During the Second Civil War, a new U.S. political party called the Family Protection Movement established The Divide, which separates Normal people from those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Seventeen-year old Serenity Blackwater lives in the normal Midwestern town of Mapleville, but she is not normal. She hacks into an illegal gay chat room and meets Dawn, a lesbian who lives in a gay community less than a mile away. Serenity discovers normal people can bribe their way inside the walls and decides to go, both to meet Dawn and check out what may be her future home. Dawn is even more beautiful than Serenity hoped, and the two soon become a couple. But Serenity only has a few months before she must take the Normal Verification Test, and then she’ll be separated from her family forever. So she joins the Human Equality Organization, an underground group working to end The Divide. Dawn thinks the rebellion is too dangerous, and since Dawn’s ex-girlfriend Malaki is also a member, Serenity doesn’t tell Dawn about her involvement. Serenity reveals to the HEO that her parents are leading a campaign to organize attacks on all Gay Communities. With her help, the HEO creates Project Jericho, in which all Gay Communities walls will implode at once. But after too many delays, and when Dawn discovers Serenity has been spending more time with Malaki than her, Serenity knows she has to start the revolution herself. She heads to D.C. to contact a group of senators secretly against The Divide ... or straight into a trap set by the Family Protection Movement.

Uprising

“I’m sorry you broke up,” I said.


A change of subject was in order. I wasn’t sure what the rules were…or if I was even supposed to follow any rules. But talking about exes just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.


“When did you come out of the closet?” I whispered, looking around furtively.


Dawn’s deep belly laugh sounded again. “What closet?”


A flash of jealousy sparked inside me. “Lucky.”


I leaned back and sighed. Dawn was probably experienced in things I’d never even been able to imagine with other girls. It was best to focus on the original reason I’d been sneaking into gay chats for almost three years: finding a person I could actually talk to.


“Do you want me to deliver a message to your brother or anything?” I asked.


Dawn gasped. “That’s so nice of you. Adam’s not allowed any outside contact until next fall, but just for offering to do that you’re officially my new best friend!”


I couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night.


Chapter 5