I dropped the pole and braced myself as Roy plowed into me, rolling both of us to the ground. "You %$#@+," he bellowed as he flailed at me with both fists.
Although I didn't know what had provoked the attack, I had no time to ask, shielding my face as best I could. Neither of us heard the approach of someone from behind, until he cleared his throat.
We both recognized Dr. D's voice when he finally spoke. "What's the matter, here?"
Roy stopped swinging wildly and started to speak. When he looked up at the prof's face, he held his words, quickly realizing that no explanation would suffice. I extracated myself from Roy's grasp, stood up and began brushing myself off.
Dr. D didn't need an explanation. He had seen enough already. "There will be no more violence," he said. "Unless the two of you wish to repeat this course next summer, or at some other institution, I suggest that this be the last such outbreak."
With that, Dr. D turned and headed up the hill. Roy stood, still red in the face, and glared at me. "You dumb sonna-fa-bitch," he said. "You moved too fast. I was yelling for you to slow down."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I didn't have time to record the stations," he said.
"You got the first three shots, didn't you?"
"You moved too fast," Roy said.
"You mean you didn't get a single shot?" I asked. "You're the dumb sonna-fa-bitch." We stood there, glaring at each other, eyes popping and veins bulging. "I need a B in this course. Now I'll be lucky just to pass, thanks to you and your idiot temper."