5/1/2020

Short Stories and

Poems about
Quarantine,
COVID-19, and
Resilience
Mr. Deckman’s English 11 Students

Original Student Works

MEXICO ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
Authors Listed in Order of Appearance:

“A Diary of the Virus” by Olivia Linerode …………………………………………………………………….. 2-3

“A Short Story” by Evan Ladd ………………………………………………………………………………………. 4-6
“An Extended Vacation” by Leanna Barr ……………………………………………………………………… 7-8
“Behind Closed Doors” by Reatha von Holtz ……………………………………………………………….. 9-10
“Coronavirus Short Story” by Ashleigh Anderson ………………………………………………………… 11-12
“COVID Rising” by Nathan Lopes …………………………………………………………………………………. 13-14
“A Hope for COVID-19” by Victoria Storrs …………………………………………………………………… 15-16
“A Short Story” by Jacob Masrouri ……………………………………………………………………………… 17-18
“The Contagious Sea” by Brian Mohr …………………………………………………………………………. 19-20
“Emmi’s Experience” by Meaghan Waite” …………………………………………………………………. 21-22
“The November Snow” by Logan LaFlamm ………………………………………………………………… 23-25
“The Boogie Man” by Aiden Hellinger ……………………………………………………………………….. 26-28
“Quarantine and Me” by Ayva Ouderkirk ………………………………………………………………….. 29-31
“The Loss of Everything” by Martie West …………………………………………………………………… 32-33
“A COVID Story” by Aidan Cadrette ……………………………………………………………………………. 34-36
“Quarantine” by Kaitlynn Chambers …………………………………………………………………………… 37-38
“Phil” by Adam Clark ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 39-40
“My COVID Perspective” by Dawson Guyette …………………………………………………………….. 41-42
“Dangerous Wish” by Emalee Herrington …………………………………………………………………… 43-44
“The Virus” by Connor Shaffer ……………………………………………………………………………………. 45-46
“Julia’s Story” by Marion Falise …………………………………………………………………………………… 47-48
“The Seniors” by Harley Wakeman ……………………………………………………………………………… 49-50
“This Isn’t Reality; It’s Some Fake Perception” by Anna Pluff ………………………………………. 51-53
“Young Corona” by Emily Babbitt ………………………………………………………………………………… 54-55
“A COVID Story” by Melisa Button ………………………………………………………………………………. 56-57
“Diesel” by Tyler Congden …………………………………………………………………………………………… 58-59
“COVID-19” by Gary LaParr ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 60-61
“COVID Poems” by Teresa Thompson ………………………………………………………………………….. 62-64
“COVID-19” by Shaina Turo ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 65-66
“COVID-19” by Jada Johnson ………………………………………………………………………………………… 67-68
“COVID Poems” by Maddie Shaffer ………………………………………………………………………………. 69-71
“A COVID Story” by Eric Hyde ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 72-73
“COVID Poems” by Travis Bristol …………………………………………………………………………………… 74-75
“A COVID-19 Story” by Ethan Ware ………………………………………………………………………………. 76-77
“A COVID-19 Diary” by Kolby Cappelletti ………………………………………………………………………. 78-79
“Angel” by Juliana Hernandez ………………………………………………………………………………………. 80-81
“A COVID Story” by Emma Hyde …………………………………………………………………………………… 82-83
“A COVID Story” by Caden McCormack ………………………………………………………………………… 84-85
“Driftwood” by Jade Windey ………………………………………………………………………………………… 86-88
“Corona Virus” by Meladee Doria ………………………………………………………………………………… 89-90

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 A Diary of the Virus
by Olivia Linerode (2020)

March 24, 2020 - When I went to visit you at the home today, you didn’t seem yourself. I
noticed your food had been untouched and you were quiet. While I know that this is the
progression of the dementia, it just somehow seemed off. When I visit tomorrow, I hope that
you are back more to yourself. You have been lucid lately, which has been a blessing from God
and I am grateful for each day I can spend by your side.

March 25, 2020 - It has been an incredibly long day. I am exhausted as I am sure you are also.
When I arrived this morning, you felt hot. The news of COVID-19 sends shivers down my spine
as I watched a nightmare unfold in Washington State. The virus is spreading. How long and
how fast? That is the question? The progression in nursing homes is like a match in dry tinder;
there is no stopping it.

Onondaga County has already been reporting new Coronavirus cases every day. The governor
says that there will not be enough hospital beds or ventilators for the influx of patients. I go to
the store and the shelves are bare. People are starting to wear masks in public. Am I at risk?
Should I stop seeing you? I’m getting so scared.

March 26, 2020 - At 2:30 am, I get a call from Loretto. Your nurse says you have a fever and it
has gone up to 102.3 in a matter of hours. They are transporting you to Crouse because of the
fever, a history of asthma and the dementia. Oh! the dementia. Is it a blessing or a curse that
you may not know what is going on? Or, will you be terrified, scared and horribly ill. I will set
my alarm for 5am, knowing I will not sleep, sick with worry already.

March 27, 2020 - I hold off on contacting our children…I just don’t want to worry them. I know
that they are anxious, especially with their own children. Why did you have to move so far
away? I know you needed to pursue your opportunities but oh, how could I use your support.
Please God, let him be okay. When I arrived at the hospital, your nurse was grim-faced. I
instantly felt like someone had punched me in the stomach and I felt bile rise in my throat.
“What is it?” I croak, barely audible.

“It’s not good. We have to be honest with you. Your husband is experiencing most of the
symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. We just tested him, but we need to tell you, and this won’t
be easy to hear, but you need to leave. Your husband is going to the COVID “rule out floor on 8
North.” He is being tested for the virus and needs to be in quarantine. We will let you know
how he is and call anytime to check on him.” I think I went numb. I need to call my children I
say aloud. I need to let them know. But yet, I am frozen in place. My legs feel like Jello and I
can barely breathe.

I go home and mindlessly turn on the television. I have to turn away. This is just unfathomable.
How can this happen? How can I be separated from the man I have spent every day with for 52
years? Will you die? Will you be alone?”

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March 28, 2020 - “Mrs. Linerode?” “Yes, I reply. What’s wrong?” It is 3:12am and I know this
isn’t good. This. Is. Not. Good. My stomach lurches. My head begins to spin. My husband’s
nurse proceeds to tell me that James has taken a turn for the worse. My head swims as she
tells me that the protocol is to place the patients on their stomachs for 16 hours per day to try
to mitigate the collection of fluid within the lungs. “Pneumonia is a serious concern”, his nurse
says. Pneumonia…isn’t this the precursor to the ventilator? My head rewinds as if in a movie to
hear Governor Cuomo say that 80% of the patients on a ventilator never come off. Oh God.
How is this happening? Our sons are on the way back to Syracuse with their families. I go back
and forth between welcoming their visit and wanting to stay in bed and not get out of the
covers. How is this happening? Why is this happening?

