Five years ago.

We were playing a game in drama class where everyone sits around in a circle and you have to try to get another person to smile. Usually by acting goofy.

They would have to say something like "Baby, I love you, but I just can't smile." without cracking up. If your target doesn't smile, you try something on someone else. If you sucked, you'd get a pity smile eventually and then it would be that person's turn.

Anyway.

I remember one time when it was my then girlfriend's turn.

She got on her hands and knees and seductively crawled towards me while I was supposed to keep a straight face.

I was very nervous and more than a bit embarrassed. It was surprising, especially because we hadn't really shown any other forms of PDA.

I was not really equipped to handle the situation.

She must have been very nervous about it. That's what I imagine, at least.


The point of the story is the fact that I didn't end up smiling, and how that was a mistake.

She was crawling on her hands and knees-- this teenaged girl (with her cleavage hanging out) who was the most important thing to me at the time--

...and I didn't even smile because I didn't want to lose and didn't realize that surrendering was actually a much more correct decision.

The reason I'm mentioning this is because I consider this to be my biggest social faux pas. 

To this very day I will occasionally remember that scene and cringe at myself.

EDIT: Can you imagine how it must have felt to make this grand gesture in front of all your peers, only to be met with some zit-faced, shitty kid's stoic face in the end?

She was a quiet girl too.