Unrestrained Laughter Instance #1

Anybody who knows me personally knows that it’s easy to make me laugh; I’m generally in a good and I love to have a good time. There are even instances where I just can’t stop laughing, but they’re usually at the most random times. A good example of this would be the time I went to my friend Tyler’s house to work on a math project.

            It was our freshman year of high school, and Tyler and I were partners for a geometry project. I went to his house for the first time, and I met his family. They’re quite possibly the most straight-faced people I’ve ever met; they rarely smiled and always used the minimum amount of words needed to communicate a thought. His dad, I believe, was a retired Navy Seal and only seemed talkative when the subject of cars came up. His mom, in the several times I had seen her, said maybe ten words total. Even Tyler was unusually quite. The only person who spoke and smiled like a regular person was Tyler’s younger brother. After working on our project for several quiet hours, we came down for dinner. I don’t remember what we were eating, but what I do remember was the overwhelming silence. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I just started laughing for a period of several minutes. I couldn’t get a hold of myself no matter how hard I tried. Meanwhile, I could feel their all their eyes on me, judging me. In hushed tones, I could hear phrases like “Tyler, what’s wrong with him?” and the response of “I don’t know, Dad. I think he’s just… off?” I was embarrassed, and I could tell they were uncomfortable. My laughing fit finally ended, and we all just returned to eating.

            I’m not sure what induced my laughing fit, but I think it had a lot to do with the unfamiliar silence. My family is usually vocal, so I felt out of place in Tyler’s almost mute home. Tyler’s family is also of Native American descent, and I wonder if that had anything to do with the quietness. Perhaps it’s just me, but most of the Native Americans I have met have been people of few words, so maybe it’s just a reflection of the culture. I could tell my laughter made an awkward situation even more unsettling, and that unease persisted until I finally went home hours later.