Ahhh, The Nineties

When I went off to university some twenty-two years ago, I had some problems with my accommodation; other students kept setting the fire alarms off in the middle of the night. At first, it just disturbed my sleep, but then, on one occasion, I badly injured my knee and elbow when I jumped out of bed having been rudely awakened at 2:30 am.

My mental health started to suffer, and my dad phoned the student accommodation office and made an appointment for me to go and see them about moving to alternative accommodation. I went along, and they were very helpful. They put me on the waiting list for a room in a house owned by the university. These houses weren’t normally available to first-year students, but they were willing to make an exception. They took my mobile number and said they’d call me if anything came up.

About a week later, I was driving through the city centre with a friend of mine when my mobile phone rang. I pulled into a nearby parking space to answer it. At the time, a popular American beer company was running TV commercials where a group of friends on the phone went “Wazzzup?” to each other, and as I pulled into the parking space, I had these commercials very much in my mind. I hit the green button on the phone, and, trying not to laugh, I gave it my best, “Wazzzuuuup?”

There was silence. A painfully long silence. Then, a very serious-sounding woman at the other end said:

Woman: “Hello, Mr. [My Last Name]?”

I paused.

Me: *Nervously* “Uh… yes?”

Woman: “This is [Woman] from the [University] accommodation office. I’m just calling to let you know that we have a room for you. Please call in ASAP to sign your tenancy agreement and collect your keys.”

I thanked her for her help and hung up the phone. Embarrassed, I told my friend what had happened.

Friend: “You’re an idiot!”

I had to agree. I later told my mum what had happened, and she assured me that the accommodation office was probably well used to that sort of thing and that I shouldn’t worry.

Two days later, I plucked up enough courage to call the accommodation office, and the lady I spoke to was friendly and helpful. Nobody ever mentioned my phone prank, and I was more careful when answering the phone in the future!