The Brat Pack

"It looks like rain," Mrs. Reynolds says to no one in particular, looking at the sky from the screen door. She stands with a burning cigarette perched between her fingers, lost in thought. Behind her, Alison sits at the table with a bowl of oatmeal, eating quietly. She's sipping from her glass of water when her father comes in.

He's fixing his tie when he enters the kitchen, stopping to stare at Alison. He clears his throat loudly and she looks over at him, Mrs. Reynolds jumping in the door. She places her hand over her heart, giving a faint laugh.

"Oh, Harold, you startled me," she says, but he ignores her.

Mr. Reynolds heads to the stove, making himself a cup of coffee before coming to stand in front of Alison again. He takes a sip and stares at her, licking his lips when he's done. "Where were you last night, Alison?" he asks and Alison shrugs, refusing to meet his eye. "Yeah? Who was here last night?" Alison shrugs again. "Don't lie to me," he hisses. "I know someone was here, I heard them jump the fence twice."

"Maybe it was a wild animal," Alison responds, taking another bite of her oatmeal. She watches her father from the corner of her eye and knows he's enraged by the way he loosens his tie.

"A wild animal, huh? Do you think it just happened to make itself three cups of hot chocolate?" he asks her and she shrugs again.

"No, that was me," she says and he raises his eyebrows."I got thirsty."

Mr. Reynolds lets out a yell and slams his fist on the table, making Alison jump and drop oatmeal onto her shirt.

"Dammit, Alison!" he yells as he grabs a napkin and hands it to her, watching as she wipes it off her shirt. He glares at her before looking at the clock, grabbing up his cup and pouring the rest of his coffee into his thermos. "Great, now I'm going to be late for work," he snaps.

Alison stares at him as he makes to leave the kitchen, watching as he stops and turns in the doorway.

"You will not make a fool of me again," he demands before storming from the room.

Alison feels tears fill her eyes and she blinks them away before looking at her mom, who is still staring out the door.

"Why do you only notice me when I'm not here?" Alison asks and her mother turns to look at her as if noticing her for the first time all day.

Mrs. Reynolds blows out some more smoke and coughs, quiet for a minute. "Go get ready for school," is all she says and Alison stands, running from the room in tears.