Basic Trope: Someone gets a job because they're the only person who wants it.
- Straight: Classroom teacher Ms. Alice needs a student to stay behind and help her troubleshoot some technical problems. Only the Teacher's Pet, Cynthia, stays behind to help her — everyone else just wanted to get out of class.
- Exaggerated: Cynthia is always the only person in the whole school who will help Ms. Alice with her after-class issues.
- Downplayed: Cynthia doesn't really want the job. She just doesn't have anything better to do with her time.
- Justified: Cynthia just genuinely wants to do the task. She doesn't care if anyone else doesn't.
- Inverted:
- Everyone but Cynthia wants to help Ms. Alice. So of course, Cynthia gets picked for it.
- Ms. Alice is offering her overbearing help to everyone in class, except Cynthia, who actually needs it.
- Subverted: After Ms. Alice announces the task, nobody's hands are up except Cynthia's. But it turns out Cynthia was just stretching.
- Double Subverted: She said that as a cover-up because she was embarrassed about being the only one who wanted to do it. After everyone leaves, she stays behind and helps Ms. Alice.
- Zig-Zagged: Whether or not Cynthia will be the only one depends on the task, how much time she has after school, and whether she's in the mood for extra work that day.
- Averted: Around half of the class wants the position.
- Enforced: "We need to show that Cynthia is a Teacher's Pet. Let's have her be the only one to help the teacher after class."
- Lampshaded:Ms. Alice: Alright, class, I need someone to help me after school today. (Beat, only Cynthia raises her hand) And it looks like Cynthia will be that someone.
- Invoked: Cynthia asks Ms. Alice to give out a task that only she can help with and nobody else.
- Exploited: Cynthia is aware that nobody else will want to do the task, and wants to make herself look better to Ms. Alice by volunteering for it.
- Defied:
- Cynthia doesn't want to feel like she just got a job by default. She only volunteers if other classmates are doing it, too.
- Ms. Alice gets Cynthia's help specifically, without asking anyone else.
- Ms. Alice looks into her problems on her own.
- Discussed: "Why is Cynthia the only one who ever wants to do this stuff?"
- Conversed: "Geez, Teacher's Pet characters like this are annoying. I'd be out of the class with the rest of the students by now."
- Played for Laughs: No matter how ridiculous the task is, Cynthia is always up for it.
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