Peek hour

It is only when you see someone's expression go from a "what the fuck are you looking at?" to a wide grin, that you realise what a clumsy transition it actually is.

First there's subdued indifference, perhaps even a little hostility. The glazed stare turns into flickering comprehension. Sudden surprise, eyes widen. And then, an actual smile. All in under a second.

Randomly smiling at mildly disgruntled strangers on the train leads to fascinating and completely useless observations.