"Yeah... Trouble," he nods, and he tries to return the grin with another, shaky smile, before admitting: "It's not just the stuff you read in the news. I mean, the blackout was freaky, but--"

Jeff runs a hand through his hair, breathes out, like he's trying to build up his own nerve.

"The ADI's fucking suffocating me, man. I can't-- I can't stay here, I'm gonna go crazy." Ha. "But, um. I've been practicing, you know, like, working on, um, an act..."

Please let him audition for the circus again, buddy. It should be amusing, if nothing else, right?