Halley's mother glared at her as they walked. It was the same look she wore whenever she was doing something her mother didn't like.
"What?" Halley frowned.
"Why do you look so dull? It's supposed to be a party."
"You told me to put a dress on, so I did."
"But that's not a party dress. In fact, I remember buying that one for you for Nana's funeral three years ago." She sighed. "I can't believe you still fit in it."
"This is the only dress I have," Halley said back. She crossed her arms. "You should have just chosen one for me then."
"How am I meant to know these things if you don't tell me? You're not a child anymore, you know."
There it was. That stupid line. Everyone she knew had recently been treating her like a fully-fledged adult just because she hit the age of eighteen. Absolutely nothing had changed about her, firstly; secondly, she was still classified as a teenager, meaning she was caught in a "not-a-child-but-not-an-adult" layer of hell. It was even worse than puberty.
"Then why did I have to go tonight?" said Halley, infuriated.
Her mother shot another look at her, blonde curls unmoving. "Don't be ridiculous. It's your Uncle's birthday. We haven't seen any of the family for ages."
"It's not my fault we live so far away," Halley muttered.
She sighed again. "Just be sensible, please."
Halley decided to drop it. The sound of her mother's pointy heels clicking on the concrete was the only thing cutting the silence as she walked with her parents through the carpark. Her mother was dressed extravagantly that night, like always -- although that wasn't Halley's opinion, it was what her mother seemed to believe. The only effort Halley had put in that evening was sticking a black silk headband through her straight, dark hair. Even then, she let her untamed fringe run through it.
To her, family gatherings had evolved into just one thing over the years: a giant attempt to outdo the rest of your relatives. Whether it was simple things like money, or how amazing your children were; or boring things like maintaining your garden; everyone was competing. Halley's mum was the prime example. She remembered one Christmas, when she was younger, her mother went around and borrowed silverware from each of the houses in their neighbourhood to set her table with just to try and show up Halley's Aunt Maria.
Halley was led through the lobby of the venue building and past the shabby art deco carpet and cream coloured walls, where they approached a set of double doors on the upper floor. Before they even got close, Halley could hear the thumping party music coming from inside. Her dread for the night to come only got worse.
Inside she could barely hear herself think. Around the room were placed a few round, high-seated tables, all with black tablecloths and mediocre vase centrepieces on each. Stage lights hung from steel bars on the ceiling that shone beams of purple colour onto every surface, and to her right at the furthest side was a long table set out with what looked like a wide selection of party food, glasses, and tall bottles of drink.
She was led by her parents through to the centre of the room, where the rest of her relatives were all clumped together like glue. On her way past she'd accidentally caught the eye of a tall, round man with a balding head: her Uncle Geoff. He exited his conversation to greet them.
"Michael! There you all are!" He met them loudly with a wide smile. "I'm so glad you could make it."
Halley's mother leaned in for a superficial hug and Geoff kissed her on the cheek. Her father followed with a hug until they were all finished with their drawn-out greeting. Halley always wondered why no adults ever just said 'hello'.
"Happy birthday," started Halley's Dad. "I know it's been a while but between living so far apart and having heaps going on, we've had almost no chances to visit."
He nodded solemnly. "Everyone in the family's so busy nowadays. I haven't even seen little Halley here in ages, though I guess she's not so little anymore. The last time was at Nana's funeral I believe -- what was that, a few years ago?"
"She hasn't changed much since then," her mother said regretfully. "I'm hoping she'll grow out of this rebellious stage she's in."
"Don't be too hard, I'm sure she's a good kid. She'll come to her senses eventually."
Halley despised being the topic of conversation when nobody bothered to at least acknowledge her. She felt her eyebrows sink lower. "So how old are you now, Halley? Seventeen?" Geoff asked.
"Eighteen," interjected Halley's mother before she had a chance to even take a breath.
"Wow. That makes me feel old," he chuckled. "Are you thinking about going to university now?"
University. Another thing Halley detested. It was a twisted concept - forcing kids through a whole childhood of school, only to sign up for more once you were finished so that you could eventually earn a sense of financial security. If the purpose was truly learning to do what you wanted as a career, then why not let you do it sooner? And none of it was as glamorous as everybody made out, she'd come to realise. It was a lot like high school, only more pretentious.
"I don't know," Halley simply responded, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well, why don't you give it a try?" Geoff responded. "It'd be much better than sitting at home all day. And I can help you choose something."
Choose for her, he meant.
"I'm always telling her that," Halley's mother agreed exasperatedly. "She did so well on her final tests, but all she wants to do is sit around and draw pictures. I've been trying to get her out there, but..."
Geoff raised his eyebrows. "Really? That's a shame. I've always thought she was very academic. She could easily fit herself into something like law. She just needs to put her mind to it."
Halley gritted her teeth. Her patience had officially run out. She was considering making a dash for the exits when her mother spoke again.
"I've always thought that too," she nodded in agreement. "You know, she scored so well in her English and literature - not to mention mathematics. She's so much brighter in those areas than I am, that's for sure."
Geoff nodded. "Well, she'll figure out what she wants to do eventually, so don't be too hard on her."
Thank God, thought Halley. At least her Uncle Geoff could see both sides of the fence - a first in Halley Morgan history.
"One day she might hit a block with the whole arts thing, then she can pick up where she left off and get a fantastic degree. These things can always be hobbies - then you'll be great at it!" Geoff looked down at Halley and winked.
