Alison Harold

Chapter 2

Alison sat at the dining at exactly 6pm. She wore a simple blue dress. The fabric was cotton with a deep V neck and layered ruffle hem. She had her hair styled up in a messy bun. On her feet she wore her old white sandals, coupled with the lack of makeup on her face she hoped this was enough to provoke her parents in front of the visitors.

"Come on right in," Mrs. Harold ushered the guests into the dining room, her face lit with a wide smile, eyes sparkled brightly with pride and Alison wondered when last she'd received such welcoming look directed at her from her mother.

"Wow, such a lovely house I must say," Mrs. Miller mused.

Mrs. Harold chuckled. "Well, we try our best."

"Oh dear, this must be Alison," Mrs. Miller strolled toward her in excitement. "It's so good to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Alison said bluntly.

There was an awkward silence in the room.

"Umm..." Mrs. Miller dragged a younger girl forward. "This is your cousin. I know you two haven't met before because of the distance and school and work..." she let out a nervous laugh. "But I do hope you get along well."

"Hi. I'm Anna," the girl grinned with her hand stretched forward for a handshake.

Alison stared at Anna's waiting hand. Her cousin's skin was fair, almost pale like, nails designed with pink polish and silver glitters. Her appearance blended well with every other person in the room at the moment; they all looked elegant compared to Alison. Good.

Alison nodded at Anna but refused to accept her handshake.  There was tension in the air, almost like everyone was holding their breath.

"It's okay," Anna said with a grin. "We don't need to get along immediately." She took the seat next to Alison and gave her parents a reassuring look. If the girl was offended, she did a flawless job in hiding it.

Alison felt satisfied when she saw her parents shooting daggers at her from across the room. Little did she know that her satisfaction was short-lived for tonight.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller took their seats at the table.

"Well..." Mr. Miller began. "Now that we've got the pleasantries out of the way can we eat?" He smiled at Alison. "It's good to see you again, kid. You still look the same; quiet and always looking like you're speculating the perfect direction to flip the table in." He laughed at his own attempt of a joke and his wife hit him lightly to shut him up.

Alison ignored her uncle. They'd met a few times when her parents had dragged her to company parties/dinners and she'd grown to dislike him. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't like her either.

Mrs. Harold walked to stand behind Alison. "Please, forgive her attitude for tonight, she seems to be in a cranky mood for some reason." She had a fake smile plastered on her face as she placed her hand around Alison's shoulder and leaned down to her ear and whispered. "What is up with your appearance? Burn this hideous dress after tonight, you look a mess. Brighten up and smile a little, I don't want you scaring our guests away."

Alison gently brushed her mother's hand off of her shoulder.

Mrs. Harold stepped away from her and gave her a death stare before returning to her seat. "Please, dig in, we have all varieties of food on the table tonight. Help yourself, there's plenty for everyone."

"Finally," Mr. Miller said in delight. Without wasting time, he dug in.

Fifteen minutes went by and the adults were deep in conversation about work. Definitely not a surprise.