There sure are a lot of older people attending the party, which is a given considering Hubert is a mere 10-year-old. Even so, it makes being alone that much more unsettling. He'd come with his brother and others, but Asbel has the tendency to wander, and in a bustling setting like this it's easy to lose sight of anyone. Just his luck.

So Hubert wanders around the buffet line, eyes shifting right to left and left to right in search of familiar faces. Maybe going to the party was a bad idea, after all. He could be "home" right now, reading an interesting book on the cozy couch with few disturbances . . .

"Ahh, why did it turn out this way?" he mumbles anxiously to himself.