March 29th - I barely sleep a minute but I know I cannot keep this up. I am a ball of nerves.
Every call from the nurses bring no solace. “Mrs. Linerode?” “Yes,” I reply. “Your husband in
beginning to fill with fluid and we need to give him something called a diuretic to help get rid of
the fluid. When too much fluid collects, it puts a strain on James’ heart. Do you hear me Mrs.
Linerode? Do you understand what I am saying?” I push “end” on the phone and begin to
weep which turns into silent sobs within a minute.

March 30th - “Mrs. Linerode?” “Yes,” I reply. “I have concerning news. The diuretics have
started to cause James’ kindneys to go into failure,” the doctor says on the other end of the
phone. This isn’t right, I think. The end of life should never be alone. The end of life should
never be in a state of mental confusion with terror and fear. The end of life involves family. It
involves prayer. What is going on. This is a dream…but it’s not.

March 31st - Intubation day. I am without words. I cannot write. I must spend this day in
prayer. I must be with my family. I am at my breaking point.

April 1, 2020 - April Fool’s Day. The day of jokes. The day of a God-awful, cruel, senseless joke.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Linerode. James passed about 20 minutes ago.” A social worker will be in
contact to help you with arrangements.” “Thank you,” I say in a monotone voice and drop the
phone.

April 2, 2020 - My sons take care of most of the arrangements and I struggle to leave my room.
My doctor has prescribed medication that puts be in a stupor…or the death does, it’s hard to
tell. The arrangements are oddly simple; there are no calling hours, there is no service, there is
nothing. James’ legacy is a number in Governor Cuomo’s 11:30 am news briefing.

April 3, 2020 - This diary entry will be empty today. I am broken, heart-sick and alone. God
speed James. Rest in peace my love.

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 Short Story
By Evan Ladd (2020)

Hi, my name is Johnathan Miller I am 17 years old. My life was good I lived in
nice a house in Texas with my family. I had two older sisters (Riley, Tara) and
my parents. So, it was a cloudy rainy Monday night my parents were watching
the news when all the sudden we got the announcement basically saying a virus
broke out they called it COVID-19. My parents and sisters were losing their
mind I could see it on Riley face and Tara started to cry. Then there was me
just eating mac n cheese for dinner not worried. But I had no idea what was
about to happen. The government shut down everything including schools’ stores
and fast food. So that night I went to bed after playing warzone with the boys
on Xbox of course that was my favorite thing to do. In the morning sirens
blasting down my road woke me up my ears were ringing there was so many
sirens. So, I quickly ran to my window to see what was happing I peeked out my
curtain to see roads blocked off by swat cars and they were arresting everyone.
They were busting down every door and forcing people to the swat vans. I
watched for about five mins when I realized they were at my house. Just as
abut they were going to bust my front door down it opened and my whole
family walked out. My first thought was to do the same but then Philip my
neighbor who was 17 tried running away from the van. Without hesitation a
swat guard shot him in
the leg. He screamed tears dripping down his face the guards forced him back to
van and with every movement he screamed. I knew I had to get out of there,
so I grabbed my backpack some cloths and put my shoes on ready to escape
through the back window. As I got to then window a loudspeaker on the van
came on a loudspeaker and a woman started to speak. “This is for your good we
didn’t want to do this, but we are just taking precautions. If you just do what
we say this will be much easier.” I jumped through the window and started to

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run. I ran until out of sight of the swat vans. I had no clue where I was
supposed to go or do so I just walked for hours. Until I walked pass an alley way
in the street a girl popped around the corner and hit me in the face with a
wooden plank to knock me out. When I woke up there was a bright light in my
face, I was tied to a chair I could barely see my head was throbbing and I could
hear people talking. Five mins went by when a teenage girl came over and took
the light out of my face. She was very pretty her hair was curly and blond. I
had so many questions, so I just let them fly. “Where am?” “why did you hit
me in the face?” “Who are you?”. Then she quickly interrupted. “My name is
Lynsey and I know your confused, but we have to make sure you’re not working
for the government”. I assured her that I was not and what I witnessed before
I she smacked me in face. Then she nodded and a muscular teenage boy came
over with a knife and cut off the rope that had me tied to a chair. They all
surrounded me there was three girls and two boys. I told them I had to find
my family but they all just looked
around at each other like I was an idiot. Then one of the boys spoke up. “I
don’t know if you know what’s going on, but we can’t go outside if they catch
us, we will be possibly killed.” I didn’t care I was going to save my family
wheatear they were going to join me or not. Lynsey convinced the group that
they should help but we had no idea where to start. Lynsey came over and
handed me a pistol and I just looked at her and she nodded towards me to take
it. I didn’t want to shoot anyone but if I had to, I was prepared to. One the
boys his name was Tommy he described what they did to the captured people “
they put you in cells and you only eat once a day and if you cough or sneeze or
show any sign of sickness your taking out back and never heard from again”. I
quickly asked him how he knew he said he witness someone getting beat to
death when scoping it out because his family was there. I was worried my family
was next we had to do something. So, we prepared to go save all those people
we would leave the next morning. The plan was to get a swat to spot us but as

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he approached us to take him out and drive the van right up to facility. That’s
exactly what we did. We hopped out of the van and sneaked to an entrance I
was leading I peeked through a door to see stairs I motioned the rest of them
to go up the stairs. We got to the top and peeked out the door to saw swat
and I though they saw me, so I quickly hid my heart was pounding. I slowly
peaked again and motioned Tommy and Billy (muscular teenager) to hit the
swat in the head because if we fired, we would alert the whole place. It was like
a maze there were so many turns an
twists but finally we reached the control room we rushed in there and started
to point guns and Lynsey started to yell “Hands in the air, Hands in the air”.
They did then the woman from the loudspeaker spoke out “don’t do this we are
doing this to protect the world”. We just stood there with guns pointed at
them then I was walked towards her and pointed the gun at her and told to let
the people in cages watching from their cells. She had no choice but to unlock
the cells with one quick button they were open. About 30 people exited the
cages and stood behind us. Then I said, “you’re going to let us leave and were
not going to shoot you”. Then we all started heading for the stairs and started
to run for the vans just as we got there sirens started to go off but it was
too late we took five vans and just drove as far as we could to start over. I
was in the back of the van and Lynsey told me had grateful she was for me and
how I helped save her family and she kissed me. You could feel the enjoyment
and relief in the vans. We have finally won. We were finally reunited. Then we
fought against the virus without drastic measures like killing people we stayed six
feet apart we washed dour hands more and we defeated the virus to live like
normal again.

