Working Through the Pain

Part One

There was something very, very wrong with Chidi Anagonye. First, he had woken up in what appeared to be a waiting room that he had never seen before and somehow, he hadn't an ounce of anxiety in his body.

Welcome! Everything is fine.

He smiled at the words, which he somehow believed. Everything was, indeed, fine. He was safe at... wherever he was.

"Chidi?" A feminine voice said from the room ahead, "I'm Eleanor. Come on in."

He got up, nodding his thanks to her as she held the door open for him. The Professor couldn't help but be relieved when he saw that there was only one chair in front of the desk. He didn't have to make a choice.

Thank goodness.

The young woman, Eleanor, took a seat in her own office chair, glancing down at two pieces of paper that she didn't seem all that interested in.

"Alright, here's the deal, man." The blonde said, "You, Chidi Anagonye, are dead."

"Wait...what?" The Professor reacted, earning a laugh from the girl.

"Yeah, it is a bit confusing for the newbs here. No big, man. You're dead, I'm not human, which mean I basically know everything about you."

"Um...?"

"Yep. Just realized how creepy that sounded, sorry 'bout that man. So, basically, you were already a pretty cool guy but your work as a Philosophy Professor in Australia really put ya over the top. Congrats man, you made it into the Good Place." She congratulated, not looking up at him once through the whole conversation.

"Wow. This is amazing." He said happily, earning a laugh again from the girl. She was flipping through some papers on her desk before she seemed to realize something, "Janet?"

There was a light-sounding bing, and suddenly a woman with curly brown locks and a cheery expression on her face appeared out of thin air.

"Hi there!" The brunette greeted, "How can I help you?"

"Can you show..." Eleanor cleared her throat and gestured to the man in front of her, "C-Can you show our newest resident around? C-Chidi Anagonye...?"

A look of understanding appeared on her face, "Yes, of course."

"I-I'm sorry, who is this?" Chidi asked, looking from the blonde to the brunette.

"I'm Janet, the informational delivery system here in the Good Place. Now, shall I show you around?"

He nodded and followed the brunette out the office door and into the afterlife.

When the two were gone, Eleanor leaned her head on the surface of the desk and burst into tears.

Even though she knew she wasn't in the Bad Place anymore, somehow, she felt just as tortured.

"... Eleanor."

The blonde held up her hand at her "assistant" Michael, who was the actual architect of the neighborhood.

"Don't." The woman ordered, wiping tears from her eyes as she headed home. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to her house. The house that she and Chidi were supposed to share.

She was supposed to be getting ready to greet the last two people, but the blonde couldn't help but need a break.

Walking inside, the woman crashed onto her bed, closing the door behind her. She stared up at the clown mural on the closed doors, feeling as if they were mocking her.

Hugging a pillow close to her chest, she cried herself to sleep.

Though, a rapid knocking on her front door awoke her two hours later. Groggy and still a little...okay, a lot sad, she answered the door.

Instantly, Michael and Janet entered the room.

"Eleanor, what are you doing?" The brunette shouted, staring at the blonde's unkempt state, "You should be getting ready to welcome the next person! They'll be arriving in less than an hour."

Her eyes widened in shock, "Oh, fork." The blonde looked down at herself in horror, "Fork! I look like trash. Which, granted, isn't anything new, but still!"

She sighed and sank down onto a nearby chair, "Guys, I don't think I can do this." She confessed, "Micheal, can't you take over? I... there is just so much shirt to do and I just... I can't do this anymore guys!"

The demon frowned and stood closest to her, "Eleanor, listen. I may be an emotional mess now, but you must understand that I have full confidence in you. Even with the little information we had about these people, you have managed to set them up perfectly. You can do this, Eleanor."

"Thanks, Mikey." She smiled.

"Not that you'd have a choice, of course. We're in too deep and there's no going back right now. If you fork this up then I'll be retired, Janet'll be marbleized, and you and your friends will be tortured for eternity."

Eleanor stared at him, frozen by what he just said. So, basically if she forked this up then every single one of her friends would be doomed.

That's reassuring.

Eyes wide with shock, tears came to her eyes that quickly turned into echoing sobs. The brunette scolded Michael and told him to leave, where she led the girl to the couch and began to console her.

"It's going to be okay, Eleanor." Janet soothed, wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulder, "As I told you, I'll be right there with you. So, just let yourself go until you are ready to get started."

Sniffling, the blonde nodded and wrapped her friend into a much-needed hug.

There was a soft, pleasant bing noise and Janet handed a box of tissues which she had just summoned to her friend. The blonde mumbled her thanks and started to cry into them.

"How am I supposed to do this?" She asked, "How am I supposed to make this whole thing work when all I'm thinking about is the man I'm in love with?"

"You can do it." The brunette reassured, "We're in this together, remember?"

The blonde nodded and looked down at her crinkled outfit, "I'll be right back. I need to change."

Janet nodded and waited patiently for Eleanor, who eventually emerged from her bedroom wearing a pink sweater and tight-fitting jeans. Her lips were freshly glossed, and she offered a forced smile to the not-lady across from her.

"Alright, let's go."

Janet smiled in success and walked the girl out the door, "You can do this, Eleanor." She prompted, "I know it."

She took a deep breath in as her friend led her into the office, helping her translate the files that had just came in. Turns out, the next two people would be arriving the same day.

"Can you go tell Tahani that the final residents will be arriving soon?"

Then the not-girl nodded and disappeared into of thin air.