Open House.

Tonight was the dreaded Open House.

The mood of the All-Holy was a lot more solemn than it normally was, and I think everyone's fear passed on to each other. Just one look in a classmate's eyes made people tense up, and I saw all hope leave some people's eyes as they walked down the halls. 

Because we all knew damn well that for some of us, today could've been their last day here.

I was trying to spread a bit of optimism through the school, even though on the inside, I was freaking out. My mom's clever, if she spotted anything off about this place, I would be kicked out instantly. And that was the last thing I wanted. 

"You nervous?" Abe said, stopping me in the hall. I smiled at the headmaster and said, "A little, but...I'm trying to keep an optimistic attitude about this whole thing. I'm not gonna get anywhere in life if I fear everything I come across. As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'"

"Attagirl, Emersyn. Although I hate to ruin your optimistic mood, I do have a question for you. If...God forbid, you get pulled out of this place, where would you go?"

"I got expelled from Springfield Christian Academy, you know, that Christian school a town over. This school was...pretty much my only option. I think my mom was a little suspicious of this place from the beginning, and I know damn well that if there was another Catholic school in my area, she would've sent me there instead of here." I said. "To answer your question, I don't know where I would go, and I'm really scared to find out. If this doesn't work out, I think my next option is boarding school."

"Emersyn." Abe said, putting his hands on my shoulders. "I want you to look at me, right in the eyes. I want you to know that everyone here, me, you, your friends, your peers, even the kids in other grades who you don't know, we're all fighting for one singular thing. And that's to keep all the kids in this school safe and happy. We've pulled off Open Houses before, and we're going to pull one off this year. Understood?"

"Understood. Thanks Abe." Abe smiled at me as I started to head off to the bathroom to change out of my skirt. Even though I hated doing that, I had to. It was the only way my mom wouldn't get suspicious.

"It's my pleasure. See you tonight then, Emersyn?"

I nodded and headed off, praying that tonight would go off without a hitch.

_________

I hoped no one would notice my fearful expression.

The tension in my walk.

My knees knocking.

My hands shaking.

The beads of sweat beginning to form on my forehead.

I took a deep breath to ground myself as I was showing my mom around the school and introducing them to my teachers. So far, Open House was going pretty well, and I wanted to keep it that way.

Tomorrow, Emersyn. Tomorrow, this school will be back to normal.

I walked past Jules and gave her a wink. They seemed to notice me and winked back, then she quickly grabbed their mother's hands and led her down the hall.

"Who was that, Julia?"

"Oh, that was Emersyn! She's my girlfr-"

I tried to stop Jules, but it was too late. My mom looked at me with anger and said, "You're her what?"

I started to cry. Not only was I likely to get pulled out, but if I did, it would be my own girlfriend's fault.

"Camden, I can't believe it. I told you no more of that LBTGQ+, 'transgender' nonsense. I thought I told you to snap out of that." my mom said.

"Mom, I can explain-" I said, full-on sobbing by this point.

"There's nothing to explain, Camden. I can't believe you would disobey my orders like that. You're done with this school." my mom said.

"JULES!" I yelled.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I forgot about your mom...my mom's accepting, that's why I told her!" Jules said.

"That's great, it's great that you have an accepting mom, but not everyone's like that. Not everyone's like you. Your parents are divorced and you're with your homophobic dad on the weekdays and your mom's on the weekends, that's amazing. So proud of you. But my accepting dad died, and I was only six when it happened. So I'm stuck where I'm at. Thanks. Thanks a lot, Jules. Thanks a lot for getting me pulled out of the one accepting place I've ever known." I said.

Jules bit their lip and sighed. "I love you, Emersyn."

"Don't talk to me."

As I walked out of the school, I noticed something a little odd.

There was a hidden rainbow in the corner of the All-Holy's crest.