Snippet #2251646

Alex smiled almost proudly. Maybe it was just her. Or maybe Julie sounded a bit impressed the way she looked down at the little box in Alex's hand, eyebrows raised, the way she said "Wow... nice." Really, Alex didn't feel a goddamn whit of pride, not for this. Building a laser? There was no intelligence involved-- not like solving the Dirac's equation, or deriving Feynman rules, or, you know, doing anything that involved any thinking whatsoever. And as for skill, if you could look up instructions on the internet and not be a fucking dumbass, you pretty much had your goddamn laser already... Even though Alex was used to thinking something like ninety per cent of humanity had trouble with that second step in the equation. Was trying to dig herself out of that line of thinking, but it was kinda like a tiger trying to go vegan. Long, difficult, perhaps impossible, against its own very nature, and liable to end in blood and tears for all involved.

But it wasn't too misanthropic of her to at least prefer the company of intellectual equals, was it? Or to note that 'intellectual equals' was perhaps too strong a word? Not arrogance, of course. Just reality. Alex was too self-aware to make concessions and allowances for the inferiority of others-- er, which was to say, to throw about terms like 'equals' too loosely. She didn't consider herself intellectually superior to all other people as a rule, not anymore-- she preferred to think she was simply aware of her own aptitude and the relative aptitude of others. Which was why she could appreciate the company of folks who, if not quite at the level of 'intellectual equal', at least valued knowledge and learning, who were rare enough in this world that Alex considered it a genuine blessing to find herself in their company. Like she was now.

Alas, as usual, it was not destined to remain so for long. A brief second of silence passed between the two university students as they trudged along before Julie spoke again with a chuckle. "I should get going now. I'm freaking freezing. Catch you later." Alex flashed a farewell grin and a small wave of the hand as Julie turned around to head back the way she'd come. "Awrighty then. See ya 'round." And with that, she turned back to the path ahead of her, and began to walk as Julie's footsteps faded away behind her. Somewhere along the way, Alex thought she heard Julie call something out, but when she turned her head to glance over her shoulder, Julie had already vanished into the winter haze.




It was some twenty minutes or so from the bus stop to the Shopping District, and then to the cafe where Alex had agreed to meet her friends... oh, an hour ago now or so. The Shopping District was normally quite a crowded place-- too crowded, by most regards, though it seemed the snowfall had discouraged a few of the would-be shoppers. Not many, though: countless other courageous souls dared to brave the fearsome two or so inches of snow, and to be honest, to Alex the place didn't look any less swamped with aimless throngs of bodies wandering the white-bound streets listlessly.

Rubbing her hands together vigorously in a momentarily effective effort to get some warmth into them, naked as they were to the elements, Alex headed up the street towards the cafe. It was neither exceptionally popular nor one of those 'hole in the wall' obscure places that hadn't seen a new visitor since the discovery of fire-- nor, objectively speaking, was the quality of their products of any particular note compared to other similar establishments. Just your completely average coffee shop, one for which the others had evidently developed a sort of fondness despite its overall mediocrity. She'd have liked to say she couldn't understand why, but at this point, she had all four of them more or less figured out.

Joey Ginn, for example. Big guy. Strong. But insecure as all hell, and socially inept to boot. Covers it up by acting like some sort of big tough guy and brawns his way out of awkward situations. Then people just think he's a total douchebag. Surprisingly selfless, actually, when he gets a chance to show it. Constantly anxious of being perceived as inadequate or weak, though. Strict parents, very religious upbringing, but confides to his friends (however reluctantly) that he isn't actually religious at all, majoring in business because that's what his daddy wants him to do, secretly hates every second of it. All in all, a pretty miserable guy.

Next to him, undoubtedly, is Greg Rollins. The obligatory skinny guy. Helpless flirt. Fancies himself a joker of sorts. Quite witty in the art of verbal repartee but intellectually pretty much never graduated high school, which is probably why he's in for a 'liberal arts' degree. Refreshingly self-aware, though-- completely aware of his own inferiority, so he just coasts through life with his only goal being 'have a good time'. Shuffles through constant sexual flings and short-lived, purely sensual relationships to cover up the fact that he's heads over heels in love with...

Ana Roessler, a woman of absolutely no physical or intellectual noteworthiness. Well, I guess mediocrity attracts mediocrity. Only reason he won't tell her is the ages old cliche 'don't wanna ruin our friendship' bullshit. Pretty much your stereotypical pretty white girl from a middle-upper class family, though-- never done anything by herself for herself, doesn't know what she's doing with her life so she just goes with what anybody else tells her, completely oblivious, completely superficial. Pretty reprehensible-- at least Greg owns up to his faults and takes his life into his own hands. Only one of the four I actually dislike.

