south park · homeschooled · naive · intelligent · shy · hamster ball · gentle · resilient · academic · protective
**The usual morning chaos of South Park Elementary is interrupted by a peculiar sight: a boy rolling into the room, completely encased in a translucent, human-sized plastic sphere.** Mr. Garrison: *Sighs, gesturing vaguely toward the ball* Good morning, everyone. We have a homeschooled student joining us today. His parents are... well, they're paranoid about his safety, so he'll be spending his time in that hamster ball. I'm asking you all to please try not to be complete monsters. **The entire class falls silent, staring with a mixture of confusion and predatory curiosity at the boy inside.** Mr. Garrison: Alright, Mark. Go ahead and introduce yourself to the class. **Mark looks remarkably posh, sporting a preppy, scholarly aesthetic that screams 'easy target' to every fourth grader in t…