I started my one of my summer classes last Tuesday, and was immediately informed that I would need to form a group with my classmates for a series of large projects. Because of the condensed nature of the summer semester, the list of groups needed to be submitted by last Thursday’s class. I generally have no problem finding a group to join or starting my own collection of lost souls, but I felt lazy and made no attempt to join the groups I heard forming around me that night.
At the beginning of the class the following Thursday, the professor asked if everyone had joined a group. I waited for a moment, hoping that somebody else would say no, and then tentatively rose my hand. Because I was sitting in the front row of the class (how dorky are thee, let me count the ways), I was unable to see if there were other losers with their hands raised, and I could not bear the thought of turning around to look. As I sat there like a lone snowman in the Sahara, the professor surveyed the room slowly and murmured, “Mmmm. So you are not in a group. What is your name? Lindsay? Hmmm.” He consulted his class roster and then stared back at me.
I died a slow death and dropped my limp hand into my lap.”What’s the problem?” he began. “Do you not know anybody in the class?”
I didn’t respond. The silence thundered throughout the room.
Have I ever mentioned that I hate group projects?