Emily. Oh, yeah… Good. Thanks
Emily chooses a place to sit (there are several places to choose from). He sits down. She puts her purse on her lap, doesn't know where to start, she's confused.
Antoine. I remember you, you and your friend came as a support group!
Emily. Exactly.
Antoine. How's your friend doing? Was the blues asleep?
Emily. Sleeping. Now he infuriates everyone with his invariably pleased mug. She goes from one extreme to the other. You've gone too far with the highs!
Antoine. Envy is a nasty feeling, Emily. I'll tell you so! It's only in Russia that a smiling person can cause an unkind reaction. You're smiling, so you're a bastard, anyway, you're cooking some kind of dirty trick, or you've already implemented it, or you just go and think some kind of disgusting thing about the one who's looking at you at this moment. In this regard, you do not need to be afraid of condemnation, it is better to fear for your psyche and your inner color. After all, it is not customary for us to smile in our lives. Everyone should be gloomy, serious, preferably angry and aggressive towards each other. That's when everything's fine, that's when you're good, you don't stand out. It sounds a bit rude, but tell me what am I wrong?
Emily. Hmm… maybe not so radically, but in general… maybe. But then again, a friend is smiling now, and the psyche of others is suffering. Isn't that right?
Antoine. People will condemn it anyway. Sad is bad, cheerful is even worse. If you do not earn, you are a parasite, you have earned, it means that you have heated someone in some way, because an honest and decent person cannot earn anything significant in principle. Isn't that how we were taught to think? And I must say, this teaching was not in vain. By no means am I saying that everything is bad everywhere in our country, but somewhere in other countries it is good. I travel a lot, there are nuances everywhere, but I will say for sure that there is no use in walking all my adult life with a sour face. Not only is it unsympathetic, but it also adversely affects psychological health, and subsequently physical health. Most people prefer to spend money on some kind of anti-stress drugs, instead of spending money on a smile. Smile more often, laugh more often (for good reason, of course), watch more, read more or even participate in comedies, be mostly where the positive is! That's the whole recipe for health in all its manifestations.