The Changing Rooms
It is short story time.
David hauled himself heavily out of the pool, dripping water impressively. He looked down at his body admiringly - he always liked the way he looked after a swim. Actually he was nothing special, but at least in comparison to how he sometimes thought of himself, he looked good. Treading wetly and slightly unsteadily to the changing room, he took a piss and then a shower, staying for a long time under the hot deluge of water to rid himself of the bitter, clinging chlorine. He stepped back into the changing room with his blue towel wrapped around his waist, his longish black hair plastered to his skull. In the changing room was a slightly chubby guy also recently come out of the baths, with just his boxers on. He was helping an apparently new student use the lockers.
‘So, you put your 20p in first, then close the door, then turn the key… that’s it. Yeah, er, you just have to keep the key in your pocket I guess. If you have one in those trunks…’
He grinned at the new student as he thanked him and left for the pool. Maybe wanting to maintain the social atmosphere, he looked across at David amiably.
‘They are pretty stupid, these lockers.’
‘Huh, yeah, seriously’ David half-grunted as he unloaded the locker of his tumble of clothes. He began to towel himself dry.
‘So, uh, what year you in mate?’
David paused for a fraction of a second, feeling a bit uncomfortable, even at a disadvantage, getting involved in a conversation in this quite naked state. However, he supposed a few words would be better than an awkward silence.
‘3rd. And you?’
‘Oh, I’m first year, just starting…’
David pulled his boxers on. The guy sounded friendly, and probably wanted to get to know as many people as possible. He went on -
‘Cool. What’s your name, mate?’
‘I’m Aaron.’
‘David. What subject do you do?’
‘Er, History.’ Aaron had just struggled into a white t-shirt. David’s face had considerably brightened at the mention of a Humanities subject.
‘Oh, cool! That’s really interesting - what kind of period?’ David said as he likewise pulled on a black t-shirt. It had a small white skull on the left-hand sleeve, the other side to where Aaron was retrieving his next item of clothing.
‘Modern European! It’s pretty boring at the moment, mostly politics and stuff, but it should be good when we start leading up to the wars…’ Aaron grinned. ‘What do you do?’
‘Oh, it’s kind of a mix of philosophy and sociology and stuff…’ David said, and glanced across at Aaron. He cleared his throat almost nervously, his smile fading - Aaron was tugging on a white FCUK sweater.
‘Awesome…’ Aaron trailed off as the sound of metal hitting the ceramic floor echoed around the room. David was climbing into a pair of baggy black combat pants, covered in buckles, and from which hung a bulky silver chain. ‘Er… is it interesting?’ He said, a note of hesitancy creeping into his normally friendly tone. He quickly put on his dark blue Adidas tracksuit bottoms.
Seeing them, David winced internally, and actually felt a little shy.
‘Er, yeah, uh, pretty much…’ He dived into the inky dark of his top for refuge - but the top, a pitch black hoodie iconified with a picture of a fiery gothic dragon, made the situation worse. Aaron cleared his throat and couldn’t think of anything to say, a problem he wasn’t used to. He nodded a bit as he tied up his white trainers. David’s brief feeling of shyness had hardened to a strange sullenness. He took his 3 pewter rings from his wallet - a skull, an entwined celtic pattern, and a plain one - and put them on. Silence reigned for long moments as Aaron sorted through his bag, packing his towel away. When he finished, he sniffed noisily and swung the bag over his shoulder.
‘Right, er, bye mate.’ He pulled his Nike cap on almost defiantly.
‘Er, yeah, see you around...’ David was tying up his oversized black boots.
Aaron, as he was walking down the corridor a few metres away, and David, as he put his 20p back in his studded wallet, both shook their heads slightly, at exactly the same time.
David hauled himself heavily out of the pool, dripping water impressively. He looked down at his body admiringly - he always liked the way he looked after a swim. Actually he was nothing special, but at least in comparison to how he sometimes thought of himself, he looked good. Treading wetly and slightly unsteadily to the changing room, he took a piss and then a shower, staying for a long time under the hot deluge of water to rid himself of the bitter, clinging chlorine. He stepped back into the changing room with his blue towel wrapped around his waist, his longish black hair plastered to his skull. In the changing room was a slightly chubby guy also recently come out of the baths, with just his boxers on. He was helping an apparently new student use the lockers.
‘So, you put your 20p in first, then close the door, then turn the key… that’s it. Yeah, er, you just have to keep the key in your pocket I guess. If you have one in those trunks…’
He grinned at the new student as he thanked him and left for the pool. Maybe wanting to maintain the social atmosphere, he looked across at David amiably.
‘They are pretty stupid, these lockers.’
‘Huh, yeah, seriously’ David half-grunted as he unloaded the locker of his tumble of clothes. He began to towel himself dry.
‘So, uh, what year you in mate?’
David paused for a fraction of a second, feeling a bit uncomfortable, even at a disadvantage, getting involved in a conversation in this quite naked state. However, he supposed a few words would be better than an awkward silence.
‘3rd. And you?’
‘Oh, I’m first year, just starting…’
David pulled his boxers on. The guy sounded friendly, and probably wanted to get to know as many people as possible. He went on -
‘Cool. What’s your name, mate?’
‘I’m Aaron.’
‘David. What subject do you do?’
‘Er, History.’ Aaron had just struggled into a white t-shirt. David’s face had considerably brightened at the mention of a Humanities subject.
‘Oh, cool! That’s really interesting - what kind of period?’ David said as he likewise pulled on a black t-shirt. It had a small white skull on the left-hand sleeve, the other side to where Aaron was retrieving his next item of clothing.
‘Modern European! It’s pretty boring at the moment, mostly politics and stuff, but it should be good when we start leading up to the wars…’ Aaron grinned. ‘What do you do?’
‘Oh, it’s kind of a mix of philosophy and sociology and stuff…’ David said, and glanced across at Aaron. He cleared his throat almost nervously, his smile fading - Aaron was tugging on a white FCUK sweater.
‘Awesome…’ Aaron trailed off as the sound of metal hitting the ceramic floor echoed around the room. David was climbing into a pair of baggy black combat pants, covered in buckles, and from which hung a bulky silver chain. ‘Er… is it interesting?’ He said, a note of hesitancy creeping into his normally friendly tone. He quickly put on his dark blue Adidas tracksuit bottoms.
Seeing them, David winced internally, and actually felt a little shy.
‘Er, yeah, uh, pretty much…’ He dived into the inky dark of his top for refuge - but the top, a pitch black hoodie iconified with a picture of a fiery gothic dragon, made the situation worse. Aaron cleared his throat and couldn’t think of anything to say, a problem he wasn’t used to. He nodded a bit as he tied up his white trainers. David’s brief feeling of shyness had hardened to a strange sullenness. He took his 3 pewter rings from his wallet - a skull, an entwined celtic pattern, and a plain one - and put them on. Silence reigned for long moments as Aaron sorted through his bag, packing his towel away. When he finished, he sniffed noisily and swung the bag over his shoulder.
‘Right, er, bye mate.’ He pulled his Nike cap on almost defiantly.
‘Er, yeah, see you around...’ David was tying up his oversized black boots.
Aaron, as he was walking down the corridor a few metres away, and David, as he put his 20p back in his studded wallet, both shook their heads slightly, at exactly the same time.