Free All These Perfect Strangers by Aoife Clifford Page B

Dale.
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    In the end, both Kesh and Rachel insisted on coming to Film Group as well, despite my best efforts to put them off, even though Kesh had seen the movie before and Rachel claimed that only misfits gave up their Friday nights to sit in the Physics lecture hall. I decided against telling Rachel that I was meeting Rogan there because I didn’t want any more ‘help’ from her.
    It was already dark as we crossed the campus to the Science faculty.
    â€˜If this is the same as Star Wars last year when the morons behind me quoted every single line of dialogue out loud, even R2D2’s, I will punch someone and walk home,’ Rachel said, as we pushed our way in the door. The place was about half full, with a steady thrumming of talk and noise, and I started scanning for Rogan. There was no cinematic sexy ambience at Film Group, which took place in a large lecture room with deeply tiered timber seats in front of a roll-down screen. Any hopes of groping in the dark could only have been in the imagination of the desperate, because it would take the dexterity of a squid to get past the wooden edges and metal clamping each seat firmly into place. But it didn’t stop me imagining.
    â€˜What did I tell you? A whole bunch of freaks. Look, Pen, there’s Michael. Kissy, kissy.’ Rachel enjoyed pretending there hadn’t been any dare and that we harboured a secret passion for each other.
    Michael was sitting all by himself in the third row. He looked our way and nodded his head. I stopped to say hello.
    â€˜These seats are free,’ he said.
    â€˜Oh, thanks.’ My skin prickled with embarrassment. ‘But I said to . . . um . . . Rogan that I’d watch it with him.’
    A girl said, ‘Excuse me,’ and moved along the row to take a seat, a couple down from Michael. She had long blonde hair and a white top and I recognised her as the Marchmain girl I had seen at the bar crawl the month before.
    â€˜Oh, right,’ said Michael.
    â€˜Another time, maybe.’ I took a few steps away.
    â€˜Hurry up,’ said Rachel, ‘or else we will get stuck with Michael.’
    â€˜He’ll hear you,’ Kesh said. But that only made her talk more loudly.
    â€˜There are too many boring people that go to Film Group. It’s like boring is contagious. You might catch boring just sitting next to Michael.’
    We began to climb the stairs to find a seat.
    â€˜Maybe all his boringness is a front, a cunning disguise. One of these days I’m going to get into his room for a snoop. Probably find pictures of Pen all over his walls,’ Rachel said laughing, but she quickly stopped. ‘Half of college is here.’
    A few rows up, there was a large group of people making a party of it. Joad and Stoner were passing plastic cups along the row and there was the clinking of glass and metal coming from backpacks. Rogan was at the far edge of the group, drinking a beer, and hadn’t noticed me.
    â€˜What’s going on?’ asked Rachel.
    Annabel, who lived on the floor above us, straightened up from hunting through the bag in front of her. ‘It’s the inaugural meeting of the Smoking Aficionados Drinking Group. Didn’t you get the notice? Joad leafleted your floor.’
    On hearing his name, Joad looked up. Seeing it was us, he sneered and went back to talking to Stoner.
    â€˜We didn’t get it,’ said Rachel.
    â€˜It’s a Forde Tower bonding exercise. Every time someone lights a cigarette in the movie, you have to drink beer.’
    â€˜There’s a lot of smoking in this movie,’ said Kesh anxiously.
    â€˜That’s why we chose it.’
    â€˜Sounds fun,’ said Rachel. ‘Where’s my beer?’
    Annabel shrugged. ‘Everyone had to pool their money to buy the beer. Maybe next time?’
    Rachel’s face hardened. ‘But we didn’t know about it because the