Vera could hear the footsteps coming closer still, but she was still blindly believing no one would notice her or her boat and take one of the others instead. In truth, there was nothing special about THIS particular boat except it happened to be the farthest from the entrance - which was why she preferred it for her little hide out. So when the feet stopped moving on the wooden pier, she just assumed the person had selected a boat and was gone.

Clearly she didn't consider she didn't hear any movement of an actual boat, but... y'know.

So with the new silence, her body relaxed again under the blanket and she flipped a couple more pages in her book - already thinking she was not fond of this particular author. She was feeling so at ease and alone again, that the gentle prod of the oar was truly unexpected.

Which was probably why it got SUCH a load scream in response.

"AAAAAAH!"

She bolted upright in the boat, flying as far back into it as she could go while the blanket slipped off and pooled where she had been previously. Eyes found the oar stretched out and then traveled up to the face of... Professor Khanna. Uhhhh...oops? "Er.. hello, Professor." She tried to say it as naturally as possible, as if her heart was not still beating a million miles a minute.