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felt her bottom lip start to tremble and the bridge of her nose start burning,

so she bit down hard to keep from losing it. She couldn’t very well burst

into tears right at the table. She knew her parents didn’t practice hate and

that they definitely did not think it was right to hurt other people. They

would never just come out and say something terrible about another person.

That wasn’t their style. But it also wasn’t really their style to be more

modern and free thinking. To practice really any form of activism. They

didn’t fear something just be

cause they didn’t understand it, but they

weren’t just going to get on board with it either.

She should have just made it about herself. She should have just had the

courage to tell her parents the truth. Now, she was in the uncomfortable

position of having made everyone else feel uncomfortable. Her dad

squirmed in his chair and her mom hadn’t taken a bite off the fork she had

suspended in midair for a very long while.

“Anyway,” her mom said with forced cheerfulness. “Tell us about the

finds from this week. We might worry about you, but that’s only natural.

We still want to support you and find out what you’re doing.”

Kiera searched her brain, but it was like a big black hole had suddenly

appeared in her mind and there was nothing there. She managed to choke

out a few words about things she was pretty sure she might have already

mentioned, but her parents accepted the change in topic gratefully and

diplomatically. They carried on eating after, and even though she hardly

touched her food, her mom didn’t say a word about it. Kiera was still served

dessert.

The rest of the evening felt strained, but maybe it was just her

imagination. She was extremely disappointed in herself for feeling relieved

when she slid back into her car after her hugging her parents goodbye.

She drove a block from the house, pulled over, and stared at herself hard

in the rearview mirror. She shook her head at herself. She sighed in