Minor in Heartache

Mirabelle always wondered why the cashiers at grocery stores asked every customer how they're doing. It's not that she thought they weren't nice people; most of them were very nice. Mirabelle had just learned the norm of reciprocity at a young age and knew that the cashiers would likely be asked how they were doing in turn. And why would the cashiers want to answer the same question every three minutes? Only movie stars liked to talk about themselves that much.

Wanting to understand why people felt compelled to display this behaviour, she decided she'd one day major in psychology. Perhaps more importantly, Mirabelle wanted to study why some people just could not be bothered to participate in the norm of reciprocity. Some years later she got her answer and wrote a brilliant thesis on politeness and conformity. Everyone celebrated her, and the cashiers stopped asking people how they were doing.

She would revisit these thoughts later in her life when her boyfriend of six years, Jack, would no longer tell her he loved her when she told him she loved him.