Black Magnet

Hello, my name is Hazel Ashley Green. I am now a sophomore in Southville High School. I live with my parents and we live in a two-story house. Today is the day that I never knew that this would ever happen to me.

It’s a Friday morning and I was getting ready for school. I walked downstairs where my parents were. They sat in the kitchen, waiting for me. There were three plates on the table. One was right in front of me.

“Good morning, sweetie,” my mother greeted. She smiled at me and I started to eat my breakfast. My parents followed my lead.

When I finished, I looked at my dad, scared to ask him one specific question. Here I go! I took a deep breath, in and out, and looked my dad straight in the eyes.

“Hey dad, since there is no practice today, maybe we can practice softball tonight,” I suggested.

“I would love to, pumpkin, but I have a lot of stuff to do today. I might be getting home late.”

“O-Oh…”

“I’m so sorry, Hazel.”

“It’s fine, I’ll just practice with Chloe and Olivia.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah! I don’t want you to get behind on work or get fired from your job.”

I stood up from my chair and walked out of the door, holding my backpack and my car keys.

When I drove up to my school’s parking lot, I saw my friends, Chloe and Olivia. Eve, Olivia’s twin sister, was also with them. After I got out of the car, I walked over to my friends.

“Hey guys!”

“Oh, hey Hazel,” Chloe said.

“How was your weekend?” Olivia asked.

“It was fine. Same weekend as always. This morning, I tried to get my dad to practice softball with me.”

“How did it go?” Chloe questioned me.

“Same old, same old. He said no, again! Does he love me? Ever since he came back from New Mexico, he’s been making excuses about work. When he comes home, he’s energized and heads straight to the gym!”

“Maybe something happened over his trip, making him stop playing softball,” Olivia suggested.

“Or maybe he just doesn’t want to hang out with me!”

“Don’t think that, Hazel! Think about positive things, just keep trying. Maybe sooner or later he’ll say yes,” Chloe said.

“C’mon Clo, he won’t!”

Chloe sighed, devastated. We walked in the building and started heading to class.

After the first period ended, I headed straight to my locker. I was putting my binder inside. Angelina, the “popular” girl, and her friends walked towards me.

“Hey weirdo,” she said.

“Are you serious right now?” I replied, agitated.

“Oh c’mon, you know it’s true. Look at you, your outfit is so distasteful!”

“Says the person wearing a whole pink outfit. It’s like a colorful seizure in my eyes.”

“How dare you?!”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

Angelina's friends gasped in shock; she frowned. She leaned towards me and squinted her eyes. Angelina whispered in my ear.

“Shut up while you can, weirdo! My daddy is the principal here and he’ll expel you before you can say ‘chicken pot pie’!”

“Chicken pot pie! If what you said is true, then why am I still here?”

Angelina frowned, her face turning red.

“DADDY!!” she shouted from the top of her lungs.

Her dad, the principal, bolted out of his office and towards our direction

“What’s the matter, sugar plum?” he asked.

I snickered quietly, so they wouldn’t hear me. I’m really glad my parents don’t call me “sugar plum”.

“Hazel here is being rude. She even hit me!”

“What? I didn’t hit her!”

“Hazel, you have detention! You’ll have it today after school. Be there or you’ll be suspended!”

“Suspended?! Shouldn’t she be expelled?” Angelina questioned.

“Well, she didn’t do anything dangerous and harmful to anyone or anything.”

Angelina groaned and stormed off. Her daddy followed right behind her, so did her friends. I stared down at the floor, distressed by the fact of missing practice. I walked to my next class and hoped that detention wouldn’t ruin the rest of my day.

After school, I went straight to the principal’s office. There were so many people there, at least ten. I wonder why they’re all in here. I sat next to a boy. He looked so handsome and adorable! He had light brown hair and hazel brown eyes. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t want to get in trouble. I grabbed a piece of paper and pencil from my binder and decided to write to him.

“Hey, I’m Hazel! What are you doing in detention?” I wrote.

“Hi, my name is Liam. I was arguing with Angelina and she called the principal on me,” he wrote back.

“Same, she’s annoying. We need to teach her a lesson.”

“Yeah, she’s basically controlling her father. He’s her dad and he should learn how to discipline his daughter!”

“Hey, do you want to talk more about this later?” I asked.

“Sure, here is my number.”

He wrote his number down and gave it to me. I ripped the number off the sheet of paper and wrote my number down as well. He did the same thing I did. We smiled at each other and continued what we were supposed to do.

