Can I Have That in Writing?

Emily: Being Seen

I knew it was a terrible idea. But that's what I get for listening to my sister.

Allison wanted to check out the LGBT Alliance club. The club run by Mr. Sage, the club that met on the Thursdays that writing club didn't. I had no problems with her attending. The problem was that she wanted me to come along. The whole point of my father sending me to a co-ed school was to fix what I was feeling, not to encourage it. But my sister wasn't having it.

"I mean, Alliance is in the name," Allison explained. "The root word being ally. You can join and be a straight person who's cool with stuff. So I get to learn how to be an ally, and you could join without being out!"

"You want to learn how to be an ally?" I asked. "Step one is not forcing your gay sister to attend thirty-something clubs, one of which she has to lie to her father in order to attend."

Allison winced. "Ooh. Yeah, I didn't think that part through. I was just thinking of telling him that writing club met every Thursday."

"It could work, I guess. Just try to suppress your tells."

There were signs indicating my sister was telling a lie, signs that my parents picked up on rather quickly. Trembling, faster speech, etc.

Allison made a salute gesture. "You got it, general!"

That night at dinner, my family sat down together. We said our prayers before digging in. My mother always made the best mashed potatoes, but she also made good chicken. It was my favorite meal, probably because it reminded me of home.

"So, Emily... how's school so far?" my mother asked.

It was an innocent question, one that any parent would ask their child. Yet I struggled to answer.

"It's alright," I managed.

"You're doing okay with the work so far? No problems with the content or the workload?"

"No, it's fine for now."

"Don't go working too hard now," Allison said with a playful nudge. "You still have to have time to come to my games, right?"

I smiled lightly. "I will."

"Of course," my father said. "We'll all be there. Though academics come first. If Emily needs extra homework time, she can be excused."

He leaned toward my sister and folded his hands. A serious look dawned on his face. "Speaking of academics... have you narrowed down colleges yet?"

"Yeah," Allison said, biting her lip. "I definitely want to apply to Seton Hall. It's the closest. But Scranton... I mean, the campus is beautiful!"

"Right. It's also the harder school to get into. And with your grades..."

"I have at least Bs in my classes, I'm in softball, and I started the writing club... which is meeting Thursday by the way."

"I know when you meet, Allison. That's not the point."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, he hadn't picked up on the lie. There was a more pressing issue for him to worry about.

"Now, I know colleges consider extracurriculars. But their priority is grades. I've talked to people whose kids had Bs in high school, and they barely passed their college classes. It's much tougher there, and I don't want you failing. So you either need a tutor, or you need to ask your teachers for help. Understand?"

I saw the look in my sister's eyes, the spark of rebellion. But she let the spark die before it became a fire. She nodded her head. "Understood," she said.