(Emily)

My mom announces that she's going to host a small dinner party that same evening. "Which family should I invite? Just one family," she says, narrowing her eyes at Charlotte, who raises her hand.

I think about what families I know. "What about the Cohens?" I ask hesitantly. Mom and Dad look at me; Charlotte does so as well.

"We know Sera. We don't know her parents," I said, hoping that it's enough to convince them.

Dad thinks about it. I wait in a bit of suspense, biting my lip. Finally, he nods, "ask Sera to ask her parents if they want to come. If they accept, then we won't have to find a different family. If not, you can think of another family, Emily."

Charlotte looks surprised that she wasn't asked. "Charlotte, if you invite someone, they'll ask if they can invite their friends. The list will grow from there. That's why we're not asking you," Mom says to Charlotte.

After dinner, I call Sera and ask her if she would want to come to the dinner party with her parents. I'm placed on hold for a few minutes, but then Sera comes back saying that her parents accepted the invitation.

"Next Saturday evening," I say. We agree on the time, which is 5:30 p.m., and hang up the phone. I tell my mom the time that they agreed on. Mom nods, setting the date on the calendar in the kitchen.

At school, the dinner party is all we talk about the next day. Scarlet and Raven are informed, but they accept the fact that they weren't invited. "Seems like your mom is serious about just one family," says Scarlet.

On the night of the dinner party, Sera and her family arrives at precisely 5:30 p.m., right on time. They don't like to be late, I think to myself. Sera hugs me tightly, and I hug her back. I kiss her head softly, as well.

While we wait for dinner to be ready, Sera and I go to my room, where I play The Greatest Showman on YouTube. Sera sings along softly, and we both sing along when Rewrite The Stars comes on. Sera sings Anne Wheeler's parts while I sing Phillip Carlyle's parts.

"Girls, dinner!" Mom calls as the song ends. We head downstairs and sit down at the table. There's fondue, little vegetable cubes, meat cubes, and iced tea made in a pitcher in the corner of the room. The tea is in a bucket of ice and Charlotte hands out the glasses.

Sera's parents and my parents talk about politics before Sera's mom talks about how accepting most of their friends are about the LGBTQ+ community.

Sera and I look at each other. Oh, shit.

"We don't like it because of how they say that there is more than one gender," her father says. Dad and Mom tense up.

"What about those that are transgender?" Dad asks James. Now that I remember, James is Sera's dad. Analeese is Sera's mom. Charlotte looks at Sera and me and bites her lip. Sera eats in silence. She's choosing to stay quiet. Good choice.

"What about them?" Analeese asks Dad.

"Their brains know that they're a different gender than the one that they're identified as by birth," Mom says. James and Analeese grow quiet. "Just because the LGBTQ+ community has different sexualities and different names for genders doesn't mean that you have to discriminate against them."

Dinner is eaten in complete silence after what Mom said.