Mi tortugita

Ever seen the movie Martian Child? Well, en caso que no, let me summarize: John Cusack plays a single foster father to a small boy who believes he is from another planet, sent to earth to do research. This belief alters every aspect of the boy's reality, including his ability to stand in the sunlight without incinerating-- which leads him to spend his time outdoors inside a refrigerator box.

I mention this because one of my students does something similar; instead of cutting down his cardboard box to make a desk carrel, he sits entirely in the box (which apparently has magical powers of some sort); since he claims it is sound proof, communication requires that notes be passed through the tiny window cut in the front flap. No seatwork may be completed outside of the box. When moving from desk to desk (his assigned seat changes with each class), he shuffle-steps across the room without removing the box. In reality, I haven't seen this student in two days; the only sign of his attendance is his backpack, which remains outside the magic box.

Being the understanding, safe-haven type of teacher, I can't laugh about any of it at school. Instead, I wait until I have shut my apartment door behind me before dissolving into laughter. You, however, may laugh now.