Duck out for a minute

THE sky's blue, the sun's shining and the flowers are in full bloom. You're in the classroom, but a number of your classmates have mysteriously disappeared. What happened? Where'd they go? Here's how we describe that disappearing act:

1. He must have a late case of spring fever, he's been skiving off class for a week.

To many, "playing truant" might be the most familiar translation for "逃学". In fact, "play truant" is somewhat British and formal. To "skive off" (偷懒逃学、逃课) is more colloquial.

2. Boy, there was hardly a soul around this afternoon. Many students cut class for an outing.

"To cut class" (逃课，翘课) is a very common expression. It has both a formal and informal sound. "To skip class" is interchangeable with "cut class". For example: Wow, I managed to get an interview tomorrow, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to skip class to get to it.

3. I saw her with her boyfriend on my way to class. They looked like they were having fun, but they were obviously playing hooky.

"To play hooky" (逃学) is another expression. "Hooky" is also spelt "hookey" and has two meanings: "逃学" or "逃学者".

4. I just couldn't take it anymore. The day was so beautiful that I just had to duck out of class to experience some of this weather.

The verb "to duck" means to avoid or evade (often, something that could cause injury). The "out" is added when it refers to the classroom (or work or some other responsibility): 偷偷跑出教室.