Fandom High School

Summer had noticed the boards, that the number of disappearances had grown and she couldn't help but feel for everyone that had lost someone. She knew what that was like. So, she decided to forego today's lesson and instead, had set out some moddable snacks and drinks for them.

The desks in the classroom were set up in a semi-circle, with Summer's desk taking up a good chunk of it. She leaned against it and as soon as her students settled in, she offered them a small smile.

"I decided to skip the lesson I had planned for today, given what's been going on. Many of you and your fellow students have been affected by the disappearances, by what's happened, so I wanted to give you a chance to talk about it. A chance to voice your feelings, but only if you want to. By no means am I going to force to talk about this if you feel otherwise."

Summer paused, taking comfort in the warmth of the coffee she held in her hands. "And if there's anything at all you need, feel free to come to me. My office is always open."

[OCD coming up.]

Summer had once again let her students know to meet up in the Danger Shop for today's lesson.

There were small open, observation tanks set up around the room so her students could get an up close look at the creature they'd be learning about.

"The spider conch is a member of the genus lambus and can be found on our southern shores near coral rubble areas as well as other areas throughout the world, such as China," Summer explained. "It is often overlooked due to its camflouged outer shell. It feeds on red algae and often occurs in colonies, in shallow water from low tide levels to a depth of about 5 m."

Summer paused, observing the tank nearest to her. "As you can see, the spider conch has a thick heavy shell with six spines on the flared lip. The upperside of the shell is usually encrusted and thus blends with the surroundings. The shell opening is pearly and pinkish with orange or yellow tints.

Part of the body is olive-brown with white spots. It has large eyes on long stalks and a thick siphon. Like other conch snails, it has a curved, knife-shaped operculum attached to a long strong foot. This is used by the animal to 'hop' along the surface. The spines on the shell improves stability and prevents the snail from toppling over as it hops.

The long spines on its shell are found only on adults and gives it its common name. The shell of young snails look like large volutes. Male and female snails look very different. The shell of the males usually smaller and with shorter spines on the outer lip." It was quite a distinctive look.

"Where common, it is often collected for food by coastal populations, and the shell used in shellcraft. Appears in markets in the northern Philippines and in the Fiji Islands."

[OCD up.]

Summer waited until her students settled into the classroom, before beginning her lecture.

"The giant squid is a deep-ocean dwelling creature, that can grow to the likes of forty-three feet," she explained. "They feed on deep-sea fish and other species of squid. Their only known predators are sperm whales."

"Giant squid are widespread, found near continental and island slopes from the North Atlantic Ocean, especially Newfoundland, Norway, the northern British Isles, Spain and the oceanic islands of the Azores and Madeira, to the South Atlantic around southern Africa, the North Pacific around Japan, and the southwestern Pacific around New Zealand and Australia. Quite a habitat," Summer commented.

"A study conducted in 2004 noted there were over 600 specimens of giant squid worldwide and that number continues to climb every year." Summer paused, turning on the projector, bringing up pictures of giant squid.

"Representations of the giant squid have been known from early legends of the Kraken through books such as Moby-Dick and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea on to novels such as Ian Fleming's Dr. No and Peter Benchley's Beast and modern animated television programs.

In particular, the image of a giant squid locked in battle with a sperm whale is a common one, although the squid is in fact the whale's prey, and not an equal combatant. I thought we could watch a few clips from a documentary film on giant squid to finish up today's lesson."

[OCD coming a go!]

Summer had let her students know that they'd be meeting in their regular classroom for today's lesson.

She had the DVD player set up in the back of the room and a slide was in the front, by the board. Summer waited until her students settled in, to begin.

"Over the weekend, I found this documentary film on the ocean that I thought would be perfect for our class. The locations they shot it vary from Baja, North Carolina to the Caribbean. Feel free to take notes, if you want. We'll study some of the creatures found in this film next class."

[OCD coming up!]