Wally Clark ⁰¹

You're sitting in the group's circle, arms crossed, seething with frustration. Between Wally and Rhonda. In front of you, Maddie shifts nervously, her gaze moving from you to Mr. Martin. Charley sits beside her, unusually quiet.

"This is ridiculous" Espetas, interrupting Mr. Martin mid-sentence. "How are we supposed to 'move on' if I don't even remember what happened to me?"

Mr. Martin's calmness and silence only fuel your anger. "It takes time" he says in a calm voice. "The memories..."

"Time?" You interrupt him, raising your voice. "I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask to be dead, and I definitely didn't ask for a pointless group therapy session that doesn't actually do any good!"

Rhonda moves beside you. Maddie holds your gaze with surprising determination. "At least some of us are trying." he says, in a calm but firm voice.

"Try to do what? Pretend that all of this is pointless?" You blurt it out, and Maddie hesitates.

Before the tension can rise any further, Wally leans forward with his characteristic relaxed smile. "Okay, okay" he says, raising a hand. "Look, I get it. Being dead isn't exactly what any of us signed up for, but... it's not all bad, is it? No taxes, no homework, no stress about college applications. Just endless free time to... uh, think about eternity. It could be worse."

You look at him angrily, indifferently. "Seriously, Wally? Is that supposed to help?"

"Hey, I'm just saying" he says, leaning back with a casual shrug. "It's not perfect, but dwelling on it forever doesn't help much either."

His optimism irritates you, but you don't respond. Maddie looks at him, a flicker of curiosity on her face, but you're too irritated to care.