The GEEKs

6. Deanna, Unicorn, Indigo

I step on a small tower of books that I assembled on my bed, since that's the only way I could manage to get my elbows out through the skylight and lift myself up, and finally manage to clamber out on the sloped roof. It's actually surprisingly well suited for a chilling spot – there's about a four foot wide and about as tall brick barrier that keeps me from sliding down off the edge of the roof, and I can either half-sit or lie back against the slated surface pretty comfortably. Of course there's not a fucking chance I could pull this off when it's raining which significantly limits the amount of time I'm gonna spend up here.

I sit a pack of chocolate coated peanuts on the open skylight that very conveniently serves as a small table right now, grab a folded newspaper that I had tucked behind the waistband of my jeans, and when I'm finally all settled in I recognise Sweet Child o' Mine coming from my bedroom, from my ancient Walkman that I left on my bed with the radio turned on. They've been constantly playing that song for about a month now, ever since it came out as a single, and it's impossible to not know every single word by now. "She's got eyes of the bluest skies as if they thought of rain..." It's impossible not to sing along too. And there's something vaguely satisfying about bellowing along to a pretentious love song on an evening like this; the air is warm and sweet up here somehow, the sun's all ready to set, and I survived yet another Monday. "I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain..." I open the newspaper and flip through the pages looking for something interesting to read. "Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide and pray for the thunder—" I actually fucking flinch when I hear a sudden creaky sound of a window being opened and then Mark pokes his head out through a skylight some twenty feet to my left.

"Why are you singing on my roof?" He beams at me and I try my best to not let the embarrassment show in my face.

"First of all, this is not your roof. And I wasn't singing..." I add quietly as he hoists himself up and out through the window hole.

"And Guns N' Roses too... I thought you were cooler than that, Novak." Mark makes his way towards me and I shove a couple of peanuts into my mouth as I watch him.

"No, I'm not very cool. Why would you ever think that?"

He leans back against the roofing next to me and parts his lips and then gives me a totally baffled expression and a shrug. "No idea."

"Peanuts?" I hold out the bag for him.

"You are using food to tame me, aren't you? I'll tell you a secret..." His face drifts into a usual smirk as he helps himself to a handful of peanuts. "Alcohol would do the trick faster."

"Yeah, well I've got all the time in the world either way."

"Hmm. I thought I had it." His remark is so absurd that I can only be totally fascinated by it, and the way he delivers it too, with an accompanying gesture of pointing his thumb at his side of the roof.

I think that's why I like Mark Arm, I like when people have slightly unusual mannerisms or ways of speaking. Just like Eva who always forgets words and tries to use the second best thing on her mind instead, or Lizzy who tends to keep jumping between topics in her head so rapidly it's sometimes hard to follow her, or Gwen who should have a masters degree in sneaking Marilyn Monroe quotes into conversations at the most random times.

"So what's crackin'? Saw an—"

"Shh!" I wave a hand in front of Mark's face as I dart my eyes to my window at the sound of Nick Cave beginning to sing about a Deanna. I wish I'd turned the sound up a little more because I fucking love that song, and the new Bad Seeds record came out today too, which is very exciting. I just need to remember to pick it up tomorrow...which is kind of a challenge with my windswept head.