Don't Call Me Ishmael Read Online Free

know the name of the famous novel with the main character of Ishmael in it?’
    No, nobody knows, and what’s more they don’t care, so let’s just move on and finish that roll call.
    â€˜No one? Well, what if I give you a clue? It’s not set in the present day … and one of the other main characters is the captain of a ship.’
    Silence. Then a hand inched upwards. ‘Yes?’
    â€˜Star Trek
, Miss?’
    The class immediately erupted into laughter, but also secretly checked Miss Tarango’s reaction on the off chance that the answer might just be correct. Miss Tarango laughed as if she appreciated the joke, but when she looked at Bill Kingsley, the author of the response, she knew that, sadly, there was no humour intended.
    â€˜It’s Bill, isn’t it? Well, not a bad effort, Bill. Well done for having a go. Maybe I should have said it was set on a sailing ship as opposed to a starship.’ Miss Tarango looked once more around the class. ‘Any other offers? No? Well, who’s heard of
Moby Dick
?
    â€˜Moby
what
, Miss?’
    Muffled sniggers. It was Barry Bagsley again. There was no way he could pass up an opportunity like this.
    â€˜Moby Dick
by Herman Melville, Barry,’ Miss Tarango said casually. ‘How many of you have heard of the story of CaptainAhab and his quest for revenge against Moby Dick, the white whale that took off his leg?’
    Most of the class raised a hand with varying degrees of certainty and enthusiasm. Bill Kingsley stared into the distance as if he were already somewhere in a galaxy far, far away.
    â€˜But why was the whale called Moby
Dick
, Miss?
    More sniggers–somewhat less muffled this time. Barry Bagsley was not going to be put off that easily.
    Miss Tarango appeared deep in thought, then replied deliberately. ‘To be honest, I really don’t know, Barry. Names can be important or symbolic in books, so they often have a deeper meaning, but I’m just not sure if that’s the case with the name Moby Dick. Perhaps Melville based it on an actual whale’s name from historical records or perhaps it just seemed right to him. You know, just like your parents might have called you Barry just because they thought you looked like a Barry.’ She paused, then added as an afterthought, ‘In the same way, I guess, they could just as easily have thought you looked like a Dick.’
    A stunned silence hit the room. What? What was that? What did she say? If Miss Tarango had intended to insult Barry Bagsley, she showed no sign of it and seemed blissfully unaware of the effect of her words.
    Before the class could react, she had continued on her cheery, smiling way. ‘Still, it’s an interesting question, Barry. Maybe you could do some research for homework or try reading the novel and see if you could find the answer there, and then maybe you might like to report back to us in a classpresentation. But for the moment we’d better finish the roll and go through the morning bulletin before we run out of time completely.’
    There aren’t many things that can shut Barry Bagsley up, but being bombarded by words like ‘research’, ‘homework’, ‘reading’, ‘report’ and ‘class presentation’ certainly seemed to do the trick. After that, the rest of Homeroom continued without disruption as Miss Tarango bustled energetically about completing various administration tasks and greeting everything and everyone with equal enthusiasm. All the while the class watched and wondered.
    But no one watched and wondered more intently than Barry Bagsley.

8.
FIVE AMAZING FACTS ABOUT ME
    Fortunately, the only classes I shared with Barry Bagsley were Homeroom each morning for twenty minutes, Study of Society with Mr Barker, the Deputy Principal, and English with Miss Tarango. Of course, morning tea and lunchtime could be tricky.
    â€˜Well, if it isn’t Barbie Bimbo’s