to happen once you graduate? You’re not going to
sit in a flat in Hulme, staring at a graduation certificate pinned to your wall
– or are you? I don’t know – perhaps you want to become some big, flash,
corporate lawyer, or maybe help disadvantaged children – I don’t know, and it
doesn’t really matter. But you’re going to have to learn to live out there in
the world, and this is as good a way as any. Otherwise, what’s the point in
trying in the first place?”
Katie smiled.
“Fine speech, Mike,” she said.
“Well . . . ”
Katie knew he was right and she was glad
that he cared, but in the end it was the money that made up her mind – that and
the fact there were now over two million people on the dole. She was lucky to
be given the option of working, and she found that she liked it. She learnt a
lot and was a natural, it seemed, when it came to the principles of banking.
The company offered to sponsor Katie for the next three years in college. She
told Mike when they met up again after the summer.
“It’s in their own interest,” said Mike.
“They wouldn’t do it unless they saw something in it for them.”
Katie had enjoyed working, but it was
good to be back in college, back to her studies, and good to see her friends
again. Even Bruno was still around, though for now he kept his distance from
Katie. She knew he attended the gym regularly, because she saw his name signed
in at reception, but she never saw him there again. She next saw him a few
weeks into the new term and she was surprised, because it was on campus.
“Did Bruno apply to do another course?”
she asked Mike.
“No, he’s working for me now.”
“Working for you – doing what?”
“I’m starting a listings magazine for
Manchester,” said Mike.
“A what?” asked Katie.
“A listings magazine – like Time Out in London.”
“But that’s London,” said Katie. “Is
there enough happening in Manchester to justify a full magazine?”
“Well, we’re going to have articles and
stuff but yes, Manchester has enough going on – more than enough over the next
few years. I got the idea from that concert we went to – or you all went to. If
Manchester’s producing the best bands in the country then people will want to
see them; they won’t want to miss out on what’s happening.”
“But that singer’s dead,” said Katie.
“He hanged himself.”
“That was unfortunate,” said Mike, “but
there are others on the way. And there are new clubs opening; things are
happening, believe me.”
“Yes,” said Katie, “but we never go –
it’s just for the tourists. And when we do go there are only about twenty
people there. It’s hardly what you’d call a movement.”
“You might not go,” said Mike, “but I do
and I tell you, something is definitely happening here. You’re just pissed off
because punk is dead, and you can’t cope with the fact that something new might
be happening without you. Why do you think all these Londoners want to come to
college in Manchester?”
“Okay, okay, I get the point,” said
Katie, “but how do you go about setting up a magazine? And what do you mean –
Bruno’s working for you?”
“I’m responsible for raising the
finance, persuading investors that it’s worth their while.”
“And what does Bruno do – stand beside
you to help persuade them?”
“No,” said Mike. “Bruno’s doing two
things: he’s making sure the venues notify us with details of what’s on, and
he’s working with the writers on their articles for the first edition.”
“The writers?” asked Katie.
“Mostly people in college studying
journalism or suchlike.”
“You mean those wasters that you see in
the coffee bar all day?”
“Yes, those wasters – you know, Katie,
sometimes you’re not very nice. Just because someone doesn’t fit your profile
of the conscientious student, doesn’t mean they have nothing to offer.”
“It sounds like a charity project
sit in a flat in Hulme, staring at a graduation certificate pinned to your wall
– or are you? I don’t know – perhaps you want to become some big, flash,
corporate lawyer, or maybe help disadvantaged children – I don’t know, and it
doesn’t really matter. But you’re going to have to learn to live out there in
the world, and this is as good a way as any. Otherwise, what’s the point in
trying in the first place?”
Katie smiled.
“Fine speech, Mike,” she said.
“Well . . . ”
Katie knew he was right and she was glad
that he cared, but in the end it was the money that made up her mind – that and
the fact there were now over two million people on the dole. She was lucky to
be given the option of working, and she found that she liked it. She learnt a
lot and was a natural, it seemed, when it came to the principles of banking.
The company offered to sponsor Katie for the next three years in college. She
told Mike when they met up again after the summer.
“It’s in their own interest,” said Mike.
“They wouldn’t do it unless they saw something in it for them.”
Katie had enjoyed working, but it was
good to be back in college, back to her studies, and good to see her friends
again. Even Bruno was still around, though for now he kept his distance from
Katie. She knew he attended the gym regularly, because she saw his name signed
in at reception, but she never saw him there again. She next saw him a few
weeks into the new term and she was surprised, because it was on campus.
“Did Bruno apply to do another course?”
she asked Mike.
“No, he’s working for me now.”
“Working for you – doing what?”
“I’m starting a listings magazine for
Manchester,” said Mike.
“A what?” asked Katie.
“A listings magazine – like Time Out in London.”
“But that’s London,” said Katie. “Is
there enough happening in Manchester to justify a full magazine?”
“Well, we’re going to have articles and
stuff but yes, Manchester has enough going on – more than enough over the next
few years. I got the idea from that concert we went to – or you all went to. If
Manchester’s producing the best bands in the country then people will want to
see them; they won’t want to miss out on what’s happening.”
“But that singer’s dead,” said Katie.
“He hanged himself.”
“That was unfortunate,” said Mike, “but
there are others on the way. And there are new clubs opening; things are
happening, believe me.”
“Yes,” said Katie, “but we never go –
it’s just for the tourists. And when we do go there are only about twenty
people there. It’s hardly what you’d call a movement.”
“You might not go,” said Mike, “but I do
and I tell you, something is definitely happening here. You’re just pissed off
because punk is dead, and you can’t cope with the fact that something new might
be happening without you. Why do you think all these Londoners want to come to
college in Manchester?”
“Okay, okay, I get the point,” said
Katie, “but how do you go about setting up a magazine? And what do you mean –
Bruno’s working for you?”
“I’m responsible for raising the
finance, persuading investors that it’s worth their while.”
“And what does Bruno do – stand beside
you to help persuade them?”
“No,” said Mike. “Bruno’s doing two
things: he’s making sure the venues notify us with details of what’s on, and
he’s working with the writers on their articles for the first edition.”
“The writers?” asked Katie.
“Mostly people in college studying
journalism or suchlike.”
“You mean those wasters that you see in
the coffee bar all day?”
“Yes, those wasters – you know, Katie,
sometimes you’re not very nice. Just because someone doesn’t fit your profile
of the conscientious student, doesn’t mean they have nothing to offer.”
“It sounds like a charity project
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