Taking Attendance

I have to take attendance every day in my classes--fair enough, as I am part of the record-keeping system.

I prefer that students answer "Yes, I'm here" and be done with it.  However, since students know I like to joke around, they sometimes answer differently.  I usually frown upon such answers, since that part of class involves a bureaucratic process that I simply want to move past.

The other day, though, when I called out "Haley" and she said , "I'm not here", it didn't sound like the usual clowning around.

"What?", I queried.

"I'm not her," she replied.  "Haley's not here . . . mmm, the good Haley's not here.  She went home.  I'm the bad Haley."

Since I have never, ever gotten that answer before, I was mystified.

"You are the bad Haley?"

The girl replied, "Yes," giggling as she did so.

I tried to get more of a response during class, but failed to figure out where that atypical response came from. I'm curious as to whether or not she'll build on it next week.