White: king's bishop Bf1>b5

When the network agreed to send her to Calhoun City, Amanda Nolan was under no illusions: while her more senior, weathered male colleagues would be reflecting on the grand civic narrative, and her more, ah, urban contemporaries reporting on the cultural buzz, the pretty young novice with the freckles and blonde hair would be filing the human interest puff-piece on the plight of the hapless tourist. And so she was cruising the seamy Rue Poppet in "undercover" mode, looking for a story. Amanda's fashion sense eschewed the sweatpants and baseball caps of the tourists for professional arranged curls framing her angelic face, a low-cut biege blouse and white pencil skirt with a generous slit.

As she walked down the street, the intrepid reporter attracted more than her fair share of glances and offers from vendors (not all lewd!). Amanda pondered how ignorant visitors to the city may be taken advantage of by wily locals as she wandered into Doc Jumbia's shop. The bell rang over the door as she entered, and she spent a minute browsing the curios before she noticed that she didn't see a shopkeeper present.

Just then the bell chimed again as the front door opened and a broad-shouldered tourist in a Chicago Cubs cap entered the store. He looked around the aisles, briefly glancing at the comely correspondent before heading towards the back of the shop. "Jess! Jessie!" he called apprehensively. A middle-aged black man appeared from the dim recess behind the counter. "Where is she?"

"Who?" the frail black man replied, wincing as he smiled.

"My girlfriend Jessica, the blonde girl I left here," he explained impatiently.

"She is not here," the black man replied, his voice cracking slightly as he gestured around the shop.

"Well, I don't understand..." he stammered. "She doesn't know this town... did she leave?"

"Could be blonde girl meets black man...?" the black man squeaked, smiling widely, turning his gaze toward Amanda, who was watching the exchange from down an aisle with growing curiosity. There was something unusual about his grin that made Amanda's skin crawl, but she suppressed her desire to flee in favor of her interest in a potential story...