Pessimistic opening

Marcel calls on his invalid sister, Hannah.

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Marcel: How's things?

Hannah: Couldn’t be worse. Rotten weather. Everyone coughing. And a storm forecast for tomorrow.

Marcel: Grizzleguts. Any good news?

Hannah: None. I'm not even going to get up today.

Marcel: Here's some good news. 888.

Hannah: Meaning?

Marcel: Today is year 08, Month 08, Day 08. Some think 8 is lucky. Especially Chinese. Makes today triple lucky. Get up. Believe something good will happen.

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Voiceover

"You want to hear the bad news or the good news first?" Pessimistic people often don't even give you that option. The doom chorus conversational opening sets the tone. Marcel rows hard to pull the conversation into an optimistic current.

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