Anger Management [Meloghia]

Chapter 1: The First Session

Fugo was pissed, but what else was new? Well, Ghiaccio being at the meeting was unexpected. He wasn't surprised to see him here, the assassin had as much anger inside him as Fugo held, he probably needed to be here as much as Fugo did. He was more shocked that the assassin would actually admit to having a problem. Or he was forced here like I was. He could imagine Risotto being so over it and forcing Ghiaccio to go to get a hold of himself. He wondered if he'd been attending these sessions or if this was also his first time.

Ghiaccio sat forward on the metal folding chair with his elbows resting on his knees. His teeth were clenched as he listened to the leader speaking to the group. He looks as uncomfortable as I feel. Fugo sat up straight and crossed his arms. The man, who introduced himself as Franco, was spouting stuff about the purpose of the sessions.

"Each week we are going to talk as a group. About anything. Tell us what pissed you off this week and we'll talk about why. Anger is a symptom. So finding the cause of each episode and addressing it head-on will help you manage anger. Anger doesn't just hurt us, it hurts those around us." He noticed Ghiaccio look down at his feet. Had he hurt someone too? Fugo had stabbed Narancia. That was enough for Bucciarati to force him to go.

"To say that we're going to cure your anger here is hubris. Each person is different. For some, anger is a symptom of a chemical imbalance in the brain called Depression. For others, genetics may have gifted you with a short fuse. Either way, our goal is that at the end of the class, we'll have equipped you with a repertoire of strategies you can use to help you cope with that anger."

Fugo scowled. He'd always been an angry child. There was just a burning rage inside him for as long as he could remember. He didn't think there was really any changing it. Breathing and counting to ten had never worked before and it wasn't going to work now. He didn't want to be here.

"Now, I think we can start by talking a little bit about ourselves and why we're here. We don't have to bear our souls tonight guys, so don't get too worried." Some people laughed in uneasy relief. "Why don't we just go around the circle?" He looked to the woman next to him and gestured. She looked incredibly nervous to be put on the spot.

"Okay, well, hi. My name is Andréa Pelosi. I'm here because of my girlfriend. I get really angry about dumb shit and take it out on her. Not physically but verbally." Ghiaccio scoffed as he listened. "I don't really know why I get so angry but I just want to punch and break things." Fugo could relate. He was verbal too in his anger but always found a physical outlet, if his stand was any indication of that. "Yeah, so that's me."

"Thanks for sharing Andréa," Franco said. Other people introduced themselves and Fugo was disgusted by some of them: husbands beating their wives, mothers abusing their kids, drug addicts. It was finally his turn.

"I'm Pannacotta Fugo. I'm here at the suggestion of friends." He left it brief and nodded his head.

"Welcome, Pannacotta," the group said. There were four more introductions that went much the same. Ghiaccio was next in the rotation.

"Name's Ghiaccio Bianchi. I'm only here because I'm being forced to be here."

"Welcome, Ghiaccio. And why are you forced to be here?" Franco asked.

"Because my team is made up of a bunch of sensitive little bitches," he snapped. Fugo thought of a number of words to describe the members of Esecuzioni and 'sensitive' was not among them. "They all think I have anger issues hence why I'm sitting here."

"And do you have anger issues?" Franco prodded.

"Of course I fucking don't! I'm always calm!" Ghiaccio yelled. Fugo snickered and Ghiaccio turned on him. "You got something to say, Pannacotta?"