Auntie SparkNotes: The Quiet American Werewolf in Lab Goggles

Dear Auntie Sparknotes:
My science table sits four people. Three of us chit and chat most of the time, laugh and carry on and it's all fun and games. We help each other (okay the smart ones do the work and the dumb one *cough*me*cough* tries to learn from them) and are a generally normal table. However, at the end of our table, there is one girl who never talks, never joins in, and I think I have heard her voice maybe once in my life.

All of the rest of us at my table have tried including her and talking to her several times, but she just doesn't seem interested at all. I feel like we're ignoring her, admittedly I often think of it as a three-person table, and that we're horrible people. I know how being left out feels and it sucks. The problem is that everytime one of us attempts to talk to her and include her in our daily shenannigans, she just kind of nods and goes about her business. (I have never seen a lab more covered with notes; seriously, how do you get that much information?) Examples:

Me: "Hi!"
Her: *nod* (maybe an 'mhmm' on rare occasion)

Me: "Hey, what did you get for number whatever?"
Her: *points*

Maybe she is THAT focused on school that she doesn't want to socialize at all in the least little bit? It seems impossible to me... I mean come on, it's highschool! What do I do in this situation, just let her alone or continue to pursue the quest of friendly-ness-itude?

These are all good questions, letter-writer, but I've got one of my own: Dude, why would you even want to be friends with this girl? She's obviously a werewolf.

No, really! All the obvious signs are there—the ultra-focused note-taking (werewolves love to take notes!), the general disinterest in socializing, the thick matted hair on her knuckles...

[Looks back at letter]

...oh, wait, you didn't say anything about knuckle-hair.

Sooooo. Umm. I guess she is just a quiet, science-y person who really cares about labwork. But more importantly, she is a quiet, science-y, labwork-lover who you've already made your best efforts to befriend. So while I'm not suggesting that you ignore her completely, you should feel free to stop stressing about it. You're not leaving her out; she's distancing herself. It doesn't really matter why—maybe she's super-focused on academics, or maybe she hates shenanigans, or maybe she is a werewolf.

But as long as she's making it so clear that she wants her relationship with you guys to be based on a series of nods and grunts, you might want to take a hint from her. It sounds like this girl has the "polite detachment" thing down to a science (haha! science! get it?), and you should follow her lead by treating her the way you would any person whom you like well enough but have no real relationship with. Be friendly, but don't push. She's the classmate equivalent of a supermarket checkout person; all you have to do is smile, say hello, and be pleasant whenever you have to interact with each other.

And maybe be extra-polite to her when the moon is full. Y'know, just in case.

Is Quiet Girl a werewolf? Leave your opinions in the comments. And to get advice from Auntie, email her at advice@sparknotes.com.