Don't be shy. Come away from the wall. There is nothing holding you there. Yes, do not fear the company of your peers. We are quite benign in the aggregate. No reason to hide from us. I’m sure you have something to say. Shall we draw you out? Come, come child. Don’t hesitate to speak. We won't jump at your throat or make glib corrections to your erroneous fact. We've been bred differently. Some of us even remember. These eyes, you observe them while we speak. I cannot see you. I cannot feel your presence through these lenses. Much of your conversation is lost while those remain on your face. There, isn't that better?

From where did you come? Who are your parents? With what values were you raised? What are your thoughts on the Balkans or brute British or other social causes that manage to polarize the populace? They don’t matter save for the snap judgment made as you speak, determining how similar or different we are from each other.

So you're clever. How has that charm served you so far? It comes off as crass. Sharpen your crude mannerisms into refined wit. Have you read Browning or Parker? Mencken will also do. Learn from your betters. One isn't born ingenious. Cultivation of oneself is a lifelong mission.

Are you progressing well? Your gait could use some work. You hold your mouth open once you've finished speaking. You seem more nervous than I recall.

Are you well? Will you survive this encounter? Why do you let us parse you like so? Had you asserted yourself, accepted your physical attributes and idiosyncrasies, we would not have been able to diminish you in any regard.

This isn't showcasing vulnerability or cognisant self-disclosure. This is weakness personified. We smelled your soft underbelly and pecked till we were through. Now, one couldn't point to an individual sentence and determine it was wholly inappropriate. Of course we maintain civility in all respects. Don't acquiesce. You can still recover! Why do you withdraw so? We don't know you. We know who you are today. Change. Or don’t. But you cannot go on an exposed nerve. A sensitive shrub on the brink of collapse. You'll never leave your room. Be an aloe plant, waxen on the outside, gelatinous on the inside. Don’t let us see you.