1 1. Pancakes

Hazel's p.o.v

The smell of delicious pancakes traveled up to my room as I was still laying in bed under the covers.

The clock on my nightstand read that it was 6 am. I still had 30 minutes more to get some sleep but I couldn't because my stomach was growling in hunger and the smell of mom's pancakes wasn't making it easier. So I decided to go downstairs and satisfy my poor stomach.

"Oh hey sweetie! Didn't know you were capable of waking up this early" Mom asked in a teasing tone, since I was well known to be the sleeping beauty in our family and some mornings it was impossible to wake me up.

"Well yeah, your pancakes kinda woke me up" I said "Can I eat now, please? I'm starving"

"Yes of course! I made your favorite. Chocolate pancakes!" Mom said enthusiastically while keeping my plate of pancakes in front of me.

"Oh my gosh, Mom this looks so good!" I said as I picked up my fork and shoved a mouthful of her mouthwatering pancakes into my mouth.

"Oh my god I'm in heaven," I said, closing my eyes and savoring the amazing sweetness that had just invaded my taste buds.

"Well, I'm glad you like it" Mom said, obviously pleased with herself and the masterpiece she just made.

"Moooom I'm hungryyyyyy!!!" My sister's whining voice came from the top of the stairs. A few moments later she appeared in the kitchen.

"Well, you are just on time Charlotte" saying that Mom placed another plate of pancakes on our kitchen island but this one had chocolate chips, raspberries, blueberries, and some icing sugar sprinkled on top.

"Thanks, Mom" said Charlotte and started digging into her breakfast.

I got up and returned to my room to go have a shower and get ready for school. Before I could enter the shower I heard my phone ring so I returned to my room to answer it.

It was Aria face-timing me. Aria is my best friend. She has been my friend since we were little kids in diapers.

"Hey, girrrrrrl!!! You ready for your first day of school???" Aria screamed excitedly.

"Yes, I am!!" I screamed equally excited.

"Oh my god! I cannot believe we are gonna finally meet in person after 2 years!!"

"I know right!? I can't believe I'm so excited to see your stupid face again" I laughed.

"Yeah right and now I'm supposed to drag your fat ass everywhere I go" She teased.

"Shut up" I said laughing "okay I gotta go get dressed now if you want me to be there on time"

"Oh yeah I forgot to mention, I'll be coming to pick you up with Evelyn" said Aria.

"Oh okay sure. I'll see you soon!"

"Love ya!"

"Love ya too!" saying that I hung up and returned to my shower.

When we were little, Aria and I used to live in Georgia. But two years ago Aria had to move away to New York City because her dad's company had taken off really fast.

Since then me and Aria never got to see each other. We mostly just kept in touch through face time and texts.

While I used to update Aria on all the drama that happened here at our old school, in return she told me all the gossip and drama that went on at Lakewood High. So yeah I kinda knew how everything worked there.

Aria had met Evelyn at her new high school. Evelyn had offered to help Aria during her math class. Since Aria sucked at math she gladly accepted the offer. Later on, they realized that they had most of their classes together and the pair instantly clicked and became really close friends.

A few weeks ago dad got a promotion at his company. So we decided to move to New York City since most of our relatives live there too. I was so excited when mom told me the news about us moving that I immediately face-timed Aria and we had a mini scream session on the phone.

I got out of the shower and picked an outfit to wear. I wanted to look cute and simple, so I chose a navy blue off-shoulder top with a pair of blue jeans.

As I was finishing up my hair I heard a loud car honking outside. A few moments later our doorbell started ringing like crazy.

Moments later my door burst open and I was tackled into a hug by an overly excited Aria.

"OMGGGG!!!! I can't believe you are finally hereeeee!!!" She screamed with joy.

It was at that moment that I realized how much I missed Aria and her crazy personality. Tears started welling up in my eyes as I clung to her tall figure and said "I know right!!! I missed you so much!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I missed you too" she said as we pulled away laughing.

I noticed another girl standing at my doorway. I assumed this to be Aria's friend, Evelyn. She had a small smile on her face, obviously touched by mine and Aria's reunion.

"Oh Haze, meet Evelyn. Evelyn meet Hazel, my partner in crime" Aria said as she introduced us to each other.

"Hi, Evelyn! Nice to finally meet you" I said with a smile as I gave Evelyn a hug.

"Hi, Hazel! It's nice to meet you too. Aria has told me so much about you" she spoke in a soft voice as we pulled apart.

Evelyn was a really pretty brunette with blue eyes and wavy hair. She wore a pink sweater and a skirt with knee-high boots.

From what Aria has told me, Evelyn is really sweet and kind, and innocent. And she seemed to be one of those really girly girls. I was really surprised to see that Aria was friends with someone like her because Aria was a tomboy and she hated girls who were too girly.

As we were going downstairs I whispered to Aria saying "I thought you hated girls who were too girly"

She whispered back saying "Yeah I still do but Evelyn isn't that bad. She isn't as girly as I thought she was. She doesn't fake her personality and attitude for anyone and also she doesn't drool over boys as some girls do. So yeah she's manageable"

"Alright then she's approved by me" I giggled.

I noticed that Aria's style hadn't changed one bit. She still dressed up in her tomboy clothes. Today she was wearing baggy pants with an oversized sweater and Nike shoes. She also had a cap on.

On our way out I grabbed my combat boots and put them on and grabbed my backpack too. As we were leaving we all said goodbye to Mom and Charlotte and the three of us got into Aria's car and drove off with the music on full blast.

I felt nervous and excited at the same time since today was gonna be my first day at Lakewood High but knowing that Aria and Evelyn would be there with me to help me get through the day I relaxed and hummed to the tune of the music.

Lakewood High here I come.

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