Well That Didn't Work

THE STRAIGHT EDGE CURVES
Wow! That's all I can say about last night, wow! After getting off work at 11:00, I went upstairs to join the triplets' send-off party for Adam; he's graduating in a few days. When I entered their room, I was received with open arms by Alex, Adam, and Mitch and introduced to a few of their other friends whom I had never met. Each of the boys had a bottle of wine in hand that they were trying to finish off to "toast" Adam. Alex asked me if I wanted a drink. I'm not sure exactly why I said yes...maybe it was because I, too wanted to "toast" Adam, maybe I was tired or curious...I think I just realized that if I was going to drink, the triplets were the guys to do it with. The boys on my floor have been trying to get me to drink since the day I moved in (gee, I wonder why,) but I know the guys upstairs, I know none of them are trying to sleep with me, and I know they'll watch out for me and keep me safe. But I digress. Alex asked me if I wanted a drink and I said yes.

Alex: How much alcohol have you had before, I mean at one time?
Me: I've had two glasses of wine at various family events, that's basically it.
Alex: How'd you feel afterwards?
Me: Didn't feel like anything, not even a buzz.
Alex: Excellent. You're probably a medium weight.

He then grabbed a large, black, plastic cup and proceeded to mix Absolut Kurant, cranberry juice, Hawaiian punch, and gingerale in it.

Me: That's an awfully big cup.
Alex: Oh, don't worry sweetheart, there are only two shots in this. The rest is juice, punch and soda.
Me: Oh, I know that. I don't think you understand. I can't drink an entire can of soda in one sitting, there's no way I'll be able to drink all of that.

I ended up drinking about half of it, and, just as I'd thought, I didn't even feel a buzz. (Clearly, I didn't have enough to do so, I hadn't planned to have that much.) Alex wants me to teach him to mix drinks when we get back from winter break since I'll have my certification in mixology by then. : o )

Anyway, after the guys had polished off their wine bottles, they decided to head out to the quad to smoke hookah for a while. I told them I'd join them outside (in the freezing cold, I might add) but wouldn't be smoking. Alex sent everyone out of the room to set up the hookahs and kept me inside for a talk.

Alex: Listen, Sam, I used to be just like you, very straight edge, I just wasn't interested in drinking or smoking, but I had some really good friends that I trusted that helped me ease into all of it and made sure I was safe. For example, do I seem totally wasted right no? No, because I'm not. I can be that person for you, I want to. You shouldn't be scared of this stuff.
Me: I'm not scared, *chuckled a little bit* I just like my lungs the way they are.
Alex: Haha, you're so cute, Sam. Let me tell you something, one cigarette won't kill you. Two cigarettes won't hurt you. Being addicted to cigarettes and smoking a pack a day, that'll kill you. Smoking hookah once a month won't hurt you at all. All that's in there is filtered tobacco and flavoring, no addictives, no chemicals, that's it.
Me: But you're still inhaling smoke.
Alex: You share the hookah with everyone else. You'll get five puffs at most and five puffs once a month really won't hurt you.
Me: Eh, what the hell?
Alex: There ya go, let's go catch up with everyone.

I've been curious about trying hookah for a while now. It wasn't really a peer pressured decision, rather, I trusted that, again, these were the guys to do it with.

There's a building on our quad called the Battelle Memorial Building. No one calls it that, of course, everyone refers to it as simply Battelle. The quad side entrance to the building is a set of doors underneath an overhead arch help up by columns (all stone, of course.) The boys discovered some time ago that the structure is an excellent place to set up a stereo. The architecture is an acoustic masterpiece, if that makes sense (ya, ya, I know it doesn't.) When Alex and I arrived, Adam had just finished setting up his computer, subwoofer and speakers. I can't begin to describe how amazing everything was. The sound of the music echoed brilliantly across the quad, Adam's sound system enhanced enhanced by the Battelle building. We smoked hookah, talked, danced (like Pagans around a fire, not "coherently,) and sang. I will forever associate the song "Two Points for Honesty" (by Guster) with the feeling I had standing on the top stair of the Battelle stoop, looking down at my friends...dancing, singing, smiling, and realizing that I'd been invited, welcomed to join them. It was magical in a way. Listen to the song, lol. It was amazing. Adam said it was the best send-off he could have had and thanked us all for being there with him. It was the definition of a bittersweet moment. Oh, and Mitch (the third of the triplets) kissed me. He insisted he knew what he was doing despite the fact that he was drunk...not sure what to make of that. I don't think it's anything.

Just think, these guys are just one of my groups of friends. I love AU.
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