When it was five o’clock, the principal dismissed us. I grabbed my backpack and walked out of the room. Liam ran after me.

“Wait!” he yelled. I stopped and faced him. “Do you want to hang out later today?”

“I wish I could, but I have softball practice with my friends. They’re already mad at me for having detention. I’m so sorry, maybe tomorrow.”

I waved goodbye and left the school building. I folded the piece of paper with Liam’s phone number and placed it in my pocket. I got into my car and drove to Olivia’s house. I noticed them playing softball in her backyard. I entered the yard and pulled out my glove.

“Hey guys! I’m sorry that I’m late.”

“It’s fine, just don’t let it happen again,” Chloe responded.

“Hey Eve!” I exclaimed. “Can you teach me how to be a catcher? I’ve been trying to ask my dad if he could help me, but he said he was ‘“busy’.’’

“Sure! It can be hard when you first try it, but you’ll get use to it.”

“Olivia, can you teach me how to pitch?” Chloe questioned Olivia.

“Okay, I’ll teach you the basics.”

We practiced ‘till the sun vanished past the horizon. When I got home, I saw my mom on the living room couch, drinking her favorite red wine.

“Hey mom, are you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. My job wants me to go on a business trip. I don’t know if I should go,” she explained.

“You should mom! It would give you a break from home,” I stated. “I mean, you’ll still be working, but it will give you beautiful sceneries! Where are you going anyway?”

“Hawaii.”

“Perfect! It will be fun, I promise.”

“Okay, Hazel. I’ll think about it.”

“Good, now where’s dad?” I questioned her.

“He’s in his office making something. I forgot what he was creating,” replied mom.

“Thanks!”

I walked upstairs to my dad’s office and opened the door.

“Hey dad!”

“HAZEL-”

BOOM!!!

The thing my dad was making exploded, knocking me and my dad out. I blacked out, my ears roaring while a sudden ringing in my left ear and my right deafen. I woke up, laying in a bed. It wasn’t my bed though, it was the hospital’s! My mom was sitting right next to me.

“Oh sweetie, I’m so happy that you’re alive!”

“W-Where’s d-dad?” I stammered.

“He’s…he’s unconscious. I keep praying he will wake up like you did, but he is even worse. Your father has a couple of fractured bones and his left arm is broken. He might not be able to write again. I think he has worse injuries than you because he was closer to the machine. I’m just very thankful that at least one of you is awake.”

“I-I want to s-see him.”

“I wish you can, but you can’t leave your bed,” my mom responded. “You need to get some rest.”

I looked at the bottom of my body. I had scratches and scars on my legs and arms. I kept wondering what my dad looked like. My mom did say that he had worse injuries than me. He probably had casts all over his arms and legs. Every time I thought about how my dad was injured, tears drizzled down my cheeks.

“Sweetie, I’m going to go check on your dad.”

“Oh, okay.”

My mom left the room, leaving me alone.

Doctors and nurses came in and checked on me. They said I was perfectly fine and would be able to leave soon. When my mom came back into my room, she looked pale. Her eyes were filled with tears and her face was blank. She sat next to my bed, head down. My mother didn’t say anything. I looked up at her and held her hand.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Y-Your dad…”

“Is he okay?”

“...h-he’s g-gone…”

“What do you mean ‘he’s gone’?”

“The doctors said he died in his sleep. I’m so sorry, Hazel,” she cried.

“No, NO!”

“Honey-”

“I want to see him!”

“Hazel, you can’t.”

“I don’t care, I’m going to see him one last time!” I exclaimed.

“No, you aren’t! You need to rest.”

I started to get up, my mom trying to hold me down.

“Excuse me,” someone interrupted. I looked up and saw the doctor.

“I’m Dr. Miller! I see that you want to see your father. You can go ahead and see him now,” he said.

My mother let go of me. I sat up on the edge of my bed. Dr. Miller pulled out a wheelchair. My mom helped me with it. She drove me to the room, Dr. Miller following behind us.

When we entered my dad’s room, his face was burnt. He had casts all over him. I cried; my dad looked totally different than this morning. My mom wiped my tears away.

“Mom, I want to go back to my room.”

She nodded and pushed me back. My mother put me on top of my bed. I was still weeping, thinking about my father. Why did this have to happen to him? Why did it have to happen now? I wanted answers, but I knew I wouldn’t get any.