One of the most effective means of identifying a zombie student is if they seem to have forgotten which friendship communities they normally adhere to. Real students unfailingly coalesce into groups of other geeks/brainiacs/good looking people/not so good looking people/people who can’t do sport/people who can do sport/gamers/cool types/uncool types/drug addicts/alcoholics/preppers etc. etc. Naturally, most school students have token membership of any number of friendship communities, but significantly, they all have communities with which they NEVER mix. A student who wanders into the wrong group is automatically an object the greatest suspicion, and if also displaying other symptoms such as groaning, lurching & co. & co. should be approached only with the most extreme caution. Do not, repeat NOT, be tempted to walk up to them and say ‘hey, don’t you usually hang out with aaarrggghh!!!’ as, for a short, but extremely painful period of time, you will strongly regret not just beating them over the head with a blunt teacher.