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 An Extended Vacation
by Leanna Barr (2020)

It was late one Sunday afternoon. All was well in the small town of Mexico, New York. Margo was
playing board games with her brother, Dirk and sister Becka. Their mother was talking to their father about
the recently emerged pandemic going around.
“Do you think they will close our district?” Their mother said.
“It is very likely. Onondaga Community College closed their campus.” Their father stated.
All of a sudden there is a couple jingle coming from their fathers’ pocket. He read aloud what it
said, “All schools in Oswego County are closed to do Covid-19. Contact with people outside of your home
should be kept to a minimum.”
The children were thrilled. ‘No school!!” Dirk exclaimed.
The oldest out of the 3 was a senior in high school and she was worried. She remembered reading
all about the coronavirus over in China, they had been on complete lockdown for almost a month at the
time.
Margo saw her senior year flashing before her eyes. Her last time watching a sports game on the
bleachers in the gymnasium. The last time having to ask the gym teachers for her locker combination
because she always forgot. Her very last time walking the halls with the few, but very loyal and genuine
friends. March 13th, 2020 could have marked the last day of high school for the senior class.
Just then Margo checked the cupboards, like she usually did when she was stressed. Come to find
out the family was completely out of food. Now what were they going to do?
She asked her mother and she realized she hadn’t gone shopping in 2 weeks.
“Are we allowed to go out during this?” her mother asked.
“I’m sure we can I would just make sure to wear a mask.” Their father said.
So that’s exactly what she did. She wore a mask and gloves and even a box of Lysol wipes just in case.
Their mother returned about an hour later with a horrifying story. At the store there was a man who kept
sneezing and coughing. He was apparently there looking for cough medicine. Margo’s mom then wanted to
get tested just in case she had it from going to the store.

Later that week they all went to their local doctor’s office and got tested for Covid-19. It was a terrifying
experience and extremely painful. Margo explained it as a needle being shoved up your nose.

Wednesday was when they got their tests back. Nobody in the household had it and it was a relief to the
parents but both of them were “essential workers” and still had to go to work. Their mothers job involved
having to be face to face with clients on an everyday basis and she was gone most of the time.
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After the quarantine was almost over, they got another message stating that it was being pushed back and
that we had to stay home even longer. Margo was for sure missing the rest of her senior year. On top of
that she was doing college classes and teachers were piling up work like it was nothing. Margo then got
very depressed. She couldn’t see her friends or have any social interaction in general.
The quarantine then got pushed back even farther and Margo went into a deep depression. All she would
do is sit in her room watching Netflix and eating her pain away. It was a difficult time for everyone in their
household. Their mother wasn’t getting any work done and their dad was coming home every day
miserable. The kids were always fighting which of course made everything more difficult.
The pandemic is still going on and Margo has no hope that her senior year will pick back up. But in the end,
she has her family and that’s all that matters. Everyone around her is being positive and steering her in the
right direction. Even though she is unable to see her friends she still talks to them almost every day. Maybe
there is hope for her senior year but at this point nobody can really tell.
STAY SAFE AND HAVE AN AMZING CORONACATION!

I would like to add that this is a made-up story and I just put it in the POV of how I think my family and other
families are going through this and combined all of my theories.

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 Behind Closed Doors
by Reatha von Holtz (2020)

Nothing has ever gone as planned in my life, but I never imagined that anything could ever
go this wrong. My name is Willow Grace and I’m 18 years old. I live in New York, but it’s not the
big city that you are probably thinking of. My home is in the middle of nowhere, a place that no
one even realizes is still a part of New York, in a town called Moore Harbor. Moore Harbor only
has a population of about 892 people, including myself. So, it came as quite the shock when I was
informed that my school would be shut down because of COVID-19.
But, before I get into how I got screwed over by COVID-19, let me tell you a little bit
about how my life used to be. It was my senior year of high school. I strove for greatness in
everything that I did, no matter how taxing it was on me mentally. I participated in three sports and
was even the valedictorian of my class. And, although it may sound like my life was perfect, I
promise you that it was nowhere close to it. The only truly good thing that I had going for me was
that I had just got into a relationship with my best friend who I had secretly been in love with for
three years. Outside of school, is where my life was really falling apart. No matter what was going
on in my life, my parents always found something to fight about and most of the time, they made it
seem like I was the one to blame for all of their fights. This led to many sleepless nights and the
development of my severe depression which not many people know about because I always hide it
with a soft smile. I always found that dealing with my depression was bearable because I always had
a way to escape my house for most of the day whether it was by going to school or spending time
with my boyfriend. But, COVID-19 changed all of that for me and that’s where my story begins.
When my school announced that it would be closing to prevent the spread of COVID-19
due to governmental requirements, I was devastated. I knew that this meant I wouldn’t have the
escape that I banked on so heavily every day. Although, at the beginning of my school closure, we
were not required to quarantine or practice social distancing. This allowed me to spend most of
my days and sometimes even into my nights with my boyfriend. We spent countless hours driving
around and finding small adventures to go on so that we could make memories to last us a lifetime.
From visiting state parks and hiking up the trails to see the waterfalls, to simply packing a lunch
and having a quiet and secluded picnic in one of our favorite neighborhood spots. But, just like
everything else in my life, the enjoyable days that I spent with my boyfriend, quickly got taken away
from me as the state governor set a mandatory social distancing policy in place.

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 The policy of social distancing is what really screwed me over! Now, I had no choice but to
spend my days listening to my parents fight. Spending countless hours taking the blame for all of
the problems within my parents’ marriage has quickly become my everyday reality. For example, I
woke up this morning to my dad screaming, “do you know what having that child did for our
relationship? Because it sure wasn’t anything good!”, at my mother who simply replied to him by
saying “well, I couldn’t have had her without you wanting her. It does take two to tango!”.
The days of being stuck in my house seem to drag on endlessly and I never seem to find
myself able to sleep at night. The quiet brings me joy and quite honestly, I work best in the silence.
So, I usually stay awake until at least three o’clock in the morning working on my assignments from
school, so that I’m not distracted by the yelling or frankly my own thoughts that continue to tell me
how worthless I am and that I am nothing but a burden to my parents. But thankfully my
boyfriend supports me through all of my difficult times which allows me to continue to succeed
even with all of the issues that I face behind closed doors every day. And, I hope that soon my life
can return to normal so that I can get back to spending time with the people that I love and doing
the things that I love.

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 Coronavirus – Short Story
by Ashleigh Anderson (2020)

I am trapped in a nightmare. I feel like I will never get out of this. All of my worst
fears coming to life. I thought this would’ve been over in less than a month. It has been 344
days since I have had any physical contact with anyone other than my parents. We have
been at each other’s throats since month three. I need to get out. I cannot handle this.

Social distancing did not work. There was a week where everything went back to
normal in late May. It made everything worst. The virus spread more rapid and healthcare
workers were overloaded. The government made the worst possible decision by uplifting
the ban. My mother got sick. She hasn’t been the same since. She is so weak and hasn’t been
back to her job as a nurse yet. I don’t think she will ever be the same again. Our souls are
tired. We are so tired of being locked inside. I need to get out. Soon.

