Did you ever spend time on a college campus over the holidays, a situation sort of like the movie The Holdovers though not quite as much fun in the end. (A knowledge of the film is not required to answer.) The situation may have been that your parents couldn't afford to fly you home or you didn't have a car or a ride. Or maybe your family was just weird and neglectful. I am working on a horror story based on this, but it's not extreme. Still, it is a situation I can relate to, and it is not fun.