A Flash of London II
Posted: Friday, February 03, 2012
by Sara O'Rourke
The chill of the month of February is already creeping under my clothes, and there is a sense that winter, and all the warmth and security that comes with its festive sleepiness, is finally thawing.
I grip tightly onto the torn silk lining inside my pockets and try not to be distracted by the white puff of hot breath that gives away my hurry. Another London day, I thought, and a cold beginning.
Inside the university foyer, I tear my way through a sweaty stream of rushed, stressed students and busy professors, my face burning at the temperature change and familiar anxiety before classes.
The lecture theatre is spotted with a poor effort of the super keen and everyone sits in a line of coffee haze that lingers in the air. The determination to listen to the lecture quickly fades as sound begins to consist solely of keyboards tapping, gossip texting and the occasional hung over snore.
Upstairs, at least, the view is better. The eighth floor of the department, practically astride Somerset House and just flicking the edge of the Thames embankment, the olive shimmer from the murky water sparkles up at thoughtful students. I sit, I listen, and sometimes I'll even concentrate on writing myself fancy subtitles, but I can see outside of that stuffy room, that cruel seminar space that traps you, forces you to consider this, that or the other, and I can't help but think about what's next.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Thanks for giving us such a vivid description of college life in London. I, too, wonder what is next.
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