Dirt, Shovels and Annoying Arch-Nemesis Roommates (Watford 6th year)

Chapter 1: Back to Watford

SIMON

The setting sun illuminates the train station in soft orange light. I glare at it; I am in no mood for pretty sunsets. I would already be back at Watford right now if I hadn't caught the bus in the wrong direction. I asked the lady at the home which bus would take me to the nearby train station. She had pointed in the wrong direction. The wrong fucking direction. I missed the train of course and have been waiting for the next for over half an hour.

I see a light in the distance, and I leap up in anticipation, fucking finally. I wave my hand up and down just in case the driver misses the stop. He doesn't. I clamber onto the first carriage; it's empty. I plonk my depressingly light duffel onto a seat and stretch myself out. The train rumbles beneath me and I let it lull me into a shallow sleep.

I awake when someone else gets into my carriage. It's a guy maybe a few years older than me, he barely spares me a glance as he shoves his suitcase under his seat and unfolds a newspaper. I look suspiciously at him. He's very fit. Sharp jawline, olive skin, deep grey eyes. He has long dark hair to his shoulder that hangs in an almost artistic way around his face. I bring my hand to my hip; he could be a goblin. Most goblins would take a more inconspicuous disguise, but maybe this one is vain. I glance in the train window; it is still too light out to be able to clearly see this guy's reflection in it. I'll have to wait until night to see if he's a goblin.

I think he's caught me staring because he quirks an eyebrow, "hi."

Hm, a suspiciously friendly goblin. I keep my hand hovering at my hip and get out an awkward, "hello."

He grins, Christ, he has nice teeth. "Where are you heading off to?" He asks, eyeing my duffel.

"Uh... school?" It comes out a question and I silently curse my ineloquence. "How about you?"

"Me too, it's my final year. Which school?"

Ok, there is no way he's still in school. "Uh, you wouldn't know it. It's kind of small."

He smiles, "try me, I bet I'll know it. I grew up in this area."

He is beginning to ask Goblin-like questions, like he's trying to figure out if I am the Simon Snow. I have no idea what to say, what's a regular school name?

"Uh..." I glance around the carriage for inspiration and my eyes land on my duffel bag. "Duffel-Dom High... school," I say with as much confidence as I can muster.

His eyebrows climb higher up his face and he snorts, "nice, very creative."

And then he resumes reading his newspaper. I stare at him for a few more minutes, trying to place who he reminds me of. It is only when he gets off the train a few stops later that I realise he looks very similar to my arch-nemesis Baz Pitch.

I think about what Penny said at the end of last year, just before we left for the summer. She had taken my hands and looked very seriously into my eyes, 'Simon, you and I both know that you have exhausted yourself. Next year can't be like this one. Your fixation with Baz was out of control.' Ok, she actually used the term obsession, but that sounds too much like I'm an infatuated fangirl; I prefer the word fixation. Then she hugged me and hopped in Mrs. Bunce's car. The thing is, I know she's right. Between confirming that my roommate is a vampire, nearly getting killed by a Chimera and keeping track of all of Baz's plotting, I barely had time to do my schoolwork, let alone sleep. Besides, I have a girlfriend now and I need to be able to commit to Aggie. It is for these reasons that I have decided to completely ignore Baz. I will not stalk him to the catacombs or shout back when he sneers at me. No, I will accept whatever dangerous creatures he throws at me, and hope that he's not plotting anything too evil, and I will have a much better year for it.