One Chapter Ends

Chapter Two

Hazel parked on the curb. As soon as the A/C clicked off with the engine, the afternoon heat began creeping into the car with eager fingers. Sweat starting to drip down the nape of her neck, she rummaged through her bag and plucked a small manila envelope out of it. Flipping it open, she pulled out a square card.

COOMERA SCRABBLE CLUB

12-MTH. MEMBERSHIP

LEWIS J. WALKER

She looked at his name for a minute, then folded her fingers over the card and stuffed the envelope back in her bag. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she got out of the car. As soon as her foot touched the pavement, the heat attacked her viciously, sparing no effort. The sun blazed down, scorching the back of her neck.

The community centre's heavy wood doors stood open, but the screen doors were closed, keeping out the mozzies that tended to see summer as their mothership. Hazel edged through one of them, quickly letting it fall shut behind her and praying she hadn't let one through. Mozzies adored her. During the hot months, she always, invariably, ended up with tiny welted bites all over her skin that itched like crazy.

Too busy praying like hell that one hadn't entered the room, Hazel didn't notice the person coming out of the doorway opposite. Looking back at the door to check there weren't any there, she collided, hard, with another body.

The breath whooshed out of her lungs in a short puff and her bag strap fell to her elbow, the bag itself hitting the floor with a thump. Her hair, loosely secured in a ponytail at the nape of her neck, half-fell out, covering her eyes with wavy red curtains. Stumbling and attempting to push her hair back, her foot accidentally trod on the other person's, causing them to yelp in surprised pain. Oh, shit.

"Sorry, sorry!" she said wildly, heaving her bag back up onto her shoulder. "I didn't see you. Are you okay?"

"'M'fine," the other person grunted, stepping back and lifting their foot to shake it out a little.

Hazel yanked the elastic band out. Her hair immediately fell down, covering her eyes. Impatiently, she pulled it back up into a low ponytail, hastily brushing it back with her fingers.

"Sorry about that," she muttered, shaking her head back. The ponytail didn't budge. Relieved, she looked up at the person in front of her. "Is this the right place for Scrabble?"

"Scrabble club? Yeah, it's in there." The person stood up. Shaggy brown hair that reached his shoulders. Pale green eyes peered out at her from either side of a long, thin-bladed nose. "Are you a member?"

"Yeah." Hazel fished in her bag and held out her grandfather's membership card. The man took it and looked at it.

"Lewis Walker?" His tone hardened. "Where did you get this?"

Suspicion. It was suspicion. Hazel hastily replied, "He's my granddad. He, um, left it to me."

His face cleared. He even seemed slightly abashed. "Oh. Okay. Well, I suppose you'll want to join his old group. They're straight in there–" he pointed at the doorway they were standing next to "–and at the last table on the left, up the back. One woman, two men. I'll be right back in there in about two minutes, I just need to go grab some water for my granddad. I'm Theodore, by the way. Theodore Nevas. Twenty-one." He held out a hand and Hazel suppressed a smile, holding out her own.

"Hazel Brown. Eighteen. Nice to meet you." They shook. Theodore smiled and Hazel noticed his front two teeth were ever so slightly crooked, pointing diagonally forwards toward each other.

"Just head straight in there. They haven't started yet, so you should be right." He gave her a two-finger salute and headed off the way he had been going, disappearing through another door. Hazel caught a glimpse of a kitchenette, complete with sink, mini-fridge, table, chairs and a slightly dank smell, before the door closed behind him.