Write a Scene You Have Been Avoiding

Some scenes get avoided because you cannot find the way in. This gives you three entry points: two different tones with an opening line each, and then writes the scene in whichever seems right. The point is not to give you a finished scene to use; it is to break the block by having a version on the page you can work from.

I need to write a scene for my story. The scene I have been avoiding is {SCENE_DESCRIPTION}: [what happens, who is in it, what the emotional or dramatic stakes are]. I keep starting it and stopping. Give me: a way to enter the scene that is not at the beginning, two possible tones for the scene (e.g. restrained vs raw, present tense vs past tense), and the first line in each tone. Then write the scene at 300 to 400 words in whichever tone you think suits it best, and tell me in one sentence why.