The WSA Stand

The stand was not what Cora expected.

It was organized. Calm. No loud slogans, no aggressive branding. Just a clean banner, neat stacks of flyers, a sign‑up sheet, and a group of students who seemed completely comfortable where they were.

Nadia stood near the front speaking with two freshmen.

Daniel was answering questions nearby.

Lisa leaned against the table, composed as ever.

Robert sat on the edge of the folding table explaining something while Jisoo stood beside him with quiet attention.

Luciana moved between conversations with easy warmth.

And Sarah stood slightly behind the others, observant and steady.

When the group approached, Nadia spotted them immediately.

"Hey," she said with a warm smile. "Orientation survivors."

Ashley laughed. "Barely."

Nadia’s eyes moved over the group until they stopped on Chris.

"I heard about yesterday," she said.

Chris frowned slightly. "Yesterday?"

"The bar," Nadia said. "Cora’s ex trying to drag her out. The fight outside."

Her eyes moved across the group — Chris and Tom in particular.

"From what I heard," she said, "Chris stepped in before things got ugly… and then outside they did get ugly."

Tom gave a small shrug.

"He handled himself," Nadia added with clear approval.

She pointed briefly between them.

"And you backing him up? That’s exactly the kind of men we want around here."

Tom blinked. "Us?"

"Absolutely," Nadia said without hesitation.

"Focused. Loyal. Strong when things go sideways."

She leaned casually against the table.

"Our first graduating class from last year is already making noise in business, politics, law… you name it."

"Give it a few more years," she added, "and this is going to be one of the strongest alumni networks in the country."

Behind her, Robert just smiled quietly like he had heard this speech before.

Then Nadia turned toward Cora.

A slow grin appeared.

"Now you," she said.

Cora raised an eyebrow.

"You must have had a pretty intense evening."

She nodded toward Chris.

"Getting pulled away from your psycho ex by a tall, strong white Gentleman who nearly knocked him **** outside a bar…"

She tilted her head with playful amusement.

"Come on," she said. "If a guy like that had stepped in for me?"

She glanced back at Chris.

"I probably would have dragged him straight into the bathroom."

Cora instinctively glanced toward Chris.

He looked like he very much wanted to disappear into the floor.

For a brief second their eyes met.

Chris looked away first, clearly embarrassed.

Tom choked on a laugh.

"Okay," he said. "That escalated quickly."

Cora just stared at her for a second, mouth slightly open.

She hadn’t expected that.

Or any of this.

Her mind was still catching up with what Nadia had just said — the confidence, the casual way she talked about Chris like that, the complete lack of embarrassment about it.

Slowly, Cora closed her mouth and folded her arms, trying to process it without giving Nadia the reaction she clearly expected.

Nadia laughed softly.

Before anyone could respond, three students approached the stand.

Two girls and a guy.

The one in front was clearly the leader.

Maya.

She was tall and striking in a sharp, deliberate way — dark skin, high cheekbones, long braids pulled into a tight high ponytail. Her posture was rigid with confidence, chin slightly raised like she was already prepared for a fight. She wore an oversized activist‑style hoodie covered in small political pins and carried herself like someone used to commanding attention in arguments.

Her eyes immediately locked onto Nadia.

"Of course," Maya said loudly. "The White Student Association recruiting again."

Nadia sighed softly.

"Hi, Maya."

"Still pretending this isn’t just white supremacy with better branding?" Maya continued.

Several nearby students began paying attention.

A few people slowed as they walked past the stand.

One guy stopped completely, pretending to read a flyer while clearly listening.

Two girls near the next table exchanged curious looks.

Phones were already starting to come out.

"You’re normalizing ignorance," the second girl said. "And it’s embarrassing that you’re helping them."

She pointed directly at Nadia.

The tension spiked instantly.

Maya’s gaze slid toward Chris and the others.

"Let me guess," she said. "You’re the guys from the bar yesterday."

Her lip curled slightly.

"Funny how those stories always work."

She crossed her arms.

"Loud black guy. Quiet heroic white guy stepping in to save the day."

She made a dismissive gesture.

"You probably provoked him first."

"Or framed him."

"Guys like you always do that."

Chris’ expression hardened slightly.

"We didn’t provoke anyone," he said calmly.

His voice stayed controlled, but there was steel behind it. "Your friend was trying to drag a girl out of the bar who clearly didn’t want to go."

"White guys start something, then suddenly the other guy is the problem because he raised his voice."

Ashley raised an eyebrow.

"So the correct response was… letting him take her?"

She folded her arms.

"Interesting strategy."

Cora felt her stomach twist.

Asmaa frowned slightly.

She glanced briefly toward Tom, then back at Maya.

"That’s not what happened," she said quietly.

Because the words sounded uncomfortably familiar.

Not because she agreed now.

But because she had thought like that once.

For a second she looked down, embarrassed by the memory.

Across the table Ashley glanced at her.

Not accusing.

Just watching.

The look clearly said:

You going to say something?

Cora opened her mouth.

But before she could speak, Nadia stepped forward.

And she was smiling.

Not politely.

Sharply.

"Actually," Nadia said calmly.

Nadia gestured toward Chris.

"That’s not what happened."

"Yesterday a white guy stepped in when something went wrong," Nadia said.

She looked directly at them.

"And I know you were there."

"You and your friends saw what was happening."

"And you didn’t step in."

Silence rippled through the small crowd.

She looked directly at them.

"When a girl — and since it matters so much to you, a Black girl — was getting harassed, what exactly did you so‑called justice warriors do?"

A ripple of uncomfortable silence moved through the small crowd.

Nadia tilted her head slightly.

"Meanwhile the guy you’re accusing of being the problem," she continued, gesturing toward Chris, "is the one who actually stepped in."

She shrugged.

"That’s the funny thing about reality."

"A lot of the white men I know on this campus are the guys who show up when something goes wrong."

"They fix things. They carry the heavy stuff. They don’t panic when things get messy."

Her expression sharpened just slightly.

"But apparently noticing that is controversial here."

Ashley let out a surprised laugh.

"Careful," she said. "You’re going to break campus protocol saying that out loud."

"Apparently," Nadia replied dryly.

The trio glared at her.

"You’re ignoring power structures," one of them snapped.

"No," Nadia said evenly. "I’m refusing to reduce millions of people to a stereotype."

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

Someone near the back of the small crowd quietly clapped once.

They stopped immediately when no one joined.