When Hazel got to class a few days later, it was quieter than usual. The reason being, Arya wasn't there. She'd taken the week off to "process her grief," as she called it.
Cooper's death felt almost unreal to Hazel. For some inexplicable reason, she couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that he had actually died. She half-expected him to walk into class any minute, followed by his obnoxious basketball-playing friends.
Hazel sighed as she sat down at her desk, weighed down by the events of Friday night. Cooper Hayes had been standing not even a foot away from her then, talking, breathing, living. And now...Hazel shut her eyes tight, not even wanting to think about where he was, or what he looked like, right now. The photo of his body alone was already too much for her to handle.
"Okay if I sit here?"
Hazel opened her eyes. Valerie stood beside her, tapping her crimson acrylic nail against the table. Hazel hadn't seen her since the dance. She nodded frantically, unable to get any words out of her mouth, trying to ignore the warm, swirling sensation in her stomach as Valerie lifted her skirt to sit down.
"What's your name?" She asked.
"Uh. Hazel."
"Hm. That's pretty," She said quietly. Thoughtfully. "My name's Valerie, nice to meet you."
Neither of them said another word to each other for the rest of class. The whole time, Hazel never so much as glanced at Valerie, too nervous to look anywhere in her direction. That is, until the girl tapped her shoulder after class was over.
"So," Valerie said, "Are you at all interested in, ah...what does your kind call it...hanging out? With me?"
"Oh! Um...sure!" Hazel assumed by 'your kind' she meant 'you Americans.'
Valerie stood up. Tucking her hands behind her back, she leaned in so that her lips were just a few inches from Hazel's ear. She smelled strongly of something sweet, peonies, maybe. Hazel sat there, frozen stiff, too caught up in her overwhelmingly sweet scent, her dizzying proximity, to move. "Meet me underneath the bleachers at three," Valerie whispered.
She was gone before Hazel could even give an answer.
