CLANDESTINE : Spencer Reid

14

On Friday morning, Estelle invites me to Georgetown to attend Oop's guest lecture which is that evening. I think that is a terrible time for a guest lecture since all students will want to be anywhere but still in a classroom, but I do not bother her with that question. I'm sure it's something that Estelle has considered herself. Besides, neither Estelle nor I have had the opportunity to run a proper guest lecture. She's been invited into the classrooms of her professors to do a brief presentation on her research for students in master's programmes, and I do research that goes into lectures for the professors I aid, but neither of us has gotten a separate slot, a full hour and twenty minutes, dedicated to a topic of our choosing. It's a big deal.

Knowing that, I head straight to Georgetown when work is done. I manage to sneak out fifteen minutes early just to try to get there in time. The lecture begins at half past five, and I only barely make it into the hall on time. The wind is so violent that it utterly destroyed my hair. I try to discreetly comb it while Oop Drukker speaks. He's a scholar on the politics of displacement. The topic isn't one that I'm very familiar with, but I listen. He talks a lot about the feminization, disempowerment, and depoliticization of refugees. A lot of the work goes over my head, and his slides flick through photos of women and children, which he analyzes. He does credit Estelle for some research she acquired on displacement in post-genocide Rwanda.

At the hour mark, Oop begins a question-and-answer period. Since I am not going to have anything to contribute, I discreetly sneak out of the hall. I make my way to a vending machine in the hallway, trying desperately to get a snack. It is time for dinner and I imagine that Estelle is going to try to grab food on campus, to my absolute dismay. I'd rather have a protein bar that's oddly sticky than try to stomach the food from the on-campus pub. Estelle doesn't like it either, but she is always too hungry after these things to make it home.

I turn to go back into the lecture hall, and I see Dr. Reid standing outside it. I find myself stopping abruptly.

"Oh," he says, looking at me. He offers a timid wave. "You must... are you here for my guest lecture?"

"Oop," I say.

He leans back, furrowing his brow, "sorry?"

"Huub," I correct, my cheeks flushing. "Hubert Drukker. He's Estelle's colleague from the Netherlands."

"Ah," Dr. Reid closes his mouth quickly. He checks his watch, tapping his foot. "There are still fifteen minutes left in his session. Both you and Estelle are welcome to sit in on my guest lecture, if you are interested. I'm not a very good public speaker, but Georgetown invites me once a semester for a talk. This time, it's on how best to communicate the statistical methodologies of CAP models to laymen to prevent confusion on criminal taxonomies. I had some help with JJ on this one, but she is visiting family in Pennsylvania this weekend. Hubert Drukker is welcome to come."

"We're planning to celebrate, actually," I say, shrugging. "It's his first guest lecture. He's a doctoral candidate at a Dutch university."

"Fascinating," Dr. Reid offers. "I wish I had time to go to his lecture. Let them know that they are welcome to stay. Also, I encourage Estelle to continue grilling me on questions. She's very good at challenging me, and that's what all of research is about, right? Questioning things we already believe, I mean."

I swallow. I can feel my own heartbeat.

Then, I shake my head, looking away from him.

"I'll let them know," I press my lips together, trying to force them to smile.

I cannot imagine either Estelle or Oop wishing to sit in on Dr. Reid's guest lecture. Still, I pass by Dr. Reid and make my way into the front row next to Estelle. The guest lecture ends shortly after, and we all clap for Oop. A few professors hang about to ask him questions while the others file out. I pull out my phone to read an email from the faculty member I work for. He needs me to send him something new by tomorrow afternoon.