Chapter 3

"Now, what can I do for you, young lady?" asked the Dean of Admissions.

"I took my last final in high school two weeks ago. They won't let me come back until graduation," she confessed. "I need something to do, so I thought I might as well start college early."

"I see," said the Dean. "That's not exactly how we do things around here."

"Sure you do," she giggled. "I've already done all the freshman and sophomore classes."

"Then you must be Andrea Koenigsknecht." The Dean sounded positive. "I've never met you but you seem to be a legend in your own time." He paused, "Classes have already started ... I'll bet that won't hold you up one bit. Let me just have a look at your schedule." He turned on his keyboard ... added a few magic words ... pressed a big lever and said, "We'll just have a wait for the runner. Coffee?"

"To be honest, I'd like to keep a watch on my car. I just finished it today and I'd be very unhappy if it was the subject of jealousy." She stood and looked out the window. "Oh, dear. Your security department looks like they're going to attempt to tow it."

The Dean stood, "The pink car?"

"Yes, sir."

There ensued a mad dash for the front door.

"Put it down," said the Dean. "That's Visitor Parking and the owner is not a student ... yet."

One of the men in uniform was wearing sergeant stripes. He said, "She's in Visitor Parking ... it's for visitors ... not hot rods."

"It's for visitors ... this young lady is a visitor. I know, because she's visiting me." The Dean put on his 'recalcitrant student' face. It was the face he often used for students in Fraternities. They exhibited an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline quite often.

"Gently, gentlemen. Gently. That's a rather well known car and it would be a shame for the readers of Hot Rod magazine to find out it got scratched at the University of Michigan."

"Thank you. She's my baby," Andie said. "I haven't taken her picture for the last article for 'Bloody Knuckles.'"

"Would you consider taking a series here on campus?"

So ... instead of signing up for college, Andrea spent the day with the Dean, a squad of snow shovelers and the school photographer, posing herself and 'Pink' in front of many photogenic places on the campus of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in the peninsular state of Michigan.

During the photographic session, the runner from the computer lab showed up with the IBM punch cards for one Andrea Koenigsknecht - Special Student - Junior - Senior Classes. He, the runner, was stunned. Any student so special as to have her own category shouldn't be a beauty. Special Students were gawky, ugly misfit geniuses.

"Put 'em on my desk, please. We're busy," said the Dean.

"Wow ... cool car," enthused the runner. "Isn't that the car from Hot Rod magazine?" He looked around, "Where's the builder?"

Andie blushed, raised her hand and tootled her fingers.

"A girl?!?"

"Yeppers."

"Can I have your autograph?" The runner confessed, "You helped me recover my car."

Andie looked a question.

"1932 Ford in the crate ... UP railroad tracks."

"The one that fell off the flatcar?"

"Yes. Thanks!"

"Small world, isn't it." Statement, not a question.

Immediately on returning to the IBM 2540 Card Reader Punch, the runner called the Free Press.

The Detroit Free Press sent out the reporter who normally covered sporting events to interview her.

The article he wrote was concise, informative and a major surprise for the readers of Andy's "Bloody Knuckles." "Pink" was the centerfold. The reader response was tremendous.

"Sixteen?" wrote one reader. "She's amazing."

"You have to be kidding!" wrote another. "I've been following 'Bloody Knuckles' for the past four years. That's not the same car!"

"Where are the credits for the people who did the work?" asked a third reader. "She's too pretty to have done the work herself."

Chapter 4 »