  My sudden popularity went immediately to my head. Seeing an
opening, I promptly assigned myself to the role of class
comedian. Up until then, only my few friends (nerds, all) knew
that I possessed a quick wit. I was determined to change that,
and change it I did. In no time, a very sick co-dependent
relationship developed between my fellow students and me. They
depended on me for jokes, and I depended on them for laughter.
It goes without saying that the more they laughed, the more I
joked.  My teachers tried in vain to get me to comport myself
properly. They kept me after school, gave me extra work, had me
write “I will not interrupt instruction with what I think are
funny jokes but what are in fact immature remarks” one thousand
times, then two thousand times, and so on. When my teachers
finally accepted that they had failed to suppress my craving,
they began sending me to the principal, but all he did was talk
to me about how I had a lot of potential and could be a positive
role model and how disappointe