Chapter 8

It took a while but the computer was finally set up that way Andrew wanted on his desk. The arguments in Afrikaans had quietened and he was listening to some Rush on his boombox. He had managed to get it into the box with the computer so he had the ability to play some music in his room. He had the volume low and was sitting on the chair in the room with the contents of the welcome pack spread over the bed, going through it all, trying to figure what was important in the next 36 hours and what could wait until later in the week. It appeared that nothing was vital that weekend but that the first three days of the week were chock full of meetings, introductions and events that he had to attend. Between the College and the Faculty of Engineering large parts of all three days had scheduled events. Monday was devoted to the College and then Engineering had the following two days for meet and greets, tours of labs, all that sort of thing. Andrew couldn’t wait. There was a knock at the door and Nigel stood there looking sheepish.

“Do you mind giving me a hand to take some of these bags back downstairs. I am going to look such an arse.”

Andrew laughed

“Yes, but it will be done in no time. You aren’t the first and you won’t be the last to have to do this.”

Between the three of them they had the cart loaded back up in one trip and then Nigel and his mother headed off doing the Freshers afternoon equivalent of the walk of shame. Andrew stood watching as they passed a young woman heading his way with her parents, the father pulling a heavily laden cart.

“Sent down already?”

Bloody hell, Andrew thought Ara had a posh accent but this one...

“Hello, I am Helena Innes.”

“Andrew McLeod, nice to meet you.”

Andrew nodded in the direction of the departed Nigel.

“Nigel discovered that he had brought way too much stuff and so that is all going back home.”

The look her mother gave Helena conveyed the message that she had been similarly inclined. He was introduced to her parents and once again appeared to be cast in the role of baggage clerk. Andrew helped her dad with the heavier bags, and between the four of them were done in one go. Helena was in number 11, first on the right in the corridor. Andrew put the bags down at the door.

“Nice to meet you, I am down in number 5 and two or three of us are heading over for dinner at 5.30 if you want to join us.”

He guessed not but there was no harm in being polite. He retired to his room and had to laugh. He had met, well sort of, four of the other 10 on the corridor and it was pretty clear they didn’t have much in common. At 5.20 Andrew heard the door next door open and sure enough Nigel put his head round the door seconds later.

“Come in, did you manage to get your mother on her way?”

Nigel snorted.

“Yeah, thanks to you. I can’t believe I had to take stuff back to the car. I looked such a twat going against the flow at the gate. The thing is it was a joint effort, it is not as though I can blame Mum. I was just as bad with the packing. Still, it is done now. We never got a chance to chat with all the bag carrying.”

So they did the quick five minute version of their lives, Nigel was an only child and his mum was a widow so it was just the two of them. He was reading History and had grown up in Hampshire. Andrew gave him the same snapshot and ruefully laughed.

“We are going for the first dinner tonight and then there is some kind of social at the bar, another day of Freshers arriving tomorrow and then the formal tomorrow night. Do you want to bet on how many times we have to go through that speech by then? We will have it down to 20 seconds maybe less. Andrew McLeod, Scottish, Engineering, B corridor Angel Court, you’re cute, fancy a shag.”

Nigel chuckled but then.

“Navya Rai, English from Indian parents, NatSci, B corridor Angel Court, so are you, no.”

Andrew turned to find Navya standing at the doorway. He blushed and Nigel just laughed louder. Andrew started to try and explain and was waved off.

“I heard the run up to your summary. You need to work on your wooing skills.”

Andrew introduced Nigel and the three of them heading out for dinner. As they got to the end of the corridor Helena’s door opened and they did the intro thing all over again. Despite having an accent that was posher than the Royal Family, Helena seemed a nice person. The four of them made their way round to Hall and stood at the door for a second getting their bearings before grabbing some unappetising dinner and sitting at one of the tables. Helena took charge.

“This is going to be the calmest the weekend is likely to get, between the bar later and the events and Formal tomorrow. We may as well get to know three other people well because let’s face it, later it is going to be a sea of endless faces, too much booze, probably too much noise and if you get 20 seconds from someone you will be lucky.”

This of course led Navya and Nigel to laugh at Andrew and for Helena to look confused.

“I was trying my 20 second summary with Nigel and Navya overheard it and gave me some pointers.”

He was forced to relive the moment and Helena laughed.

“That is exactly what I mean.”

Helena went first and was funny and self-deprecating. She was 5’6” and physically average. She was neither fat nor thin, obviously a woman but only moderately so, and pretty rather than beautiful. But she was full of confidence and good at putting people at ease. She told them, unselfconsciously, that she was a distant relation to the Duke of Roxburghe but followed up by telling them to ignore all the gossip about it. She had never met the current Duke or his family and did not run in those circles. Her father who did something in the City of London went on about though. Andrew guessed she mentioned this as her father had managed to slip into the brief conversation that afternoon. She had one younger brother, and they lived in Hampshire, right on the border with Surrey, up in the northeast corner of the county. Nigel lived nowhere close to her. She was studying English but had no idea what she was going to do with her degree.

