Re-write of chapter 2
It was midnight, and Marvin was still in the library. Three empty coffee cups surrounded him, as well as a mountain of books, and he was on the verge of falling asleep on his desk.
Eventually he gave in, knowing that his flatmates were having a party in their kitchen, so he wouldn’t be able to sleep there anyway.
So he put his headphones on and closed his eyes, leaning his head on the table.
He was awoken briefly by someone walking past him, but he went straight back to sleep with the Next To Normal soundtrack playing.
………………………………………..
At 2am, Marvin woke up to a very loud rendition of I’m Alive from the same musical, ironic he thought.
He then registered what had changed.
He was wrapped in a thick scarf, and there was a bag of sweets on his desk.
I hope you’re okay, sleep well x
Marvin smiled at this and opened the bag to find milk bottles and flying saucers, his favourite sweets.
Mr Floppy Hair was nowhere to be seen.
This guy, Marvin thought, this guy is different to all the other guys.
Suddenly, a loud ping rang through his headphones as his phone lit up.
Mr Floppy Hair: Are you okay? Let me know if there’s anything I can do xx
Marvin: Thank you for the sweets xx
Mr Floppy Hair: No problem 😊 I saw you eating them the other day so I figured you must like that kind xx
Marvin: That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me xx
Mr Floppy Hair: Go back to your room and get some sleep xx
Marvin complied, packing up his stuff and heading back to his room while eating the sweets. He hoped everyone had left his flat by now.
…………………………………………
Mr Floppy Hair: Did you get some sleep? Xx 10:08 am
Marvin: Yep xx 10:30 am
Mr Floppy Hair: Good 😊 xx 10:31 am
…………………………………………
That afternoon, Marvin noticed that his Ikea bag full of washing was over-flowing, so he decided to make the dreaded trek outside to the launderette.
It was just his luck that it was once again pouring with rain, so he set about making himself as waterproof as he could. He was tempted to wear the waterproof trousers his mum had insisted he bring with him but didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.
He made it down the stairs of his building, only stumbling over the Ikea bag a couple of times, which was an improvement.
He took a deep breath as he stared through the glass door, regretting his decision to do laundry now. It’s too late to turn back now, he thought.
The bag was too heavy for him to run, so he opted for a frantic speed-walk. He was sure people were looking out of their bedroom windows judging him, but it was raining too hard for him to care.
He made it just before the thunder started.
Wow, he thought, this country’s weather is messed up.
He wandered around the room for a short while looking for a washing machine that wasn’t being used.
“Hey stranger,” Marvin heard from behind him, making him almost jump out of his skin.
He turned around to see Mr Floppy Hair leaning against a wall of tumble dryers, all of which were out of order.
Marvin couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey! How long have you been standing there?” Marvin forgot that he has washing to do.
“Only the whole time,” Mr Floppy Hair laughed. He had his coat folded up in his arms and his rucksack by his feet. So casual.
Marvin suddenly remembered that he hadn’t trekked through the rain to have a chat, so began measuring out the washing powder with his measuring jug.
“You use a measuring jug?” Mr Floppy Hair grinned as he pushed his wet fringe back.
“Well, the instructions say a quarter of a cup, so that’s what I intend to use!” Marvin laughed, defending his precision.
Mr Floppy hair laughed with him until a washing machine beeped.
“Oh, that’s my washing!” he rushed over to the machine and pulled out an Ikea bag from his rucksack. Marvin wondered how he’d managed to fold it that small.
He finished pulling out his laundry before he spoke again.
“Hey, how come you were at the library so late last night?” he asked, pulling on his coat.
“Oh, my um, my flatmates were having a party last night. I thought I’d find it easier to work in the library,” Marvin avoided eye contact.
“I see, are you not really the partying type?” he asked.
“Not really, but I’m not close with my flatmates anyway,” Marvin replied, checking the time on his phone to give him something to do.
“Oh, well if they have another party you can always crash at mine if you like,” he smiled.
Marvin looked up and smiled back.
“Thanks, that’s really nice of you,” Marvin looked at the floor.
Mr Floppy Hair walked towards him and put one hand on Marvin’s shoulder.
“Hey,” Marvin looked back up. “Any time you need to, just text me, okay?”
Marvin nodded.
He patted Marvin’s shoulder before picking up his rucksack and washing and heading for the door.
“What’s your name?” Marvin called after him.
He turned around, some of his hair flipping to the wrong side.
“Whizzer, you?” Marvin smiled.
“Marvin.”
“Well, Marvin, I’ll text you.”
And that was the first conversation they had.