Self Portrait

Jack sat at the bar drinking amber ale out of an imperial glass slowly and smoothly. The place was inhabited with enough people to keep it lively but not saturated as he hated overly crowded pubs. The people were young and old, lager groups to pairs and the Jack - sitting on a stool with patrons on his right and left both facing away from him.
Some didn't even notice the silent, solitary guy in simple dark clothes and the ones who did figured him for lonely or strange, shy or just another alcoholic. Few could see his face which didn't support any of their assumptions as it was calm and content which was exactly how he felt. As the mahogany colored beer depleted, the bartender came over and asked him if he would like another. "Yes, please." He replied with a confident smile accompanied with direct eye contact.
His focus, constantly shifting back and forth from around the bar that surrounded him to deep inside his own head, was at that moment on the class discussion that took place earlier that day. The annoyingly heated political argument that had everyone in class all worked up except for himself who was simply fed up with the banter.
He then thought of the girl who put had originally set the class aflame for reasons he could not remember. What he did recall, however, was the tight, twisted look on her face as people called her out on her invalid arguments and the soon to follow open-mouthed look of absolute surprise when the entire class turned to her in realization that she was actually ignorant to the fact that the earth was not the center of the solar system.
Just picturing her face with wide shell-shocked eyes, reddened skin and mild perspiration caused Jack to chuckle just loud enough for the people at the bar to hear. Some looked at him like he was a mental defective but he didn't care. He was blissfully engaged in the company of himself.