Hazel awoke to her phone buzzing. Unsteadily picking it up from her bed, she read the screen.
Missed call from: Jackie
Call from: Sofia
"Hey, Sof," Hazel answered the call from Sofia, deciding she could get back to Jackie's call later.
"Hazel! Well jeez, I thought you died or something!" Sofia's perky voice spoke from the other end. Memories flooded Hazel at the word died before she had time to stop them. She remember the knife stabbing into flesh, the feeling of ending someone's life. Not only that, but someone that was completely innocent. Someone that didn't deserve to die in the slightest bit.
"Hazel? Hello?" Sofia brought her back to the present.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. What's up?"
"Man, you're really out of it, aren't you? What, did you stay up too late with Jake? Did he even come over?"
The mention of Jake made Hazel's head spin with emotions. Being so overwhelmed, she spoke without knowing it. "I gotta go." Hanging up the phone, Hazel clutched her ribs, her whole body aching. It was already past ten, and it being Saturday morning, Jackie and Sofia would probably want to hang out today. Maybe she could make up an excuse that she had to study for a test on Monday. But then again, Hazel never studied; she got decent grades without having to even crack a book. What kind of excuse could she make? Sorry, but I can't hang out with you guys today because I murdered my own boyfriend last night. Hazel couldn't imagine admitting to her friends that she stabbed Jake and ended his life. That would lead to the one question that she couldn't answer without giving her secret away: Why?
But what if she had gotten her mother all wrong? What if there was some other way to force him to keep her secret, and Jake didn't have to die at all? Once again Hazel's right rib cage was set on fire. She got out of bed and clumsily opened her bedroom door, stumbling into the kitchen and grabbing her side. An empty bottle was sitting on the counter, with a note attached to it from her mom:
Here is the recipe to make Youlsi. Try not to spill it again; it is not cheap!
Just then did Hazel remember the night before, and how she dropped the bottle and ran into her room. You can't leave evidence of something unusual, Hazel thought, you have to act as innocent and normal as possible. She snorted to herself. Normal. What did she know about normal? What did any mutation know about normal? Shaking her head, Hazel followed the recipe that her mother had left, adding water to the mix of chemicals. Her side still ached, but the freshly made Youlsi helped immensely.
Putting the cap back on the water bottle, Hazel placed it in the fridge and went back into her room. So what now? Just go about your day like normal? What else could she do? Carefully, Hazel made her bed and fixed up her room, making everything look as if life were perfect. She decided to take a quick shower before calling her friends. They would have even more questions if she didn't want to hang out with them today, and that was the last thing that Hazel needed.
