the Smoke Jumper (2002) by Evans Nicholas

Author:Evans, Nicholas [Nicholas, Evans,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-12-13T23:56:32.921000+00:00

Chapter 17

Julia stood back and watched them, marveling at how such a small number of six-year-olds could make such a vast volume of noise. They were spread out along the back wall of the playground, all wearing their red and blue painting smocks. There was more chalk on their faces and smocks than was on the wall. It wasn't every day that law-abiding junior citizens were given license to deface state property and they were sure making the most of it.

Julia had gotten the idea for the project after talking with Connor about her cave painting in the bedroom. The outside of the school was being redecorated and she asked Mrs Leitner, the principal, if her firstgrade class could do a little decorating of their own before the painters got there. They had spent the previous week talking about cave painting and looking at some reference books that Julia had found in the public library. She'd handed out photocopies of some Native American pictographs in Idaho and of some extraordinary rock paintings recently discovered in France.

Today came the climax, with the kids being let loose on the playground wall. Julia had divided the wall into eight different 'caves' and the kids into eight 'cave families.' They had to imagine what they had been doing that day and depict it in colored chalk on their stretch of the wall.

Mrs Leitner had said it was a great idea but had failed to realize that it would be taking place right outside the room where she taught fourth-grade math. Julia had told her cave kids that they should communicate with each other exclusively in cave language, which seemed mostly to consist of loud shrieks and grunts. This was a decision she was now coming to regret and, judging by her rueful glances through the window, so was Mrs Leitner.

Some of the children's pictures were impressive. Most had opted for hunting scenes, with deer and wolves and bears and woolly mammoths and lots of little human beings, though it was sometimes unclear who was hunting whom. Others had gotten a little more surreal. Julia had to point out to Lucy Kravitz that Batman and Robin probably weren't around in those days and that cooking was generally done by fire, not by microwave.

Now the noise was again reaching Mrs Leitner-alert level. Julia clapped her hands and called out and told everyone to gather around. She put a finger to her lips and spoke in an excited whisper.

'Okay, listen up. Here's the deal. I've just been up the hill and there's this big, hairy saber-tooth tiger up there. And he looked really, really hungry.'

'You should be telling us this in cave language.'

'Lucy, I know. But this is an emergency, okay?'

'No, 'cos you wouldn't be able to say that either.'

'Well, let's just pretend I'm more highly evolved.'

'What does that mean?'

'Smarter. Okay, that's enough already. So we keep on with the drawing but now we have to be really quiet. Quiet as cave mice. Because I think he's out there now, prowling around outside the caves.

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