X-tra

I was back at the continuation high school. I swear, some of these things only happen there...

Yasmine walked in late. I explained the assignment to her. She explained that she didn't do the work, that she only was in the class to make T-shirts, which she wasn't doing that day.

(It's the graphic production class--read: computer assisted art class--and some of the students are on other projects.)

Yasmine told me she'd be watching a video, which is what she does most days. Alas, many in this class just waste their time in this way, so it's a battle I don't fight anymore.

We were twenty minutes into class. The room was silent.

Yasmine pulled out her phone and spoke to someone. Now, she wasn't loud, per se, but in a silent room, I could hear everything. I'd love to report what she was talking about, but alas, her conversation was in Spanish. Something about mesa. That's all I caught.

It sounded like whoever she was talking to wasn't getting what she was saying as she repeated it a couple times. Then she hung up in a huff and put her phone in her back pocket.

I had been giving her a death glare the whole time, but she was oblivious. So, I gently explained that next time she should take her phone calls outside of class.

"Why? It's cold out there. They're not doing anything. I wasn't bothering anybody."

Um, the silent class? Yeah, I think we all heard your conversation. But, the other students would never say.

Me: "You were bothering me."

"What? You aren't doing anything either."

Um, well, I guess monitoring the class is nothing...

"You're so extra..."

Uh huh. Extra. If you hadn't realized, "extra" is an insult. (Although, it could be a compliment in a different context.)

*Before I get the usual "cell phones should be banned" comments, let me explain something. I could have totally sent her out and had her phone confiscated for this. I did not because I didn't feel it was worth the trouble. True, this is why many of the students at this school have the phone issue. But then again, many of them ended up at this school due to things like their attitude, and as the phone wasn't out again, I didn't think making it more of an issue would help matters in the slightest. 

**And yes, I totally cheated for X. Don't we usually? Show of hands: How many of you (who are doing the A to Z Challenge) cheated on their X post? I so couldn't resist when being called "extra" by a student. It kind of fell into my lap.

Have you ever been called "extra"? Do you know what "extra" means, slang-wise? What was your favorite insult when you were a teen?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...