The Phantom Group Member

Working in a group with three to four people you have just met often times creates a serious dilemma. Once, while taking a writing class we were given an assignment to work with three other people to create a script/ screen play incorporating different forms of writing. One of my not so pleasant group members said “like” more times that a person would dare to count, and preferred to make "insightful" comments about current T.V. shows, the class was of little interest to her. Another member of our vivacious group was a woman who, in her late 60’s was often grumpy, and angry at the world. While discussing storyline options for the script, we came up with the idea of a woman who mourns the relationship she had with her daughters while they were younger. The woman would die of sicknesses that her broken heart helped create leaving the three daughters to mourn after their loss and the relationship they could not preserve. During this time, I made a comment about my grandmother dying of TB not too long ago, my group member, let’s call her Barbara, rudely exclaimed “Well she must have been to jail, no one get’s TB without going to jail.” It’s easy to say that everything went downhill from there. Throughout all of this I took notes, emailed ideas to all of my group members, and passed portions of the script that were complete on to the next person to add on their portion. Lastly, the third and most compliant group member came up with wonderful ideas, expressed her opinions, and took everyone’s thoughts into consideration, but the week before our presentation she was nowhere to be found. In the last minute possible, she dropped the course.

The day before the presentation, the three of us remaining group members met up in the library and prepared for a good five to six hours. In the end, we did not receive the grade that we would have liked but considering everything that we had gone through, it was solid to say the least. In a weird attempt to make everyone work together I brought donuts and candy to our group meetings, but in the end the faith of the group can be in the hands of the one individual who decides to become incognito in the last few moments.

-SS