Dinners were a time for families to share how their days went and were generally a happy affair. It was a bonding experience enjoyed by all, yet for Alaina, it was like she was sitting on pins and needles the whole time.
The clamorous atmosphere pressed in on her from all sides and the pressure weighed down her shoulders. It was a struggle to stay upright and not slouch her shoulders. And it took all of her strength to not lift her arms and cover her ears.
They rang from all the sounds mixing together: from the lofty voice her mother used when praising her daughter, to the scrape of cutlery against plates, to the laughter that filled the room. It was all too much and was partly the reason she missed the question directed at her from her father sitting at the head of the table.
Fiddling with her fingers in her lap - the only way to calm the nerves wracking her body - Alaina snapped back to reality and faced the man who was waiting for an answer. The woman next to him shot Alaina an impatient look.
"Y-yes father?" Alaina kept her tone polite. She knew that this was how she was supposed to speak to her father. Often it would be forgotten, but she had worked hard to remember it.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see her sister happily tucking away at her meal, and not caring about what was happening at the table. Jealousy and resentment rose within her chest and up her throat, burning it like acid.
Swallowing it back down, Alaina focused her attention back on her father and heard him say. "Are they working you too hard at the academy? You don't seem quite yourself this evening. Tell me if anyone's making any trouble for you and I'll write to the Head to sort it out."
"No, no, it's fine." Alaina waved her hand in dismissal and sighed inwardly. The time at the academy was precious and allowed her a brief respite from being at home. Having friends she could trust and being in an environment that made her feel safe was all that she needed.
If her father wrote to the Head, things might change there and she didn't want that.
"Ok." The father thought little of it and went back to what he had asked previously. "What about your studies? Are they too hard? Can you pass this year's tests?"
It was Alaina's last year at the Academy and the final test was fast approaching. Late nights had been the norm for a while, and if she didn't have a certain person's encouragement, she would have found it hard to concentrate on her studies.
Thinking of that person, she calmed down a little and a small smile graced her lips.
This time when she replied to her father, her voice didn't shake: "Everything's going well, Father. It won't be hard to pass these tests."
A scoff sounded from the side at the last few words, and Alaina couldn't help but to look in the direction of her sister. The younger girl was still eating, but a disdainful expression had marred her features. A pang of anger struck Alaina, but for the sake of her parents, she held back from scolding her.
Dinner continued in silence, and no one lifted their heads from their meals. It was like that one little scoff had dampened the mood, and no one wanted to speak about anything else.
A few days later, music swirled about the main hall of the Wilnor mansion.
Twinkling lights shone from the chandeliers above and illuminated the swaying figures below. Scuffling feet could be faintly heard along with the music, and the smell of rich food enticed the people to eat their fill.
Several of the people surrounded one woman, and they kept trying to make sure only their voice was heard, and for the woman to ignore everyone else.
The woman clutched a wineglass in hand until her knuckles were white. Of course, it went unnoticed by those around her, as they were more focused on getting her attention than anything else.
Alaina looked at the people and smiled whilst hiding the frown behind it, and chatted with them amicably. From her mother's strict teachings, she knew that it wouldn't be right to ignore these people, and no matter what, she must stay and listen to them wholeheartedly.
Even if her feet hurt from wearing heels for too long, and her eyes hurt from the blinding lights. Or the walls seemed as if they were closing in on her and would crush her at any moment.
Taking a sip of wine, she took that moment to look at her sister, who was not so far off in the hall, and she hid the grimace that wanted to overcome her expression.
Alaria smiled cheerfully and laughed with her friends, as they danced wildly across the dance floor, not caring about what anyone else would think.
Her carefree appearance struck something within Alaina, and she couldn't quite place what that feeling was.
The only thing she knew was that she hoped that her sister would understand what she was feeling. And that seeing her sister acting so freely hurt her more than anything else.
Comments (1)
See all