by Heather Harris

Every day Atlantic High School nurse Kristi Simpson has to deal with situations that could cause her to get sick–and then again maybe not. Simpson says that when kids come into the nurse’s office, there is a 25% chance they have just come in to get out of class–to avoid a test, quiz, or maybe even if they don’t like the teacher.

Many students come in during the day and Simpson has to boot them along to class. Simpson says she can tell if you are faking or not by the following clues: coming in all the time, coming in a couple times a day, what you say that hurts, how you look, how alert you are, and most of all–how you act in the hallways as you walk by her office.

When junior Gunner Blum was asked if he has ever faked going to the nurse’s office, his response was, “Yes, to get out of [math] class.” Freshman Alexi Allen responded to same question: “No because if I go and I fake it, I could get in trouble by parents.”

Simpson says that during every school year she will see many kids going in and out with their “fake” sickness. Between this year and last year the average of students playing sick is about the same, says Simpson.