Andrew did his stuff next and then it was Navya. She filled in some of the blanks that they did not cover earlier. Her father was a successful importer of goods for the Indian community and her mother was a primary school teacher, but at a school for children with special needs. She also mentioned Rupashi was at Jesus. She also had no idea what she wanted to do in post university life

Finally it was Nigel’s turn. He was much more diffident which seemed to fit his physique somehow. He was short at 5’8” and reed thin with a tangled mop of hair. He warmed up as he talked about himself. His father had died when he was young and he had no memories of him. It was just him and his mother. This was going to be the first time they were apart, which although it was true of all of them, seemed more challenging for him. He completed the full house by also having no clue what he was going to do.

“I have a couple of friends in Edinburgh who seem to know where they are going with their lives, they have it pretty well mapped out. I wondered if I was the odd one out not having a clue about what do with my life. It has always been about the moment, the next set of exams, trying to get here, whatever the next thing is.” Andrew shrugged. “And then four of us, randomly gathered on the first day, none of us know what life holds after we leave here. I find that comforting somehow.”

Nigel changed the topic around.

“What clubs or societies are you planning on joining or thinking about joining?”

Navya started.

“I hope to continue to play field hockey, I am not great but I had fun at school so I am going to sign up. I have no expectations of College or University teams, or at least the 1^st elevens but I enjoy getting out and whacking the ball. An outlet for all my aggression.”

She smirked as she said that last one.

“Other than that I will look around and see what there is. Helena?”

“I am going to join the Union I think.”

The Cambridge Union was the debating society and was one of the most famous clubs there.

“I was on the school debate team and unlike you Navya I enjoy the verbal violence rather than the physical.”

Andrew raised his eyebrows at the characterisation, verbal violence. He would need to remember not to get into a serious debate with Helena. She laughed when she saw his look.

“I am not that bad, but it is one of the things I do to blow off steam. I am the least sporty girl on the planet and so this is a way for me to get my adrenalin fix.”

Nigel’s secret passion was performing and specifically comedy. He was looking to join the Footlights Society, probably the most famous of all the clubs at the University. For the last 20 years it had been a conveyor belt of comedy talent that were now famous on TV and at the movies, most notably several of the Pythons and more recently Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson. Nigel wanted to be the latest graduate to make his mark there. Andrew was impressed, the idea of performing on stage where the spotlight is on you alone was something that was very alien to him. Finally it was his turn.

“Three things. There is an Engineering Society at the University and it appears that all the Engineering undergrads are expected to join it. I was in the Combined Cadet Force at school so I am going to apply to join the Officer Training Corp, given I have also been at a couple of Royal Engineer camps. And finally like Navya I am keen on field hockey but have limited experience so it will be more of a Saturday morning run around rather than competing for the College or University.”

Helena immediately busted his chops.

“Engineering, OTC and hockey, when are you going to meet women?”

“When I carry their bags to their room for them.”

She had the grace to blush.

“There are female engineers, although they will be a minority I guess, and the OTC is open to both men and women. And I presume we will see and socialise with the women’s hockey team. I am not worried about any of that. I find that it is amazing how many women you can meet if you go up and introduce yourself to them.”

Nigel looked askance at such brazenness but Andrew was really not that bothered. Already he had met Navya, her very pretty older sister, and as he had a thing for both older women and Indian women she was ticking a lot of boxes, as well as Helena. He didn’t say anything and tried not to look smug, it was just a fact. Navya was first with the response.

“You know there is something to that. There were a bunch of people milling around this morning but you just wandered up and we started chatting. Next thing you know you are helping me stitch up my sister with your horrible Hindi.”

“You speak Hindi?”

Nigel and Helena spoke over each other at the same time.

“A little, and according to my speech coach” a nod of the head to Navya “I have a horrendous accent.”

Andrew gave them the one minute version of how he ended up doing Berlitz tapes of Hindi at school. He managed to turn the attention away from him and the other three took a turn in the spotlight. Helena, as an oldest child, was intrigued by Navya’s decision to not apply to Jesus to escape the shadow of her sister. As the meal finished several other people came over and asked if they could join them and before they knew it there was a crowd of nine or ten people sitting chatting. Everyone was already at the condensed version of their background, there are only so many times you can give your life story before even you are bored with it. For a few minutes Andrew was at the periphery of the conversation so he watched the group dynamic. He could see himself being friends with Nigel and Navya as they seemed low key, genuine and like him a bit of a fish out of water. HIs shyness could be overcome in one on one situations and small groups but as the larger group started to form Andrew retreated. His fascination with effortless leadership meant he focused on Helena and the relaxed and confident way that she flitted about the group, already seeming to be the glue that held the group together. It was her that suggested they head to the bar and Andrew slipped to the back of the group as she led the way. Navya sidled up to him.