I finished my junior year of high school. Nothing was continued after that. All work
was cancelled. Barely any hospitals or any workplaces are open. All we have to do is stay
inside. Getting food is hard. We stock up when we can and ration. We probably stock up 3-5
times a year. I miss life. I miss going out. I miss everything.

Surprisingly I am handling this better than other people. I called my friend Terry the
other day and had a morbid conversation. She said “My sister died. She couldn’t get her
medicine. Cara is gone”.

I responded with “I am so sorry Terry. No one deserves this, especially you”.

What else could I say? It was a horrible response, but I couldn’t form anything
better. We all knew what happened to people that died. Since everything was shut down it
was up to the family to bury their loved ones. The world has failed. We have all given up on
everything. I have never been in a darker place and I know I’m not alone with that. My
father hasn’t left the garage in months. Our family is broken. I am broken.

I used to have hopes and aspirations. Now I am left with absolutely nothing. Last
April I got a scholarship to my top school. I was so happy thinking of my future and
everything I could do with myself. I wanted to have a family, a career, and to travel. Now I

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have nothing. Nothing but my home and parents. I want to go back in time, and I want to
escape this horrible nightmare that I call my life.

I plan on calling Terry later. She needs someone right now. I haven’t seen her in over
a year. It is like losing a part of myself.

“I hate this! I want to leave! I need to leave! I will escape my house and I do not care
what will happen to me”, Terry cried on the phone.

“You must stay inside! If you don’t you will die. And if you die, I die”, I said.

She hung up. I am so worried for her. I am praying this she didn’t lose her mind. I am
hoping that she is still alive. I have no way of knowing if she is okay. All I can do is have
hope is what my mother always used to say to me. How can I have hope in this horrible life?
I used to take everything for granted. I never realized how great my life used to be before
this. I miss my old life and my old self so much.

It has been days since I have heard from Terry. I am at an all-time low. I have lost my
best friend and now I do not know what to do with myself. She left me. I despise her for it
but I can’t say that I don’t blame her. She did what I’ve been wanting to do for the last year.
I just wish we could have had a proper goodbye.

I am trying to move on with my life without Terry. It has been a constant struggle.
Until one day the best thing happened. A knock on my door with my best friend Terry
sitting on my porch steps. She needed a home and I was to give her one. I guess there was
some hope in the midst of all of the terribleness.

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 COVID-19 RISING
by Nathan Lopes (2020)

It was spring 2020 and I was only 18 and in my senior year of High School at Jacksontire
when I started my job working at McDonalds, I didn’t like the job, but it paid good for a kid in
high school. It was only my first week in and it was going great, the pay was good and I didn’t
have a problem with the customers and my fellow employees, I even made some new friends
there such as a guy named Jeff but we all called him Shady who had been working there for 2
years prior and Jess who had been working there for only a year prior. To be completely honest
I’d only hoped to work here for at least a year or two but who knows maybe if it kept on being
this enjoyable maybe I could go for more, I mean at least to pay for a college I have been
wanting to go to. Fast forward a week and I am sitting at home getting ready for work as I do
indeed work the day shift sometimes on Saturdays because not really anyone I work with says
they would love to work on the weekends when they could be hanging out with people. I
finished replacing the filters for the fryer when I get a call from Shady and he was panicked
saying “Dude turn on the news its insane” which I replied with ok and procced with turning on
the T.V in McDonalds and switching to the news, what I saw seemed to come out of a video
game with it talking about a virus that had developed from China and I didn’t even know what
to think. I quickly went to the phone and group called Jess and Shady in which Jess was saying
“Is this for real or is this just a joke?” and I replied with “Idk seems like they are being serious”
shady was there but I could tell by the silence and the constant coughing he was getting high
and the fact on the phone mic he said “Beese Churger” and went silent kind of sealed my case.
After getting off the phones with my friend I drove back home and asked my father if he had
seen what was going on and he told me “I was at work most of the day so I didn’t get to see the
news, what do you mean?” I then showed him the news and he then proceeded to tell me “It’ll
be fine I am pretty sure the government will have this all under control” which I complied and
went to my room but while I was in my room I decided to do some research on how the virus
started, what I was met with is that in Wuhan China people were eating bats for food and a
virus not from humans but from bats was sent through China and then spreading to different
continents across the planet, The more I think about this cause the more confused I get on why
they would do that but can’t deny that’s the cause. A week after this announcement we were
given a date in which we had to be quarantined because of the rapid Covid-19 rate in the U.S.

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Which would last a month up until April 16th which I thought wasn’t bad, I however did have
to work still being that essential businesses were still open and non-essential were deemed to
close until further notice, but I still took less hours to be safe for me and the people at my home.
Fast forward to around April 16th and we get hit with another month of being quarantine which
at that point I am sick of it and can only hope that corona just magically goes away and never
comes back, I mean I can only play video games for so much before I am absolutely bored out of
my mind and yearning to go somewhere. But so far it seems like this will be going on a lot
longer than I expected so I guess I will just have to find some new ways to entertain myself
hopefully I find some, but I can’t help but smell something rotten in the air like something is
coming and not something good.

14
 A Hope for Covid-19
by Victoria Storrs (2020)

Maria had tossed and turned all night; she was having an unsettling dream. Maria
had finally finished all her tests and she was ready for the school dance. She had bought
her dress almost 3 months ago. Maria and her friends had been eager for that Friday to
come all week. Their plans were to go to the dance then to a big after party. They had lied
to their parents about the party, but they were too excited to feel guilty. Friday morning
comes and Maria is devastated.

Maria’s father had been sick for about a week. He had tested negative for the flu but
mostly had flu-like symptoms. The doctor suggested he stay home from work until he feels
better. He worked internationally and travels every month. When Maria walked downstairs
to get breakfast and go to school, her parents informed her school is cancelled for the next
month because of a deadly virus. She is confused before realizing there wouldn’t be a dance
or a party. She called her friends upset and unsure of what’s going to happen.

Along with the schools being closed, all the businesses were closed too. Some
restaurants were doing take-out but that's all. So that meant no shopping, traveling or little
things like going to the park. They were told to stay in their homes or there would be
punishments. They were forced to wear masks and gloves when they went to work or out in
public. The citizens had to practice social distancing, keeping 6 feet away from others. The
virus had already killed thousands and it hadn’t even peaked yet. It was just the beginning.

The symptoms Maria’s father had seemed just like the symptoms of the virus, Covid-
19. He wanted to be sure, so he called to get tested and he was denied a test because they
“didn’t have enough” to test him. Maria’s mom said to him “Maybe you should quarantine
yourself just to be safe.” He was hesitant but eventually agreed. The news said it takes 14
days to clear out of your system. Maria was worried about her dad; she had never seen
anything like this.

