Chapter Text
21st of September, 2011.
"Go work for Professor Bouchard!" they said. "It'll be fun!" they said. They were wrong.
He may seem like a very polite, well-dressed academic, and that may be the case, but he's a terrible boss. My first day as his TA was abysmal. He's cryptic and unclear about everything. I never know what he wants from me. I can only hope it'll get better with time.
Also, the heating at my flat keeps breaking.
Georgie told me to use this journal to practice "gratitude", but I honestly can't find much to be grateful for at the moment.
22nd of September, 2011.
There's another person working on his PhD thesis under Bouchard at the moment, his name is Tim. I believe he tried flirting with me today, though he thankfully realised quickly that I am not interested. He's a bit of a chatterbox (and won't stop going on about some old architect he's researching), but fine. I was worried he might be trying to steal my TA position, but I don't think he is.
Right. Gratitude. I found a coffee shop halfway between my flat and the tube station where the tea is sort of good, I suppose.
25th of September, 2011.
Forgot to write anything yesterday and the days before, since I have been busy trying to reach my landlord and sort out the heating problem. Of course, my landlord is perpetually unavailable.
Aside from that, I am preparing my first actual lecture. It's… surprisingly rewarding work. I think I like it, the research aspect of it.
I've been going to that coffee shop almost every day now, mostly to avoid my cold flat. The quality of the tea has varied greatly, though, depending on the barista. One of them really knows his tea! Not that I care much; I've never been a gourmand in any way or shape.
Maybe I need to stop going, actually. Making my own tea in the morning would be a lot cheaper. I'll stop once the heating is fixed.
26th of September, 2011.
Turns out my landlord is, in fact, a landlady. She's been in touch about the heating. Gertrude Robinson isn't really concerned about her tenants freezing to death, or so it seems, and I'm pretty sure she called me "weak" on the phone. Lovely.
But I can be stubborn. Some handymen are coming to take a look at the issue tomorrow and, hopefully, to resolve it.
27th of September, 2011.
Good news: I am no longer freezing to death.
Bad news: Tim is dead set on dragging me to a Halloween party. I haven't agreed to anything and I'm not planning to, but he is awfully insistent. Who's already thinking about a Halloween party in September anyway?
29th of September, 2011.
My first lecture on contemporary horror fiction went surprisingly well. Professor Bouchard said some cryptic stuff about "always having known I had it in me" or something. I'll take it as a compliment. For now.
On another note, the coffee shop down the road updated the dress code for their employees, it seems. The baristas are now all wearing pastel blue aprons and name tags. A bit tacky, if you ask me, but it did help me identify the good-tea-barista. His name is Martin apparently. He seems a bit socially inept, but I'm not there for small talk anyway.
1st of October, 2011.
I have been attacked. Tim and a master's student by the name of Sasha (who happens to be attending the course I'm teaching) managed to rope me into some kind of lunch date at the university cafeteria. The food was… edible. I won't complain about the quality, since it was pretty cheap. I will, however, complain about the noise! It was entirely too loud for my liking in that large hall where dozens of people were sitting down to eat.
3rd of October, 2011.
Sasha approached me after today's lesson and said some rather nice things about my lecture. Naturally, when she asked me to accompany Tim and her to the cafeteria again, it was quite hard to say no.
I did say no, though.
I fear Tim and Sasha are trying to make this a "Thing" and I will have none of that.
4th of October, 2011.
Getting addicted to a random specific barista's tea is going to ruin me financially. I'm officially a regular at the coffee shop now and whenever Martin's in, he'll basically have my cup of tea ready for me by the time I arrive. It's never cold, though. Uncanny, really.
Today, he asked me if I liked cinnamon. I told him that it's fine in moderation. He agreed. I think that was the most we've ever really spoken. Bit weird of him to ask me personal questions.
8th of October, 2011.
Alright, so maybe I let Tim talk me into another lunch date with Sasha and him. So what. Although I should be focussing on my thesis and my research, I don't think a lunch date will kill me.
9th of October, 2011.
Regrettably, it has turned into a Thing. It's a Thing. We're grabbing mediocre cafeteria lunch together almost every weekday and I honestly can't say I mind. Sasha and Tim are usually more than happy to do most of the talking, and we've taken to sitting in a far corner of the hall where it's quieter.
Research for my thesis is going better than expected. A warm flat did wonders to boost my productivity!
11th of October, 2011.
The strangest thing happened today. I saw Martin, the tea-making barista, working at the cafeteria. He wasn't making tea, mind you, he was just dishing out plates of food in a silly little see-through hygienic plastic hat like all the other workers. Working two separate part-time jobs, it seems.
Speaking of jobs, Professor Bouchard has once again tasked me with grading student assignments, this time entirely too many of them. They are from different classes, too, and not even sorted! Sometimes I wonder if he's purposefully keeping me from finishing my thesis by giving me tedious tasks.
12th of October, 2011.
The Wi-Fi at my flat keeps cutting out. At least this isn't a problem I'll have to take to my landlady (with whom I would like to avoid all further contact), but it does mean I'll have to bother my internet provider. Endless elevator music for me. There is a place between life and death and it is the O2 on-hold queue.
14th of October, 2011.
Internet's been gone for three days now, so whenever I'm not inside the university building, I set up camp in the coffee shop. There's free Wi-Fi and it seems common for students to work here, so it's calm enough for the most part.
15th of October, 2011.
I swear Martin has been watching me. Whenever I sit down to work, I can feel his stare. He tries to be subtle about it, looking away when I happen to look up, but he's not subtle.
I know Georgie said not to be so paranoid all the time, but I'm right. I know I'm right.
And I can't wait for these useless people at O2 to repair my internet!
17th of October, 2011.
Somewhere, someone who is pulling the strings of fate is laughing at me. How can it be that I see Martin, the barista, everywhere I go?
Except, of course, he's not "Martin, the barista", is he? He's Martin, the barista and the cafeteria worker and, as I have just found out, a goddamn newspaper deliveryman on top of that!
I'm not usually awake this early, but, well, it's not like I just woke up. I sort of failed to go to bed. That's to say I am still awake, and when I looked outside the window just now, I saw Martin doing a paper round. He looked very tired. I can't fathom working three jobs, it must be exhausting.
Internet is back by the way, thank God! (That's one of the reasons why I stayed up all night, catching up on work.)
18th of October, 2011.
This is getting ridiculous. When I went for a stroll today, I saw Martin in the park, walking four different dogs at the same time. Clearly a dog sitting situation. Is there any job this man doesn't have?
Should I be concerned for my own TA position?
21st of October, 2011.
Martin is following me. There is no other explanation as to why I ran into him at the supermarket today. We bumped shoulders. He acted so surprised to see me, but I swear he was there on purpose! I don't know why, but he's stalking me.
I have a stalker.
I need to start making my own tea in the mornings.
25th of October, 2011.
Tim promised to help me get through the sheer preposterous list of Bouchard's research inquiries, on the one condition that I accompany him to the Halloween party. It is less than ideal, but a fair bargain.
Now I only have to put together a costume and, no, I will not be letting Tim put me in one of his! (I shudder to even think about them.)
29th of October, 2011.
Heating broke again. Will horrors ever cease?