Art, History, and Flirtations

Chanel stares at the statue. She studies it, rubbing her cheek with her stylus pen, unable to decode the meaning. She notices someone standing next to her and asks aloud. “What do you reckon this is a statue of?”

He leans in, breath smells of cool mint and speaks softly, “Swimmers.”

She turns and looks at him, brow arches. “Swimmers? What’s that?”

“The world used to have these large bodies of water called oceans that separated the continents and people used to swim in it.”

“Wow, you’re knowledgeable. How do you know these things?”

He extends a hand, “Dr. Pascal Ravens, Professor of Earth History.”

He smiles and Chanel takes his hand, “Chanel Evans, Art Major.”

Pascal raises his eyebrow. “You taking Art Appreciation or something?”

She nods and smiles, “So, Professor, tell me, what are the swimmers doing?”

He chuckles lightly, “They are swimming away from each other when they should be swimming with each other.”

“Should they?”

He nods. “Yes, they should, cooperation is everything when it comes to sports such as swimming.”

“This is so fascinating, if I don’t have an appointment in 15 minutes, I would’ve stayed to listen more.” Chanel says.

“Well, how about we talk more over dinner, maybe?” He hands her his card. “Call me.” He smiles and walks away, leaving her alone.

This story was originally published on October 5, 2014.

Written for Sunday Photo Fiction, a flash fiction challenge hosted by the blog A Mixed Bag where we are given a photo prompt and must write a piece of 200 words or less. Each prompt is provided on Sunday.