Nevermind. She'd spoken too soon after all. Halley pulled a disgusted frown at Geoff, and seriously considered making straight for the doors and walking herself back home. There wasn't a single chance she could stand the rest of the night if the first five minutes were as agonising as this.
"Anyways," Halley's mother sighed, "I think we'll go around and catch up with the rest of the family. Come on, Micheal." She beckoned her Dad with a wave of her bony hand through the air.
He smiled meekly. "It was nice seeing you, Geoff."
"Good to see you all." Geoff patted her dad's back as the pair of them drifted off. Halley splintered from her parents, groaned out loud, and made a straight escape towards the food platters.
At the table she examined the spread of food-filled platters, tossing up between cold frankfurts, crackers and blue cheese. She could now see most of the bottles set out on the table were actually wine. Halley was able to legally drink now, and so they looked tempting given the circumstances, only she hated wine. On the night of her birthday, her mother let Halley have a sip from her own glass. Not sure of how much to take, as well as misjudging how vile the stuff actually was, Halley had taken a large swig that she immediately regurgitated back into the cup. Her mother decided she didn't want it anymore and it sat on the bench for the rest of the night. Alcohol was nothing exciting, anyway, she decided. Every time she'd had something to drink so far she had ended up with a headache.
Halley settled for the piece of sausage and threw it in her mouth, chewing with disdain as she turned towards the larger room before her. She decided to try and steer her focus toward something else. Anything else. What was she going to do when she got home? Most likely fall asleep. Did she have anything exciting planned for the week? Absolutely not.
The failed attempt to find refuge in her own mind didn't put her at ease. On the bright side, being alone was helping already - and though the music was loud, the food could've been a lot worse. She stared absently towards the middle of the room and observed her family as they talked and danced awkwardly. She noticed someone else had decided to pick at the food as well, and she jumped.
Halley spun around. "Grandma," she gasped.
"Hello," her grandmother greeted at her side. "I didn't see you come in."
"I just got here," replied Halley. No response, but she wasn't unfamiliar.
Halley's grandma was a stocky lady with grey hair that was styled in such a way it curled just above her shoulder on either side, like it was petrified to touch her. She was getting on to her mid-seventies by now, but still sharp and spritely. She was one of the few of Halley's relatives that didn't object to her existence. They didn't connect much either, but she was happy to take what she could get. Being from her dad's side, her grandma was not warm by any means, but was passive enough for Halley to get through most encounters unscathed.
"Didn't you wear that dress the last time I saw you?" asked her grandma, looking up at Halley with her cold bug eyes through those lenses of hers. "Ages ago by now, though."
Halley looked down at herself, then hugged her armpits sheepishly. "Well - Yes, but this is really the only one I have."
"It makes you look awfully skinny," she commented while picking up a few more crackers and putting them on her plate. "Have something to eat. You might not get any proper dinner later."
Halley forced a smile. "Alright then, I will. Thanks." Her grandma simply turned and left.
Now that she thought about it, being so moody had managed to work up a bit of an appetite, so she snagged one of the crackers and bit the corner off. It was dry and flavourless, but it would have to do. She stuffed down a handful more, one at a time, dusting her hand on the back of her dress skirt.
Turning back to the room, Halley spotted her mum in one corner of the venue along with her dad, chatting away at Aunt Maria, who looked thoroughly unimpressed by whatever her sister was saying to her. They were grouped with all of Halley's other aunts and uncles and their partners (excluding Geoff, who'd abandoned his wife to go mingle with everyone else). Halley recognised her cousins standing around toward the middle, who she was also quite fond of for the same reason she liked her grandma. They were all much older than her - like Keith, her favourite, who had long hair, a rugged beard and had a pretty fiancée. Lastly, her grandfathers had put themselves in the corner at their own table and were keeping themselves company away from the family. Probably talking about something boring, like complaining about the government. She imagined one of them going,
'Damn these milk prices! Must be that new governor,'
and the other one suddenly nodded solemnly. Halley laughed out loud to herself.
Apart from finding amusement at the silly makings of her own imagination, and making herself look stupid at the same time, there wasn't much else to occupy her mind. Clearly the madness was starting to have an effect already. All she could say was she was glad she was over here. Her eyes darted around the room, but there was nothing even to look at. The walls were entirely barren and the décor was tasteless. They should have paid Halley to decorate the place instead.
Then, she noticed a shoe. Where her family was huddled across the room, the leg of someone she didn't recognise appeared as they leaned back on their heels. It was a boy who was wearing deep navy trousers and a white dress shirt. He was blocked out by all her cousins at first, then emerged from behind them. He was tall, with silky copper hair that he brushed off his forehead. Halley stared with puzzled wonder. The boy couldn't have been much older than she was. Another cousin, maybe? She definitely had enough obscure and distant relatives to surprise her until she was dead, so it was possible. She watched for another moment as he stood with his hands in his pockets, listening mindfully to the conversations around him.
Halley stood upright. In the next moment she stepped off, her body moving ahead of her mind. Following along the food table she flanked the group, and by the time Halley realised where she was and what she was doing, she'd already crossed the floor over to the boy, standing awkwardly outside the ring of people. Her heart raced as she thought of what to do next. Nobody had noticed her. She could just turn back around and get away.
Then, like he somehow read her thoughts, the boy leaned out from the group and locked eyes with her. She froze. His expression twisted curiously.
The boy waved his hand at her and Halley made some kind of movement with her wrist back at him. Then he broke from the circle and came over to her. Up close he was much more imposing. He stood at least a whole head taller than her.
"Hi," he said, eyebrow raised.
