Just in case you see any misplaced words, don't be reluctant to give me a shout.

I'm happy you decided my book worthy of your time and effort so I hope it doesn't disappoint you in anyway.

I'm actually not good at making funny author notes or ranting on and on, but I'll allow the rest of this chapter do my work.
Read on...

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'For Future References, I Can Be a Monster When I'm Hungry.'

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I hurried to the library with my books trying hard to skip my best friends eyes. If he saw me, that'd be the end of me. There was this project from my science class that I had to turn in in the next two weeks, I alongside my group mates, Charlie, Chad, Winston and Jonathan, were asked to research on cancer and its treatment. Although the other groups weren't thinking of starting theirs, my group decided to start early, so that we would finish in time.

"Hi Charlie, hi Jonathan, Hi Winston, hi Chad."

They looked up at me with smiles on their faces. "Hi Hazel." They chorused like third graders making me grin in return.

I sat on a chair Chad offered me and placed my books on the table in front of me. "Who's the group leader?"

"Jonathan." Winston replied.

I nodded and shifted my gaze to Jonathan. "So what do you have planned out?"

Chad's arm brushed mine lightly as he brought out his pen from his brown school bag.

"Well, " Jonathan placed an elbow on the circular table. "We'll start with the theory, we have to gather different materials on cancer. Then, when that's concluded, we can proceed to visiting hospitals that specialize in cancer treatment to gather additional information."

I nodded.

"May I say something please?" Winston raised his index finger. Jonathan gave him a nod encouraging him to speak.

"How about we share the tasks among ourselves so that the workload will be lessened?"

Jonathan pondered over Winston's words while the rest of us sat there fidgeting in our seats, taking care not to disturb the natural state of the library because already, the librarian Miss Chloe, was giving us malicious glares from where she sat.

"That's a good idea, so, Hazel and Charlie, you are in charge of acquiring the materials needed for the success of the project." Jonathan pointed his pen at me and Charlie as he spoke.

"What materials?" Charlie demanded. Chad and Winston lowered their heads in exasperation.

"Books, stupid." I replied while pinching his ear lobe.

Charlie gave me a scowl. "Don't touch my ear or I'll bite your fingers off..."

"Like a vampire-" Chad added, wearing a really funny expression on his face.

"Vampires aren't real." Winston said with his frown.

My eyes alternated between Winston and Chad as they argued.

"Of course they are." Chad insisted.

Winston rapped his fingers on the table. "Where's your proof?"

My eyes went to Jonathan who just watched the guys in an unconcerned manner. It seemed he was used to them arguing. After all, they were friends, so I heard.

"That book at the library."

"That's myth, it doesn't count."

Chad's current disposition was like he was ready to do anything to back up his argument.

Miss Allison cleared her throat to catch our attention. Apparently, she was really displeased at the noise Winston and Chad were creating. The other students had frowns on their faces while some had already started gathering their things to leave.

"Let's get back to business, shall we?" Jonathan requested and all of us agreed. I noticed he kept mute while the boys argued over the reality of vampires. He seemed extra mature than all of us.

"Winston and Chad, both of you will work together-" The boys grumbled whilst glaring at each other. "-I'll be in charge of securing a hospital that specializes in cancer treatments. Hazel, I wish to speak to you after this meeting."

"That's fine. But, besides that, where are we supposed to meet up after school hours seeing it's the only spare time we have?" I started gathering my books.

"That's for you and your partner to figure. This meeting's over." Jonathan locked eyes with me for a brief second and then he collected his books and some sheets of paper.

Winston pushed his chair back. "Great! I can't wait to leave this sh*thole." And with that, he fled from the library with Charlie in tow.

Chad on the other hand was sleeping slouched in his chair, his hands dangling at both his sides and his head perched on the backrest of the chair, his hair has somehow managed to cover both his eyes.

How could one possibly sleep in such a short time?

I turned to Jonathan who was just rising from his seat. "Aren't you going to wake him?"

"No, just leave him there." He replied and started moving away.

As I took another glance at Chad, I wondered what kind of relationship the boys had.

Jonathan had already left the library so I seized the opportunity to tap Chad on his shoulder.

His eyes flicked open, he seemed to be in a daze when his eyes settled on me.

"Hazel? " He wiped his mouth and sat upright.

I held my books to my chest. "You fell asleep. I couldn't just leave you here."

Chad smiled, but his smile quickly went away. "And I'm guessing my idiotic friends asked you not to wake me up."

I nodded. "What kind of friendship do you guys even have?"

Chad shrugged as he patted his head into place. When I noticed Chad packing his things to leave, I took that as my cue to exit the library.

