The trouble with round tables [OPEN]

[animalityopera]

It was just a little after seven in the evening. Devan chose to come to dinner a bit later to avoid the initial wave of students; if his timing was right, most other students were finishing their food as he was getting in line for his. Dinner was a meal almost everyone attended and it seemed to be when students were at their hungriest, so nearly the instant it was six o' clock the cafeteria was bustling with kids. The food was freshest, but the line was longest, so Devan was willing to wait until the crowd died down.

By its smell, dinner was obvious upon entering the cafeteria: spaghetti, with both alfredo and pasta sauce. Also available were meatballs, garlic bread, the usual options at the salad bar, and what looked like carrot cake or otherwise chocolate chip cookies for dessert. None of which Devan was opposed to, besides the salads, which he always avoided. He was not one for many vegetables at all, in fact. Fruit, however, was another matter entirely. He liked sweet things but nothing too rich like chocolate or cake... He had more of a taste for strawberries, peaches, or rhubarb pie: things that were more modestly sweet. Carrot cake was certainly acceptable. The slender-framed youth was picky if given the opportunity but could scarf near anything down when he had to, as he was accustomed to not having a lot of food available and eating just about whenever he got the chance.

He kept his distance from those in front of and behind him in line. Anything was prone to setting people off here, especially when it came to personal space, not to mention the prospect of food. When he had collected all he wanted on his tray he moved to sit at an empty table. Finding an empty table by this time at dinner wasn't too challenging, though any table's cleanliness was far from guaranteed. Devan hated the circular tables... If you wanted to sit by yourself, it was not as simple as just sitting at the opposite end of the table as whoever may already occupy it. Even after a few weeks Devan didn't have anyone he was much willing to sit by at mealtimes. But the lack of company didn't bother him; it had just about always been that way. He sat hunched over his plate to create little distance between his spaghetti and its destination, shoveling unkempt piles of noodles into his mouth with no regard to the typical twirling procedure involved in eating spaghetti.

[jones]

Jonsey yawned, running her fingers through her hair. She had made sure to get a nap when she got back from finishing her classes that day. She hadn't been able to catch up on sleep lately from her annoying new room-mate being someone who snores. Jonsey was sure she would suck in her bedsheets and choke one day, which Jonsey would be more than happy to let happen. As Jonsey got up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she cursed under her breath when she glanced at the clock and realized she was late for dinner. She knew that even though dinner started at 6 and lasted a while, most people rushed to get the hot food fast. Jonsey sighed and pulled on her jacket, looking around for her shoes.

Fifteen minutes and many curses later, Jonsey emerged from her dorm room and headed down the halls to get to dinner. She found it much easier to maneuver through them at this time since they weren't as crowded. She licked her lips as she walked into line, noticing that even though there weren't a lot of people there, there was still quite a few lingering about or just getting there for dinner. She took a deep breath and smiled slightly when she looked around the person in front of her and saw what they were having. Spaghetti - her favorite. She moved quickly through the line to get all of her food so nobody would shout at her. People were easy to aggravate here. She skipped over the salads and got a cookie instead. She hated eating salads, they tasted just like grass to her. If she wanted to eat grass, she would go eat with the cows.

Jonsey finally got out of line, looking around for a table. It wasn't that it was hard, but most of the open or cleaner tables were round. Jonsey wasn't the kind of person who was picky about the shape of the table, but social people sat at round tables. It was easier to run into and start a conversation with someone at a round table than the normal rectangle ones. She sighed and sat down near the end of a table with a boy already sitting there. She figured he was too busy wolfing down his own food so he wouldn't notice her anyways. And if he did, he'd just have to deal with it. Jonsey could've sat further away from him by sitting on the end, but that was one place she was picky about. She did not like sitting all the way at one end of a table with someone else staring at her from the other end. It was something she always saw in crazy people movies; they would kidnap someone, then set them at a long table for a dinner at the opposite end and stare at them while they ate. And at this school, it was a high possibility that would actually happen. So she took the risk of sitting closer to a person, rather than being stared at from all the way across a creepy table at dinner time.

