𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 ♚ 𝐥.𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

17 - calum was spotted with a girl

"You make me sick!"

Lyla sat in her sociology class, observing the debate between a girl and a boy regarding societies oppression and judgement towards women. The lighthearted topic quickly turned political as two different parties from opposite ends of the spectrum were exposed to each other. The professor was a young, around the mid to late twenties, and very interested in the dispute that sparked in his class. To be fair, he was a little hungover and not in the mood to teach a class.

"What! can people not have their own opinions anymore?"

"Not if it's so blatantly ignorant!" She retorted, "How did you even get accepted into this university!"

Lyla didn't know why arguments always erupted when she attended her lectures, she always wanted to join and speak up though anxiety stopped her from speaking up no matter how badly she wanted to put in her input. Luckily for her, the professor decided to cut and end the argument before further escalation, dismissing the class before running out the door without another word said.

She took this as an opportunity to gather her things and approach the girl who was trying to compose her anger while she slowly packed up her bag, Lyla stumbled past the chairs as she considered on whether to go home instead. Though she pushed back the thought and stood at the end of the aisle, "Hi, sorry for disturbing you, the points you made were a lot more valid and you definitely won the argument."

"Thank you," the girl said, resting her bag on her shoulder as she squeezed past the chairs into the aisle next to Lyla, "I've been preparing that speech for a while now." She joked walking down up the steps to the – student – exit.

"You were going against a misogynistic close-minded boy; you did not need to prepare anything." Lyla joked, "I'm Lyla, by the way."

"I'm Wren," she responded, "how come I haven't seen you much during the lecture?"

"Oh, I'm just really quiet," Lyla said. It wasn't a lie; Lyla was simply a quiet person – when she wasn't being the loudest human being on earth. That and, she rarely showed up for the first few weeks of the term.

"I get that, I usually don't say much, but today I just had to speak up." Wren said, "I forgot that most people aren't decent and barely pass the bare minimum." She added rolling her eyes, Lyla took note of her outfit. Her shirt was loose and colourful, she wore overalls, an artsy vintage meets country look.

"I totally get that," Lyla nodded, "some people are just so close-minded, it's unbelievable." Lyla has had her fair share of arguments, most of which was with her parents who share different values and beliefs ranging from an opposite end of the spectrum.

"I'm from Wyoming, and don't get me started on my family there." Wren said, shaking her head at the memory of her last visit home, "I'm glad that my parents don't stand for the same things that the rest of my family does." She shuddered, Wren was taking the sociology course because she needed another class to take, and studying human behaviour was something she found interest in. On top of that, the course could help her write new characters and add in further detail for her creative writing class.

"I've always wondered what it's like growing up in a family like that," Lyla – lightheartedly – commented, "must be nice." She joked, Wren was an easy person to talk to, which made Lyla thankful that they weren't walking in awkward silence.

From a distance, Lyla spotted Calum, with a girl. This came as a shock since Calum was the designated bachelor of the group, sure Lyla was part of that title too, but Calum with a girl – sober, and not looking for a drunken hookup – was a sight that no one has seen in years.