Breadcrumbs - Anne Ursu [14]
It was snowing when she went to the bus stop, the sort of snow that feels like sharp little ice pellets on your skin. They hurt Hazel’s face. And Jack wasn’t there, and she hated when he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. It was terrible when people weren’t at the places they were supposed to be. Jack didn’t get to the bus stop until just as they were loading, and then he was immediately called over by Tyler and Hazel was left to sit by herself and she’d forgotten her book.
She walked into school behind everyone and stopped in the bathroom, but still when she peered into Mr. Williams’s classroom window Jack wasn’t sitting down yet, and his empty desk nudged at her like something important that’s just out of the reach of memory. She was thinking about something else in the hallway and didn’t see Bobby taking off his boots and accidentally kicked him in the thigh. Bobby yelped and clutched his leg and told her that in addition to being crazy she was a stupid klutz cow.
Mrs. Jacobs read announcements that morning. Remember to bang the snow off your boots when you come into school, field trip to the art museum next week and ask your parents if they’ll chaperone, remember no peanuts for the bake sale, and, oh, Mikaela and her dad are going to start a father-daughter book club if anyone’s interested.
And then, from behind her:
“Wow, Hazy, that sounds like fun. Too bad your dad isn’t around!”
Hazel whirled around. Bobby was snickering. Mikaela sucked in her breath. Even Tyler shook his head. Bobby rolled his eyes in response.
Hazel turned back around and focused on a small spot at the front of her desk and did not lift her eyes.
At recess, Jack was waiting for her again by the big slide, and he looked at Hazel like he had no idea how scratchy she was. She always knew when he was scratchy, always. Bobby called to him, and he lifted his hand to wave.
Hazel’s eyes narrowed. “How can you be friends with them?” she asked.
Jack blinked. “What do you mean?”
She lifted her hand to wipe snow from her forehead. “Bobby and Tyler. They’re jerks. They’re mean to me. I’m your best friend.”
“Whatever! They’re idiots, Hazel. You shouldn’t listen to them.”
“But you’re friends with them.”
Jack just stared at her, like he did not see the contradiction, like he could not even fathom what it was.
“Why don’t you just go hang out with them today then,” Hazel said, crossing her arms.
“What’s with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay, fine,” Jack said, looking at her like she had a mental disorder. He stared at her a moment, and then turned to walk toward the boys.
Hazel stood, the pelletlike snow falling around her, and then, so quickly it was like she had superpowers, she bent down and packed a snowball and hurled it at him.
It hit his back. He whirled around. “What the—”
And then it was Hazel’s turn to walk away, leaving Jack standing there in the snow.
It took three steps for the remorse to hit her. One. Two. Three. She stopped. She was about to turn around, to open her mouth and see if any of the right words would come out, when she heard a yelp from Jack. She turned. He was bent over, clutching his left eye. “Ow!” he yelled. “Ow!” His voice cracked into the sky. His other hand flew to his chest, and he fell to his knees. Mrs. Jacobs and Mr. Williams were there next to him in a flash.
“What is it? What happened?”
But Jack just gargled something into the air and rocked back and forth, clutching his eye.
A crowd gathered around him as the teachers looked at each other, bewildered. Hazel stared, helplessly, as Mr. Williams lifted Jack up onto his feet and began to help him inside while Jack clutched at his face and groaned. Hazel started to follow, but Mrs. Jacobs stopped her. And so she stood and watched as Mr. Williams led Jack away, because there was nothing at all she could do.
Chapter Four
Pieces
In a flash, the fifth graders of Lovelace Elementary were crowded around Hazel.
“What happened?”
“Did