Every classroom is different, yet somehow the same familiar characters always show up.
The teacher’s pet
They sit at the front, raise their hand for every question, and know just when the teacher needs an extra hand passing out worksheets. They almost never have late homework or dirty notebooks. They might even remind the teacher about something the rest of the class wished they had forgotten. Teachers love them; classmates can be less forgiving.
The class clown
Every class has that person who thinks their job is entertaining the class. An otherwise boring question from the teacher is a chance for a joke, impression, or perfectly placed comment. They probably spend a lot of time getting told to quiet down, but the teacher can’t stay mad at them forever.
The professional procrastinator
They had weeks to work on the assignment, but unsurprisingly most of it got done the night before it was due. They might have the extraordinary ability to perfectly calculate how long they can leave something to finish ahead of the deadline. They occasionally turn in impressive work at the last minute, which unfortunately only reinforces their belief that this works fine.
The human stationery store
Need a pencil? Highlighter? Ruler? Eraser? They have all of these things (and probably more than one color of each). There’s no possible way their pencil case can fit everything they pull out of it. When everyone else is frantically digging through their backpacks for something, anything that writes, they’re already neatly arranging their 17 pens.
The daydreamer
Physically they’re sitting in math class, but mentally they’re galaxies away. They can spend minutes just staring out the window only to abruptly realize the teacher is staring back at them asking a question. Their notebook probably has more doodles than notes, and “Sorry, what was the question?” is their favorite question.
The last-minute borrower
They show up to school with everything they could possibly need except what they actually need for school. They need a pencil before the lesson starts, paper five minutes in, and an eraser two minutes after that. Miraculously, they’ve managed to go years almost never having supplies thanks to the generosity of classmates.
The quiet genius
They never raise their hand for answers, don’t fight for attention, and may spend most classes quietly working away at their own thing. Then, exams come back, and they’ve managed to get one of the highest scores in the room. People ask them how they learned everything when nobody can remember them saying more than five words at a time.
The clock watcher
This kid knows how much time is left on the dot. They know when lunch is almost here. They know exactly when the bell is supposed to ring. And they start packing up suspiciously quickly. When the teacher says “We have two more minutes,” they look personally insulted. Math may not be their best subject, but timing is.
The back-row sloucher
Half-sitting in the corner at a 45-degree angle with their hood pulled up over their head, this student has mastered the art of looking like they are sleeping without actually falling asleep. They view school as little more than a mild nuisance that gets between them and their real-life passions (whether that’s gaming, sports, or music). Despite looking completely tuned out, they somehow manage to earn passing grades.
The bargainer/ lawyer
All assignment questions, deadlines, and grading scales are considered by this student to be guidelines for an advanced legal negotiation. If a question on a test is ambiguously worded, they will formulate an argument of why technically two different answers can be right. They argue for partial credit almost as hard as they study.
