[Lauchenoiria]

The Liberal Life of Students

Student Union, Usera University, Usera, Yervia, Lauchenoiria
16th September 2019 – evening

“He’s meeting with some member of Alvarez’s staff tomorrow. I wasn’t invited, which I’m kind of annoyed about. I worked really closely with her on the campaign too,” Leonie Bennett said glumly, flopping onto a beanbag.

“Yeah, but you and the others ‘betrayed’ her, didn’t you?” Darya McCauley, Leonie’s roommate said, sitting down next to her. Darya was also in her first year, studying biology, and was originally from Aeluria. She and Leonie had immediately hit it off, sharing a common interest in politics and hatred of the Chaher-Clarke regime.

Leonie rolled her eyes and took a bite of the chocolate bar she was in the process of eating. She savoured the taste of it as their two other friends, Veronica Penners and Zahra Ali, sat down next to them. They were seated in a brightly coloured area of Usera University Union, away from the loud music that plagued the area closer to the main bar.

“We didn’t betray them so much as they betrayed their manifesto,” Zahra pointed out, handing Leonie a glass of water and sitting on a nearby chair. Zahra, a second-year politics student, was on the national committee of the Young Liberals with Leonie, being their secretary. The two had known each other before Leonie had started university.

“You came out in support of protests against her government,” Darya said, taking a sip of her beer. “Roni, what do you think? Did the Young Liberals betray Alvarez?”

“You could have warned her, Leonie,” Veronica said, flopping down on the floor and sitting cross-legged. Veronica was a second-year mathematics & statistics student, and was Zahra’s roommate. “Weren’t you close?”

“You don’t warn people you’re about to betray, Roni,” Darya pointed out.

“Oh, come on! It wasn’t a betrayal!” Leonie exclaimed, drawing some looks from a group of passing drunk people.

“Keep your voice down, you’re not even drinking,” chuckled Veronica.

“I wanted to tell her, but…” Leonie began.

“She was outvoted, and thank goodness. Little Miss Bennett here is far too friendly with those in power. She has two Prime Ministers of Lauchenoiria in her contacts list,” Zahra interrupted, shaking her head.

“Ooh lucky for some, eh?” Darya laughed mockingly, nudging Veronica who had joined her in her amusement. Leonie’s cheeks had turned slightly pink.

“Anyway,” Leonie said loudly, “are we going to go to the Baking Society meeting tomorrow or not?”

“Ooh we definitely should,” Zahra enthused. “I mean, they’re going to be handing out free cakes, and it looks really fun. I heard every week they give free cakes to the people who lost their homes in the war, so you should like it, Leonie.”

“You realise I have other personality traits than just caring about the aftermath of the war?” Leonie laughed. “But yes, that’s partly what attracted me to it.”

“Well, I’m up for giving everything a try,” Veronica said. “Except men of course,” she added, wrinkling her nose.

“Which reminds me, the LGBT society is having a picnic on Friday, are you two going?” Darya asked Leonie and Veronica.

“I definitely am, what about you, Leonie?” Veronica added.

“Yeah, sure, why not? Though I think I left my bi flag at my parents’ house when I was packing.”

“You don’t need flags for a picnic,” Veronica laughed. “I’m just worried my ex will be there. She really, truly hates me.”

“Don’t worry, Leonie will protect you. She can just imagine your ex is a Kerlian,” Darya suggested.

“God no, I don’t want her to kill Cara!” Veronica laughed.

“You people do realise I don’t go around killing Kerlians, right? In fact, for about six months I couldn’t even stand the word ‘Kerlile’ being uttered in my presence,” Leonie pointed out.

“Yeah, but you got over that,” Zahra said. “It was honestly remarkable. You’re really strong, Leonie. I doubt I could have come back to Usera if I’d had your life. And I sure wouldn’t be willing to joke about Kerlians. I’m honestly surprised you chose this university.”

“That’s part of why I did. I can’t let what happened last year rule my life. I definitely wouldn’t suggest to the others doing what I am, but for me, coming here is taking control of it. It’s showing that I am stronger than them, that what they did to me can’t ruin my life. I’m in control, not them.”

“Still, it’s remarkable,” Zahra said.

“I sometimes wish I could speak to Jennifer Hale, you know,” Leonie sighed. “There’s a lot I want to ask her. I even almost handed a letter for her into the Kerlian embassy but… well, I didn’t really want to set foot in the place.”

“Leonie! Zahra!” a voice yelled, and a young man came running down the corridor. “We have a huge problem!”

“Julian, what is it?” Leonie said, alarmed as she jumped to her feet. Her reaction times were still rather fast since the war. Despite all her attempts to claim her trauma had all been handled, the war had still had a lasting effect on her.

“I heard…” Julian Sanderson, Vice President of the Young Liberals, said, gasping for breath, “I heard they…”

“Have some water,” Leonie offered him the glass and he took it gratefully, gulping it down.

“Sorry, I ran here from the train station,” he said, then took another gulp.

“You’re scaring us, Julian,” Zahra said. “Are we being invaded again or something?”

“No, no, sorry… I just came to town a little early, was planning to come tomorrow anyway for the committee meeting, but… Alvarez is planning to kick us all out the Liberal Party.”

Leonie burst into hysterical laughter, leaning against a nearby pillar and gasping for breath through her laughs. Veronica had to help her sit down on a chair and compose herself. When Leonie was finally calm, she looked incredulously up at Julian.

“You scared us for that? Julian, I thought there was a Kerlian invasion, or someone had launched a nuke at us, or that the government had decided to mass arrest the environmental protesters, or something that is an actual crisis. We knew this might happen. You really need to get your priorities straight.”

“You kind of do,” Zahra pointed out. “Seriously, we could have discussed this tomorrow.”

“I’m just gonna go buy another drink,” Darya said, then made a hasty exit. Veronica stayed sitting on a nearby beanbag, watching the three (potentially soon-to-be ex-) Liberals as they began a frantic discussion on what they were going to do about the disaster of being kicked out of a political party.

“It’s important! We can’t just let this happen, we need to get on top of it!” Julian argued.

“Get on top of it how? We agreed principles were more important than politics in our meeting,” Leonie sighed.

“Not all of us agreed with this move, yet all of us are going to end up punished for it!”

“Climate change disproportionately affects poor communities and people of colour,” Zahra pointed out. “Do we only support those communities on paper?”

“This isn’t about climate change, this is about…”

“Seriously, Julian, you only care about your political career!”

The argument continued for about fifteen minutes, after which Julian stormed out of the building in a temper, scattering a crowd of people wearing costumes that made them look like dessert items, one of whom had on a giant birthday badge. The dessert people did not react well to being forced out of the way, but nevertheless, Julian moved too quickly to be stopped.

“I’m glad he’s gone,” Darya, who had returned with drinks for her and Veronica said.

“We all are,” Zahra agreed. “None of us like him, you know.”

“We should get home, if we’re going to have a multiple hour emergency committee meeting tomorrow we will probably have to study tonight,” Leonie pointed out.

“There goes baking society,” Veronica sighed.

The group exited the building, walking in the still-warm darkness of the Lauchenoirian night back to their dorms. Some freshly planted trees along the path that replaced those the Kerlians had destroyed during last year’s occupation of Usera blew in the wind as they walked. The city twinkled in the distance, with one noticeable dark spot to the south west where the buildings had been destroyed last year. At first glance, life in Usera carried on as normal. But underneath the façade, the scars of the civil war remained.