Certain Things

Chapter 1 * Electricity failures and slippers with ears

It's been two weeks since I got to London. Before yesterday was my first day at the University. Certainly not what I expected!

Now that I think it would be better... It's just... the perfect idea that I had of the university, that as soon as I arrived I would meet nice people or even make friends for life right on the first day, it turns to be just that, a idea.

The people I've talked to most have been Claire and this nice blonde lady who works at Starbucks near the campus. I met her the first day I decided to go get my latte, and that's when she asked me my name to write it in my glass. And since that day I am Jules and not Julia. Well, this happened because she couldn't quite see how my name was written. And since that day that whenever someone asks my name, I always say it's Jules, because I realized that it's a lot easier to pronounce it in English and also because I liked a tiny bit more.

As for Claire, of course I have spoken to her, mainly because she lives right on the end of the corridor. But that's not the only reason, after one night when she came home with two bottles with labels that I had never seen in my short life, and after the two of us drinking them to the end, resulting in a lost morning in next day. Since then it has never been the same.

She is very helpful, she is very extroverted, whenever she is speaking her hands follow her reasoning so that she can explain everything clearly. She is the typical "university" girl, only without being a university student, since she is working in a kindergarten. She leaves quite a lot at night. And when I say a lot, I meant it! In her words "we only live once"!

In the two weeks I've been here, the only nights she did not leave were the day I arrived, the night we got drunk and the night after that, cause she was not much better than me and spent the all day in bed.

But excluding the nights out, she is the perfect roommate. I feel like I can talk to her and I can tell her the stupidest and serious things that she will always laughs at them. Obviously I still don't feel comfortable for spilling all the details of my life, but I know I can trust her and that though I have not made any more friends or anything, I can count on her.

My computer is off when I look at it again, and neither the battery or the power lights are on. I look outside and see it had began to rain again. At least the wind has stopped, it's not so bad anymore. After realizing that the room is shrouded in darkness, I came to the conclusion that the light has gone down for the third time today.

"Claire!" I called as I open my bedroom door to go to her's. "Claireee!" I call her again and knocked on the door of her room simultaneously, but no answer. She must be distracted by something, and she should not even have heard me call her.

When I enter her room after she doesn't open the door, I saw that she has her earphones on and was looking at her Iphone. Only when I sit on her bed and touch her leg to draw her attention, that's when she notices my presence.

"Jules! What a scare, I didn't see you in! "She gets up suddenly and takes off her headphones at the same time.

"I went in because you didn't answer the door when I knocked." I shrugged my shoulders and she smiled slightly saying there was no problem "The lights must have gone off again, and I still don't understand very well the switchboard."

"It's already the third or fourth time today! What the fuck! I'm going to call Peter, no matter how long we turn the switches back on, we're not going to stay all day when it's windy or rainy, up and down to turn on the light whenever it's going down! " She was very complaining. And in this quality she had top marks.

"While you call him, I'll see if I find lanterns or candles so we will not be in the dark much more time, because it's already dark and as the night comes it will be worse.." She picked up the cell phone she'd landed beside her and began to run his finger on it.