It was at our training barracks. We had to move out for two weeks while they repaired the place. The nearest available alternative was a university residence hall. It was in the middle of the holidays, so most of the campus was deserted. There was just us, plus the last dregs of students on the floor above. They’d stayed on for some kind of summer school. The students didn’t seem very dedicated. They were more interested in partying than studying. Always playing loud music. Drinking. Running around, making noise, annoying everyone. Well, annoying me, anyway. I remember one night water started to drip through my ceiling. I went to investigate. Turned out someone had taken a garbage can from the kitchen, filled it under the tap, and leaned it against my upstairs neighbor’s door. They knocked, he opened, and finished with twelve gallons of soaking garbage around his ankles. I remember thinking it was pretty stupid, at the time. Funny how your perspective can change, though, later in life.