Days went by and Maria’s family was still in quarantine. Her dad stayed active and
did breathing exercises. He was getting better and healthier than before. The family started
to believe he had Covid-19 but they were still unable to get a test. Furious, Maria’s mom
calls the health department again and says, “How is it okay that wealthy people are getting
tests faster than my husband who works internationally and could’ve spread it without
knowing!” The lady on the phone replied, “They had paid for it upfront which led to getting
their results back faster.” This upset Maria’s mom and she hung up.

Everything had happened so fast that Maria and many others were overwhelmed.
Her dad had recovered well. The news reported daily that there were thousands dying a
day. The country was on total shut down. Unable to see her family and friends, she was

15
frustrated. She tried new hobbies but lost interest. The lockdown had been extended 2 more
months. The extension meant she would not be returning to school. The teachers were
understanding of the situation and assigned no work. Maria grew bored and tired.

Her family thought it was odd that the father probably had it but they did not catch
it. Was it as contagious as they are saying? A question they asked themselves daily. Her
father had fully recovered but didn’t return to his work. He thought he had caught it while
traveling. The news had recently released that the virus was caused by an animal in a third
world country and spread from there. Maria was convinced she had been living in a dream.
This all seemed so unrealistic. She began to pray for all those who were sick and unable to
recover.

Maria was so bored that she decided to look into the virus and watch conspiracy
theories about it. Many theories said the virus was made in a lab and released to create
mass genocide. Other theories were that the virus was made to help reduce the world’s
pollution and that it was supposed to be an army tactic, but it was accidentally released
into society. Unsure of what to believe, she discussed the theories with her family to see
what they had thought of it. They had laughed and said it was just “a sickness gone wild”.

Many weeks had passed, and summer was approaching. She was ready to see her
family and friends again. Almost three-fourths of the country had the virus and half of
them had died from it. Many of the people who died had underlying health conditions, so
they were vulnerable to the virus. The numbers were going down and a vaccine was
produced. 4 more weeks had passed and finally the ban was lifted. It was time for summer
vacation!

Maria had met up with her family and friends again. They were going to make this
summer the best one yet because they were finally free. They went to the beach and had
plenty of parties. They lived a great teenage summer. Then Maria rolled over and looked at
her phone, it was 3:47 a.m. She was drenched in sweat. Her dream had been a flashback to
the global pandemic she lived through when she was younger.

16
 A Short Story
by Jacob Masrouri (2020)

John faded into the realm of consciousness and looked at the clock. As he did, he said “how
did I sleep three hours past my alarm!?” He lunged out of bed and as he was running to the shower,
he tripped over himself and slammed his knee on the ground. As John writhed in pain on the
ground, he realized that he didn’t have school. For they had all shut down just under a week ago.
John got up off the ground and walked to the kitchen to see his mom watching TV. She was
wondering what that boom was from and John knew it. So, John said, “I fell.” She nodded her head
in an understanding tone, and he opened the fridge looking for food.

When John got his food, he returned to his room which acted as a cave for him and he sat at
his desk on his computer. This was how he spent most of his days since the quarantine began.
Watching YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and many other sorts of media. As he ate and watched things, he
more bored by the second, looking for something to do, he went outside to his back woods. While
he walked there, he realized it had been a few days since he had been outside. He wasn’t afraid to go
out, but it just made him uneasy. He thought, what if I get it? What will happen to me? Will my
family be ok? But these thoughts left his mind as he entered his woods. It was nice and calm. The
only thing you could hear was the rustle of leaves made by the wind and the crunch of your
footsteps under you. He walked to the little hut that he made over the span of a few years that he
made from spare 2 x 4s and sheets of plywood. He sat there listening to the calming sounds of
nature and the wind flowing through the land. He laid on the tarp placed down in his hut and
drifted in and out of sleep. I mean what else was there to do? He got up still bored and was still
looking for something interesting to do. He walked back to the house and his sister had just woken
up and like usual, John’s mom and sister were arguing about something meaningless. While it was
always intriguing to see those two bicker, he wasn’t feeling it today.

He decided he should do his homework for the day and started with Spanish. John was
recently working on a story in Spanish which he had to discuss with his group. So, he scheduled a
meeting with them and began talking with them. They answered the discussion questions together
and had to record it so the teacher could see it. As they finished up the recording they talked for a

17
little while longer just to catch up. They said they’re goodbyes about a half an hour later and ended
the call. John sent the video to his Spanish teacher via email. As he sent it, he laughed knowing that
it was more English speaking than it was Spanish speaking, but he didn’t really care, he knew he
would pass by just handing it in. Afterwards, he began on his English homework. He had to either
write a few poems or make a short story. He chose the short story, primarily because he knew
literally nothing about poems other than they rhymed and put over a beat, could sound like rap
music, which he enjoyed. As the wrote the short story he talked about his day, how he hurt his
knee, walked in his woods, and did his English homework. For some reason he named his character
Jacob instead of his own name John. His story ended with 762 words and he moved on to his
computer science homework. He learned about functions in code and did examples of them in his
compiler. After about 15 minutes of trial and error he fixed his code that wouldn’t work by doing
something so simple as adding a parenthesis on input line, so now it said, x = int (input) “pick a
number between 1 and 100”). Instead of x = int (input) “pick a number between 1 and 100”).
Afterwards he completed the test and shut his computer he decided that he would never not be
bored, and he was okay with that fact. He turned on some music and played some games until he
fell asleep knowing tomorrow would be the same thing.

18
 The Contagious Sea
by Brian Mohr (2020)

Times were great for a young boy named Alexios while he had so many things to look
forward to. He was going to be turning fifteen years old in just two weeks, a milestone of his
because he felt it was the beginning of a new stage in life. He was excited that his birthday
was on a Friday, meaning that he wouldn’t have to worry about school and could invite his
friends over to celebrate. Alexios wanted to plan some activities that he and his friends
could do on such a beautiful day.
Alexios was struggling to think of what he wanted to do on his birthday; he thought to
himself, “Hmm, maybe we all could go swim at the lake and have a picnic? Or maybe we
could have a barbecue and just enjoy the day at my house?”. Alexios continues to think of
the possible birthday activities and decides to call his very good friend Kassandra, whom he
has been the closest to since Kindergarten, for ideas. “Hello Kassandra,” he says... “Hi
Alexios, how are you?” Kassandra responds... “I am very good! I just wanted to ask you what
you think we all could do on my birthday this Friday; what would everyone enjoy?”.
As they continue brainstorming some ideas, Alexios notices that there is something
off about Kassandra, and proceeds to ask, “Hey Kassandra are you alright? You don’t sound
like your normal go-lucky self?”. “Yeah I am okay,” she says, “it is just so hard to hear about
what’s going on in our world right now”. Alexios had been so distracted from thinking about
his upcoming birthday, that he had ignored the current news about an outbreak of a new
disease labeled COVID-19. “Oh that little thing? I wouldn’t be too concerned with it, it’s on
the other side of the world and it is pretty much a tiny puddle compared to the other
diseases out there.” says Alexios. “Huh!? What rock have you been living under!? It has
flooded the entire Eastern hemisphere and it is bound to reach here any day now!” says
Kassandra, “It is already nationally advised that we shouldn’t be socially interacting in
groups. It is so dangerous Alexios, especially for elders. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings
Alexios but I am going to clear my head; I am not feeling too good”, Kassandra abruptly hung
up.
Alexios was devastated, he ran to the television in his living room and turned on the
news. Warnings were exploding all over the screen, “a contagious sea is wiping out
thousands of people left and right...please stay home...wash your hands, don’t touch your
face...practice social distancing!!”. For a moment he felt sad, that he couldn’t have the
19
birthday that he had been wanting; that he was so caught up into himself that he failed to
recognize the pandemic that had been taking place worldwide; that he is going to have
to disappoint all of his friends by telling them that he won’t be having any birthday party.
“How could I have missed this?” He said, “This whole time I have been so selfish and have
not bothered to see how others were doing, or have turned on the news to see what was
happening... But now, I need to do what is necessary, whether I am fond of it or not”.
Alexios took responsibility and knew that this needed to be done, and to do his part,
to practice social distancing. He called all of his friends to tell them that his birthday is
canceled and advised them to stay safe and be prepared for the pandemic. He knew that
there would be many other chances to spend time with his friends and will have many other
birthdays but that for now, he’ll just need to wait until this contagious sea washes away.

