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Chapter Two

Hazel walked down the hallith her pal a little froht He was so damn tall and so damn sure of hi froht have to let that guy run wild? It was really the worst part of the class—watching a man that she respected otherwise (even if their business ideals didn’t align) let the guys in the class get aith murder

Or, if notthe other students’ tie

Wiping her hands on the front of her jeans, Hazel shifted her bag and jogged toward the bus stop Normally, she would walk across can when one class got her so worked up that she couldn’t function otten a seat on the bus, Hazel opened the little vial of rock salt and lavender that she wore around her neck as a pendant and took a deep breath She didn’t know if stuff like this actually worked Her stepfather, Steve,stuff like that around But it sured if people could cure their colds with a placebo cocktail of vitamins and sucrose, she could treat her anxiety with pretty s oil

Just thatthe class If she were honest with herself, her pro-con lists on the matter were mostly con The onlyto explain to Cartwright why she wanted to leave That was the odd thing about how ht they knew her—had put her into a type based on a few interactions But getting into argu up for people in the moment was a far cry from the self-determined heroine so many had cast her as While most of her teachers and friends would say she was a confident, al woman, Hazel knew that she would avoid confrontation whenever she possibly could She stayed at jobs longer than she wanted to, she put up with far ht, and she really, really didn’t want to have to tell Cartwright that she wanted out of the class

This offer to work for hio into his office and tell him no She took another deep whiff of her lavender before screwing the top back on and pulling the line for a stop Giving the bus driver (Ron) a wave, Hazel headed off to the bus right on the edge of Campus Corner

The area wasn’t officially run by the university, but there was a slew of businesses set up right by the college, since a student custoet even ame days Hazel tended to avoid campus on those days but visited after alh theof the Terra Café and hurried inside

“Hey! Hoas Professor Hotpants today?” Natalie asked with a srin

“Leta man” Hazel picked up a menu

“Don’t bother hiding I ordered for you already”

Hazel narrowed her eyes at her

“What? You always order the saot stolen” Natalie snatched the menu from Hazel’s hands “So your nasty banana/kale s, as well as that weird fake chicken salad sandwich you love”

“It’s delicious You can’t even tell it isn’t chicken”

“You make me die inside And it makes me wonder how bad a cook your mom is, if you think that’s what food is supposed to taste like”

“My mother never cooked She can heat up frozen stuff, but that’s about it”

“I swear to God, next week, we have to go soer”

Hazel slaers are terrible for you and the environment!”

“Could you beat your hot professor I don’t knohy you have to deny me”

Hazel rolled her eyes She was starving, and there was no way that she could get Natalie to change the topic until she was satisfied, so Hazel began to relate her day in asdetail as possible Eventually, after their food had coh her story without too h Natalie said as she always did that Chris could use a good pegging), Hazel finally felt her insides settling, and she munched contentedly on her side carrots in between bites of not-chicken salad

“I know you don’t wanna hear this, kiddo,” Natalie said