I had a babysitter once who I found out was in the ‘slow’ class and I couldn’t understand why, since she seemed like a normally intelligent kid.

She said it was her math; she just didn’t understand it and could never get it right. I told her to come over after school and I’d tutor her.

I decided to start at the beginning so I could judge where she was, and got out the penny jar to use in demonstrating basic adding and subtracting.

I soon came to realise that she had absolutely no concept of written numbers. She’d see a number and it was just a meaningless squiggle to her. She was trying to memorize them and remember what it meant when you had one squiggle and did something with it with another squiggle. I have never come across this before and have no idea what you’d call it. I’m sure it has a name.

So, we started with the pennies, me showing her that this squiggle meant these many pennies and onward and upward, and it didn’t really take long, once we figured out the problem, to get her all caught up. She graduated high school in a ‘regular’ class with her age mates.

But I CANNOT understand how this child got to grade ten without any of her ‘educators’ figuring this out!

(My school building has been around since the 1950s and has fallen into disrepair. Despite years of campaigning for a new building, the county keeps pushing the construction date back by years. It’s become a running joke in the school that the building will collapse before we get a new one. On this day, we are having some very noisy work done in the ceiling.)

Me: *glancing up at the ceiling* “They’d better be careful; one wrong hit and the whole thing will collapse. We’ll get a new building, at least.”

Teacher: *laughs hysterically*

(I am a girl in seventh-grade shop class. My teacher is quite rude and we butt heads frequently. He’s especially rude about girls going to the bathroom and about our general competency around the class. I raise my hand.)

Teacher: “Yes?”

Me: “Can I go to the bathroom?”

Teacher: *smirking* “I don’t know. Can you?”

Me: “Actually, I was using the secondary definition of ‘can’: to request permission. I thought that since you’re soooo smart you would know that.”

(I got locked out of the classroom for ten minutes when I came back from the bathroom.)

(I’m at college. I go to purchase a lab manual.)

Clerk: “Sorry, you don’t have a valid student ID. Go to the library and get a new one.”

(I’ve been using this ID for three years, but whatever.)

Librarian: “You need paperwork from the business office to get a renewed ID.”

(I go to the business office.)

Clerk: “You need to pay off your debts before I can do anything for you.”

Me: “Yeah, okay. I’ve been meaning to do that, anyway.”

(It’s only the first week of school. I pull up my student account; I owe $240.)

Clerk: “That’ll be $430.”

Me: “What? No, see?”

(I show her my account.)

Clerk: “It’s actually $430.”

Me: “Why?”

Clerk: “It’s $430.”

Me: “Why?”

Clerk: “Fees.”

Me: “Why is it $230 on my account but $430 here?”

Clerk: *shrugs*

Me: “…”

Clerk: “…”

Me: “I don’t know what you want me to do.”

Clerk: “Pay?”

Me: “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be paying.”

Clerk: “$430!”

Me: “Why?!”

Clerk: “THAT’S HOW MUCH IT COSTS!”

Me: “WHY?!”

Clerk: “Do you want a manager?”

Me: “Yes, please!”

(I never do this. I’m usually a pushover for workers, but this is two hundred dollars that I’d be paying “just because.”)

Manager: *on speaker phone* “What’s the problem?”

Me: “My account on my phone says my classes cost $230, but her computer says $430.”

Manager: “It’s $430.”

Me: “Why? I don’t understand why it’s $200 more.”

Manager: “Don’t worry; I’ll fix it. Give me a moment.”

Me: *finally relieved*

Manager: “Refresh the page.”

(I refresh my page. It’s now $430.)

Me: “…”

Clerk: “You can pay with a payment plan which will, in total, cost more, but it’ll be much easier.”

Me: *giving up* “I’d rather pay it all off right now.”

Clerk: “Okay! Here’s some paperwork for that.” *immediately flips to the last page and points where I should sign*

(I am an incredibly paranoid person. I read the terms and agreements. I’m that b****.)

Me: “This is the paperwork for the payment plan.”

Clerk: “…”

Me: “I’m paying it all, right now. And I want a receipt.”

Clerk: *rolls her eyes, gets me the right paperwork, and gives me a receipt*

Dear readers,

It’s time to reveal the twenty highest-rated stories from 2018!

20 – Playing Unfair With The Fairer Sex
19 – That Is “Pretty” Awesome, Part 2
18 – Bagged Far More Than He Bargained For
17 – The Cake Price Is A Lie
16 – The Bosses Need To Clean Up Their Act
15 – Brunch Time Crunch Time
14 – There’s No Business Like None Of Your Business
13 – Getting Owned By The Owner, Part 11
12 – Dusting Off The Scum
11 – Fart Jokes Exist In A Vacuum
10 – Goodbye Fighting, Hello Kitty
9 – Mouse Versus Evil
8 – Must Be Friends With Aaron Schlossberg
7 – Man, What A Wait!
6 – This Prank Has A Drinking Problem
5 – The Best Comeback Since Sliced Bread
4 – Treat It Like A Boss
3 – Has The Authority To Tell You How It Is
2 – A Reversal Of Fortune
1 – The Adventures Of Captain Camp And Mother Russia

Do you have a favorite story from 2018 that didn’t make the top twenty? Don’t worry; you can still push to give it an honorable mention by telling us your best story here.