[animalityopera]

Everything but his mouth froze as he felt someone sit down just beside him, his lips steadily enveloping the remaining noodles that dangled from his mouth. After swallowing he stuck his fork in a meatball but left it there, moving his hands to rest at each side of his plate and sitting up straight to turn and face the brazen individual who chose to sit next to him. It was a girl with wavy, blonde hair, a small face, and large eyes. Girls had certainly proven to be the more sociable of the genders here... But this one wasn't saying anything so far. She only stared down at her food as if determined not to look at him. Was she on a dare by a friend or something? He knew he didn't yet have much of a reputation here, besides maybe as a Level Four - but he thought it safe to say his mess of hair made him look psychotic enough to be dare-worthy. No Blackwood students knew much about Devan outside of his Level yet, though a few had caught onto the fact he might as well be mute, he spoke so little.

He stared at the girl next to him blankly with no attempts at being subtle about it. But after another minute without response, he turned back to his plate to grab his napkin and wipe the lingering pasta sauce from his lips. He took the pause from his spaghetti to start on a slice of garlic bread, resting his elbows on the table as he ate but still sitting with better posture than would typically be expected from a delinquent. Devan only hunched over when eating to prevent a mess, such as in the case of spaghetti. Aspects of his personality and mannerisms were a rather bizarre blend of gentleman and devil-may-care punk, and he was capable of rudeness just as much as chivalry; at first glance it made him hard to predict or pin down, but Devan did have certain methods to his madness. There were patterns that could be picked out if one were to spend enough time with him... But no one except his high school ally, Zeke, ever had.

His expression was faintly troubled now, his brows just slightly knit. Devan seemed increasingly bothered just having someone in such close vicinity to him. He continued to eye the girl with a certain degree of wariness, glancing over the food on her plate from time to time as if it might reveal her intentions.

[jones]

Jonsey had started eating her food, twirling the pasta around her fork before sticking it in her mouth an chewing it slowly. Spaghetti was the only type of food her mom could make and make well so whenever the cafeteria served it, she was in a better mood than usual. but there was something about the kid near her that was setting her out of the happy mood as she ate. Jonsey wasn't usually a people person, but the way this guy had tensed up suddenly when she sat down had set her way off. It wasn't like she was bothering him or anything, so she ad no idea why he would be aggravated or appalled by her presence.

Jonsey was almost done with her spaghetti, leaving the meatballs at the side like she always did for last, when she finally was getting annoyed. She was aware that this kid kept looking at her as if he was telling her to move a seat or get up. She straightened up, turned in her seat and looked straight at him. She knew with most of the kids here, or anywhere, this would probably either startle him, or set him off with her sudden quickness. "Is there a problem with me sitting here by chance, or do you have a serious staring problem?" She looked his head over for a few seconds, taking in his wild hair, his flickering eyes and the usual delinquent straight line of a mouth. The only thing different about him was his straight posture and good table manners-minus the elbows on table part. She glanced over what he had on his plate and then took the rest of his appearance in. Jonsey had the tendency to look over every little bit of a person so she could've been looking at him for a few good minutes. But when she was done giving him a long once over, she looked back up at him, waiting for his response on why he seemed so startled to have her there.

She knew most kids in this school would rather be alone and they hated company, but most of them would ask her to move or move themselves. She herself wasn't used to big crowds, but she could take sitting next to a stranger if they were quiet and they didn't sit y each other constantly. She suddenly got the feeling that this wild haired kid looked familiar. "You're in my HTML Basics class." She said blandly, making a small observation that didn't necessarily need to be stated out loud, but she felt like saying it any way. He'd have to be a real cracked cookie if he had a problem with people pointing out classes they had together, even if it was just for a second.

[animalityopera]

Indeed, Devan was startled by the girl's sudden confrontation. She had previously held a straight face and shown no sign that she was about to snap at him, so when she abruptly turned toward him he jumped a little and found himself leaning away from her. He slowly relaxed as she fell silent. A small, Mona Lisa smile even flitted over his lips as he took in what she had actually asked; it had been a common question in his life, as Devan had an unusually keen eye for the subtleties in a facial expression and was frequently caught studying people's faces for longer than was normal - without blinking, no less. But as he stared at the girl he noticed her eyes crawling across his form, as if her gaze was sucking him in atom by atom. It wasn't long before this made him uncomfortable and he was driven to faintly frown, brow furrowing. His slim frame seemed to collectively tense; it could be imagined if he had fur or plumage, it would be bristling.

But his tension vanished when her eyes drew back to his face and she suddenly took up conversation again. He tilted his head a little at her out-of-the-blue comment, watching the recognition churn through her gaze. Her face held no familiarity for him, however. Though Devan spent most class times focusing on other students more than the lesson, in his HTML Basics class there was an abundance of ants from people sneaking food into the computer lab, and he set just about all his attention on killing them. The ones hiding in the keyboard were the most challenging, for he had to systematically drive them out pushing different keys, and work different methods of squeezing something in between the keys to also herd the insects out into the open.

