By The Sidelines

S

Alice tapped her foot once again and stared at the middle aged woman, who was wearing a ridiculous bug hat and was attempting to start a conversation with her. The woman was flattering her left and right, trying to get her to open up.

"How are you, dear?"

Alice replied that she was fine. She was not. She was bored out of her mind.

"Oh! I'm so thankful that it is sunny today. It wouldn't have been good if it rained while your mother has done so much preparation for this event!"

Alice said nothing. She did not care how much her mother had done; she wished it had rained.

"I absolutely love your dress. It is so pretty! You have an excellent taste in clothes."

Alice silently disagreed. It was not her choice to wear the dress. It was her stepfather's and he has no sense of what is right and looks good to wear.

Alice glanced at her mother and her stepfather, whom were conversing with a group of adults. All drinking from a glass of wine happily and laughing out loud.

Meanwhile she was picking at her dress. The woman, who was annoying her, was long gone.

Her mother had decided to throw a home warming party seeing as that they had moved back in after some time away, they might as well as see if there was anybody new in the neighborhood. So her mother decided to invite all her neighbours as well as other people she knew to the party.

Then she had thrown herself into preparation for it: organising invites, buying decorations, going clothed shopping, etc.

And the result of all that was that her back garden was now filler balloons and streamers as well as a bouncy castles for little ones. The adults entertained themselves through catching up the gossip or cooing over the little ones.

They had done nothing for people who were neither adults or little. Like Alice.

Alice supposed she could retreat to her bedroom but then she would be told off later for being rude by disappearing. Alice wished that the party was already over.

"Hey Alice!"

Alice looked up and saw me with my family waving to her. I rushed up to her and she felt a bit jealous as she saw me in comfortable jeans while she was stuck in a stiff dress.

"Hey Rosina," She answered back as she hugged me. Then she greeted my sister, Velma and her boyfriend, Travis. The two smiled back at her. Finally Rosina crouched down to where Melissa was hiding behind my leg.

"Oh how you have grown!" She exclaimed. Melissa looked up confused and Alice gave her a comforting smile. "The last time I saw you, you were at this height." Alice put her hand by my niece's shoulder an she shuddered.

Then she scrunched up her eyes and noses as she tried to remember Alice. Once she had, her face lit up and a smile was stuck on her face.

"Ali?" She asked hesitant and then when Alice nodded, she repeated, "Ali? Ali. Ali!" Melissa jumped up and down while she shrieked Alice's name. Velma quickly scolded her and told her to be a but more quiet.

After that, Alice contented herself by talking to Travis, who, while she was gone, had found a list of events she could attend to entertain herself.

"Ali?"

Alice looked down into Melissa's eyes looking up at her hopeful.

"May I go on the bouncy castle" She asked.

Alice happily responded, "Sure you don't have to ask. Go and have fun."

"Yeah, go and stop bugging people, Melissa," I piped in. Melissa's response was to come to me and hug me hard until I begged on my knees for her to let me go.