20
 Emmi’s Experience
by Meaghan Waite (2020)

Emmi is 20 years old, runs an online craft shop called “Las Mariposas de Arte”,
her main job is being a nurse of a local hospital. She doesn’t live with her parents, but
her childhood home is next door, she also has 3 siblings and 5 friends. She stocks up
on every nonperishable item possible, makes sure that she has everything that is
necessary for surviving in any situation. She also makes sure that her parents have
everything they need. When the virus spread to her area, she was working in the
hospital. After finishing her shift, she went shopping and got necessities and craft
supplies. It only took 3 weeks until there was a total of 5 confirmed cases and people
freaking out and a lot of them demanding to be tested for the virus. Her parents had
jobs that were deemed unnecessary, so they are at home all the time and only leave to
go shopping. They each have hobbies they do together and by themselves, Emmi crafts
after her shift and on her days off. It’s been a month since her hometown had been
dealing with Covid- 19. Emmi has been working hard in the hospital and started sewing
reusable masks for her hospital and her friends and family, also those who ask. She has
sewed at least thirty masks in her spare time but is still making more so that everyone
she knows can be safe. Her roles in the hospital have increased from her normal nurse
duties to working the check-in, being a surgery assistant, and an emergency room nurse
on top of her regular duties. She checks on her parents, siblings, and friends through
facetiming them and calling them twice a day. She hopes that this will get better soon
but still works hard every day. The conflict of the world and for Emmi’s hometown is
the fight against Covid- 19 and trying to keep it from spreading.

The day is April 11th, 2020, Emmi has been sewing some face masks and has
decided to check in on her mom, “Emmi! It’s so good to hear from you! How are you
doing sweetie?” her mother asks after answering the chat, “I’m doing good, I just
wanted to check in and make sure you and Dad are okay. I’ve been working really hard,

21
but I’ve been taking the necessary breaks and have been teaching my coworkers who
want to help make masks for the hospital how to sew and work with the pattern for the
masks,” Emmi responded with a sweet smile on her face and showing relief that her
parents are still ok, “Well sweetie me and your Father have been playing board games
and making different crafts and cooking to get through the day.” Her Mother explains
as she shows Emmi’s Dad sitting across from her, shuffling a deck of cards. It looks
like they’re in the living room of her child home, sitting at the coffee table. Once her
Dad sees that the camera is showing him, he puts the deck of cards in his left hand and
waves with his right hand, “Hey Ems! Good to see you! How are you doing kiddo?” he
exclaims with a smile on his face, “I’m doing good, what game are you guys playing?”
Emmi asks with a sweet smile as she continues to sew for a bit, “We’re playing one of
your favorites, war the card game,” her Father explained with a smile, “Cool! I’ve been
making masks for the hospital and teaching my coworkers how to sew the masks.”
Emmi expressed as she focused on the mask she is working on. After a few more
minutes of talking, Emmi’s conversation ended on a good note with her parents and a
promise to call tomorrow.

22
 The November Snow
by Logan LaFlamm (2020)

“Ugh” I groaned, waking up to the first snowfall of a chilly November morning. I get out of bed
and run through my daily morning routine, still quite drowsy and not thinking about too much.
I get on the bus to go to school just like any other day. It’s all the same, learn a little,
work a little, and screw around with friends. I honestly don’t mind doing it every day, it keeps
me happy and enjoying life, although it can get a bit redundant.
I’m running the day same old same old, but something seems different. I stop twirling
my pencil in the middle of math class and I think for a few seconds. What could this be? I ponder
a little and remembered that my first day of my new robotics club starts today. I think a little
more then get back to my work.
I didn’t know then that something would happen today that would vastly impact the next
few months of my life.
Later in the day, after school, I finally arrive to the club room to see what’s up. I walk in
to see a few of my friends greet me. We exchange a couple jokes, a few laughs, then we must get
to work. I speak with the teacher a bit to find out I will be coding for a second team. Bummer. I
don’t get to work with my friends, but I can still make the most of it since I’ll still be in the same
room as them.
I go over to greet my new teammates and I get slightly thrown off. There is this cute girl
that looks intelligent. I wasn’t going to judge based on gender, so I was open to see what she was
like.
“Hey, I’m Brian.” I say in a casual tone of voice. “I’m Sira.” She says with a smile on her
face. She has quite a heavy accent, but I can’t tell where she’s from. The other members
introduce themselves but I’m uninterested. I’m far too distracted to care about whoever they are.
Damn, that smile is really cute, I think to myself. I’m not gonna jump on any girl right
now but I want to get to know her.
We continue through the rest of robotics, her and I barely exchange any words because
we both seem to not be the most outgoing people. But I do find out one thing, she’s an exchange
student, from Catalonia.
A week or two goes by and I start to find myself waking up with a bit more energy. I
wake up with a little bit more motivation to go to school. An excitement for robotics.
“Shit, I might have a thing for her.” I say to myself in the mirror.
We slowly started to talk more and more; we were pulled together by our different way of
thinking from other people. One day, something happened that I never thought would.
“Hey, that’s a nice hoodie you got there, are you into anime by any chance?” I say,
fishing for a little hope. “Yeah, I love it” she replies, interested in what I have to say next.
23
 Oh boy, there might be something here. I know I shouldn’t have a thing for this girl, but I
definitely do.
The rest of robotics we talk about anime. I’m having a blast and then I think of
something.
“Hey, can I recommend you my favorite show, and possibly some others?” I say, hoping
for a positive response. “Of course, but I’m not very good at remembering things” she says, with
an embarrassed smile.
Damn, there it is again, that smile.
“Do you have any way I could contact you, just so I could remind you and we could talk
a bit more about it?”
“Do you have Snapchat?”
“Yeah, let me add you.”
Score. I can contact the girl I’ve fallen in love with.
We continue through robotics and then we both head home. I’m excited but I don’t want
to message her out of the blue.
A few days later I finally decide to send her a message recommending her some anime.
After that, we talk a bit about random things for quite a while, but we both have to go to sleep.
We keep texting, day after day, more and more, until one night, I finally do what I’ve
been wanting to do. I ask her out.
My heart racing, butterflies in my stomach, I sit there, waiting for a response
“Yes, I do want to go out with you, I love you Brian”
I jump off my bed and pump my fists in the air. I feel like nothing could drag me down in
this moment. I know she is an exchange student and she will have to leave, but that doesn’t
matter because I’m going to be the happiest I’ve ever been.
After that, we start dating. We hang out after school in robotics, visit each other’s houses
on the weekends, go out to eat together at restaurants and many other dates. We spend so much
time together I feel like this experience will never end.
After 4 months of being together, something starts happening worldwide that gives me
chills. A pandemic called COVID-19, a virus, has spread worldwide at an alarming rate.
Oh no. She could get sent home early.
Every day I felt it constantly creeping up on me, worrying me every night. We still
laughed and smiled like normal, but we were both afraid.
I wake up one morning to a call. It’s from her. I pick it up and all I can hear is her crying. I will
never forget that morning.

