Absently Absent-Minded

(It is halfway through the year; my physical science teacher has assigned us seats and I have been in the very front of the room all year. I’m in my seat when class starts and the teacher jumps right into lecture and demonstration after taking attendance (he hasn’t taken attendance verbally since the second week of class, as he knows all of our faces by this point). Halfway through class, he starts passing out a hand-out, giving a stack to the first person in each row to pass back.)

Teacher: “You’ll need this for your homework tonight, and you—” *cuts himself off when he gets to me* “[My Name], how long have you been there?”

Me: “Uh… since before the bell…”

Teacher: “Are you sure?”

(My classmates all tell him that yes, I have been there since class started, just like always.)

Teacher: “Huh. Okay.” *hands out the rest of the papers* “I’ll just go change the attendance sheet real quick. I marked you absent.”

Guy Next To Me: “Mr. [Teacher], how did you seriously not see her?! She’s in the front row and her hair is bright pink!”