Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Gold Coast
The campus was impressive. Bindi stepped out of her car and looked around, her heart pounding.
She hadn’t attended university in eight years.
As she scanned the faces of the students walking past her holding folders and notebooks to their chests, or lugging backpacks across the road towards the sandstone buildings, she noticed how young they all looked.
She felt old for the first time in her life.
She closed the car door with a thud and slung her purse strap over her shoulder.
Then she walked past the large sandstone sign that read Bond University.
She hesitated before continuing forward.
What she really wanted to do was get started on building a family with Josh, not launch herself into an extended study program.
The thought of assignments hanging over her head again, made her shudder.
But the sooner she finished her studies, the sooner she could work on convincing him it was the right time.
A flock of corellas sailed by, white wings flapping as they screeched a constant cacophony.
The birds landed as one in the branches of a tall jacaranda tree that reached out across the crisp lawn.
They were so loud, it was difficult to think.
The summer sun beat down on Bindi’s head, and she hurried through the entrance towards what she assumed was the administration building near the campus entrance, the raucous cries of the birds fading into the distance.
An impressive walkway led towards the main building, with classrooms flanking either side.
Students strolled between archways or sat under trees, reading, talking, giggling together.
It was exactly the atmosphere Bindi remembered from her previous stint at university, and a little buzz of excitement tingled in her gut.
She’d loved her years of studying journalism.
Those days had been filled with adventure, learning, parties, making friends, travelling on a shoestring budget and more.
It’d been a great time of life, and the idea of returning to study began to feel more exciting and less of a burden than it had a few moments earlier.
The Waratah Inn was operating without her today.
She’d taken the opportunity to fill out application forms for the master’s program and to look around the campus.
With Kate on maternity leave, it had been difficult to fill the roster of staff needed at the inn, but she’d found and trained a part-time manager, Dawn, who seemed to be working out well so far.
And given that Bindi intended to dive into a full-time study program, she’d need more help at the inn over the coming year.
Thankfully, Dawn was keen to take on greater responsibility and happy to step in when needed.
“Bindi Summer?” A man’s voice broke through the murmur of voices around her, making Bindi pivot in place until she spotted someone staring at her.
She tipped her head to one side. “Uh, yes?”
“Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
He strode towards her, long brown hair brushing his shoulders, wide brown eyes soft with recognition. He had a messenger bag slung over one shoulder and wore a pair of cargo shorts with a black T-shirt sporting some kind of rock-and-roll band logo she didn’t recognise.
“Oh, well, I’m taking a look around. What are you doing here?” She had no idea who he was, but he seemed to think she’d recognise him immediately and so tried to play along, hoping he might drop a hint that would help her figure it out.
“I’m studying again. I know, who would’ve imagined me going back to uni, but here I am.”
“Who would’ve imagined?” she replied haltingly. “So true.”
“Are you living up here now? I had to get out of Melbourne. That weather was killing me.” He pressed both hands to his hips.
He was from Melbourne. That was where he knew her from.
But where in Melbourne had they met? What was the connection?
Given that she was a well-known television journalist when she’d lived there, perhaps he’d seen her on TV.
It happened to her all the time when she was still in that career—people would come up to her with a giant grin on their face and act like she was their best friend.
Sometimes it would take a while for her to figure out she didn’t know them at all, but they’d seen her every night in their lounge room.
“I’m living up this way, yeah. I lost my job… You probably know that?”
He grimaced. “Ugh, yeah. I do remember something about that. Bad luck, huh?”
“That’s right—it was bad luck. So, I came north to be with my family.”
“Oh, okay. That’s nice. Good for you. Are you studying here?”
“I’m registering for next semester.”
“Great. You’ll love it. I’m having a blast. I’ve found a group of friends already.
Love that I can go for a surf or a run along the beach before classes every day.
I lived near the beach in Melbourne, but it was so cold some days that I couldn’t face getting into the water.
I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to the cold. ”
“I can’t say I blame you there,” Bindi agreed with a dip of her head. “Well, I’d better get going. I’ve got registration forms to complete.”
“Righto, then. Good to see you again. Hey, a few of us are going out for a drink tonight in Surfer’s Paradise. Care to join? I’ll introduce you around and you can get to know some of the other students.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. If she was going to spend the next year traipsing all over campus, it would be nice to know some of her fellow students, even if they were ten years younger than she was.
And besides, Josh was on a shift tonight, so he wouldn’t be home.
She’d planned on making a packet of ramen noodles and curling up on the couch to watch Home and Away on her own but perhaps she should do something more exciting. She’d been feeling restless lately.
“Okay, that sounds nice. If you don’t mind me crashing…”
“I’d love it, and I’m sure no one else will care. I can’t believe I ran into you. Bindi Summers, right here in the flesh.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Yeah, in the flesh.”
He grabbed her by the hand, startling her, then pulled her towards him and began to write something on her arm in pen. “Here’s where we’re going. We’ll be there around eight o’clock to get started. See you then?”
She pulled her arm back and read what he’d written.
Cocktails & Dreams, Orchid Ave. She’d never heard of the place, but that wasn’t surprising.
She’d basically avoided the nightlife on the Gold Coast since…
well, always. Her idea of a good time was a stroll along the beach, horse riding, or dinner in a nice restaurant.
But maybe it was time she enjoyed a night out at a cocktail bar.
“Okay, I’ll see you at eight.”
She waved goodbye to him, then wandered off again in the direction of the administration building, still wondering who on earth he was. She spun around and shouted out the question, “What’s your name again?” still pretending she knew him but had simply forgotten his name.
“Brett Dunn!” he yelled back to her.
“Oh, that’s right.” She didn’t recall ever meeting a Brett in Melbourne.
As she walked to class, her cheeks warmed.
She was going to enjoy being a university student again.
Already she’d met someone interesting and she wasn’t even enrolled.
She couldn’t wait to see where this new path would take her.