The young man seated on the stool vacated it and beckoned her with a flourish.

“The object is to get maximum output of material without—”

“Degradation,” she finished the sentence for the young man.

“Oh. She’s a smart one.”

Nora, well used to the insecure, immature, sarcasm of her male classmates at Columbia, studiously ignored the jab. She made herself comfortable in front of the board and went to work.

In short order, she had the needles consistently fine-tuned to the maximum output range.

“Bet she can’t keep it there without popping the machine off,” one of the Berkeley boys said.

She refused to rise to the bait. Half an hour later, having produced consistent, and consistently high-performance values, she stepped away from the machine.

“How did she do that?” one of the boys asked.

“Shut up, Harold.”

“What? Our results are never consistently that good. I just want to know how she did that on the first try.”

“Beginner’s luck,” another one said.

“Is there anything else you want me to see?” she asked Del.

“No. That’s it for today.”

“So, what’s next?”

“I’ll show you where to catch a bus. It’s about a ten-minute ride to get back to the bus depot. From there you can take the fifteen-minute walk home. You’re staying in the women’s dorm, right?”

“Yes.” She wasn’t sure how he knew that, but she didn’t feel like examining it too closely. Her feet were tired and she wanted to go home.

“That’s right near Townsite.”

“Where?”

“Townsite. Where Jackson Square is? The shopping area? Right in front of The Castle on the Hill?”

“Oh. Yes. It’s near that.”

“I’m bunking not far from there. I could escort you back.”

“I don’t want you to have to go out of your way.”

“It’s no trouble at all, especially since you’re new around here. I’d be happy to show you the ropes a little bit.”

Was he flirting with her? Nora knew she’d never been particularly good at recognizing that behavior. Perhaps he simply wanted to be helpful. “Sure.”

They caught the bus, got searched as they exited through the Elza Gate, and rode in companionable silence to the bus depot.

“Watch your step. I wouldn’t want you to ruin your shoes.”

“Thank you, I’m fine.” Nora navigated one of the many wooden walkways that zigzagged throughout the complex.

“This,” Del gestured with a sweep of his arms, “is Jackson Square. You can go to the theater, go grocery shopping, the beauty parlor… Not that you need that.”

She groaned inwardly. That’s definitely flirtatious behavior.