The dining room was filled with the smell of turkey, stuffing, green casserole, and so many other delicious dishes scattered across the giant table. Gossip and chatter bubbled up into the air, taking up the large room’s space in full.

I breathed out an irritated sigh, and slumped into my chair. I can’t wait till I go home, I groaned inwardly.

“Oh. My. God. Giovanna, is that you?” A voice called to me, barely audible. this evening just keeps getting worse and worse, I plaster a fake smile on my face.

“Oh hi, it’s… you,” I struggle to remember her name. She laughs, an annoying nasally sound that cuts through my thoughts like a knife.

“It’s me! Do you remember me from high school?” My eyes widen. It’s Beth from Senior year, the year she wouldn’t stop stalking me.

“We were like besties,” she snorted out, “I couldn’t figure out why you never called me after graduation?”

“Well, I was just … busy with my new school,” I lied, looking around for an exit. I tried tuning out Beth, and as I did, a pale blur sprinkled something that looked pepper onto my food.

what the heck? I stared into the crowd, curious. For a moment, I might have seen glowing eyes staring at me from within it…

“Well! It’s been great talking to you! We NEED to hang out sometime,” Beth beamed, her voice slicing through my paranoia.

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” I mumble absentmindedly, not sure what I was even saying. She waves a goodbye and I turn to my plate.

My mashed potatoes were sprinkled in a thin layer of pepper. the only thing I put on my food was salt… I sniff at the spice. It smelled like pepper.

I guess someone wanted to add some of it? I shrugged. why not, I scoop up a big chunk of potatoes and pop it into my mouth.

tastes like pepper, I chew, savoring the flavor. i should get this more often! As I devour more of the mashed potatoes, a sharp pain stabs my temples and I gasp aloud. My spoon clatters to the floor with a clang.

Suddenly, everything feels muffled, like I’m underwater. My eyelids droop, and I suddenly feel the need to sleep for a thousand years.

m-maybe I’ll just take a nap, I rest my head on my slimmy food pillow, just close my eyes for a bit, and the world turns dark.