This is fine. It's fine. We're fine.

[sharpasanarrow]

[Well that was.

Something.

Underneath everyone’s door they’ll find a slip of paper, in shaky calligraphy, that reads:

INVITATION

Meet in the Dining Room.

Do not bring alcohol of any sort.

Upon arrival into the Dining Room it’s clear that this is very much...not a party.

The center of the room is cleared of all tables, and instead has all the chairs arranged in a circle, facing inwards. On the tables pushed to the side are jugs of water, cups, plates of saltines, and several hastily-made pamplets that read on the front ”How to cope with Child homicide” that contains an advisory list:

1. Try not to think about it.
2. Do not get hysterical.
3. Crying is permitted, but keep it within a reasonable volume. (For the consideration of fellow mourners)
4. Maintain civility
5. Do not plunder the belongings of the deceased.
6. No drinking or gambling your sorrows away. Set an example.

Standing in front of one of the chairs already is Mr.Arrow. He clears his throat as people start to slowly come in.]

I gathered you all here because I believed it would be conductive to group morale if we all worked through our feelings regarding recent events. Talk about your feelings with one another, but not with me.

[He steps back a little, out of the circle of chairs, in what seems to be an invitation for people to sit down and discuss with one another.]

Comments

[bestchefinparis]

[He feels anything but good right now. A good person would have tried harder to save Jane, right? He looks away, feeling guilty]

...thanks...I'd like to think that.

[Besides, doing this much is the very basic support anyone should give, right? Nothing amazing about it]

[pinkflip]

Really. ...I know I- I'm not the only one messed up by all this. So it's...reaching out, when you're also upset, it's good.

[ It's something she wishes she'd done lately. ]

[bestchefinparis]

...it's not something I have done many times before, so I don't even know if I'm doing it properly. Talking to other people when I'm upset is not my forte.

[Since most of his woes involved Dad's disapproval and pretty much nobody else experienced such thing]

But if it makes you feel a bit better then that's good.

[pinkflip]

...You are. Um- doing it properly.

[ It's hard for her to feel much better right now, but the attempt is touching. ]

You should do it more often. It's never good to bottle things up. [ she says, like a hypocrite ]