geek speak

I have this student who troubles me. Actually, he's been troubling me since the school year began, but lately, it seems to be getting worse. Much worse.

You see, he's a bit of a geek. No, a lot of a geek. It's painful to watch sometimes, his social ineptitude. I was a bit of a geek myself in high school, but I was a rank amateur compared to this kid. As if the transition to high school isn't difficult enough, this little guy is also coping with the transition from a private Catholic school. And my guess is that, even there, he was nowhere close to fitting in.

I don't know how to convey to him that he does and says things that make him even more of a target to his classmates. Like constantly making references to obscure video games, when most of these kids aren't into that anymore. Or dragons. Or anything else that only 1% or less of the population has any interest in.

He laughs too soon--before anything is funny. He wears shorts and socks that are too long and that make him look like he should be carrying a metal-detector on a beach somewhere.

And he posts things like this to our class blog:

...-The following has nothing to do with the prompt, I'm just bored right now-

Since I have nothing more to say about this prompt, here is another example of 13375p34|<. (For more info, see the Geek section of "The Laureaete."

13375p34|<>

Translation: Leetspeak is used when people talk in this ridiculous typing!

and this:

Joke: Find proof that black holes are really where God divided by 0.

I don't know how to help him. But I worry.