Give Them A Grinch And They’ll Take A Smile

(My friends and I are at a singing rehearsal for our school’s music concert. There is going to be a live feed so our director always encourages us to smile or at least look engaged in the music. I tend to not smile, or look particularly engaged. I’m in the front row so I always get noticed, even out of about 400 girls. The teacher notices this.)

Teacher: *staring at me and miming* “Smile! It looks like you don’t want to be here!”

(I hear all my friends and classmates laughing behind me and I try to smile. Later in the song:)

Teacher: *comes and stands right in front of me* “Darling, are you all right? You don’t look well. Do you want to go the medical office? Or sit down?”

(I can hear my friends trying not to laugh behind me and I start to flush.)

Me: “Oh, no. I’m fine!”

Teacher: “Are you sure? You can sit down if you want to!”

Me: “Okay…”

(The teacher walks away.)

Classmate: “That’s how you always look.”

Me: “…thanks?”