I've thrown up in the bathroom at Mars at least four times. I'll sneak off, get rid of what my body can't handle, and walk back into a conversation like it never happened.
I did it last night- I must be getting good.
Mars feels like home. It's like a family of familiar faces, each smiling and caring. And it's not that fake kind of care either- these people are genuine. They'll remember your face and sometimes your name, if you're lucky. It's perfect for when you want to sneak off from a nightclub, hot bodies, high priced drinks, and loud music to a familiar, more quaint spot.
The Atlantic is the place to go on Thursday nights, a melting pot for the flamboyant and individually unique. The crusties with their huge septum piercings and metal studded denim jackets. Or the indie fags that jumpstart the dance floor alone until more drunken, confident people flood in. The group of cute artsy girls in stylish dresses and boots. Metrosexual men that seem to dress better than me. And then there are always the couples: two people you can observe and tell when their in love, lust, or just there together, enjoying each others company through music and alcohol. Free beer if you're 21!
After our trip to Mars and witnessing a trashy fight outside of 8 Seconds, Conrad and I walked back to the Atlantic. It was packed and upon walking in I immediately felt sticky- everyone was sweating. The dance floor was packed. I plowed into it, blindly searching for Dan and Allison. Hands, elbows, and fingers were every where, all over me, in the air, intertwined. And then I found them and we danced. Everything around me was making me smile uncontrollably. The music and atmosphere- even the heat. The last song was starting.
Again like last weekend, the sexy song played loudly, uplifting me instantaneously: Wolf Like Me. This time, there was no nausea. And this time, I didn't have to leave the room.
I sang and jumped and screamed. Everyone around me did the same. I watched as Conrad came in from outside, threw himself into the crowd, and then I lost him. I didn't see Ben and Danielle anymore. Dan and Allison were in sync like always, always on the same page. I tried to stop grinning. I gave up by the time the song ended.
We walked out of the nightclub desperate for fresh air. I ran into my teacher. He was as sweaty as I was and I wondered if he was in the mass of moving bodies as well. I saw two other people I knew that night.
Gainesville is becoming a small town, and to me, that means it's becoming home. I'm meeting people, and those people may know each other, and everything and everyone is interconnected through happenings or accidents. Weak walls crumble in order for stronger ones to be built. Things simultaneously fall apart, but amazingly, they always piece back together like a puzzle.
The puzzle is starting to look beautiful.
