New Year's Eve

5

New Year's Eve 2007

Age: 17

"Come on, Scar," Robert whined, as he held my hand. He clearly couldn't see that I was struggling. "We're already late."

"I'm coming. Look, the door is like two steps away." I chuckled. "Do you realise how hard it is to walk fast in heels this high?"

Robert cast his eyes down towards my feet and grimaced. "Thankfully, I don't. Why do women torture themselves with those things, anyway?"

"That is one of life's many questions."

Our conversation stopped as we arrived at the door of the function room. We opened it and walked inside, hand-in-hand. The party was already abuzz, considering we got there a little late. The excited energy consumed us as soon as we stepped in.

I stayed the night at Robert's house the previous night and we made our way to the party together. However, what I hadn't anticipated was losing my shoes. I was originally going to wear heels that weren't as high as the ones I currently wore. But when I looked inside my overnight bag, they had somehow disappeared. I searched everywhere for them, turning the house upside down, but they were nowhere to be seen. Wearing my tatty converse was out of the question because one; Mum would not be happy. And two; they would not go with my dress.

So, Robert (having recently passed his test) drove me back to my empty house, and I had to grab the first pair of shoes I saw. These shoes just so happened to be my brand new, insanely high heels I hadn't even broken in yet. So, you could understand when I said I was struggling.

Mum, Dad, Frank, and Mia were all in a conversation with worried looks on their faces. Mum was the first one to spot us, and her body sagged with relief. She then hit my dad on his arm to catch his attention and she pointed in our direction.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick." Mum said, as she gave me a tight squeeze. I rolled my eyes at how dramatically my mother behaved.

"There was nothing to worry about," I explained in a soothing tone. "We had a footwear malfunction, that's all."

Mum looked confused, but she dropped the subject. That would be the last time my parents would trust Robert and me to make our own way somewhere. She'd already expressed her worries a few days before, and now I had just proved her correct, unfortunately.

I greeted my dad with a hug and gave Frank and Mia hugs as well, and we chatted for a little while. I tried to act casual, but it had only been about half an hour and already my feet were hurting me. Wearing heels was not in my destiny, clearly. No matter how much they clashed with my dress, I would stick to my tatty converse next time.

I tried to soldier on with my painful shoes, but the pain made it difficult for me to carry on for much longer. It was impossible for me to join in with party dances and I never missed them. After excusing myself from the group of people I currently spoke to, I made my way outside. Although it was winter, I wasn't too cold, because the dress I wore was long-sleeved and it fell to my knees. The porch's bannisters lit up with fairy lights and small heaters, providing much needed warmth.

"I wondered where you'd disappeared off to," Robert said from behind me. I turned to face him; a smile taking up half of my face. Even after a year of dating, Robert still made me grin and giggle like a silly little girl. He walked forward and placed both of his hands on my cheeks and gave me a light peck on the lips.

"Yeah, my shoes were killing me. I needed to leave so I could take them off in peace." I told him, chuckling. Why did I need peace and quiet to take my shoes off? We'll never know. But I didn't want people seeing my feet. So, logic told me I could take them off outside, let my feet breathe a little, and then go back inside to continue the torture.