2002-03 Summer break Late June Friday Derek watches as the last group of undergraduates, including Wren English, leaves the party. Then he yells across the room, ‘Fugg you, Compdon, you fugging liggspiddle.’ He staggers towards Compton while holding his … Continue reading →
2001-02 Summer break Early June Thursday Compton knocks on Ren’s door. ‘Er… you might want to go to the office right now.’ ‘What is it?’ says Ren. ‘A little present from Murnesia.’ ‘What?’ ‘It’s best if you take a … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 2 Week 9 Wednesday (continued) Ren heads towards the side of the stage. He knows there’s a door there at the back behind a curtain, which leads to a toilet and a small, hidden-away office. Even if … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 2 Week 9 Wednesday (continued) They go into the Terminal Building and head for Bear Hall, the largest and grandest hall on campus, used only for the finest occasions (and certainly not for student graduations). It had … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 2 Week 9 Wednesday ‘Well, they’ve got a lot to protest about,’ says Ren to George. Ren and George are attending a reception being thrown by the University for the visiting Murnesian Head of State. They nervously … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 2 Week 8 Monday Miles has e-mailed Ren to come to a non-descript, out-of-the way pub on a Monday night. Ren assumes this is to do with Lucius – he told Miles on Friday his discoveries about … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 2 Week 7 Thursday I should have taken my car, Ren thinks. I took the train because I wanted to work on a paper on the way to the conference. Which didn’t happen, because even though he … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 2 Week 6 Wednesday ‘I’m just anxious all the time,’ says the student, a stick-thin, unattractive girl whose name is Violet Wells. She’s wringing her hands together as she speaks. Getting her just to come in to … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 2 Week 3 Monday Ren has brought a coffee from the cafeteria and is looking for a place to sit when he sees Miles at a table, so he goes over and plonks himself down next to … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 1 Week 8 Wednesday For some reason Ren can’t get onto campus in his car today. There are witches’ hats blocking off all the entrances. He finally finds a parking spot off-campus and walks from there to … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 1 Week 7 Thursday ‘Let’s sit over there in the far corner away from the students,’ says Miles as he and Ren get their coffees. Ren limps after Miles. The side of his left leg has been … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 1 Week 6 Friday ‘Come in,’ says Robot. ‘You asked to see me?’ says Ren. ‘Yes, come in Renford. Take a seat.’ Ren walks over to the chair, disguising the limp in his bruised and battered leg … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 1 Week 6 Monday (cont.) The class is ghastly. These are the worst, or at least the most clammed-up, students. Ren probes away at them for a while, hoping to bring some of them out, but has … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 1 Week 6 Monday (cont.) A room full of students who won’t talk is the academic equivalent of getting very constipated and consequently having to try desperately hard to force some pooh out. The atmosphere is rather … Continue reading →
2001-02 Semester 1 Week 6 Monday Later he realises that he should have taken a sick day and stayed at home. Doing those classes felt like he was doing open-heart surgery and he was about to collapse at any … Continue reading →
