"Hey, are you as busy as I am?"
Kim McCall looked up and grinned at the tousled brown head poked in her door. "If you're asking if I have a date this evening, then the answer is 'No'. Its just me and my math books. How about you?"
Pam Maguire shook her head ruefully as she came into the room and flopped on the bed belonging to Kim's roommate. Taller than Kim's five feet four by nearly four inches, Pam was slender and long-legged, the perfect shape for a runner. Her light brown hair was longer than one would expect of an athlete, falling in curls around her shoulders, but that was how she liked it.
On her part, Pam studied the girl sitting at the desk, her chair tipped back and her feet crossed on the top of the desk. Kim had short black hair, was slight, and as cute as the proverbial button, Some might consider her nose too sharp and a touch too long. Pam grinned. Her own nose was her sore spot. She always thought it was big enough so she could use a handkerchief as an umbrella.
The two of them had met in the Student Union the first day of fall registration. It was probably the feeling of being outsiders that drew the two of them together, one Canadian and one Southern US, both feeling rather out of place in the far from home school they both attended on scholarship. Regardless of the reason, they became friends and confidants. They went on double-dates together and hung out. They discovered they made great card playing partners at both Spades and Bridge, which games seemed to run endlessly at the Student Union. in fact, they would supplement their allowances by playing Spades for a penny a point all year.
The sixties or not; with Free Love and the demonstrations and all the rest, there still lurked a fairly strict social structure for the female students. Both girls came from working class backgrounds. Kim had a reputation as a "Brain" but her gymnastic ability had won her a place on the second team cheerleading squad. Pam was an athlete but she was a theatre arts major and the drama department had a ripe reputation of being a haven for some of the weirdest people on campus. Neither had rushed a sorority but both numbered friends in some of the more prestigious ones. In short, they were pretty much in a class by themselves, and they liked it that way. They could go where they wanted and do what struck their fancy when they got there without worrying about what anyone else might say.
Pam pushed herself up and looked at her friend. "Oh, to heck with it Kim. Put your books up and let's go."
"Go where?" Inquired Kim, even as she closed her books, stood and stretched.
"So we don't have dates and we don't feel like a big, noisy party. Let's take my car, get a bottle of wine and go parking up on the ridge. We can listen to the sounds of mating going on and gossip about everyone we see up there."
Kim laughed merrily. "You're on."
It was a beautiful Indian summer late afternoon, just right for the nearly matching outfits the two girls were wearing. Both had on loose t-shirts, shorts and leather sandals. Kim was wearing cut-off jeans and Pam a pair of her running shorts
They walked down to the student parking lot and climbed into Pam's somewhat battered Dodge. They drove into town, stopping at a store on the town square were they purchased a chilled bottle of Strawberry wine. From there they went on to the ridge overlooking the college. Already a number of cars were parked in various locations around the large open area. Some were pulled into little cavities in the surrounding foliage.
"Those cars will be rocking by the time its dark," observed Kim as Pam pulled around and backed into a spot that afforded them a good view of the area.
"And some before then," pointed Pam as she indicated a blue station wagon that was already showing signs of some activity going on inside.
Kim laughed along with her friend and opened the wine bottle. They passed it back and forth, not bothering with cups. They chatted and talked about their separate days. The evening settled into twilight and then a moonlit darkness covered them as they watched cars come and go and commented on who they spotted. Sometimes the visitors stayed for a while, sometimes they were gone in only a few minutes.
"There goes Todd Danielstan," noted Pam. "That didn't take very long."
"I heard he isn't either," replied Kim.
One group had built a fire in the old kiln that often served as a gathering place. Snatches of songs drifted to the two girls.
"Want to go over there?" asked Kim.
Pam was slumped comfortably in the car's bench seat. "No, I'm good right here." She held up the bottle of wine, now more than half empty. "Do you think we should have got another one of these?" She took a hefty slug and looked at it again.
"Not unless we're going to walk back to campus, or catch a ride with someone drunker than we are. Besides, I don't want to crawl to our rooms."
"Speaking of rooms," Pam sat up and looked at her friend. "Julia is leaving school."
"What? When? Why?" Kim was surprised. Pam's quiet roommate was a good student and a nice person.
