Panel 1
(A woman seated on a bus reading a book. The person next to her is looking at her. The woman has a slight smile on her face.)
Text: I wake up with a smile in the morning every day. It’s just how my face falls.
Panel 2
(The woman on the bus has made eye contact with the person next to her and is smiling more widely as the other person smiles back.)
Text: When I make eye contact with someone, my smile widens. It’s only polite. It’s like saying “Hey, hello, fellow human! I see you. I hope you’re having a good day.”
Panel 3
(The same woman is seated next to a different person wearing a different outfit. The woman is looking away with a slight smile, and her eyes look worried. The other person is smiling and speaking to her.)
Other Person: Hey beautiful, what are you doing later?
Text: Usually the other person simply smiles back, but some people take it in a different direction. Was I flirting? I didn’t mean to flirt. It was only a smile.
Panel 4
(The woman is seated next to the same flirting person and looking away from them. Her eyes look nervous, while the other person leans toward her.)
Other Person: You’re really cute. Do you live around here?
Text: Now I’m nervous, but if I laugh because I’m nervous, will he think that’s flirting, too? Probably. Can’t laugh. Do I ignore him until he calls me a bitch, or chat and hope he doesn’t follow me off the bus?
Panel 5
(The woman is at work in a coffee shop wearing the same outfit, but with an apron on and her hair in a ponytail. She’s handing a customer a cup of coffee and both of them are smiling.)
Woman: Thanks, see you tomorrow!
Text: At work, I smile at my customers. It’s what you do in customer service. Usually, they just smile back and go about the rest of their day.
Panel 6
(The woman is standing with her back turned to the room working with a blender – she has a slight smile on her face, but her eyes look nervous. Two customers stand behind her and are talking about her.)
Customer: Dude, did you see the way she smiled at you? She’s totally into you. Ask her out!
Text: But sometimes they don’t. Sometimes I have to figure out how to get out of a date I don’t want to go on without causing a scene that will cost me my job. All over one little smile.
Panel 7
(The woman has her hair down again and is wearing the same outfit from the bus. She’s walking on the sidewalk with a neutral expression on her face while a person speaks to her.)
Person: C’mon, girl, smile! You’d be much prettier.
Text: I try to keep my face neutral on the street. I don’t want the extra attention.
Panel 8
(The woman is frowning and shouting at the person who is frowning and shouting at her.)
Woman: Fuck off!
Person: Fuck you! Learn to take a compliment.
Text: I get attention anyway, now for not smiling. My face can’t do anything right, and now I have another chance to wonder if this guy is going to follow me home, shouting for blocks, or if he’ll just call me a cunt and storm off.
Panel 9
(The woman is walking on the street, her eyes look sad and nervous, but there’s a slight smile on her face. In the background, a different person is shouting at her.)
Person in the Background: Lookin’ good!
Text: And even though I’m scared and tired and only want a wall between the world and myself, I’m smiling. It’s just the way my face falls.
