Down Among the Dead Men Read Online Free Page B

have been given an even harder time if she hadn’t been an original thinker.
    â€œI didn’t say amazing. I was thinking about the Gibbon.”
    â€œGroan. That’s a thought wasted.”
    â€œI know she wasn’t popular, but it’s weird how she, like, went off suddenly without even saying goodbye to anyone. Even useless teachers get some kind of leaving present. The head didn’t seem to know where she’d gone.”
    â€œDoes it matter?”
    â€œAll kinds of stuff could have happened. She could have got knocked down by a car and lost her memory.”
    â€œOr been kidnapped by Somali pirates,” Jem said.
    â€œNo one better pay the ransom, then,” Ella said.
    â€œYeah, she goes on about the golden mean and the pirates think she’s super rich.”
    Mel was still being serious. “It’s just a mystery how a teacher can vanish and no one seems to care.”
    â€œObvious,” Jem said. “She did something the school wants to hush up, like running a knocking shop.”
    â€œThe Gibbon?” Ella said.
    â€œI didn’t say she was on the game. I said running it, like a madam.”
    â€œI can’t picture that.”
    â€œThe head would have a blue fit in case it got in the papers and no one wanted to send their kids here anymore.”
    â€œYou’re all being ridiculous,” Mel said.
    â€œNow we’ve got Tom, we don’t want the Gibbon back. She was the pits.”
    â€œI don’t want her back either.”
    â€œShut up about her, then. She’s history.”
    Tom didn’t seem fazed when they told him they knew where he lived.
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œAren’t you bothered, Tom?” Jem said. “You wouldn’t tell us when we asked.”
    â€œBecause it has bugger all to do with why I’m here, which is to show you lot how exciting art can be. Now you know where I live, perhaps we can talk about something useful, like unit three, your personal investigations—and that means being curious about some topic in art and not my totally boring private life. Remember, this is twenty-five per cent of your course mark.”
    They’d been told before and they were ready. “I’m doing mixed media and new materials,” Jem said.
    â€œElephant dung?” Ella said with a grin.
    Jem was amused. “And much more, like fabrics, cardboard, wood, porcelain.”
    Tom nodded. “Sounds promising. How about you, Mel?”
    â€œI was thinking of postage stamps.”
    â€œNot another bloody mosaic,” Ella said.
    â€œTypical,” Jem said. “Always something small.”
    â€œHold on,” Tom said, “let’s have some respect for each other. What is it about stamps you want to investigate?”
    â€œLike how the designs are done and how they’ve changed. There was a man in the paper last week, an artist who’s just had his first pictures accepted by whoever decides, and there’s masses of stuff on the internet.”
    â€œGood thinking,” Tom said. “Stamp design has come a long way since the penny black. It’s unusual and it could be a fascinating study. Yes, go for it, Mel. And you, Ella. What’s your area of investigation?”
    â€œThe nude.”
    â€œOkay, okay,” Tom said over the laughter. “Get it over with. I take it you are serious, Ella? How do you propose to make this your special study?”
    â€œLike the history from ancient Greece to Lucien Freud.”
    Sarcastic coos.
    â€œThat’s good—but it’s a huge sweep of history. You might want to come at the subject in a slightly different way, like the nude in landscape, thinking of artists such as Cranach, Giorgione, Monet and Cezanne.”
    â€œI suppose.” She didn’t sound convinced.
    â€œOr you could look at why the naked human form has such an enduring appeal for artists. Maybe interview some people who draw and paint