Black Shuck

Tomorrow after the same class, the Black Shuck came up to me again.

"Listen, I don't think that I caught your name the first time that we met," he said. "I know that the professor always calls on you, but he only refers to you as 'Ms. Aithne'."

"My first name is Ainsley. It's traditionally a guy's name, but you can use it for a girl too. And you never raise your hand, so I don't have anything to call you except for 'Shucky'."

"Please never call me 'Shucky'. Naw, you can call me whatever you feel like. I don't really have a name."

"Fine then, Shucky."

"Fine, you can call me whatever you like as long as it isn't Shucky."

"What name are you enrolled under?"

"Ripley Thorpe."

"Interesting name."

"I know, right? You don't happen to have a class directly after this today, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I don't."

"Great. Let's go somewhere off-campus for coffee."

"Like a date?"

"No, there's something serious that I need to talk to you about."

We went to the closest off-campus Starbucks and sat down with coffee. As he sat down, he said to me, "You're Irish, right? Where's your accent?"

"It goes back and forth. I've been in America forever."

"If I listen really closely I can hear a couple dialect hints."

We talked for a little bit about nonsense, and I began to think that there was really nothing serious to talk about. Then I noticed a familiar tall man with blonde hair. Officer Ryans was here, and he didn't look too happy seeing me with another guy.