Though he maintained his gaze on the girl, he seemed to recall the presence of his food and moved to crouch over his spaghetti again. Scooping a wad of noodles onto his fork, he brought it to his mouth to envelope the untidy heap and then steadily drag in each lagging strand of pasta with his lips. All the while, he never took his eyes off the girl for long, now braced in case she was going to snap at him again.

[simonsmith]

Simon stood with his tray of food, his cold, sharp blue eyes scanning the cafeteria for a place to sit. His eyes settled on an empty table near the doors, and he hesitated. Was he in the mood to be alone? Admittedly, he usually preferred his own company more than other peoples. And from the empty table, he could easily engage in one of his favourite activities, watching the so called normal people. A keen eye for observation of their mannerisms and interactions usually fuelled his need for entertainment. He walked to the vacant space, deftly weaving between tables and the students seated around them until he reached his destination. He set the tray down and took a seat that had his back to the door and faced the cafeteria.

Picking up his fork, he twirled some spaghetti around it, his cool eyes taking in the people around him. This afforded him another bonus. Alone, he wouldn’t be forced to pretend he was just like them. Though he was adept at being that “quiet, charming boy who sits next to me in science class”, Simon often got bored with the façade. He’d played it so often, blending with everyone else, that it could be like a second nature to him. Like pulling on a well worn winter jacket, it was something he did almost instinctually. He understood it was better to keep the real him under wraps when he was around everyone else. No one wanted to do what the creepy, cold boy told them to do. No one let that boy get into their heads. And, since his love of trying to figure out people was only rivaled by his intense desire to manipulate and control them, the normal ‘mask’, as he referred to it, was necessity. How else would he be able to get that thrill of knowing someone was completely at his whim? That they would, either because of sheer terror, or subtle influence, do whatever he asked of them, no matter what the request? The jolt of happiness he got from that was one of the only things that ever really brought out a genuine emotion in his cold heart. So as tiresome as it was, he always had his mask close at hand. It was however, a nice break to be able to let it drop, to not have to be aware of the image he was projecting, even if it was just over dinner.

As he brought the first bite to his lips, his head inclined as he caught sight of an interesting duo. A wild haired youth with dark eyes and a bubbly looking blonde, who suddenly turned and appeared to verbally lash out at her male companion. Simon chewed thoughtfully as he saw the boy stare at the girl unblinkingly before going back to eating, his eyes darting to her frequently. Interesting. Simon smiled slightly to himself, he rarely got bored with this. People had such a wide range of reactions. He wanted to reach into the boys head and yank out the reasons behind his staring silence. Was he like the boy from the library? Just shy? Did he have another reason to keep his mouth shut? And the girl, what possessed her to take the seat next to him? Did she find the boy attractive? Or like so many people, just crave some kind of human contact? Were they friends already? Lovers? Was this a spat, and the boy was playing his cards smartly and keeping his mouth shut to avoid further conflict?

Simon rested his fork on his plate and put his elbows on the table, resting his chin on the palm of one hand, directing his own unblinking stare at the couple. The girl’s reaction her companions gaze was evidence enough of how unnerved people got when they were watched. And from his vantage point, he could enjoy the reactions without having to give up his precious moments being himself.

If only he could hear what they were saying. He pursed his lips slightly, it was harder to figure out the why’s when you couldn’t hear the questions to begin with. His eyes restlessly looked around again. No there were no prospects more interesting than these two. He heaved a small sigh. It couldn’t be helped. If he really wanted to know, he’d have to go over there. Which meant turning into his public self. It couldn’t be helped.

Simon got to his feet and picked up his tray, weaving through the tables again, this time to the table occupied by the pair. As he approached and placed his tray down, he let his face split into a lopsided smile, one that had he’d been told on more than one occasion was attractive, when it reached his eyes at least. Years of practice had helped him perfect the appearance of warmth, of emotion. As he rarely felt anything even bordering on that, it had not been an easy process. He put all the time and effort to work, as he pulled the chair out, sitting himself down, and directed his gaze first the girl, as experience had taught him time and time again, they were usually more susceptible to his charm. He sat down “ Hope you don’t mind more company. It was lonely over there by myself.” He said in a light voice. Sure, ‘lonely’. Simon had never felt lonely in his life. It was more like ‘insufferably frustrating’ to not know exactly what was mulling around in their heads. But of course he would keep that to himself. [/size]