24
“They’re sending me home early. I have less than a week left.”
F*&k. F*&k F*&k F*&k F*&k F*&k.
What am I supposed to do? We still had 3 more months, there was still so much we could have
done, and now all of that is ripped from us? Why? Why me? Why us? This thing that hasn’t
happened in centuries is now happening right at this very moment and now it’s crumbling my
life to pieces.
“Well, we have to make the most of what we have left.” I say. “I agree.” She responds sniffling
still from her sobbing.
The next week we spend time together like we never have before. We spend every day, every
hour with each other hoping we could tighten our bond even more so it wouldn’t break once she
left.
The morning of her flight, I woke up at 3 AM. She arrives at my house with all of her belongings
in the car and she comes to my doorstep.
“Never leave me.” She says.
“I could never imagine it. We both need each other so much.”
We hug the tightest we ever have, and we kissed the most passionately we ever have.
“Goodbye, I love you.” We both say.
The snow that morning was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen it.

25
 The Boogie Man
by Aiden Hellinger (2020)

Have you ever heard of the boogieman? Of course, you have, who hasn’t heard of the boogie
man. Some people tell it as a cautionary tale to children, so they behave better. I don’t
remember how I found out about him when I was a kid, he was just in my head. When I was
younger, he lived around me, he’s tall and slim, he has huge blank white bloodshot eyes, sharp
needle like teeth, completely naked his flesh almost falling off of the meat. As if he was
supposed to look as scary as possible for a child.
He killed 7 of my friends, Mikey, Joane, Michael, and more. He made them look like accidents,
but he did all of it to get too me I just know he did. The cops and my parents didn’t believe me,
but I knew he was real. When I had a little girl, I took the legs off her bed, gave her a nightlight,
boarded up the closets in my house so he could never get to my little girl. So, when this
happened I knew she was about to go through the same terror I did as a child.
“Daddy!!!” I hear Sophia cry from her room, I come running and she’s cowering in a fear corner
in her room and she looks terrified.
“The closet daddy! There’s something stuck in there!” She yells with tears in her eyes. I look at
the closet and nothing, the boards are still up, and everything looks…. A nail slowly gets pushed
out and a board falls to the ground.
“Sophia go to your mother right now.” I tell her and she listens and leaves the room. The door
starts to violently shake and then it stops, and I hear a high, raspy laugh.
“She’s the next Daniel!” It screams and laughs, and the house goes quiet. I think back to what
happened to Daniel… it took them weeks too even identify his body. They ruled it a bear attack,
he was torn limb from limb and eaten. The man ate my best friend Daniel in front of my eyes on
our camping trip but all the cops said I was delirious.
I make Sophia sleep with me and her mother that night, I need to do everything I can to protect
her from this creature. When they both fall asleep, I start to look up things on the boogie man.
Nothing. So I call my friend, he saw him too when we were younger but he was much more
obsessed he actually because some sort of mythical hunter, he hunts creatures which I always
thought was weird until this thing came back.
“Mark is that you?” He says when he picks up the phone.
“Yo Jake its Mark I have some questions. Do you remember when we were younger, and both
were convinced the boogie man was after us? Well say he resurfaced, what can you tell me
about him?” I try to be quiet to not wake up Sophia or Jen.
“Mark… listen, believe me, don’t believe me, it’s up to you but I’ve seen some creatures out
here. Skin walkers who will literally steal a person’s skin and wear it like a costume, vampires
that don’t suck your blood, they eat you, while your alive. But there is nothing that does or has
ever lived that competes with the boogie man. He is the king Mark; he is the big daddy of all

26
monsters. The form we saw him in was just what he made us see. If he is on the hunt, whoever
he is hunting will die. Every time, without a shadow of doubt in my mind, they will die. He
doesn’t stop hunting until his prey is dead. He can manipulate everyone around his target,
making people see things that aren’t real to scare and hurt them, because a vulnerable target is
an easy target. Do you want to know the worst part? He is a spirit and when he gets you, you
don’t get peace, you don’t get and afterlife, your forced to live in his world which is like you’re
behind a glass wall watching your family move on. Watching your loved ones get old and die
without you. Its more than animalistic hunting to survive like other creatures, for him its
torturing them, that’s why he’s the worst of them all. Mark you haven’t seen him since we were
kids, have you?”
“He was in Sophia’s closet earlier tonight…” I whisper holding back tears.
“Mark I hate to say this… but you need to dig her a grave. She’s dead.” And then he hangs up. I
lay there and cry after he hangs up. Eventually I pass out from either fear or exhaustion I’m not
sure which.
The next day I go outside, and Sophia is playing soccer in the road and I’m just sitting on my
porch relaxing on my lawn chair. I hear a scream and look up immediately to see Sophia laying
in the grass and a truck stopped next to her, I get up and run over to her as fast as possible,
“SOPHIA ARE YOU OK?!” I yell tears coming to my eyes as I cradle her head in my hands, I
scream at my neighbor to call 911 but he looks at me like I’m crazy.
I feel Sophia put her hand on my cheek and she makes me look at her, and then she opens her
eyes and they are exactly like his eyes, bloodshot and pure white, like he could stare into your
soul, Sophia smiles and it’s like his teeth, sharp like a million needles. Then like she was never
there at all. I look around and there’s no truck, my neighbors are all around me whispering to
each other and staring at me, and I look down and swing at the concrete realizing it was just
him in my head again.
I go inside and ask Jen where Sophia is and she says she is at school. I decide maybe I need
some sleep, so I go lay down and closed my eyes. I get shaken awake; I open my eyes and he’s
standing over me smiling at me. I close my eyes hoping and praying it’s just a dream, but as he
leans close, I can hear his every raspy breath, and then I hear the last thing I want to hear.
“Daddy, Mommy I’m home!” Sophia yells. I open my eyes and try to throw him off me and I get
up and run for my bedroom door, but he grabs me by the back of my neck. He puts his hand
over my mouth and moves in front of me and for some reason I can’t move at all like I’m
paralyzed. He puts his finger in front of his mouth as if telling me to be quiet.
“Daddy? Where are you going?” I hear outside the door.

