The Smile She Gives You

Chapter 4: Bad Day

Image credits: @lebedeva0801 on Pinterest

~~~~~~

Everyone experiences a bad day. Everyone has a different definition of a bad day. And everyone deals with a bad day in a different way. But not everyone takes a bad day as seriously as they should...

~~~

My day starts at 5:30 again. I groan at the annoying sound of my alarm. Already five seconds into my day I feel terrible. I do not want to go to school, and I do not want to go to swim practice. To top it all off, as I get up, I start feeling a dull pain in my lower abdomen. Looks, like I will soon be on my period. And I fully blame the moodiness on it! Despite the serious lack of motivation, I manage to get up from bad, grab some clothes and a tampon from my closet, and disappear into the bathroom.

Grumpy as I am on bad days, I get angered for the smallest possible reason. I bump into the doorway as I exit the room. I cannot find my snorkel. At breakfast, I poor some tea over my trousers, and just before leaving the house I realise I've forgotten to pack my swimsuit.

I sigh. Somehow, I just know today will be a bad day until the very end. It has happened before that I have been moody because of my period. Nonetheless, today has been a bit of a radical start. Is it truly only due to my period? I hope it is nothing serious... Well, of course it is not! I am just moody that's all. Nothing bad has happened yet and nothing bad will happen. I hope... Why am I so insecure? I should shake these negative feelings off!

As I enter the school, my mood hasn't improved in the slightest way. Well, this will be a long day...

Miroslava is the only one there. She is always first on Tuesdays, her exceptional day of the week. I greet her and take the seat to her right. Miroslava is wearing a mint-green summer dress today and has her dark shiny hair tied up into two pig tails with the fringe framing her face in a nice way. It seems that her sense of fashion has been able to develop and I can imagine her school uniform being buried behind new clothes at the very back of her wardrobe.

I decide to approach her about it: "Your hair style is cute today, Miroslava. And the dress is lovely."

She smiles and murmurs a small thank you. I notice the corners of her moth dropping ever so slightly. Was it something I said? Was it inappropriate or did I offend her? I genuinely like the way she dresses and even envy her for having a clearly defined fashion style. Is there a reason as to why my intended compliment was not received as such?

Just this instant, Lyla enters the classroom.

"Hi girls, are you doing alright?", she takes her usual spot on the other side of Miroslava. Then she smiles widely at her in surprise: "Oh wow, Mira, I love your hairstyle! It makes you look very foxy. Oh, and the dress! You'll definitely make many guys turn their heads. Like a real Spanish Señorita!"

Miroslava's eyes light up and she smiles again.

Oh, now I understand! The way I complimented Miroslava she probably thought I see her style as girly and childish which is absolutely not what I was aiming for! However, Miroslava wants to be viewed as a strong, independent woman, precisely the way Lyla sees her in this instance. How come I didn't notice earlier? I interact with Miroslava every day. I should be aware of the way she wants to be viewed. The mistake I just made was stupid. I intended to compliment her but it backfired. I should remember the lesson I just learned for future situations!

Oh wow, the intricacies of us women, am I right?

"Tori, are you alright?"

I twitch at the gentle call of my name and look over to Lyla who has just asked me the question.