The morning sun was cruelly bright, but Hazel strutted across the courtyard as if it shone only for her. Her heels clicked against the pavement, echoing in the silence of admiring stares and whispered gossip that always trailed her like perfume. Flanked on either side by Alexis and Alexa, her so-called minions. She looked every bit the queen bee she was. But her mind… her mind was miles away.
"Hazel," Alexa chirped, her long braids bouncing as she tried to keep up. "Where did you go last night? At the party, I mean. You just disappeared."
"Yeah," Alexis added, tugging on her oversized crop top. "We waited for you. You were our ride, remember?"
Hazel's lips twitched, not quite forming a smile. "I had to do something."
"That's it? That's your excuse?" Alexia frowned. "We were stuck waiting forever. One of the stupid wannabes had to drive us back. In his stupid van. Do you know how humiliating that was?"
"Bad move, Hazel," Alexis said, folding her arms.
