Thanksgiving Dinner

He rolled his eyes. "You get the point."

Jessica watched as Alex wrestled some of the luggage out of the trunk of one of the numerous cars that littered the green.

They ought to have done a better job parking, Alex mused irritably.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Unloading the car."

"Why aren't you?"

Jessica said nothing as Alex lugged the two suitcases away from the car.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the cars were fully unpacked. The movers were paid before they drove off in their vans. Alex wished he had been able to go back with them, catch a train and go home. But alas, one can only wish.

Aunt June and Fae were the most passionate about Thanksgiving, so they were in charge.

June was a plump woman in her mid-fifties. Due to her weight, she hardly moved and mostly sat in a chair and yelled at people.

Minus the yelling Fae was quite the opposite, bone-thin and in her sixties, Fae ruled the family with an iron fist. She had been the one to decide that Alex's godparents were not allowed to attend family gatherings such as this one. As she put it, "They weren't real family." Alex hated her.

"Be sure the turkey is cooked properly, check the temperature frequently!"

"Set the table correctly! Forks on the left, knives to the right. And don't forget the spoons!"

Alex spitefully set the table, he was starting to wonder how much more of this he could take. His cousins didn't seem to have any problems with being ordered around, granted they were all under ten and acted like angels so what would you expect, right?

I don't see the pint, Alex thought to himself, why does it have to be a turkey? Easily could have been a large chicken or goose. Hell, why not pizza?

Alex shook his head, he couldn't understand holidays at the best of times, especially Thanksgiving. Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Fourth of July, all of those were great, he wasn't forced to go off with a family he barely knew to spend a night at a godforsaken abbey in the north.

"Alex, don't just stand there, do something!"

Jarred from his thoughts, Alex realized he had become idle.

Anger filled his heart, he glared at Fae.

"And what should I do? I've set the table," he said gesturing to the table.

"Something else!" she cried, a crazed look in her eyes. "You're a man, make yourself useful!"

Alex threw his hands in the air.

"Screw this." He popped his earbuds in and walked away without another word. His aunt's shocked and angry voices barely audible over the beat of the music.

Alex fumed for a few minutes, wondering the corridors until he cooled off. He found that he got angry quickly around his relatives. Before he could ponder the though further he realized that he'd gotten himself lost.

"Well this sucks," he exclaimed, looking around. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that he'd gotten lost in the maze-like corridors of the abbey. The far off voices of his relatives could be heard throughout the corridor as if they were standing just around the corner.

Alex shrugged off the unsettling feeling that had begun crawling up his spine. He couldn't tell which corridor would take him back to the dining room, the voices were disorienting.