Prejudice and Pride

The Friendly Opposition

Maisie walked through the quad en route to the parking lot. It was a beautiful day where every cloud was visible. The air was warm and the sun shone brightly. Her fellow classmates laughed and talked as they walked. There seemed to be this invisible excitement in the air. The energy was almost tangible. Walking, she saw Kai talking to some people. Maisie stopped. It had been a few weeks since they had seen each other, much less talked. Slowing her pace, she decided that if Kai acknowledged her, she would go over and talk to her. Sure enough, she saw her do a double take and wave. Maisie stopped and waited as Kai excused herself from her friends.

"Hey stranger," Kai smiled.

It had been a while and the avoidance by one party had been more than clear but the other girl still had the same warm and friendly grin that had welcomed Maisie in the first place.

"Hi. Um, how are you?"

"Good. Everything is great. It's good to see you. I mean, I've seen you around here and there but we haven't really talked or anything."

"I, I'm sorry about that. I've just been busy."

Kai cocked her head.

"Okay. It's cool. I get it. I'm busy, too. But mainly, I was just trying to give you some space."

"Space?"

"Yeah...look, the last time we hung out..."

"Oh. That? It's okay."

Maisie was a terrible liar.

"Is it?"

"Yeah."

"Okay...if you say so but um, you seemed kind of uncomfortable. And from the stuff you've told me, I get you come from a pretty religious, conservative, and dare I say sheltered background."

Maisie felt her cheeks burn bright red.

"I..."

"I'm not judging, I swear. We're really different and even if I don't like or understand something, I do respect it. I just thought you coming out would be good. I had good intentions, I promise. I thought you could meet new people and make new friends. Of course, I was hoping you'd find a cause or activity that would spark your interest. It's important to get involved. But I didn't mean to pressure or ambush you. So I hoped you weren't too freaked out and I hope we can still be friends."

Maisie thought for a moment.

"We're friends?"

"Getting there, I guess," Kai laughed out loud. "Or at least I hope so."

"What do you like about me?"

"Well, that's kind of random but I know that you're a very nice person. I like that. Kindness is cool, right? Nobody wants to be around a jerk."

"True, I guess."

"And you're very interesting. I like talking to you. I like that we're so different."

"I, um, I have something to tell you."

"Okay..."

"I kind of have been avoiding you. On purpose."

"That much I figured," Kai chuckled.

"That's not nice. You say you like me and want to be around me because I'm nice. It's not nice to treat someone that way, especially a new friend."

"It's alright. Do you, uh, want to talk about it?"

Maisie reluctantly nodded and the two climbed into her car. She took a nervous breath before she began.