In a Calvin and Hobbes the comic strip, Calvin’s standing outside, waiting for the school bus. It never takes much to make this precocious kid’s imagination run wild. Today is no exception. “It would sure be a big surprise,” he says to his sidekick, Hobbes the tiger, “if the school bus spontaneously exploded, and I didn’t have to go to school! Yeah, I’d sure be surprised if THAT happened!”

The final frame shows Calvin sitting on the school bus, looking dejected. He turns to Hobbes — who’s now reverted to his stuffed–tiger persona — and says, “Life is full of surprises, but never when you need one.”