Hazel's

October Eleventh

 Hazel's Coffeehouse was the perfect place to go sit while reading a book or doing work. Back when I was in high school I would go to Starbucks with my laptop, find a comfortable corner, and sit there for hours typing up stories and poetry. University of Ohio had many Starbucks locations but ever since I had discovered Hazel's I knew I could never go back to Starbucks. The warm and cozy scenery was almost irresistible. Fluffy brown carpet covered the wood floor, green rugs hung from the ceiling, amber light flooded the room from small lamps placed on almost every table, and lavender scented candles sat on shelves high above. The sweet aroma surrounded the shop and the peaceful setting made it hard to leave.

That first day I saw her, I stood at the front counter and ordered a green tea. The date was October 11th, and I was new at Ohio University. Having grown up in the suburbs of New Jersey, the city of Ohio was very overwhelming. My older brother Tyler had shown me around a few times but my anxiety had not lessened at all. It was difficult to imagine life away from home. I had never been away from my family for more than a few days at a time.

The car ride down had been the longest, most excruciating ride of my life. My father drove while my mother dabbed at her cloudy eyes with Kleenex. My mom was my best friend. She had been since I was young. Back in New Jersey it was difficult to fit in. Everyone wore expensive gym shoes and fancy jackets. I wore my ripped jeans and sweaters. Up until sixth grade, I wore glasses but soon after replaced them with contacts. I was never bullied, probably because nobody noticed me, but I was okay with it. I was never the person that needed attention or had a lot of friends. At lunch I sat with some guys from my sophomore year biology class, but that was really it. When I got home from school, I would sit down on the couch and watch movies. Silent films were my favorite. They really captured the beauty of emotion without any words, almost as if I could feel the silence.

When we arrived at the University, my parents helped me unload my bags out of the truck. Saying goodbye to mom was the hardest. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug and whispered in my ear, "You know you can come home whenever you want if you miss us, okay?" she pulled back and smiled at me, her gray eyes twinkling in the sunlight. I smiled and nodded. "Okay," she said. "I guess we'll be on our way". I stood on the sidewalk with my luggage and watched the blue minivan drive away. I watched them inch away until they became just a spec in the distance.

~ . ~ . ~

The first time I saw her she was wearing thick black framed glasses. Her sweater sleeves were pulled over her wrists as she slowly sipped from a steaming mug of coffee. The cup had a picture of a reindeer on it, and was the same shade of red as her toms. Her thick and wavy blonde hair fell into her eyes, and she constantly blew it back with her pale pink lips. In her left hand was a book titled 'Perks of Being a Wallflower'. I had heard of it before but never had a chance to read it. The bookstore had sold all of its latest shipment and was not expecting another one until January.

As she turned the pages of the book, I could see the brightness in her eyes. At certain moments, she would smile or giggle quietly. Other times, she would flatten her lips into a straight line across her face. Her eyelids would look heavy, and occasionally a small tear would slip from underneath her glasses.

I took my green tea from the front counter, paid, and sat down on a dark blue couch by the window. I could still see her perfectly and I watched her as she continued reading the book. Taking a textbook out of my bag, I opened it to where I read up to earlier though human genetics were not my main priority at the moment. In fact, I felt so intrigued by her presence that I almost convinced myself to get up and talk to her. She seemed so happy sitting there by herself.

Shortly after, she started to pack up to leave. I was sad to see she go and felt stupid for not introducing myself when I had the chance. For another twenty minutes I sat alone in the blue chair reading about biology, but I could not get her out of my head. As soon as I finished the chapter, I closed the book and put it back into my bag. I stood to walk out the door but felt someone rushing into me instead, knocking both me and my bag onto the floor. My hands went straight to my head, checking for any damage.

"Are you alright?!" she yelled at me. I nodded slowly, pulling myself up off of the ground. "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I left my phone charger and I was in such a hurry! I wasn't even looking where I was going! How could I have been so stupid? Ugh I..." I could barely listen to a word she said, she was so beautiful.

"It's okay, honestly. Don't worry about it" I said nervously. She looked at me with a look of relief on her face.

"Thank you," she said, letting out a deep breath. "You must be new, I've never seen you here before". She smiled at me curiously as if she was trying to read me like a book.

"Oh, well you're right. I am new here," I explained shyly. "I'm Spencer". She smiled at me and held out a hand for me to shake. I took it and felt her soft small hand fit delicately into mine. She told me that to make up for bumping into me, she would show me around the campus a little bit. Even though Tyler had already brought me around a few times, I gladly accepted the invitation. She grabbed her phone charger and we exchanged cell phone numbers.

Her name was Clair.

~ . ~ . ~