Sad, but true:

* Martin, a student of Ms. O. who loves to launch any and all projectiles during class, was flicking balls of paper with rubber bands again last week. Actually, he found one particularly effective rubber band and used it to launch ball after ball into the air, at the teacher's face, onto the overhead projector... Some strange rubbery pieces were hanging off the rubber band, but it worked well nonetheless. Martin lovingly stroked his rubber band. He'd never go without it again. He didn't put it down all period...until someone pointed out that it was the lip of a condom.

* You know the kid who walks around I.S. 666 with a scowl and smiley face tie that looks ironically sinister? His last name is Killer. Really.

* There's a special ed student named Greg who gallumphs down the halls of the third floor, even though his academy is on the first floor of the school. He doesn't heed any of the hall monitoring adults who tell him to stop. I think only a gun could take him down - Greg is a big, dumb, disrespectful animal that way. Too many of the kids at I.S. 666 think they're grown, but he has a reason to. He's 22. My age! Good lord!