Page 3 of The Prospect

“Thanks.” She nods, using just that to create the perfect shade for her picture.

After my introduction this morning, a group of us decided to spend our lunch break painting what our heart’s desire most.

Fatima is painting a family portrait—she says they are the most important people in her life.

Aaliyah is painting an ocean with waves—she says she loves the water more than anything.

Lennon opted for a jungle with a monkey swinging on a vine—she says her ultimate dream is to go to the Amazon Rainforest.

And me…well, although I know it’s not real, I’ve opted for a fairytale scene, just like I’ve seen in the movies. I say, one day, I’ll get my own happily-ever-after.

Just like the others, I’ve gone all out with the details. I’ve got a magical enchanted castle, a horse-drawn carriage and I’ve even drawn myself wearing a princess gown, tiara and glass slippers.

It’s perfect.

“Wow, Hazel. That looks so amazing!” Fatima is quick to compliment my drawing, making me blush as the rest of the girls agree.

I’ve never had this before, a group I’ve immediately clicked with. It’s special…nice.

“Fatima’s right, it does look amazing, but you’re missing one detail, Hazel!” Aaliyah points over to the space beside me in the drawing.

I cock a brow. “What’s that?”

“Well, every fairytale has got to have a prince.”

“Not every fairytale!” Lennon is quick to rebut. “Maybe Hazel doesn’t want a prince. Maybe this is just her castle and her castle alone. You don’t need a prince to be a princess.”

It hasn’t taken long for me to learn Lennon is the most out-spoken of the group, and as we all playfully laugh and roll our eyes, I can’t help but think that in my fairytale, Aaliyah’s right.

I wanted to draw myself with a prince, but the reality is, how am I supposed to draw my prince charming if I don’t know what he looks like yet?

“Hazel?” The sound of Fatima’s voice breaks me free from that thought. “I need to make the color orange. How do I do that again?”

“Oh, you’ve just got to mix together red and?—”

Right before I’m about to finish my sentence, a ball comes racing toward us. Thankfully, we’re able to duck out of the way in time, but that doesn’t stop the ball from knocking over all of the paint while simultaneously spilling the cups of water we once used to clean off our brushes.

“What the heck?!” Aaliyah screams out as the water soaks her dress while the rest of us shoot our heads in

the direction the ball came from, where from afar, a group of boys are visibly laughing.

“You guys are a bunch of bullies, you know that?” Lennon shows no mercy when it comes to shouting at them as she helps to bring Aaliyah onto her feet. “How about you kick the ball around somewhere else, huh?”

“It’s not our fault that you’re painting in the middle of the field.” One of the boys raises his hands in defense. “We’re trying to play over here.”

“Yeah? Well, we were too!” Lennon sticks her tongue out at him before peering back down at Fatima and me, who have remained seated. “C’mon, girls.” She reaches for our hands.“Let's go inside.”

Fatima accepts her helping hand and stands up, but before she follows behind Lennon, she looks back down at me for reassurance. “Are you coming, Hazel?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I tell her as I start to collect the scattered paint brushes up from the grass. “I’ll be there in just a second. I’ve just got to clean up.”

Fatima nods before running off, and as I continue to gather my things, someone catches me off guard as they rush over to my aid.

“Hey, are you okay? I’m so sorry about them,Haze.” The voice tenderly apologizes, taking me back, and not just because of their remorse, but because of the fact that before I even had to look up to confirm, I knew whose voice it was.

Who granted me that nickname.

Daniel.

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