8 John at the Institute

John at a dorm party of scientists.

A well scrubbed up John was at the latest dorm party at the Institute, having worked there three months.  

The Institute was somewhat remote and so security aware that most staff chose to live on site rather than go through a lengthy commute ended with long identity checks each morning. The accommodation was far from grand though far better than the student storage boxes from his degrees which the word dorm always put John in mind of. 

This fair sized couples dorm was his friends' Seara's (a tecknition) and Denechrie's (a climatologist). It was currently full of used plastic cups, birthday banners for another friend (Silva, a botanist), nearly empty punch bowls and the particular sort of odd often auquad but always wild partying of unabashed geeks in their element. Next to where John was talking to Seara Prof. Kan was drunkenly trying to persuade some biologists (and sci-fi fans) that the Cosmological Natural Selection Thesis ment life must be barred from evolving enough intelligence to potenehely mess with black holes. While in the far corner some interns were even more clumsily trying to  teach each other salsa dances �" not aided by the trackplayer seemingly being jammed on a grunge playlist.  

John's wit and sociability had made him many friends quickly after being moved from re-hab to the institute but Seara the short, dry humored, blonde former radical was one of his favorites. There conversation had just drifted from what the best ice-breaker card game was to the underappreciation of lab technicians but John had his eye on his manager Eric who was finishing his goodbyes. Head of the team working on affordable optic implants which was Johns assignment for his probation Eric was 20 years older than the rest at the party and clearly felt a bit out of place even though his making an appearance was appreciated, though John had been glad to see him with his hair down (metaphorically, Eric was almost bald)  but was also waiting for him to leave so he could continue bitching about another  lab-mate  the creepy optician  Wain.  

However he was distracted by his eye falling on the lanky Denechri, telling the birthday girl (on any other day a highly respected expert) something that involved putting his hand on her leg and the punchline of which made her snort punch out of her nose in hysterics. 

"urrm aint your guy getting a bit over friendly with Silva?" John said as Denechri helped dab punch/snot from the front of her dress. 

but Seara just shrugged "So Denechri likes Silva. I know he still likes me more, I don't feel threatened and we've never really had an closed relationship" 

John took  this news in his stride as such openness had been common in the West Riders.  

Moving with his characteristic charm and speed he was established as Seara's secondary lover by the end of the fortnight and was looking for more of his own.