Free Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

did you bring them in for, if you’re not going to set one off?’
    Simon shrugs, and then, noticing Carl Cullen and Barry Barnes lurking in the vicinity, hastily stuffs the fireworks back in
     his locker and snaps shut the lock. The circle reluctantly disband, and head towards the stairs as the final bell goes.
    Skippy closes the door of his locker and leans back against the door.
    SCRRRRCCCHHHH, SCRRRRRCCCHHH, SCRRRRRCCCHHHHH!
    Hot tub? Minibar? Sweat drips down his back, everything’s moving in jumps and rushes, like the moments are connected by waterslides
     and each time he blinks he’s hurtled out into a new one not knowing where he is –
    Shh, take it easy.
    – and little particles of memory appearing out of nothing and exploding like fireworks against the inside of his eye, little
     sparks of images that are gone too quick to see, like dreams are gone the second you realize they’re dreams – but dreams of
what
? Memories of
what
?
    Shh. Deep breaths.
    He takes out the amber tube and swallows a pill with some flat Sprite. Okay. Slowly and calmly he takes the books he will
     need for the morning’s classes from his locker, and places them in his bag. He is late for Science but he does not hurry.
     Already things are feeling more normal again, see? The pills moving through you like sleep, like eating ice and feeling your
     insides freeze. Weird that the cure should just appear like that at the same time as the sickness –
    ‘Hold it right there!’ Mr Farley exclaims as Skippy comes through the door. He turns to the class. ‘Which of the seven characteristics
     of life can we see Daniel exhibiting right now?’
    Thirty grinning eyes swivel onto him. Skippy stands there like an idiot with his hand on the door. There is some snickering,
     and some shouted suggestions from the back of the room (‘Excretion?’ ‘Gayness?’) before Mr Farley steps back in. ‘ “Breathing”
     is the answer. Oh yes, now you all know it. Breathing, or as it’s known scientifically, respiration, is one of the seven characteristics
     of life. Thank you, Mr Juster, for that very elegant demonstration. You can take a seat now.’ Skippy, blushing, hurries down
     to his desk beside Ruprecht. ‘Every living thing on the planet breathes,’ Mr Farley continues. ‘However, not everything breathes
     the same thing, or in the same way. For example, humans breathe
in
oxygen and breathe
out
carbon dioxide, but plants do the opposite. That’s why they’re so important in combating global warming. Aquatic organisms
     breathe oxygen the same as humans, but they extract it from the water, through gills. Some organisms have both gills and lungs
     – can anyone tell me what these are called?’
    Flubber Cooke puts up his hand. ‘Mermaids?’
    ‘No,’ Mr Farley says. ‘Anyone else – thank you, Ruprecht, the correct answer is
amphibians
.’ He turns to chalk it up on the board. ‘The word comes from the Greek
amphibios
, meaning “double life”. Amphibians, for instance frogs, are organisms that can breathe on land and in water. They’re important
     in evolutionary terms, because life on Earth began in the sea, so the first vertebrates to crawl out onto the land must have
     had amphibious
tendencies. And each of you has a more recent amphibious past, because babies, when they are in the womb, actually breathe
     liquid oxygen through gills, just like fish. The presence of gill slits on the foetus, furthermore, is taken by some to be
     evidence of our aquatic prehistory…’
    ‘I wonder why they don’t just let you stay amphibious,’ Ruprecht ponders as they rejoin the throng of the corridor after class.
     ‘So that it’s up to the individual to choose where he wants to live, on the land or in the water.’
    ‘Regarding the whole mermaids issue, being amphibious would certainly make it easier to have sex with them,’ Mario says.
    ‘Mermaids don’t have beavers, you clown. Even if you were amphibious you couldn’t have sex