POV: Layla
"His name is Alex?" Marisha repeated James' words. "You never told me. You have been dating Layla since forever. What do you mean his name is Alex?"
Layla just sat in silence, trying to come up with the right thing to say. "I am so happy?" she finally said, but accidentally phrased it as a question.
"I am too," James said. "Of course, I haven't said anything to anyone else, so maybe we can keep it a bit on the down low?"
"Of course," Ryan said, seemingly completely unbothered by the big reveal. Of course, he had not known James since forever, whereas Layla and Marisha had.
"Oh my…" Marisha said, "What about your parents? I can't even imagine what they will say if you tell them. But of course, we can keep it quiet for now."
"Thank you," James said and carefully smiled.
"So what is he like?" Layla asked, not knowing if she actually wanted an answer. Maybe she wanted to know if he was similar to her in any way, or maybe completely different. She did not know what she would prefer.
"Nice," James answered with a smile, "he is just nice."
"Oh COME ON!" Marisha yelled out, "You must have more to tell us. What type is he? I always thought you would end up with someone like Layla, except more romance than friendship."
James quickly looked to Layla and smiled carefully, "I suppose I did too. But no, he is nothing like her."
That stung, but Layla tried not to let it show, "Well, what is he like then?"
"A bit… like… warm, comfortable to be around, kind. I think you will like him," he said to them all.
Ryan nodded, "Sounds… nice."
"Exactly."
Layla crossed her arms, "What do you mean he is nothing like me, then – am I not nice?" She tried to laugh it off, but she suspected some part of her feelings was shining through.
"Of course you are," Marisha quickly jumped in, "but maybe you are not exactly… cosy?"
"Or warm," James added, "your feet are always ice cold."
Layla frowned thinking about her little shoe sale that day, "Alright, I suppose you are right there," she said, and the tension broke out in a laughter.
"I am looking forward to meeting him," Ryan said, trying to continue the conversation, and Layla slowly felt herself open up more towards him. Maybe Marisha had been right in her choice this time – even though it was the first day of university. Why was everyone in such a rush, she thought to herself as the conversation continued with questions about James' new sweetheart.
***
On their way back to the dorm, Marisha said goodbye to Ryan, and she and Layla continued on together. The leaves started to fall around them in a cold evening breeze. It looked like a storm was incoming; luckily, they had almost everything they needed on campus.
"Ryan seems nice," Layla said and turned towards her friend. "I am sorry for misjudging him."
Marisha smiled kindly, "Well," she dragged out her words, "I am not sure you exactly misjudged him more than you judged correctly about one side of him." She smiled to herself, "But I kinda like that side as well."
"So he is a tad bit of a bad boy after all?" Layla asked, resisting a shake of her head.
Marisha grinned, "Well, of course he is – that is my type after all."
"You won't change that?"
"I am not sure I have a choice," Marisha pondered, "it seems I need someone who wants to break convention with me. Someone who doesn't just follow the rules without thinking, but follows them when it makes sense to do so."
Layla could not resist a little head shake, "Just don't go breaking any laws, please."
"Well, it makes sense to follow the law – you get punished if you get caught," Marisha argued in a completely serious tone.
"Does that mean you will break the law if you were sure you wouldn't get caught?"
"Hmm," Marisha thought out loud, "well, not just any law in general, but if it was a stupid law, I probably would."
"Please don't get into any shady business. I am not sure you would do great under oath," Layla said with a laugh, hugging her coat closer around her as the wind around them increased in strength.
"Well, I could just lie." Marisha shrugged her shoulders as if what she was saying was completely normal.
"Dear God, Marisha!" Layla put her face in her hands. "Just stay out of trouble, okay."
"Okay," Marisha said with a nod, "I promise."
Layla sighed, "Somehow I am not entirely reassured by that."
They continued home in silence, arm in arm, walking closer together to keep warm.
***
POV: unknown
It was late in the evening when she spotted the girl again. She had been sitting outside the campus having a drink of hot rose tea.
This time she was with the same other girl she had seen her with under the tree in the park. They looked familiar with each other as they walked.
She wondered if it would be weird to interrupt them. Would they think she was getting in their way? Would she be annoying? Maybe she could ask the girl what she thought about the curriculum Professor Johnson had planned for this semester. It was different than the one she had been through, though similar in many ways in its overarching topics. She could say she was looking forward to seeing her again. She could introduce herself as her instructor in the course. She could apologize for meeting her this way, in the dead of night, where anything could happen to a young woman. She could offer to walk with them, or she could ask if they would walk with her.
Yes, maybe the last plan was the best plan. She would just walk up to them in a completely normal way and introduce herself. But in the end, she did not, as she saw the two girls enter one of the dorm buildings on the campus. Instead, she made a mental note of which dorm building she assumed the girls to be living in.