"Eddings, David - Regina's Song V2.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

instructor has recently undergone coronary bypass
surgery, so I'll be filling in for him this quarter. For those
of you who don't recognize me, I'm Dr. Ralph Conrad."
He looked round the classroom. "We will now pause to
give the more timid time to beat an orderly retreat."
Now, that's an unusual way to start a class. I thought
he was just kidding around, so I laughed.
"Was it something I said?" he asked me with one
raised eyebrow. "You startled me a bit, sir," I replied.
"Sorry."
"Perfectly all right, young man," he said benignly.
"Laughter's good for the soul. Enjoy it while you can."
I glanced around and saw that fully half the students
were grabbing up their books and darting for the door.
Professor Conrad looked at those of us who'd
remained. "Brave souls," he murmured. Then he looked
directly at me. "Still with us, young man?" he asked
mildly.
His superior attitude was starting to irritate me. "I'm
here to learn, Dr. Conrad," I told him. "I didn't come
here to party or chase girls. You throw, and I'll catch,
and I'll still be here when the dust settles."
What a dumb thing that was to say! I soon discovered
just how tough he really was. He crowded me, I'll admit
that, but I stuck it out. He was obviously an old-timer
who believed in the aristocracy of talent. He despised
the term "postmodern," and he viewed computers as
instruments of the devil.
He had his mellower moments, though-fond
reminiscences about "the good old days" when the
English Department resided in the hallowed, though
rickety, Parrington Hall and he was taking graduate
courses from legendary professors such as Ebey,
Sophus Winther, and E. E. Bostetter.
I maintained my "you throw it and I'll catch it" pose,
and that seemed to earn me a certain grudging respect
from the terror of the department. I wouldn't go so far as
to say that I aced the course, but I did manage to
squeeze an A out of Dr. Conrad.
I was a bit startled at the beginning of winter quarter
when I discovered that I'd been assigned to a new
faculty advisor-at his request.
Guess who that was.
"You've managed to arouse my curiosity, Mr. Austin,"
Dr. Conrad explained, after I rather bluntly asked him
why he'd taken the trouble. "Students who work their
way through college tend to take career-oriented
classes. What possessed you to major in English?"
I shrugged. "I like to read, and if I can get paid for it, so
much the better."