A Study At Bullimore

1

John Watson stepped out of his sister's ford, running his hands through his hair. It was the end of August, and the air was hot and constricting. It was past midday and yet the sun was still high in the sky, as though summer would never end.

"This is very impressive." Harry said as she joined him on the stony drive. She was gesturing to the brow of the hill, where the university was just out of sight, behind a large iron gate. "Very... fancy." She kicked a stone that pinged against the metal. "Good job, Johnny." He smiled at her, walked round to the boot and fiddled with the lock. The praise made him uncomfortable.

"Harry, can you give me a hand?" He called to the woman, who was still staring towards the school. She snapped round to him and rolled her eyes.

"Really John?" She shook her head she joined him by the boot, bending to pick up the case, "fucking hell, what's in there?"

"Literally a years-worth of clothes and textbooks. "
"I didn't know you had so many clothes. You only wear jumpers"
"Shut up."
"It's true!" Harry said, "It's August and you're still wearing one." They dropped the case; Harry wiped her hands on her jeans.
"Jumpers go with everything. They are a staple of society." Harry shot him a look and rerolled her jacket sleeves.
"Maybe the people here can finally get you to wear something more... cool."
"What like denim?" John laughed as he walked towards the intercom, nodding at his sister's choice to wear double denim.

"Women like denim, John" her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind at my only man uni." He retorted, buzzing the large button on the intercom pad. It beeped several times before the receptionist told them a driver would be down in a moment.

"I cannot believe you managed to get a place here." Harry exclaimed, still taking in the view. They were surrounded by field and fields of grass and forests that all belonged to the university. On the open day, a guide had told them that the school was Henry VIII's summer home, where he would hunt deer and foxes. John could almost see the King now, riding on a great stallion across the horizon, the hunting party behind him.

"You did the driving." Teased John, after a moment. He hated these conversations. Harry hit his arm.
"You know what I mean." John huffed dismissively. "I'm proud of you." He cleared his throat.
"Thank you." And Harry sighed.
"You need to learn to compliment John. You should be proud of yourself. Getting into a university with a gated drive."
"My other uni had a gated..."
"John."

It was one of the most prestigious, and expensive, universities in the world. Completely private, and very elite, they accepted only the very best on their select courses and had their very own, very strict rules maintain their reputation. A degree here, John had been told, was worth 3 degrees at any other university, and the fourth-year course he was taking would guarantee a high paying job and network of the most elite. The Prime Minster and all his friends had gone to Bullimore, the head of MI5 and his family had spent their 20's in the school and now John Watson took his turn to learn at the very best. John had studied for months for the entrance exams, and then a few months more for the placement tests. Even after that, he still had to pass the interview rounds and the scholarship tests. He was sure that even MI5 was easier to get into than this place. His memories from that time were a hazy jumble of late revision nights, locking himself in his bedroom and dreaming of missing the exams. He would take each exam in his previous university's study room, calling it a library would be too generous and, before each one, he'd imagine the library at Bullimore and how wonderful it would be to study there. He was still thinking about the great library, with its floor to ceiling bookshelves, when a stretched black car parked itself in front of the siblings and a man in a suit stepped out. The man greeted them both briefly, shaking both their hands and introducing himself as Steven, before gesturing that John ought to get into the car. It felt very much like a kidnapping, but Harry nodded for him to get inside.