[larksong]

Leslie stepped out of the lunch line. On her plate rested a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, some garlic bread and some cookies. Her green eyes scanned the cafeteria in desperation, for an empty table. She spotted one and strutted toward it. Just before she reached it, a group of... friends sat down. She cringed, and looked around for another place to sit. The blonde spotted a table, where everyone seemed to be silent, and she sighed. Leslie walked toward the table and sat down at the very end. Silently the girl started to eat. Leslie risked a glance at the other three people at the table. her eyes opened as she recognized the girl. It was Jonsey, one of her roommates!

" Hi Jonsey... " she murmured, as the light above her flickered.

A flash of hot pink with a splash of neon green appeared before her as she said, and thought of the girl's name. Jonsey's name was a bit bright a colour for Leslie's taste, she preferred the blue, and gray of her name. Them yammering of her classmates made spirals and spheres, even rectangles bounce, twirl and dance, coating her vision in their vivid colours. Closing her eyes, she tuned them out, but the shapes still appeared, fainter now though. A grin flashed across her face.

That was nice. I would miss my colours if they disappeared. I love synesthesia. she thought.

[jones]

Jonsey let her shoulders slouch a little when he just kept staring at her. Gezzus the people here have serious staring issues. She knew he probably didn't recognize her since when ever she had taken the small risk of looking around the class, the frizzy haired solitary child was focused on hitting buttons on his keyboard for no apparent reason. Jonsey just shook her head and turned back to her food. "If you wont say anything, I would suggest you stop staring at me before your food goes over her head." It was times like these when Jonsey really didn't care who someone was to threaten them. She'd done it before, and she hadn't gotten in trouble yet, but that didn't mean she still wasn't cautious around school. This was just one of the rare times when she really didn't give a damn and ranted to whoever the hell she wanted to.

Jonsey looked up when she heard someone sit down in front of her and she let her left eyebrow raise on her forehead. Company and Lonely were the two words hat made Jonsey roll her eyes slightly. She could somehow tell this kid was bullshitting it. It was like the popular cheerleader walking up to a goth girl and asking to be friends. This kid had probably seen her turn at the boy next to her and wanted to see what was wrong without actually asking. "There's a better crowd over at the table by the door if you're 'lonely'." Jonsey didn't keep her eyes on the guy in front of her for long, but didn't address the boy next to her either. Instead, she heard the footsteps coming closer to the table and down sat Leslie Rose.

Could this dinner get any more crowded? She thought miserably as Leslie recognized her and said hello. Jonsey just nodded at her roommate, wondering what the girl's excuse was for being late to dinner as well. She sighed, letting herself drop her silverware back onto her plate and push her tray in front of her. It didn't go to far since there was guy in front of her with another tray in the way, but it was enough for Jonsey to prop her elbows onto the edge of the table, fold them together, and rest her lips to her thumbs, looking down as she thought. Jonsey was sure Leslie would probably know what she was doing since she had sat down on her bed and held this pose multiple times, roaring at either of her roommates if they disturbed her. She wasn't about to be any different here. If someone tied to strike up a conversation with her, she would quickly blow them off. This was Jonsey's way of having a temper-tantrum.

[animalityopera]

His brow raised slightly at the girl's threat, though he kept focused on his food, but his expression grew no more troubled... until a few moments later. He felt an intuitive awareness of being watched. Intently watched, judging by the intensity of the feeling. Devan paused in eating to slowly shift his head to the side and peer back over his shoulder, scrutinizing the remaining students in the cafeteria largely out of the corner of his eye. Someone was watching, but he didn't stare long enough to see who, and soon turned back to his food with brows very faintly knit. He was stared at a lot but rarely enough to produce a sense of it as clear as this.

Just a couple minutes later, he paused from eating again as footsteps approached and yet another student sat down. His gaze drifted up from his plate to study the newcomer. Familiarity flickered through his dark eyes; wasn't that one of his roommates..? He wasn't much in his room enough to see them often, but this one had caught his eye. He couldn't remember the boy's name, though. It had been something almost cold, something that seemed to fit him... And seeing him now, Devan's eyes lit up a little. There was something unusually distant about this boy, as if the real one was off somewhere else while an impostor played out his life on auto-pilot for him. It interested Devan... He rather liked it, in fact. He didn't generally like people because he didn't much understand them, but there was something about this boy he felt he understood, even if he didn't actually know just what it was.

