I Never

Clubs

Clubs were supposedly a good way to start enjoying college life. Not party clubs, though if I were a bit braver and less sensitive I would try one. Extracurricular ones. I had spent about fifteen minutes breezing through the EMU club fair and picking up flyers and business cards to read later. In the afternoon, I sat in the middle of the campus flower garden, hidden by bushes, combing through my paper treasures.

I never joined clubs in high school. I spent most of my time after school in private music lessons or playing video games in my room. For some reason, my dad hadn't thought to force me out of the house to socialize until I had reached the ripe age of nineteen. Now, he insisted I stay out more in a seemingly desperate attempt to change me to a social butterfly. My eyes landed on an index card with just the words "Chemistry Club" typed in bold comic sans. On the back were just directions to sign up for email notifications when the club met.

"Very professional..."

I took out my phone and followed the directions.

There wasn't an initial club meeting. I just got an email that we were having a "craft day" in the student lounge and to show up with my own scissors. Clubs at EMU were run entirely by students with a tight budget, in case it wasn't obvious. I quietly peered into the student lounge and saw there were two students in there already. One girl, with thick-framed glasses and thick brown hair turned, spotted me, and waved.

"Hiya! Are you here for Chemistry Club?"

I nodded.

"Come on in! You're a little early, but I know most of my friends are gonna be here soon."

"Cool, cool! So do you, like, know what this club does? Where's the... chemistry bit?"

She chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, I mean, we're gonna have some sciencey themes and stuff, but it's really just a club for people who like chemistry to come hang out together," she explained. "Oh! And spoilers, I've already planned our next get together and we're gonna watch some Mythbusters!"

Now this was a club I could get behind.

Just as promised, a bunch of students came filing in at the last minute. The student lounge was surprisingly packed, so I moved to a corner with some craft supplies. We were supposed to be making friendship bracelets. As I combed through all the beads–which were annoyingly all elements of the periodic table–I felt someone sit beside me.

Who the hell just takes a seat right next to a stranger?

"Hey! I'm glad I know someone else here besides Abby," Daisy said, spreading out her own beads. I swore I felt the light of heaven shine into my soul in that very moment.

"Same. You have no idea. Uh... who's Abby? Sorry?"

Daisy pointed out the girl I had been talking to earlier. "The president of the Chemistry club. We met at our high school's lgbt club a few years back. She's pretty cool!"

Their WHAT?

"Oh! So she's always been the student leader type."

Daisy nodded, smiling. She seemed to really admire Abby. We continued to work on trying to spell out our names with only elements. My mind was very occupied, though. I eventually gave up on making "Lee" look right and just focused on my last name. I felt my face getting warmer as my curiosity began to get the better of me.

"S-So... are you and h..." my words kind of fell out quietly onto the table.

"Hm?" Daisy looked back up at me. Those dark eyes could probably disintegrate me where I sat.

I can't go back now!

"S-sorry. Ahem. Like, are you and Abby..."

She thankfully understood before I had to say anything else.

"Oh! Nah, we're just friends. Turns out, she's pretty openly aroace, which I learned the hard way." She laughed. It was soft and assured, like the memory of being rejected didn't even bother her anymore. Why was she so awesome?

"Oh, that's nice! I mean, not the part about learning the hard way. Just, that you guys are friends and all that!"

"Yeah, it's hard not to be. She may seem quiet sometimes, but she's a real people person. Hey, could you pass me that arsenic?"

I did a double take before I realized she meant the bead with "As" on it, then passed it over. It felt nice just being able to talk with her. And I finally got to see that welcoming smile in person directed my way. It felt even better than I imagined, as if I was doing everything in the world right. A reward.

"What does that say?"

"Oh, uh, it's meant to be Powell, like my last name, but... heheh! Wait! How did you manage to get your whole name?"

"Just got lucky, I guess."

By the end, we left the lounge happy with our bracelets: "DyAsY LiEuWIn" and "POWHeLr"