[Sparklies]: 107.Pretzel With Cheese, Please.Chapter One

“I am not about to go on a blind date set up by you, Jessi,” I said, walking quickly away.

“Oh, come on, Hazel! It’ll be fun! I promise!” My friend, Jessi, practically shouted as she plucked random pink and baby blue tops off of the racks of clothes.

“Jessi, shush. You’re scaring all the old ladies,” I muttered. One elderly woman glared at me as she walked past, her walker screeching on the linoleum of the shop. I told Jessi that nobody under the age of sixty goes shopping on a Sunday, but she insisted that we did. Jessi’s high-pitched giggle pierced my thoughts and I cringed.

“I just thought of the perfect guy! A mutual friend says he’s available and looking!” She said. I sighed.

“Jessi, give up! I don’t need a boyfriend. Men are so brain-dead,” I snapped, grabbing an ugly top from her hand and replacing it on the rack.

“Who said you needed to be his girlfriend? Just one date, please?” She begged. I glared at her and she dropped to her knees—her multitudes of hangers clanking to the floor—and put on the fakest puppy dog face I’d ever seen in my life.

“No!” I said, promptly leaving the store. I knew she would have followed me had she not had to pay for all of her new clothes, so I kept walking. I weaved in and out of the crowd until I got to Ms. Franklin’s, the pretzel shop in the mall.

“What can I get for you?” The skinny blonde working the counter asked me.

“A pretzel with cheese, please,” I told her. She nodded and stuck her hand into the oven to grab my pretzel. Just as she grabbed the cheese container, I was startled by a voice from behind me.

“Make it two,” I glanced behind me to see a strikingly good-looking guy, about my age, that just happened to have the most amazing voice I’d ever heard. It was sexy. Even so, I raised an eyebrow at him. He smiled down at me, two very cute dimples appearing on his cheeks. He handed the blonde the correct amount of cash for both pretzels and told her, “Thanks.”

“I can pay for my own food. Do I look poor to you?” I snapped, picking up my pretzel. He smirked.

“I thought I’d try and be nice. Do you have a name?” He asked, taking a small bite from his pretzel.

“Yes,” I said. He rolled his eyes.
“Will you tell me what it is?” He asked.

“Depends. Are you going to ask what it is?” It was my turn to smirk. I loved pissing guys off just as much as they pissed me off.

“Hey! Get out of my way, you little brat!” I turned to see the same old lady who had glared at me in the store. I snickered and went to a table, where I sat. The mystery man sat right across from me.

“What’s your name?” He asked, dipping the end of his pretzel in the warm cheese. I rolled my eyes and took a large bite from my pretzel so I didn’t have to answer. He stared at me until I finished chewing, and then raised his eyebrows, as if waiting for my answer.

“Hazel,” I told him. Even though I had thought about lying, I ended up telling the truth. I was named for my hazel eyes.

“That’s a very pretty name,” He said. I gave him a skeptical look.

“Yeah, right. What’s your name, anyway?” I asked. I didn’t want him to turn out to be a stalker or something when I didn’t even know his name and as soon as he told me his name, I was planning on leaving to go find Jessi. He smirked.

“Why should I tell you?” He asked. I frowned.

“Oh, come on! I told you mine!” I said, putting on my pouty face. He smiled.

“I’m just kidding. My name’s Landon,” He said. I nodded, smirking.

“Well, good-bye, Landon,” I said, getting up and walking from the restaraunt. I heard him calling my name, but I kept walking and nibbling on my pretzel, dipping it in cheese every now and then.

“Hazel? Where were you?” Jessi said, blocking my way.

“I was hungry. Want a bite?” I offered. She shook her head.

“Do you know how many carbs are in those things? It’ll totally ruin my diet!” She squeaked. I just smiled and shook my head, walking to the double doors to leave the mall.

“Let’s go,” I said. She frowned and followed me out to my car, where she filled up the trunk and the back seat with her shopping bags. I got into the car, turned the engine on, and she started talking. She talked for the whole ride back to Harvard University, rattling off the list of new clothes she got. I didn’t pay attention to a single word she said, of course. Unfortunately, though, I was thinking about Landon. It was odd for me—in all my years I had never liked a guy before. It’s not that I was a lesbian, but I just didn’t have time for guys. I needed to concentrate on my schoolwork. That’s all that mattered. Well, technically I had liked a guy before, but they were all actors or singers. When we got to the student parking lot, she was waving her hand in front of my face.

“Were you listening to anything I said?” She said to me. I shook my head and she sighed.

“Sorry. It’s just…nevermind. I’ll tell you about it later,” I said, getting out of the car. She quickly scooped up all of her bags and then we walked to our dorm together. Yes, we shared a dorm. When we got there, her hands were still full, so I unlocked the door. We walked in and with a grunt, she dropped all of her bags on her pale-pink bed. I sighed and plopped onto my navy-blue bed, still thinking about Landon. What was going on with me?

I must have drifted to sleep, because Jessi was shaking me awake.

“There’s someone at the door for you, Hazel,” She said. I groaned and sat up, glancing at the old man in our doorway. UPS.

“Hazel Stewart? Package,” He said. I slowly got up and walked over to him, signing the clipboard he held out for me. I grabbed the package and closed the door after he walked out. There was no return address on the box, I noticed, as I sat back down on my bed.

“Oh my god! You got a package!” Jessi squealed, jumping onto my bed, next to me. I rolled my eyes at her and pointed to the pocket knife on my nightstand. She handed it to me, smiling. I stabbed the box and ripped it open to find two tin-foil wrapped somethings and a note. First, I opened the tinfoil. In the larger of the two, there was a pretzel from Ms. Franklin’s. In the other, there was a small container of still-warm cheese. I smiled as I read the note.

“In case you want a midnight snack. Landon,” Jessi read over my shoulder. My smile grew wider. Hey, most guys were jerks. Maybe Landon wasn’t? “Who is Landon?”

“I had a pretzel with him at the mall,” I said, fighting the urge to squeal. I felt like such a girly-girl, but, hey, can you blame me? Jessi giggled and poked my side.

“Oooh! Details! I want details!” She practically shouted in my ear. I smiled and turned to her. After taking a deep breath, I told her the whole story.The whole time, Jessi looked like a little girl hearing a story about a maiden trapped in the tallest tower of the biggest castle. I giggled and so did she. Within minutes, we were having a fit of laughter, rolling all over my bed. I was careful not to roll on top of my pretzel, though. Suddenly, the phone rang. Jessi picked it up before the first ring was done.

“Hello? No, this is Jessi. Yes, Hazel’s here. Who is this? Ohmigawd, I’ve heard so much about you, Landon! Here she is!” Jessi said into the phone, shoving it at me. She leaned her head next to mine to listen.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

“Hey, Hazel. Did you get your pretzel?” He asked. His voice was even sexier on the phone.

“Yes. Thank you. How did you get my address?” I asked, picturing his blonde hair and dark green eyes in my mind.

“Friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a—” He rambled.

“I get the point, Landon. Well, I have to go. Jessi wants to do my nails,” I lied.

“Right. Bye,” He said. I handed Jessi the phone and she hung it up.

“He must be really good if you lied about me to him,” Jessi said. I only nodded and stretched out on my comfortable bed.