Accommodations

By Zion Law-Sandell

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18.  

That's the magic number! The age when we were supposed to just snap our fingers, have a eureka moment to figure out what we want to do with ourselves for the rest of our existences.  

It's a pressure that every adult knows.  

Every adult. 

That kinda pisses me off. They all know how we are feeling. My parents know how I ‘m feeling. They knew in advance… 

Why didn’t they warn me? 

Jana closed her journal, placing it carefully into the drawer built into her new desk next to the room key. She had been writing in it half asleep on the taxi ride over. She skimmed over the little pamphlets the RAs had been so kind to leave in the packet she received when picking up her keys. This place had rules on rules but she just couldn't be bothered to care right now.   

She looked around her room. Her whole life for the next three years, at least, was contained within three suitcases and a cardboard box. The room was honestly bigger than she thought it would be. Almost twice as tall as she was and large enough to fit three or four bed frames with room to spare. A large wardrobe stood quietly in the corner, the mid-morning light from her surprisingly small window bouncing off its side and lighting up the far wall of the room, better than the cheap table lamp or burnt out ceiling mounted bulb ever could. 

The carpet of the room felt the same as one she would expect to see in an old church or community centre. They peel up, sticking to the soles of her shoes as she stumbles, jetlagged, around her new home. 

The overhead light is too loud.  

The floor is too dusty, too loose. 

The bed is hard, the sheets are gross. She doesn't even wanna touch them to make the bed. 

Communal bathrooms! 

This place sucks… but, she's too tired to care.  

Waking up at the crack of… 9:37pm. Dang! DANG!! She had just laid down without putting away all her perishables! Well, perishable. One tub of her favourite ice cream for £8.53 straight from Heathrow M&S, with the conversion tax too!  

She launched herself from the bed with impressive speed and dexterity for an overtired bio-med student. Ripping open her smallest suitcase she prepared for disappointment but was met with something much worse, mess and disappointment. The plastic tub had broken and cracked at the bottom, leaking the now half-melted ice cream onto her laptop and clothes.

Luckily it wasn't much and the tub could be salvaged but day one in England was feeling like a bit of a kick in the butt.  

Throwing on a pair of slippers and stalking out of her room, cradling the cracked tub in a sacrificial towel, she stepped into the hallway and almost ran straight into another person. They didn't look nearly as tired as she felt, actually they looked kinda put together! Their makeup was done and their hair, dyed, was tied up in the most ornate fashion. They were wearing clubbing clothes. Jana knew the look, but their eyes were wide with concern. Why? What could possibly cause that kind of react- 

“Woah! Hey!” they yelped, pushing forward, slamming their outstretched hand against the slowly closing door of Jana’s room, their face dangerously close to hers. “Do you have the key?” 

“Key? Key… OH, Sh*t!” she spun on her heel ducking under this pretty stranger's arm and dashing back to the desk and wrenching the drawer open. “Thanks, I…” 

“You just woke up and you didn't put your stuff in the fridge right?  Happens to the best and worst of us even when we've been living here for a while," they said leaning against the door of her room. “I've been here for two years already and I still make the mistake of forgetting the doors auto lock, it just sucks a bunch when it happens on your first day and you still have bedhead from the post move in a nap!” 

“Yeah, thank you,” she said, suddenly very aware of the fact her hair was very unbrushed and she had just slept for seven hours without a bonnet or even a pillow. She dove into her suitcase, grabbing a bonnet to put on before turning back to greet her benefactor. “I’m Jana, first year, obviously, Bio-Med Sciences.” 

“Nuri, third year, Games Design.” They reached down and grabbed Jana’s hand to shake it, their pale skin contrasted with colourful graphics in their glossy nails.  

“I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other over the next year! It was nice meeting you but my friends are waiting outside.” Nuri had already stalked away down the hall to the flat door.  

Jana, still half asleep, took the opportunity to dump her ice cream into the freezer before the kitchen became another place she didn't want to be. Her stomach growled as she saw a pot left on one of the stove tops, assumedly Nuri’s. She didn't even like - Actually, what is that? Some sort of rice dish?  Looks good… Really good… Whatever- point was, she needed to go out and get herself some actual food, more than just some overpriced ice cream.  

10:23pm. Most shops would be closed by now wouldn't they. Ugh, how does London even work?  Scrolling through Google Maps, she couldn't find any nearby gas stations… What  the ****’s a CO-OP?  

“Jana!” A sharp call came from the window. Jana spun on her heels as if ready for a fight but only found Nuri tapping on the glass of the ground floor kitchen window. “If you don't have anything to eat, there should be a welcome pack in your cupboard, the RAs put them there every year and you can use my pots if you need!” Even through the grey-tinted glass of the kitchen window, Nuri shone like a rainbow, before waving as they bounced off with their small gaggle of friends to god knows where. 

Jana let out a small sigh as she opened her cupboard and took out two small cup noodle packets. Maybe this place isn't so bad after all.  

Written by Zion Law-Sandell. Published 23 June 2025.

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