As she watched the kids dissolve into excited shouts and laughter, Victoria fought the temptation to call the group back to order. This wasn’t her classroom and it wasn’t her place to control their conversation. She sat uncomfortably, waiting for some order to happen. There were no officers yet, so there was no one to keep Robert’s Rules. Victoria pretended to be totally cool with the pandemonium even though it made her sweat.

“Okay, y’all!” Maya shouted. “Let’s be cool for a second. This many black folks in one area shoutin’ is gonna make people nervous.”

The occupants of the room laughed and Victoria was relieved. How did she do that and how can I be as chill as a nineteen-year-old?

“If we’re going to get any of these ideas off the ground, we’re going to need a plan. Kerri is going to send around a clipboard for contact information. If you’re serious about this, please sign up. In our next meeting, we’re going to toss in nominees for officer positions. We need structure before we do anything else.”

Victoria let out a small breath. Maya was teaching her a valuable lesson about guiding those around her with loose reigns. She gave her peers agency. She didn’t need to get cross or micromanage them, she just let them express themselves.

“Girl, why don’t you just be president?” said the young man in the wheelchair.

“Because democracy, Quinton,” Maya replied. “We have to nominate and vote based on the people. Student Government also wants us to write up a constitution. Can I get a three-person committee to work with me on that?”

Several students raised their hands.

“Okay, which of you are Pre-law or English?” Maya asked. A couple students dropped their hands. “Right, Jaleena, Marcus, and Izzy; let’s meet up tomorrow to sketch this out.”

“What about money?” Quinton asked. “We need to raise money for events.”

Maya’s gaze flitted to him. “If you’re nominating yourself for treasurer, please do.” She smiled and threw him a cheeky wink.

“I’m majoring in Economics,” he said with a shrug. Victoria could tell that the young man was a little smitten with their fearless leader. “I don’t know, I think I could help.”

“Well, we could use it,” Maya said. “They’re not going to throw money at us. Everything we want, we’re going to have to work for it.”

“Parties are great or whatever, but what about the shit we have to deal with on the daily?” said a kid from the back. People ahead of him shifted to give him the floor, all eyes on him. “Like, is this the group I can come to when I’m feeling...” he trailed off, sensing the room’s full attention focused on him.

“Alone,” Victoria said.

“Yeah,” he said. “Alone.”