Read this excerpt from "the all-american slurp."

mrs. gleason bent down and whispered to us, “this is a buffet dinner. you yourselves to some food and eat it in the living room.”

our family beat a retreat back to the sofa as if chased by enemy soldiers. for the rest of the evening, too mortified to go back to the dining table, i nursed a bit of potato salad on my plate.

what part of the plot is revealed in this excerpt?