He glanced to the girl next to him to catch her rolling her eyes. She answered the boy with an embittered tone, which made Devan frown slightly and his eyes darken again. As his gaze shifted to study his dark-haired roommate some more he was distracted by another girl sitting down with them, apparently someone familiar with Jonsey. A rather strange name. Devan decided he didn't like it, and was happy he never had to say it aloud. The girl closed her eyes and smiled as if at a pleasant memory, seemingly oblivious to Jonsey's clear distaste for the situation. Jonsey did not look particularly upset but Devan could read her body language, not to mention almost feel the tension emanating off of her - it made him shift in his seat a little. He pretended to turn his attention back to his food, absently pushing at his remaining noodles with his fork, but he no longer held much interest in eating. His eyes continued to drift to his roommate curiously as if scanning for cracks in the cool mask of his expression.

[simonsmith]

Simon raised an eyebrow at the meek looking girl who chose to join the table. His cool blue eyes looked her over, taking in her appearance. This one wasn’t as hard to figure out, should he choose to press her, she’d break easily. Simon would have her around his little finger or trembling in fear in no time. Where was the fun in that? No, it was definitely the resentful looking blonde across from him radiating tension that was the more interesting of the two. Still, for the sake of keeping up appearances, he offered the girl a welcoming smile, convincing though it was as fake as a Guido’s tan. He tilted his head to the side slightly as a small smile graced her face. She seemed for a moment to be lost in another world, seeing something else entirely. Perhaps she wasn’t as boring as he first thought.

He let himself look closer at the wild haired boy at the table as well, and it took Simon a moment to realize he was in fact sitting with his roommate. He spent so much of his time blocking out the people he was forced to share a dorm with, that he didn’t recognize the boy immediately. In his defense, the quiet kid was a new addition, and Simon hadn’t actually spoken to him yet, not that he would ever seek him out to do so. All previous roommates that seemed to pass through his dorm like there was a revolving door had to be the ones to initiate any conversation with him. He rarely could be bothered, and preferred to use the time when he was in his room to shut out everything else in the world and retreat into his own mind. The other boy was looking at him, an odd light flashed behind his eyes. Simon pushed it aside, the girl was still the interesting one here.

He turned his attention back to the aforementioned girl, his charming smile back in place. He always preferred when there was a bit of a challenge involved, and this girl was clearly that. Robin had been that way as well. Tough. They always cracked in the end though, and it gave him such a sense of satisfaction. Not that he was going to do that again, he wasn’t looking to repeat the incident that put him in this place. He said reminding himself, he was just here to observe. Watch and learn. “ Well, to be frank, you are far more compelling than that table by the door” he said, his tone flirting. She was pretty, as far as girls went. It was more than reasonable that a normal boy would flirt with her. “ And besides, I know this guy.” he nodded his head towards his roommate. “ Isn’t that right, roomie?” he said good naturedly, looking at the other boy again while the blonde retreated into a sullen silence.

Simon paused. The other was still looking at him, and this time, Simon’s pale blue eyes met his dark ones. It was supposed to be a brief, acknowledging glance before turning his focus back to the girl, but for a moment, he lingered. There was something in that stare that radiated a chill. Something cold, unfeeling. Something he saw reflected in the mirror every time he looked into it. Simon’s head tilted very slightly to the side. What was this? The empty hallow in his chest seemed to respond to it, sensing a similar creature in the boy across from him. Very interesting indeed. This was something Simon had never encountered. Was this to be an ally or a foe? Only time would tell. He kept his eyes on the other boys, letting his mask fall. For a split second, he let the false warmth drain away, his calculating eyes boring across the table. It passed faster than anyone else could have noticed, mere seconds, before he inclined his head to the girls, his mask firmly back in place. “ But I most certainly don’t know either of you. Which is a shame. I’m Simon. ”[/size]

[larksong]

Leslie glanced at the wild haired boy that Jonsey addressed, he seemed to be embarrassed for a moment, before he shot a glance at the other boy at the table. As her roommate adapted a new position with her hands she immediately looked at her food once more. The pose Jonsey had adopted was all too familiar to Leslie, it was the pose she only took when she was having a silent temper tantrum. If you even spoke to her, she would lash out, though if you were careful you may manage to escape her wrath. The shy blonde's green eyes caught the other boy observing her for a second, before he turned back to Jonsey Ann. When the boy started to speak though, it was clear he was addressing both of them.