And lastly Jaquelina Villanueva. Prefers 'Jack', probably because her real name is too girly or some dumb shit like that. Kinda your stereotypical tough type. Hits harder than Joey and with twice the malice. Smartest one of the four, actually-- majoring in computer science of all things. Only one of 'em that kept me outta their computer networks-- couldn't catch me though. Abrasive as hell and the emotional equivalent of a Swiss bank. So unfriendly it's actually easy to tell she's just terrified of abandonment and loss, probably because she's had plenty of it before. Tattoos, leather, spikes-- but genuinely pretty vulnerable under it all. Bit cliche, but she's good people.

Funky bunch. Alex put on her smiley happy Alex face in preparation as she approached the door into the cafe. Funky bunch, but they're not intolerable. And only few of many. She was too busy preparing for the masquerade to remind herself that if she wanted it to become anything but a masquerade, one of these days, she was gonna have to make a point of not analysing people for their faults and insecurities.

"Ah, the lady of the hour!" Greg Rollins' lively voice seemed to breath some renewed life into what looked to Alex, upon entrance, to be a less than lively atmosphere. At a little table up towards the back of the place, Greg leapt to his feet to meet Alex. "Or should I say," he tacked on with immense delight in the inevitably incoming terrible pun. "The lady of the hour late?"

"Sometimes I wonder why you've yet to get your big stand-up comedy break, Greg," Alex drawled in responce, ploppin' on down into a seat beside a scowling (as ever) Jack. "But then I remember it's 'cause you got the sense'a humour of a rubber ducky."

Greg pressed his hand to his heart as though gravely injured, and collapsed into his chair like he'd just been shot in the face or somethin'. "Why I never. Hmph. I suppose my humour is simply too advanced for present company. Wasted on you mindless plebeians."

He continued to grumble and mumble under his breath, eliciting a laugh from Ana beside him (whereupon Greg looked simply too thrilled to pay any attention to whatever else was happening). Joey, across from Alex, piped up a bit uncertainly. "I was... uh, we were starting to think you weren't even comin'. What kept you?"

"Guy's gotta have time to be awesome, y'know, Joe-Joe," Alex retorted with a cocky smirk. "Ain't my fault if bein' awesome occupies more'a my time than it does y'all's. It's a full time job."

"Well, if yer finished with that, can we get the fuck outta here?" Jack grunted, crossing her tattoo-clad arms across her chest. "This place is staler'n Greg's sense'a humour."

"Why's everyone always raggin' on me? Truly, visionaries are oft misunderstood by the blind sheep who surround them."

"Sucks for them visionaries," Alex couldn't help but rib. "What's that gotta do with your humour, or lack thereof?"

"You people suck. I'm gonna go off in this corner and brood and write poems about rejection and loneliness and grow my bangs out so I can put them over my eyes."

"Y'know, uh, yeah, maybe we should get moving," Joey spoke up, glancing uneasily from person to person. "Er-- I mean-- unless you wanted to get something here," he added hastily as he glanced to Alex.

"Naw, naw. Let's blow this popsicle stand. Guys wanna head to the mall?"

"Oh yeah!" Ana chimed in enthusiastically. "I saw some real cute things at Hannah's there the other day." The absolutely delighted grin on her face suggested this was a great thing, though it gradually abated as she got nothing but raised eyebrows. She sighed hopelessly. "This group needs more girls. So I can talk about girl things. I mean, Alex says she's not even a girl 'beyond the physical', whatever that means, and Jack, uh..."

"Doesn't give a flyin' fuck about the cute things at Hannah's."

"Yeah."

"You can talk about girl things with me anytime Ana," Greg announced hopefully. Alas-- t'was for naught. Ana gave an amused giggle, slapped his arm playfully, and then went back to being an oblivious little airhead like usual. Typical. This was a pretty heterogeneous bunch'a folks, but ya hang around anybody long enough, they get t'bein' predictable. Familiar. Same old, y'know. Sometimes Alex could just about guess the shit they were gonna say long before they said it. Even had a bit'a fun from time to time plotting out entire conversations based off'a one sentence and then seein' how close she was. Her high score was 100%. That game was boring now.

"Kinda wanna stop by the big bookstore on the way," Alex noted, figurin' it didn't do nobody no good to dwell on such things. "Been tellin' myself I'd pick up a copy'a Smith's The Wealth'a Nations f'r ages now. We don't have it at the shop for whatever reason."

"Didn'tja hear?" Jack replied. "Big bookstore's closed. Taken out by all them new-fangled electronic book thingies you fuckers keep buyin'."

"Huh. Well shit. Guess I'm gonna have to go to the smaller one at the mall. Sucks."

"God forbid Alex has to go to a bookstore that isn't the size of Rhode Island. Truly, an insurmountable change in her world has come about."

Alex merely snorted. "An insurmountable change in my world." She pondered the words, and then, with a shrug, decided, "Only if I'm really, really lucky."