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| Photo Prompt © Sandra Crook |
The professor was distraught. Only yesterday the young lady had agreed to
his bumbling request of spending an afternoon together.
The day had started with great hope and anticipation. So when she met him in his office he felt she
was owed a tour. Her obvious delight
with the sea shells encouraged him in explaining the principles of Taxonomy. Modern taxonomy emphasizes evolutionary
relatedness. By the first hour he was
expanding on the topic of sorting shells by their morphological
characteristics.
“I have leave now,” she interrupted “I totally forgot a
prior appointment.”
Her abrupt departure left him shell shocked.
***
We have a fine shellection of stories at the Friday Fictioneers. To read the other authors having a shell of a time this week click here
I remembered that I had another speshell story like this before, The Shell, but I decided not to recycle it.
The flow of this story is great. I never was sure where it was going till the end. Very well-written.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa, I am glad you liked it.
DeleteHis enthusiasm for his subject was clearly not infectious. I felt for them both.
ReplyDeleteThe professor lives in the hope that there are plenty of shell fish in the sea. Maybe next time :-)
DeleteMaybe he should've started with a lunch date? I suspect he'll never learn.
ReplyDeleteMaybe try to not order oysters on lunch date then? Your suspicion is probably correct.
Deletenice play on the shells - and sometimes it really is a blast like that to get cut off or denied - well done
ReplyDeleteThanks Yvette. It can be disconcerting to be cut off but then maybe its for the best. He will find someone else and seas the day.
DeletePoor bugger... Next time he will hopefully find one who's interests mirror his own... ;-)
ReplyDeleteHopefully he will as he is looking to get tide down soon.
DeleteMy sympathies are with him, which may not have been your intention
ReplyDeleteHe does need our sympathies (and maybe a lesson in conversational skills).
DeleteIt's nice to share your interests but I think he was being a bit shellfish.
ReplyDeleteHe should have clammed up I think :-)
DeleteDear Subroto,
ReplyDeleteI could see her eyes glaze over as he went into taxonomic arias. No doubt her was something more exciting like having a root canal. A good one.
Shell-om,
Ro-Shell
That should be "her appointment was something..."
DeleteShe may have got away but the professor is catch. I am sure he has a fine shellection of dates to choose from ;-)
DeleteWay to impress the ladies, professor! Reminds me of Ross from Friends :-)
ReplyDeleteThey are both passionate about their subjects for sure :-)
DeleteLovely fluent and humorous story. Poor Professor. I guess he was past his shell by date.
ReplyDeleteIt's time he realised that his talks shelldom impress his dates.
DeleteOh... another blundering fool who does not understand what might attract a lady.
ReplyDeleteIts a whole new universe out there for him. Maybe he is just overshelling his passion.
DeleteThe awkward professor went a bit too far in explaining his collection. Love your collection of puns in the afterward.
ReplyDeleteThe principles of taxonomy, such a very fuddy-duddy professorish concept too, in this time of uber-scientific DNA classification. I understand many plants have had to be reclassified, once their DNA proved them to be related to other plants, in ways hidden from the naked eye.
I think the professor was going to expand on the DNA classification in the third hour but alas she did not give him a chance.
DeleteToo much, too soon, Professor. Poor guy.
ReplyDeletePoor professor indeed. It was new experience for him as shelldom do people walk out of his two hour long lectures
DeleteHa! Ha! Stuart, its a case of every woman for hershellf.
ReplyDeleteI confess to feeling her pain at the exacting detail of his monologue. Nicely written.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo. She ran away before he it make it offishell.
Deletehahah
ReplyDeleteglad she left - although I will not judge two consenting adults - I am conflicted on how I feel about professors getting it this way (ethics thing)
also glad you wrote a fresh story for this - it was well done and I could feel the MC's vibe quite well...
Thanks Yvette. No she wasn't his student otherwise she would have been forewarned. Just someone who the professor thought was speshell.
DeleteOh, poor Professor! He let himself get carried away with enthusiasm for his subject and found his lady friend wasn't quite so keen! Better luck next time. Well written tale
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynn. It's hard not to get carried away by the morphological characteristics of the shells ;-)
Delete