Declan walked into the student common room. He was tired after a long class. He found a quiet seat near the window. He put his bag on the table. He took out his books and his notebook. He wanted to study for his exam. The room was not very busy. Only a few students were there. Declan felt happy about the quiet. He opened his book and started to read. Then a man sat down next to him. The man had a big smile on his face. Declan smiled back at him. He was polite, but he wanted to study. "Hello! My name is Otto," the man said. "I am new here.

Do you study here every day?" "Yes, I do," Declan said. He tried to look at his book. But Otto did not stop talking. "I like this room very much," Otto said. "It is very big and very comfortable." "Yes, it is," Declan said. He looked at his book again. Otto talked about his classes. He talked about his teachers. He talked about the food in the canteen. He talked about the chairs in the library. Declan tried to read, but it was very hard. He could not focus on his book. He felt a little stressed. He did not want to be rude to Otto. Declan looked at the clock on the wall. He had an idea. He put his book in his bag.

He stood up slowly. "I am sorry, Otto," he said. "I need to go to the library now. It is very quiet there." Otto looked a little sad. "Oh, okay," he said. "Can we talk again tomorrow?" Declan smiled at him. "Maybe," he said. "But tomorrow I will have my headphones." Declan picked up his bag and walked to the door. He looked back at Otto. Otto was already talking to another student. Declan laughed quietly to himself. He walked out of the common room. He went to the library and found a very quiet seat. He opened his book and smiled. At last, he could study in peace.

Declan arrived at the student common room hoping for an hour of uninterrupted study before his afternoon seminar. He chose a seat by the window, away from the cluster of students near the vending machine, and spread his notes across the table with a quiet sense of satisfaction. The room was calm, the light was good, and he had just found his place in his textbook when a stranger dropped into the chair beside him without a word of warning. The man introduced himself as Otto, extended a hand with enormous enthusiasm, and launched immediately into a detailed account of his first week at the institution. Declan shook the hand, offered a brief smile, and looked back down at his page, hoping the signal was clear enough. It was not clear enough.

Otto talked about his timetable, his lecturers, the temperature of the soup in the canteen, and the uncomfortable angle of the chairs in the reading room. Every time Declan gave a short answer or nodded without looking up, Otto simply found a new subject and continued with the same cheerful energy. "You seem like someone who knows this place well," Otto said, leaning forward slightly. "Can you tell me where the best study spots are?" Declan put his pen down, realizing that silence and short answers were not going to be enough. He felt a growing tension between his desire to be kind to a new student and his urgent need to prepare for his seminar. After a few more minutes, Declan made a decision.

He gathered his notes carefully, zipped up his bag, and stood up with a polite but firm expression. "Otto, it was genuinely nice to meet you, but I have a seminar to prepare for and I need somewhere without distractions," he said. Otto nodded, looking slightly deflated, and said, "Of course, sorry for keeping you." Declan headed for the door, glancing back just once to see that Otto had already turned to the student on his other side and was talking with exactly the same enthusiasm as before. Declan smiled to himself, pushed open the door, and walked down the corridor to the library, where he finally found the silence he had been looking for.