An Unexpected Classmate

Wednesday was a brand-new day. The sky was a bit cloudy and the campus appeared calm.

Michelle, her right arm still in a sling, did not attend basketball practice that morning. I accompanied her to Ella's condominium where we found her finishing the video production assignment.

"I Can't believe you're still not finished with this project," Michelle said as we sat down at Ella's desk.

"Our class had been delayed for two straight weeks," Ella commented. "This assignment has been long overdue, but I'm trying my best to finish all the work."

While Ella focused on completing the assignment, Michelle opened her refrigerator and found boxes of fresh milk. She grabbed one of the boxes and opened it.

"You love milk so much?" Michelle asked Ella.

"I'm a bit addicted to it," Ella responded favorably. "Chocolate is my favorite flavor, but I equally enjoy the low-fat variety."

Just then, the clock struck 9:30 in the morning and I had to bid farewell to Michelle and Ella. The two gently waved their hands and provided one final greeting to me.

"Good luck friend," Michelle enthusiastically said.

It was off to philosophy class where bizarre things have happened recently. However, it was a considerably different vibe now that Corinna has been unanimously declared persona non grata in this campus.

Inside the classroom, I sat down with Claire for a brief talk. But just as our lovely lips began to move, somebody from the back row called me out.

"Christine, come here."

I turned around and upon glancing at the back row, a familiar face generated my attention. It was my doppelganger Kyla who was on the back seat.

"Kyla?" I ordered her out.

"You genuinely seem to be shocked," Kyla said as she stood up. "Why the long face?"

"Sorry Kyla," I opened up to her. "I didn't know you were attending philosophy class as well. It has been four or five memorable days of classes yet the feeling of showing up here like an innocent stranger still bothers me."

With a duffel bag on her shoulder, Kyla moved gracefully to a different seat near me and Claire. She looked wholesome and rosy, her hair still wet from a warm shower.

As Kyla sat down, Claire looked perplexed at the rare sight of what appeared to be my twin.

"Wait, you two look alike?" Claire wondered.

Telling the two of us apart from each other proved too difficult of a task for Claire. So she convinced the two of us to stand up together in order to figure out which one is which.

"Well, you may share the same facial features, but your sizes are drastically different," Claire commented. "Which one of you is Kyla?"

Upon glancing at both of us, Claire realized that the taller and leaner lady standing in front of her was Kyla. That was the only difference; other than that, Kyla and I typically shared almost the same fashion tastes.

Not long after we sat down, the professor finally arrived. And he was equally puzzled upon staring at us.

"Are you twins?" The professor naturally wondered.

"Not exactly," Kyla replied happily. "But she is precisely like my doppelganger."

"This is absolutely odd," the professor candidly admitted. "I've been randomly looking around for each one of you and never before have my own two eyes ever encountered two outstanding students who look like mirror images."

Smilingly shaking his head in disbelief, the professor sat down and promptly opened class. We were provided a group discussion on a particular philosophical quote.

Claire, Kyla and I were assigned to work on Friedrich Nietzsche's 'God is Dead' quote.

"Seems easy enough," Kyla commented favorably on the activity.

Each group took some time figuring out the possible meaning of one particular quote. We were then provided five minutes to present the quotation in question.

Shortly after, our group promptly went on stage for the class presentation.

"When you say God is Dead, it means that this being does not exist," I eloquently explained in front of the class. "In our honest opinion, where is God anyway? He doesn't even exist in a material sense. The being merely exists in our imagination. That is why the influential philosopher Nietzsche believed there is no such thing as God in this universe."

After finishing the class presentation, Claire, Kyla and I went back to our seats. The rest of the class proceeded leisurely without incident.

As soon as philosophy class ended, I accompanied Kyla and Claire to lunch. Just as we approached the campus streets, however, Carson suddenly captured my attention.

"Carson?" I affectionately called him out. "Where are you going?"

"My next class doesn't start until 1:00 p.m. and I'm looking for a convenient place to eat," Carson replied thoughtfully. "So Christine, where are you off to?"

"My philosophy classmates and I are searching for an ideal restaurant right now," I answered eagerly. "Would you mind joining us for a delicious lunch?"

"Why not," Carson joyfully exclaimed.

The four of us found a coffee shop a few walks from the campus. As we sat down, Carson could not help but experience a profound sense of bewilderment.

"Christine, do you have a sister?" Carson contemplated upon looking at me.

"No she's not my sister," I politely explained. "Carson, I would like to introduce you to my new friend Kyla. She actually looks like me but we're unrelated. Not to mention she is taller."

Similar to what we did to Claire, me and Kyla stood up alongside each other to help Carson figure out the difference between us.

"I finally get it," Carson gratefully acknowledged the difference between the two of us. "The short one is undoubtedly Christine and the taller person is naturally Kyla. Now I know who to identfy with."

Just then, Claire arrived with a tray full of salads, sandwiches and tea. As she sat down, Carson stared intently towards her.

"Who's this charming lady?" Carson questioned.

"Carson, her name is Claire," I answered back. "She is my philosophy classmate. You can shake hands with her."

"My name is Carson," he promptly presented himself to Claire.

The two shook hands and snatched their first bite. The remainder of our lunch break proceeded satisfactorily; all four of us candidly discussing about recent events in our campus lives.

As soon as lunch ended, we went our separate ways and on to different classrooms. Film production class with Michelle and Ella is coming up on my schedule.