An unexpected encounter (again) just before reopening

As she was walking the hall of the dorm, Eve came into a girl she didn't remember having met yet. She was stunning, with dark skin, full lips, long wavy hair and almond hazel eyes. She walked straighted on her and stopped right in front of her.

"Hi! I wanted to thank you." she said with a beautiful smile.

"Oh? Is it about the Mandatory Diversity Committee? If so, you have to know it's a collective effort and I'm not the only one to thank."

"No, sweetie." She chuckled and brought her hand to her throat. "It was about the flowers. It was sweet, even though it would have been cooler to bring them yourself."

Eve frowned, then her eyes widened "Oh, you must be Lorena! I'm... I'm confused, I'm so sorry for what happened!"

"You don't need to. Whatever Sylvie might say, you're not responsible for what happened in any way. Assholes are just assholes and need no reason to act as assholes." she assured with a smile. "However, I would like you to see Sylvie again. She wouldn't admit it right now, but your friendship is important to her."

The blond girl was a bit confused "I thought she was mad at me."

"She is. She's still your friend. And the situation will not rearrange itself by doing nothing. It's not Cindirella, sweetheart."

Eve blushed. Lorena's tone wasn't patronizing, but she felt like a little girl in front of her anyway. "Ok, I'll do it."

"And take the opportunity to have her understand you have no problem with her sexuality. It's important to her, not only because you're her friend and an activist for the cause of minorities, but also because she had a crush on you when she first met you."

"Me? I... I didn't know!"

The girl chuckled and brought her hand to her throat again, hinting she might still feel pain. "The lesbian had a crush on her beautiful blond friend that everybody love? How unexpected."

The council president found nothing to answer but "You're beautiful too."

"Yeah, I know. Stop flattering me, I already have a girlfriend."

"I didn't..."

Lorena laughed again despite the pain in her throat. "I know, sweetheart. I was joking. Well, I'm glad we talked, it was nice. I hope all three of us will meet soon enough."

She was about to leave, when Eve stopped her.

"Wait, I wanted to know... Since you're there, what do you think about the committee?"

Lorena hesitated. "You're sure you want to know?"

Eve nodded "Yes, that's important to me."

"Well... I'm convinced you're all full of good intentions, but I don't expect you to win, and actually, I hope you will fail with the shortest margin."

"I... don't understand..." the blond girl babbled.

"Well, I can't support the mandate. Some people just don't want to have sex without it being a matter of race, and might have a pretty good reason for that. Besides, I'm pretty sure most of the members of the committee wouldn't support a mandatory same sex referendum even if you said it would show their support to LGBT people. Not that I would back such a referendum either, but... Well, I hope you see my point. Anyway, I still hope that you will attract more than... say, two thirds of the votes. It would mean most people support interracial relationships, but not necessarily want to make it mandatory."

"Do you think we should change the aim of the referendum?"

"No. Certainly not. At this point, it would make you look inconsistent. You have to keep fighting for the exact same cause. Actually, despite what I just said, you have to stay convinced that you must win at all cost. Just know not everybody on the opposite side is your enemy."

"Right." Eve tried to look as self-confident as her interlocutor. "Thank for your... support, I guess?"

Lorena smiled "Thank you for being yourself. Oh, by the way, some of my friends were asking why on the interracial couples on your prospectus, it's always the white girls who promote your cause while the non white stay silent."

The council president started babbling incoherently, but her new friend laughed and added "I'm sure it's not intentional and certainly not racist, but from communication reasons, maybe you should change this." She then kissed her on the cheek and ran away waving at her.