I shrugged. No, Mousey, I don’t think I would. Personally, I think I’m immune to that kind of temptation. But Goldie’s spending all his time with Becky down by the clay pits. They use the back of Poodle’s old car. They’ve got a mattress in there, and rugs, and sometimes they light a fire outside, in a metal dustbin. I don’t think Poodle knows about that. He’s more or less grounded till term starts. Now, with everything at Church, it won’t be long before he cracks. What will he do then? Who knows? And isn’t that all part of the fun?

Chapter 2

2

September 19, 2005

I did not sleep well last night. As a result, this morning is tiled with the gritty light of insomnia. This happens more often than not nowadays, especially when I indulge. And it does not help that Dr. Devine is a whirlwind of nervous energy; organizing litter patrol, reporting potential Health and Safety risks, and bonding with his new protégé, Markowicz, whose term so far—at least from the number of times I have had to cover his classes—seems to have been almost entirely taken up by meetings, conferences, and workshops.

In Devine’s book (and the Head’s, it seems) this makes Markowicz a Promising Young Man, destined for the greatness of a full-time administrative post, rather than actually teaching boys. A dull old business, this teaching of boys, to which such sticklers as Eric and I have devoted our whole careers, but which Markowicz will escape within three years, as one of the Heads of the future.