Hard Boy ✔️

66

- making the bed; Olivia Rodrigo -

Aurora Holland

Thanksgiving has always been a weird time for me. Any Holiday, really. It's supposed to be when we get together and have fun, talking, and catching up with family members. Telling older relatives what classes we're taking, what we've experienced as high schoolers, and what we want to do when we're older.

It's never been like that for me. It's constant comparing to not only Paige but also Jason. The boy who's much younger than me, the one who should be looking to me for tips on how to get through high school and other things he's yet to go through. 

'You need to join the clubs Paige is taking, Art will get you nowhere!' 

'Maybe if you just put yourself out there more, you'd understand why your high school years are the most important years of your life.'

And so on and so forth. Constant irritating, depressing nagging that never ends. Not to mention, our other family members rarely ever see it nor do they care. They nod and smile, changing the subject to their own side of the family and the successes they've had.

The only person I can be grateful for in our family that takes none of my mother's shit is my grandmother. Ironically, it's my mother's mother who I can seem to handle the most.

When she's around, my mother's insults simmer down to a minimum. They're still there, just like they are around everyone - they're just very backhanded just like they are when any other company is around.

Unfortunately, because we moved, we're much further away from the rest of the family. And due to the older family members being too old to constantly move back and forth, they've decided to only come visit during Christmas time.

This means that Thanksgiving will only consist of me, my mom, my dad, Jason, Paige, Uncle Murphy, and Aunt Priscilla. This means the insults won't be as held back, and that my mom will show no mercy.

Family gatherings are basically just another time for my mother to nag at me about how much I'm screwing my life up all because I didn't do the things she did as a teenager.

As I finished wiping the table, I cringed at the tacky Thanksgiving decor my mother had decorated the house in. I love the fall, I love the colors - but I hate tacky decorations. The dining room was littered with fake tree leaves, annoying cliche signs hung up on the walls. She even got the ugliest table runner known to man. It truly looked like something from an old cat lady's house, if I'm being honest.

Almost instantly after getting rid of the damp cloth, I was given another task. This task was to take the perfectly clean dishes from the kitchen to the table and set them for the family. I did as I was told, staying silent as the last thing I wanted to do was infuriate my mother. I knew that no matter what I did or said - even staying completely silent - wouldn't let me escape from her wrath, but I knew that if I chose today of all days to get an attitude with her I'd never see daylight again.

The doorbell rang, and I ignored it as I continued to put the dishes in their homes. I watched as Jason ran to the door, flinging it open to see who was on the other side.

It wasn't a surprise when I saw Paige, Uncle Murphy, and Aunt Priscilla walk through the front door. They were dressed up - thanks to my mom - and all dolled up and ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

I looked away as soon as I saw who it was, not in the mood to talk just yet. To be completely honest I didn't want to at all, as I'm still incredibly furious with Paige. Unfortunately for me, however, I was unable to just ignore her during family events, especially with how much my mother loves her. She'd lose her shit if I didn't acknowledge Paige.