Close to the entrance of the library, a familiar mess of brown hair greeted me.

Jonathan.

I paused in my tracks contemplating on whether I should go in the opposite direction or I should go talk to him. Someone coming out of the library pushed me away from the entrance which I was blocking. I scowled as the girl with frizzy, untamed hair flipped me off and hurried down the hallway.

"How long have you been standing there?"

I moved my gaze to Jonathan who was right in front of me, but not so close enough to invade my personal space. "Long enough for someone to nearly send me sprawling off my feet."

Jonathan chuckled. "That means you shouldn't stand at entrances at all."

I glared at the girl who was standing farther down the hallway talking to her group of dorky-looking friends.

The familiar sound of the bell went up, cutting off my glare. Jonathan was still watching me in a bemused manner which I found weird.

"What!" I snapped at Jonathan and pushed past him in the direction of the cafeteria.

Jonathan didn't seem to mind because soon he was walking next to me taking leisurely strides because of how long his legs were. Unlike mine which were quite short.

"Can't wait to eat huh?" Jonathan asked, watching the way I pushed past the crowd of people before me. This was my routine everyday, struggling before I get to eat. Students always found reasons to move slowly in the narrow hallway, so for you to get anywhere, you just had to push through the mountain of bodies and it was no easy task for a short person like me.

"How'd you know?"

Jonathan sighed, probably wondering if he should answer me. "Well, it's easy to figure out. Are you always this cranky whenever you're hungry?"

I turned to him with narrowed eyes. "For future references, I can be a monster when I'm hungry."

Jonathan let out a loud laugh. Although in my current situation, I wasn't able to appreciate the merry sound.

Before we got to the cafeteria, another annoying person attacked me.

"Hazel!" He swung his left hand over my shoulder, ignoring Jonathan.

"God! Shawn, could you stop sneaking up on me in that manner? It's scary."

Shawn ruffled my hair in response. Annoyed, I sank my the spine of my books into his side, making him drop his hand from my shoulder.

"Ow! Hazel! You can be such a beast whenever you're hungry." Shawn commented.

Yes, even my best friend understood me.

I beamed at him. "You know me well."

Shawn acknowledged Jonathan with a nod. Jonathan had a look of displeasure on his face but he managed to conceal it with a smile.

"Who's this?"

I rolled my eyes. Trust Shawn to be insensitive with his words. I elbowed him for his rudeness.

"This is Jonathan, my project mate, Jonathan, meet Shawn a.k.a Shawnee, my BFF." I shot Jonathan an apologetic smile.

Shawn grunted in displeasure. "I'll see you later, Hazel, I have to meet-"

"-Brianna, I know, go on ahead, I'll see you after school."

When Jonathan and me finally got to the cafeteria, we ordered two bottles of coke and two large burgers. Then we positioned ourselves away from the other students who were chatting nosily.

"At times, I wonder why people here can't just keep quiet and enjoy their meals." Jonathan placed his books on the bench beside him and pulled his sleeves over his elbow.

I laughed and bent my head forward. "Now, where's the fun in that? You need to see Shawn and me then."

Shawn and I were just the worst possible combination at lunch time. We talked, laughed and shouted like the world would end at that moment. We even criticized some people openly, and when it reached their ears, they'd turn to us and glare, but we didn't mind them at all.

Jonathan took a sip of his coke and gazed at me. "Is he your boyfriend?"

I almost choked on my burger. "No, he isn't. We're just friends, and it's not in the we're-friends-but-we're-secretly-screwing-each-other way."

Jonathan nodded. "Oh... I see."

Shawn and I were best of friends with no strings attached. We liked ourselves but not in the way Jonathan thought.

We met when our parents ran into each other at a park. Our parents were best of friends but it was surprising how we never met each other before.

Speaking of parents, I've never really talked about my parents.

Well, my parents were kind of among the richest persons in America and beyond. My dad, Philip Ross owned Nicholas Corporation which was a top construction company in the world while my mom Florence Ross managed Amanda Empire in league with my grandma, Amanda.

Well, having extremely wealthy parents came with its perks. Yes, I'm really popular, but at the same time, the students and teachers avoided me, not like I was a pariah or something but they just gave me my way out of reverence. So I guess that's why I had only Shawn as my friend.

It sucked.

Haha! The big secret's out, so now you know who Hazel's parent's are.

Are you eager to meet them? And see how much they've grown?

By the way, if you haven't read the other books in 'My Boss' series, I'm hoping you read them before this one. But you can still read Tangled as a stand-alone.

Have a blissful week!

Special thanks goes to the following people: