"Really?"

I nodded.

The next second, she hugged me.

And at that moment...

My heart started beating so fast that I thought the entire class could hear it.

It was the first time I had ever felt something like that.

I didn’t know what it was.

All I knew was that it felt really nice.

Hazel immediately put the friendship band on, as if she was afraid someone might steal it.

Then she reached into her bag.

"I have something too."

She pulled out another friendship band.

It was for me.

There was a small heart on it.

I stared at it.

For some reason, it felt like I had just received the best friendship band in the world.

We both smiled.

And for the first time...

I genuinely liked school.

Not because of the classes.

Not because of the playground.

Not because of anything else.

The scar didn’t matter.

The bullies didn’t matter.

The nightmares didn’t matter.

The storage room didn’t matter.

It was just me and Hazel.

The day passed quickly.

We ate lunch together.

During Maths class, Hazel drew cats in the corner of her notebook again.

The teacher caught her.

Hazel tried to blame me.

I escaped.

She didn’t.

She got scolded.

I laughed.

She looked at me.

I immediately stopped laughing.

School ended.

I thought we’d sit together on the bus ride home.

Maybe talk about the friendship bands.

Maybe talk about something else.

But that didn’t happen.

Hazel’s dad came to pick her up.

She quickly got on the bike.

I raised my hand to wave goodbye.

But she never saw it.

The bike drove away.

I watched her leave for a few seconds.

For some reason...

I didn’t like it.

I got on the bus.

And for the first time, I realized how quickly you can get used to someone.

It felt strange when she wasn’t on the bus in the morning.

And now it felt strange again because she wasn’t there on the way home.

As I stared out the window, I kept thinking that everything would probably be normal again tomorrow.

I had absolutely no idea that, at that exact moment, Hazel was on her way home while her dad kept glancing at her and smiling.

"Hazel, I have a surprise for you today."

Hazel immediately sat up straight.

"What kind of surprise?"

"Someone came to see you."

"Who?"

Her dad smiled.

"Someone very special."

The moment she heard that, excitement lit up her face.

During the entire ride, she could think of nothing else.

Who could it be?

The bike stopped in front of their house.

Hazel jumped off and ran inside without wasting a second.

Her heart was beating fast with excitement.

She rushed into the living room.

And then...

She stopped.

The smile slowly faded from her face.

Because the person she had expected to see...

Was not the person sitting there.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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