Clara: Don’t laugh, that’s your boss giving a speech!
Susanne: I’m not laughing, I’m smiling in encouragement.
Clara: Oh, come on, I can see you smirk.
Susanne: Oh, OK, but look at that toupée — it’s ridiculous! It looks like a flattened hamster.
Clara: Stop it. You’re cracking me up.
Susanne: No one’ll take him seriously with that rug on his head. If he bends down, do you think it’ll fall off?
Clara: Enough! I’m going to wet myself.
Susanne: Now that would be funny!
Clara: You think so? That’s not very nice of you! But shush, he’s starting to notice us. Put that smile back on your face.
Susanne: OK, putting my encouraging smile back on.
Clara: I said a smile, not a pained grimace!
Susanne: I can’t smile naturally on demand! Oh no. Why is everyone looking at us? We’re in trouble now…
NOW LET’S REVIEW THe VOCABULARY!
A smirk is a self-satisfied, mocking smile.
A toupée is an artificial hairpiece worn to cover a bald spot.
To crack someone up is a colloquial way of saying to make someone laugh a lot.
When you regard someone as important and worthy of attention, you are taking them seriously.
A rug is a piece of carpet, used here as an insult to describe the toupée.
To wet oneself literally means to urinate in your clothes. It is used to indicate you are laughing so much, you are not able to control your bodily functions.
Shush! is an exclamation used to tell someone to be quiet.
A pained grimace is a forced, unnatural smile that makes you look like you are in pain.
When you do something on demand, you do it as soon as or whenever it is required.
