We went the next day. I remember Benjamin b-being... quite exuberant and enthusiastically informing me that I would "really have a great time". [The last part of the sentence is said in a cadence that is distinctly different from Robert's usual speaking tone, casual and enthusiastic. It might remind Don a little of Casey.] And... I s-suppose I did.

Altitude's facilities were c-clean and well-kept... the interior was actually quite similar to Luceti's Good Spirits, albeit... with padded, lowered seating so as to not present a r-risk to customers who... could not physically distinguish their edges. Were sterile, single-use syringes not involved, one would hardly be able to distinguish the reason... for the club's e-existence. [A slight, but sardonic, smile flits across Robert's features at that.]

I did not u-utilize any chemical alteration on that day... I was m-merely a participant in the discussions, though I remember being very anxious. [He wrings his hands.] I... r-remember feeling that... that Benjamin and his friends there seemed... very capable of i-interaction. They seemed... comfortable...

I suppose I... wished for such a sense of c-confidence myself. I was curious to experience the b-beauty and serene relaxation that... the s-substances purported to possess. And... most importantly, I wished to belong s-somewhere...

[His voice audibly quavers, and he stops, more to collect himself than anything.]