It's A Common Room Thing

Chapter 1 - Max

As I walk through the automatic doors and scan my pass the bright colour scheme and smell of black coffee from the self serve coffee and tea area in the library brings a nicer smell to my nose then what I was greeted with at the Bus Station, for a Monday morning this place is actually bearable, I mean I like the college and the subjects I do however some of the people here make you wanna throw up what you've never eaten and then throw yourself in front of a lorry that's going past at seventy-five miles per hour, probably due to the fact that I constantly feel like somewhere round here has it out for me, it's not my fault most sixteen and seventeen-year-olds can be nothing but complete snakes.

I walk into the common room. One corner is guarded by the exact same chavs in Berghaus coats and Nike trainers, the other guarded by the popular girls with dresses so tight its borderline the dress code. The three middle tables are fairly empty apart from a couple of others in my Media Studies class clearly struggling with the recent coursework, it's a good job I listened to the concepts' topic isn't it instead of messing around with each other, making TikTok's and playing duck duck goose with a textbook and every time you won you got a Benson and Hedges as a reward, the computer lock screen is sporting the Sixth Form logo on a white background, a clock in the far right corner is showing us the completely wrong time and a view of York Minster, quite similar to the one I get outside of my bedroom window.

I sit down and start to log on before I was interrupted by some lad also in first year "Excuse me, would you be able to move your bag" I look up stare him straight in the eyes, and begin to move my bag, then I give him a reassuring smile, you know the type that you give an elderly person as your walking down the street just so they do not know that you're a complete chav that is going to whack them over the back of the head and rob their shopping and house keys and just leave them there to suffer, yeah you know that smile.He sits down now and smiles "I'm Harry by the way, I joined today because of the fire that they had at Seville's during Christmas Holidays."

"Oh, well I'm Max by the way I mean if you don't know anybody so far I mean you can sit up here with me like I don't mind" I can't stop looking at him, he feels so warm and homely, as he sits down I can see that he is carrying a psychology text book with him. He begins to log on before realising it's his first day and IT will take at least a week before even starting to bother, I just hope that no one tells him half of the a-level psych course here requires coursework, so IT better get a bloody move on, either that or he better have the tech preferences of a 1940s office girl. "So why here then, why did you not choose to go to Briggs instead, isn't it like better in terms of well everything?" I ask, oh yes Max just put this lad on the spot 5 minutes into meeting him, well done, let me go get myself a fucking gold star. "Oh well my sister is here anyways, and she wanted to protect me in the best way she could, I had been bullied really bad after I came out to half of the college last year and lets just say they all chose to go there, so me coming here is a stroke of luck I guess" As he says this he sighs at the realisation that IT are a sack of shit in terms of following a to-do list and decides that it would just be better to look through the psychology textbook that looks like he borrowed from the library, I know this because it's got the same stain on it and the inside cover has the school's logo and name stamped onto it. "I'm so sorry that happened to you, you shouldn't have to worry about it here hopefully" I say taking a sip of my iced coffee and looking at the glazed doughnut next to my mouse before looking back at the blonde boy sat in front of me with a cheeky smile and sky blue eyes, eyes that make January feel like a hot summer's day at the beach with a Mr Whippy ice cream.

"So I mean you don't have to answer but what's your subjects" he replied "Oh I'm doing Sociology, History and Media Studies. There all quite interesting actually". He looks up from his psychology textbook, raises an eyebrow before taking a sip of the bottle of water at the side of him and comments "So if its not Karl Marx, its Stalin and if its not him its how to do a news report or even better how to grill a tory" he chuckles after saying this forcing me to choke on my iced coffee. "Alright then what's your subjects" I ask clearly giving the message that no matter what I'm going to be using it as my chance to take the complete mickey out of him. "Oh god I wondered how long it was till you pulled that card, well if you must know they are Journalism, Law and Psychology" my jaw drops dramatically as if I'm shocked or surprised "Who do you wanna be then Jeremy Clarkson" I exclaimed, Before we have a chance to even think of continuing the more than interesting conversation the bell for Period One rings echoing through the common room everyone begins to move with a lack of energy, which is expected for a Monday morning, he looks over at me as I begin to pack up my stuff, I get up before turning round realising he was looking at what seems to be a map of the sixth form.

"Right well I'll see you soon then" I say before turning round to walk to my sociology lesson "Wait, Max, is it?!" Harry shouts from the common room tables "Do you know where the admin office is I need to collect my timetable, the woman at reception to collect it at Period One but didn't tell me where it is" I smile at him reassuringly again "Yeah its on the second floor beside the canteen near the arts department" before showing him where to go on the map which is now folded in his hands "Thanks chuck your a star, see you at break yeah" my heart flutters and the blood rushes to my cheeks, it's not very often I feel like this, it's not this often that I fall like this either.

I stand up and go to walk after him before the sudden realisation hitting me that I have a free period and instead of me being able to just follow him like a lost dog I actually have no choice but to either sit in this dull common room and watch the rain or go out into the morning hustle and bustle of York to go sit in a café and do some work. I choose the second option obviously, promising myself that I will be back at break in order to give myself the oppurtunity to look at him a little while longer.

I walk out the main entrance and down a side street before reaching a small café with outdoor seating. Which is surprisingly an option considering the weather. I walk in and sit down at a table with a window view, a man who I presume is a manager or even an owner comes over and starts asking me what I'd like to order. For the sake of concentration i just order a pot of tea and some toast just so I don't indulge myself too much on the intention of sacking my working for eating a full english then being too full to even think about starting to work.

I look into my bag and take out my laptop, 2 notebooks, a diary, my pencil case and then randomly select a textbook, Journalism and Media Studies, terrific just what I need on a Monday morning. I open up the coursework only to find an array of small but totally out of place comments from Mr Bates, my tutor, or Tony as he has insisted we call him. This makes me mad, not for any other purpose but the fact me calling out the fact and reason that the upper classes have exploited working people has indeed upset the wanker. However it is also the fact that months ago he proceeded to tell us all that us calling out those that did wrong we will be seen as heroes. So what's this Tony us celebrating the fascistic morons.

The man comes back around 15 minutes later with a pot of tea and a plate of 4 pieces of piping hot toast, I say thank you before turning back to the computer screen and reading the overall feedback which makes my stomach turn further inside out. I choose to rectify the piece only for the sake of me passing my course and actually getting a decent grade to get into uni.