"Miss Merrill even looks pretty talking about slime molds.
She was standing in front of our third-period advanced biology class, summarizing the reproductive habits of the simplest forms of life. Afternoon sunlight streamed in from the window directly behind her, and I tried not to stare at the outlines of her arms and legs through her blue cotton dress as she ticked off the important points.
'The slime mold is usually classified with the fungi, but it's almost equally close to the protozoa.' She raised her right hand for emphasis, and I saw that her arm was suntanned all the way down to her slender wrist. 'During its motile phase, when it's found under logs and leaves, it takes the form of solitary amoebalike cells, or multinucleate blobs of protoplasm called plasmodia.' Her soft lips wrapped themselves around the polysyllabic scientific terms with relish, as if she savored the feel of long words. 'During this motile phase, the slime mold feeds and grows.'
She paused to brush her light brown hair back from her neck. She's a petite and naturally graceful woman -- her slightest gesture looks like it belongs in a ballet. She's also the smartest, best educated, most independent woman I've ever met."
Reader submission by The Girl (aka daughter of UW and The Wife)
Uncle Walter has verified ownership of this submission.
We don't care that this is not meant to be a romance novel. This is assigned reading for The Girl and we cannot let it go without comment. So there.
California Blue -- David Klass
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