TeacherMom: Hi, everyone. I don’t really know how to start this, but… Joe’s in the hospital. He had an accident at work today.

CivicMind: Oh no… what happened?

TeacherMom: Something went wrong on-site. A machine malfunctioned, and it crushed his arm. They’re saying he might have to lose it.

MomOfThree: Oh my God, I’m so sorry… that’s awful. How are you holding up?

TeacherMom: I’m trying to stay strong for him. He’s in a lot of pain, but he’s awake. I just… I don’t know what we’re going to do if he can’t work. We barely get by as it is.

SilverHawk: That’s rough. I’m really sorry, TeacherMom. If there’s anything we can do, just say the word.

VirtualKing23: Yeah, we’re here for you. Anything you need.

TeacherMom: Thank you. I just needed to talk about it, I guess. I hate feeling so helpless.

CivicMind: It’s like this city just keeps taking and taking. Nothing ever goes right, does it?

VirtualKing23: Civic, you okay? You’ve been sounding off lately.

CivicMind: I’m fine. Just… drinking a little to take the edge off. This whole place is a mess, and now Joe’s getting hurt on top of everything else. Makes you wonder why we even try.

MomOfThree: Please take care of yourself, Civic. It’s bad enough dealing with everything without making it worse on yourself. We’re all going through it.

TeacherMom: I’m with MomOfThree. We can’t afford to lose anyone else, not like this.

CivicMind: I know, I know. Just trying to numb it, you know? It’s not like anyone’s doing anything to fix this place.

SilverHawk: Speaking of… what’s going on with the protest? Has anyone heard anything?

MomOfThree: I haven’t. But I saw a bunch of N.E.O. guards down near McGrady’s the other night. Probably trying to keep people from gathering.

VirtualKing23: Yeah, I’m guessing they shut it down. They’re not exactly fans of people speaking out.

TeacherMom: I’m worried about those people. That organizer person hasn’t been on the chat since, right? What if something happened to them?

CivicMind: Wouldn’t surprise me. You know how the N.E.O. operates. Step out of line, and you disappear. Just another reason to drink…

SilverHawk: I hate to say it, but they’re probably gone. It’s not like the N.E.O. is going to let a bunch of people get away with challenging them.

MomOfThree: It shouldn’t be like this. People trying to stand up for themselves shouldn’t end up missing.

TeacherMom: I agree. But what can we do? It’s like we’re all just trapped in this system, and no one cares what happens to us.

VirtualKing23: Maybe they’ll show up again. Maybe Organizer321 just got scared and went underground for a bit. We can hope, right?

CivicMind: Hope… right. Yeah, I’ll drink to that.

>>>End of Chat