Steven Barker
by Sbucks

His voice didn't match his punk rock outfit and nothing about is posture resembled the skull and cross bones on his jacket. His voice was high resembling a prepubescent boy. At the table next to me two girls and a guy were studying when skull & bones sat with them. They were quizzing each other on the periodic tables when they were interrupted. It was easy for me to notice he was making them uncomfortable; they shifted in their chairs and looked around the store at everything but him. He asked them questions like, "What's the symbol for Sodium?" then accused them of lying when they said, "NA." He over took the conversation letting them know about all the hardships he was going through that week. No one seemed interested in his petty roommate dispute nor did it seem like any one even knew him that well. The guy, who was most likely straight, timidly accepted a complement about his gorgeous brown eyes then never spoke again. Skull & bones told one of the girls that he had lost her number and wanted to invite her to a party over the weekend. She told him the number as he scribbled it on his hand with a pen he had borrowed from her. With number on hand he got up and said goodbye to the boy in a fake flinty voice and moved down three tables to a group of men. The shit talking erupted seconds after his departure, "I hate that guy," said one girl. "I thought we had finally got away from him," said the other. Then all three put their faces back in the textbooks and continued their study session as if nothing had happened.