As he spoke, Leslie caught her breath. His voice was beige, a hidden colour, restrained. But that wasn't why she was shocked The undertone of the beige was black, and the back lighting was red. It seemed he hid something, from everyone. She knew this, just after hearing his voice.

"Hello, Simon. I'm Leslie Rose Clistren, Level three." she said, just loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. The confidence she felt surprised her. Leslie felt safe around him, as if she knew him. It must have been because of the colour of his voice.

[jones]

Jonsey licked her lips quickly, staring at her thumbs and wishing the boy in front of her would shut up. As soon as he spoke though, her ears pricked at the fliring tone. She could pick up that kind of tone from anywhere, wether the speaker was trying to hide it or deliberatly flaunting it. She slowly turned his eyes up to him, one of her 'Don't even start' glares. She knew Leslie had probably picked up on her posture, and if Leslie could see ehr look, then she would hopefully be kind enough to enlighten the guy in front of her if he didn't catch on. One of her eyebrows raised when the boy stated that his roomate was the one she had just tempered with. She felt sorry for the pour guy.

Jonsey licked her lips again, getting a bit aggitated with the new talkative member of the table. She slowly looked at leslie when she introduced herself and could tell that the girl was quite content with the visitor. Jonsey was a bit surprised at how loud the girl spoke, but Jonsey had grown to at least have gotten used to her, as if she were an annoying cat that laid around her porch and refused to go away. So she could say that she was at least a little proud of her for speaking up. When Simon introduced himself, however, she stayed silent, not offering her name in return. For some reason, she had taken an imidiate disliking to this Simon in front of her. She looked over every aspect of his face, then the rest of him: what he wore, how he sat, the way he moved, how deeply he was breathing, and tinier observationss most people wouldn't care about.

It was unusual for Jonsey to take a disliking to guys so quickly unless she knew more about them. But this kid was different and he just had something about him that was bothering her. She couldn't put her finger on it and it was annoying her even more. Shefinally let her hands rest on the table and she looked him dead in the eyes, thinking that she might find the answer there when he spoke again. She often did this and most of the time she could get an answer out of a person by boring her eyes into the other person's. She doubted it would be the same with this guy, but it couldn't hurt to try.

[animalityopera]

Devan looked up when he was referred to, glancing between the three others briefly as if wary of acknowledging his roommate's statement. 'Know' was a bit of a stretch - the other boy had never spoken to him and obviously Devan hadn't ever taken the initiative either. Until now his roommate had seemed intent on largely just staying out of his way, which was fine by him.

His eye was caught by his roommate's returning his gaze, then. He felt an icy sort of spark flicker through his every vein and muscle, something like a second-long adrenaline rush, almost similar to the feeling he got when he killed something. The wild-haired youth was so captivated in his roommate's eye contact he missed the boy's subtle tilt of the head and even the short-lived dropping of the mask Devan had been so careful to observe. But he did not miss the ghosts of thought that sifted through those eyes... This boy, too, had a predator's gaze, and for just a moment looked deeply intrigued, like a cat that had found something new and exciting. But it was only seconds before the other boy looked away, normal, human feelings flooding over his eyes to reclaim their place as his mask. A small, tentative smile twitched into each corner of Devan's lips.

Simon, that was it. He glanced at the second girl who had sat down at the table as she introduced herself, too. That's a Level Three? Devan's miniscule smile dropped and his brow furrowed a little. He looked his Level; it always rather surprised him to find students here who didn't, especially in the case of perfectly cheerful, normal-looking girls.

Jonsey was glowering at Simon now with a dangerous impatience lurking in her eyes, but after a moment that impatience settled into a cautious curiosity. Somehow Devan did not like the look she was giving his roommate, but he didn't dwell on it - he would never admit to any kind of attachment or even possessiveness he might feel for someone. Although, such feelings had only happened in him once before. He shifted in his seat for a minute, eyes skimming over the table thoughtfully, before he pulled his student ID out of his pants pocket somewhat suddenly for how still and quiet he had been. Despite Simon's claim they were familiar, Devan doubted his roommate even knew his name, so he decided now was a good opportunity to present it. He held the card over the table in front of Simon, his ID offering his full name, age, and Level since his voice apparently wouldn't. Devan did not pass the card around, however, apparently uninterested in introducing himself to the other two at the table. Next he offered another small and rather belated smile, as if he wasn't sure this was the appropriate time for one but had at the last minute decided to try it anyway.