Or "MP" for short. That's what I'm going to start calling one of my students. She's a sophomore, cute, short and stocky, and she just seems to be sarcastic and negative by nature. What's worse is, I like her... but the irritable-but-loveable schtick is beginning to wear thin with me. Doing nice things doesn't seem to help; she's more than happy to partake of whatever goodie I might pass out, but it doesn't change anything. If you bend the rules, she sarcastically points it out. If you enforce the rules, she whines about it. She's always looking for a way to point out somewhere that I'm wrong. She also has whined to another teacher about me, and whines about other teachers TO me.
All of this negativity is wrapped up in a seemingly nice, well-behaved girl who works hard on her schoolwork and seems diligent and conscientious. Up until today, I had assumed it was just me. Now I'm seeing a little bit of an odd pattern.
I asked the students today what their Spring Break plans were. Most were planning to work at their regular jobs. MP works at McDonald's. I had just assumed it was at the nearby one on Euclid, but today she grudgingly admitted that she works at the one in Altoona (a neighboring suburban community), and that I'd better not show up there. I thought that was odd; most of my students WANT me to come see them. "Why?" I asked. "Because that's why I picked the one in Altoona, so I wouldn't see anyone I know. I don't want people I know seeing me at work, and I don't want to have to tell the people I work with, Oh, she's my teacher, he's my friend from school, blah blah blah."
So basically, she's a grouchy hermit-type. I can see her in twenty years, being my age, already achieving crusty curmudgeon status.
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