I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that Jake offered us beer, though I wasn't so sure drinking while both underage and on school property was a wie idea. We were still potentially able to be found out by a staff member and it'd be one thing to explain why we're up here. It'd be another to explain why some of us were sipping beer. I shook my head at the offer. I'm sure those who enjoy it have their reasons, but anything that is made via hydrolysis and fermentation doesn't sound all that appealing to me. I don't eat a lot of cheese for similar reasons. Out of those of us on the roof, Jake is the one that still makes me a bit uneasy. I'm more or less fine with the others, though I still zone out when Sarah goes on about her games. His little display in the library earlier certain;y didn't help matters, dramatic as it was. I'm sure he's...fine, but I'm just a bit guarded when there's someone who is into books on the occult. I think I'd like this whole goth thing more if they were into Baudelaire or something. 

I don't dislike Jake at all, I don't dislike any of us, I'm just not sure what to think about him. I guess I just don't understand that whole culture, much as how I don't understand Alena's love of athletics; I even went to a hockey game once to try and understand the appeal, but I had trouble following the match. But, that's probably one of the reasons why we're all here, or at least why we all come back. To understand life outside of our bubbles.

"Black leather and corsets? Sounds less like a dance and more like a way to get dermatitis...errr...a rash." I swear it's a reflex, using those pretentious bigger words. As if these guys are going to be impressed that I know a fancy way to say 'skin rash'. Not even doctors use dermatitis with patients. "And that's not even touching on the uncomfortable aspect." Comfort was a weird thing, everyone is comfortable in something else. For me, comfort was the navy blue sweater and jeans I was wearing today. Comfort was my stringy brown hair not being all dolled up. Sometimes I wish I had worse eyesight, just so I could go the whole nine yards with the brainiac cliche and walk around with glasses. Either way, this was comfortable, this sweater. Which was lacking in leather. "So...no thanks on that front, Jake." 

I finished my cookie and moved on to the actual main part of my lunch. Yes, I like eating dessert first. There's no rule about when to eat certain meals or part of meals, it's why some places sell breakfast all day. Some students bring sandwiches or beer, some buy cafeteria food, but out of the lunchbox I carry around in my plain blue backpack I pull out a mesclun salad, which is really just a fancy way of saying a salad with a bunch of different leaves. 

Midway through eating an arugula leaf, the door to the roof opens and for a moment I fear that the jig is up and the staff has come to confiscate the alcohol. Instead it was a girl; I'd never seen her around but then I'm not exactly familiar with a lot of the students; I'm not Ray or something. Alena and Jake were instantly welcoming, which honestly surprised me in regards to Jake. 

"You're quick to invite her to the festivities, Alena. I wasn't aware this little circle was looking to expand." I didn't want to be overly rude to this new girl, but I was hesitant on inviting her to join us. I'm only now coming around to being comfortable in being myself around the group now, the last thing I needed was a potential interloper. God, that sounds so mean. I swear I'm not mean. "Plus isn't one red head bad enough?" 

I think about giving a smile to indicate my joke, but I hate the way my incisors look, big and weird looking, so I don't smile, I just let the comment hang there in the air while I eat more of my salad.