Remember to Smile

She’s walking down the hall, eyes cast down. People past by her but she doesn’t see any of their faces. She focuses on the floor, putting one foot in front of the other. Never does she dare look up for she might catch someone’s eye. She walks as quickly as she can to her next class, where she’ll sit and endure hours of torture, trying to blend into the background. She’ll sit silently listening intently to those around her but never saying a word if she can help it.

The bell rings and she’s off again walking down the hall, avoiding all eye contact. This is her daily routine to survive the day. She lets out a sigh of relief when she finally walks through the door of her home. Here she doesn’t have to worry about anyone else, here she can be herself. She can relax until the next day when it’s back to her social hell hole.

Eyes looking to the floor, she walks, someone says her name. She wouldn’t normally look up but she recognizes the voice. The person says hi to her and she forces a smile and says hi back. Once the exchange is done, she is back on her way eyes once again looking downward. This is how she manages to endure all social interaction; the most important thing is to remember to smile. If she’s smiling nobody can tell what she’s really feeling. She just nods and smiles. People don’t look twice and then she goes back to trying to stay invisible.