Anita adjusted the sunglasses over her gray eyes, brushing a strand of ginger hair back from her face as she stepped out of her cherry red hybrid Hyundai Sonata at the Tahlequah campus of Northeastern State University. She had made certain to choose the correct parking zone for her sticker, for the campus police were notorious for parking tickets. Locking her car, she shouldered her backpack and entered the library for some computer time before her first class.

Daniel, who was sipping coffee with his roommate at a table near the bookshelves, looked up as Anita stepped through the door. He was entranced by the gleam of the morning sun, which seemed to turn her hair to flame.

"Hey, Rubin! How'd I miss her?" he asked.

Rubin shrugged. "She's a transfer student, I guess. I know I haven't seen her before."

Daniel continued to stare at the beauty who logged on to the nearest computer and began checking her student email account.

"You gonna keep staring or put yourself out of your misery by talking to her?" Rubin asked.

Forgetting his coffee, Daniel took the chair at the computer beside Anita. "Hey."

She smiled warmly. "Good morning."

"You new around here?"

"I just graduated high school. Since I spent my senior year taking dual credit courses, I'm already a sophomore at university level. I should still be in high school right now, but I skipped a few grades." She continued to smile. "What about you?"

"I'm a sophomore too," he replied, "but I had to go through every grade, and I couldn't afford dual credit."

Anita shrugged. "It's not a race, you know."

"Are you going to movie night?"

"You're flirting with me."

Daniel frowned. "What makes you think…?"

"Your palms are sweaty, and you seem nervous. Besides, I saw you talking to your friend, quite possibly your roommate, before meandering over here."

He stared in awe. "You've got to be a genius!"

The young woman shrugged again. "Flirting with me is no good, you know. I mean, aren't you a little old, Dan? I am a few years younger than you are."

Daniel's eyes widened. "How did you know my name?"

"You left your student identification card face up on the table beside you. Your first name is Daniel. Thank goodness your surname isn't Tucker."

He chuckled slightly, remembering the song he had learned almost a decade ago at summer camp about a man by the name of "Old Dan Tucker."

"I'm afraid we aren't all as smart as Sherlock Holmes, so I don't know your name," Daniel stated.

"Anita."

If he remembered correctly, adding "-ita" was a diminutive in Spanish, sort of like "-ey" or "-ie" in English, so her name translated as "little Ann" or "Annie." Of course, she didn't seem to be from Spain or any Central or South American countries, so perhaps her name originated from a different language. What was it he had learned last semester in high school about European languages stemming from a common origin?

"What's your major?" Daniel queried. "Pre-med? Quantum physics?"

"Biology," she replied.

"Mine too, but I also have to take a few law classes."

"You want to be a game warden then?"

Daniel nodded. He was tired of asking Anita about her uncanny ability to figure out everything.

"I already know all there is to know about hunting and fishing," he stated. "I just need to know how to enforce the rules."

Anita flicked several strands of hair over her shoulder. "I would prefer to do a field study on Procyon lotor."

The young man frowned. "The raccoon? But why? I mean, they're so common! Why not the giant panda or the platypus or something super rare or really cool?"

"Don't you find them fascinating? They can adapt to almost any environment, even a domestic home. Professional biologists still debate over whether the raccoon's habit of dipping food in water is for the benefit of the animal's salivary glands or another cause. Furthermore, the raccoon is rather clever and uses various schemes to outwit opponents when being hunted; however, it is also capable of matching almost any North American animal, including hunting breeds of domestic dogs, in a fight."

Daniel nodded. "I guess I never thought about all that. To me, it's just another dead animal you see by the side of the road."

"If you wish to be a game warden in North America, you simply must educate yourself about the species who live here." Anita glanced at her watch. "Woodrow Wilson Rawls! I'm going to be late for my first class!"

"Advanced calculus?"

She shouldered her backpack. "Wildlife Principles with Professor Coleman."

Daniel smiled to himself as he returned to the table for his own backpack. His first class was with Professor Coleman as well. This might be the best day of his life.