‘No, not really busy. Well, actually I am, sort of. I’m due to give my first lecture in ten minutes!’
‘Oops. I’m sorry! Are you nervous?’ Shelley asked as she moved further into the office, leaving the door open behind her.
Alec stood and shrugged his shoulders. ‘I am, a bit. I’ve done plenty of lecturing during pracs at Adelaide but I’m always a little nervous at first. Once I start talking it’s okay. I just hope the overhead projector works or else my lecture will be a fiasco.’
‘Well, I won’t keep you. Just called in to see if you’d arranged anything for lunch. There’s an anti-war protest at the Agora and I want to hear the speaker. He’s some bloke from America who went to Canada to escape conscription and there’s also a local who refused the call-up when his birthday ballot was called.’
‘Oh, yes.’
‘Well, there’s a rumour that the cops will be on campus in force and may try to arrest them. They want a good turn out in case they have to block that.’
‘It sounds interesting. I’m free after my lecture so what say I meet you outside the department. If I remember right, you’re in Economics but not sure if I could find you there. I don’t know my way around the uni yet.’
‘Great! I’ll come over at twelve thirty. We can get some lunch and go down to the Lake on Elm Lawn first. The protest starts at about one.’
The Agora was the centre of social activity at La Trobe where it served much the same purpose as its Athenian namesake. Staff and students could meet on equal footing. Students could protest there about issues ranging from opposition to the continuing unpopular Vietnam War to funding for schools and universities.
‘All right, I’ll be waiting for you at the front, spot on twelve thirty.’
‘See you then, cheers.’
‘Cheers for now.’
At exactly twelve thirty Alec made his way to the front of the geology building to find Shelley already there. He was not sure if he should regard this as a date, or just a friend introducing a newcomer to the University.
‘Spot on time.’ Shelley greeted him with a warm and welcoming smile, eyes sparkling.
‘I try to be,’ replied Alec. ‘One of my quirks, good point or failing, whatever way you want to look at it.’
They set off together towards the Agora, Shelley bubbling with chat and slowly drawing Alec out as she found out even more about him than at the cocktail evening.
Alec, still reticent by being in the company of another woman and wondering if he was somehow being disloyal, said little to keep the conversation going.
November is the month that the final university term draws to a close. The La Trobe campus was unusually quiet as summer heat and exam tensions took away the energy of the students. Although anti-Vietnam war protests still occurred, they were more subdued and less well attended. Petri found his time at the University both busy and peaceful although it felt strange to be back in the university environment again, so long after having been a student.
The library did not have all of the older journals he required on the shelves but these were easily ordered through the efficient inter-library loan system. Petri’s connection with Associate Professor Peter Fleming allowed his ready access to the research information. Even though he was not enrolled nor a graduate of the University, after Dr Fleming had spoken with the librarian Petri was able to freely borrow books and journals. It was a useful symbiotic relationship since Fleming was working on a similar research project but with a greater academic, rather than economic, emphasis.
Petri strolled from the library to the Agora quadrangle and bought a cappuccino from the student cafeteria before finding an empty seat outside. Around him a few students were sitting at other tables or on the steps leading from the raised walkway to the open flagstone area, reading or chatting. In spite of a cool breeze it was a Melbourne early summer day with a few leaves rustling around in small eddies, chasing discarded scraps of paper and cafeteria rubbish. The only noise came from the low hum of surrounding conversa
tion and the occasional raucous squawking of the aggressive exotic Indian mynah birds that had grown to pest proportions.
Petri took out the journal he had collected from the library and paged through until he found the article he was looking for and started to read. Engrossed in his reading he did not notice that the cafeteria was filling up as students and some staff took advantage of the lunch break.
‘Excuse me, do you mind if we join you?’ A polite question interrupted his train of thought. Petri looked up.
In front of him stood a man and woman each holding a cup and a roll. Petri surmised that they were either mature age students or members of staff.
‘Sorry to interrupt your reading. We need a place to sit to eat these.’ The man lifted the paper-wrapped roll slightly by way of demonstration, dropping crumbs as he did so. ‘They tend to fall apart in your hands and there aren’t any spare tables.’
Petri smiled and indicated the two empty chairs with a wave of his hand. The couple pulled out the chairs and sat. The man extended his hand in greeting, ‘I’m Alec. Alec Thompson. This is my friend, Shelley Keaton.’
Since their first meeting earlier in the year, she and Alec had been out together and she had met several of his colleagues in the geology department. To them it seemed that they had already become an ‘item’ but Alec assured them, and her, it was friendship only. He could not forget Katherine.
The group shook hands, Petri smiling at Shelley as he took in her pretty features.
‘Hey, I’m Petri, Petri Koivu. Just call me Petri as most people seem to find the Koivu a bit tricky to pronounce, let alone spell!’
‘Unusual name, where are you from?’