“Daddy don’t leave me and Mommy please?” She pleads. It’s not me baby, I’d never leave you
and your mother.
“Mark where are you going?” Jen asks.

27
“Daddy?”
“MARK!”
I’m trying so hard to scream, It’s not me! I love you both! But no words come out, He just looks
at me and smiles, then I shoot awake in my bed. Thank god, it was all just a dream.
I get up and go out to see Sophia and Jen crying at the dinner table, I go over to them and ask,
“What’s going on?” But neither of them pays any attention to me. Jen just holds her hand and
tells her,
“I know your dad left a year ago, but I still think we should go to his funeral.”
Funeral?... But I’m alive. I turn to see him standing there, smiling at me. I turn back to them and
try to get to them but it’s like I ran into a glass wall. I pound on it and I’m screaming, “IM HERE,
IM ALIVE, IM HERE.” But it doesn’t matter.
“You were never after Sophia. You were finishing what you started with me from when I was a
kid.” I say to him looking at my beautiful daughter who will grow up without a father. He laughs
and walks away, on to find his next prey.
I stand on this side of the glass watching Sophia go through her life, Jen finds a new husband,
but she keeps a picture of me in her purse always. Sophia grew up to be such a beautiful young
woman, found herself a great man and got married. I am stuck here knowing I wasn’t there for
my daughter’s entire life. But as long as he doesn’t come for her too i am ok with that. I look up
to see Sophia sleeping in bed with her husband and I look under the bed and see his piercing
white eyes. And then he smiles…

28
 Quarantine and Me
by Ayva Ouderkirk (2020)

Quarantine members, OF THE WHOLE WORLD. In my home, this is

taken very seriously, and we have not left our home in weeks. We tend
to play outside and get fresh air but nothing more than that. Our home
is secure, and we have been here long enough to know that we have
no issues with this pandemic and having it. Our neighbors all quarantine
together thinking it’s a great idea. But at the same time, it could be
dangerous. My home is very safe and thoughtful when it comes to us
being infected or others. We do everything in our power to keep our
home 100% clear of this as best as we can even when we don’t know.
These circumstances and issues we are facing is very confusing. These
issues we are being faced with have caused the whole world to go on
hold mode. By on hold mode, I mean that everything is getting canceled
or pushed off because of COVID-19. This is a challenging time to be
alive because of all of our plans. We think, how could this be happening
to us? What a time to be alive! We have so much time that we don’t
know what to do with. But at the end of the day we are all going
through these issues, with working at home due to schools closing. And
works closing. On top of all of our other home duties we will get
distracted by. I have learned that Americans can have all the time in the
world and still continue to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to
do things. This is because, my mom and I had a conversation about
cleaning and the fact that we have so much time. My mom said to me
“Ayva, I was going to clean and go through everything in the house, but
I have another month to do it so I’m just going to wait”. This sounds
reasonable right? Because we have SO much time!!! But me, as her
daughter that lives in this house knows that if she waits it probably won’t
get done or it will stress her out more than doing piece by piece every
day. Replying to my mom I said “mom, you have my help and we can
do it together day by day because if we wait, more things may come up
and we will totally forget about it and just focus on things we need to

29
do. Versus doing a little every day we won’t forget it!”. My mom was
very thrilled by what i had to say. My mom, Debbie. Also told my
brother and I that if we stay on top of our homework and our rooms
and continue to help her and not bug her about social distancing then
she will pay us $100 to go do something fun after this is over. So
social distancing, this is a crazy concept that has been set in stone for
the state, starting by staying 6 feet away from any one you aren’t
quarantined with to staying further away and not even seeing them
because now they figured out that it can stay in the air longer than they
thought. Social distancing is hard for people like me who need people
interaction to stay their best self and keep it together. Social distancing is
extremely important at this time, because of how fast and easily COVID-
19 spreads. We have to follow every direction. This is touch for everyone
to follow and understand but all the government ask if we do our best.
These are difficult times...consisting of starting today. We cannot leave our
houses without a mask, what about people who don’t have access to
masks? Or people who can’t afford them? Or people who don’t have
materials to make one themselves. This is a crazy time, with
unemployment, but at the end of the day you have your family. For
example, I asked my mom if I can simply go on a run. And as my
crazy over cautious but great mom, she says to me “Ayva yes you can
go on a run, but if someone is on your side of the street you have to
cross and run on the other side”. So, I listened to her, and everyone
looked at me like I was crazy when I saw someone, and I crossed. It
makes us think is everyone taking this seriously? I see groups of kids
still hanging out. Just because you don’t have a baby or elders at home
that COVID-19 could affect very poorly, does not mean they can’t get it
due to your disrespectful actions. By that, I mean that maybe you guys
went into the store together and had the sickness and had no idea!
Then you touched something and infected that item with the sickness (it
stays on surfaces for a while) and a family member goes to get their
grandparents that item and they touch it and then they touch their face!
Our silly actions we don’t think about twice and how it not only can

30
affect us but other people. My mom is very logical and self-sufficient with
this whole pandemic. She is very careful and sometimes we get mad at
her for it, but this is something serious that no generation has ever lived
through. We have been very bored through this and had a conflict with
whether we are allowed to go to our fathers. It took days to think about
the pros and cons of this situation. And to get rid of the scary thoughts.
My mom didn’t know if they were taking as much precaution as us or
where they have been. This was difficult for my mom to respond to
because how can she say no? But does she want to say yes? Yes, she
does. We had confusing conversations with our dad, and it was a
conflicting choice that could have led to something dangerous that we
didn’t expect. My mom and dad are 2 different people with two different
opinions and my mom would never restrict us from seeing our father if
this was not going on. My dad usually is not that understanding but after
a couple of days of this issue and unexplained answers of if we can go
or not and he was pretty understanding. My brother gets upset and mad
when we cannot go there or do things there, but eventually when
everything was sort of starting to calm down, we figured it out. This
teaches me that we thought a lot on something we never thought we’d
have to think about and just do it, that we have to do this with
everything. Essential workers are still doing their job as best as they can
with their minds confused and being rushed on the daily. We are all
facing the same issues of ordering groceries, being afraid of human
interaction, touching certain things without hand sanitizer. Running out of
supplies that are in high demand, like toilet paper and food. This is a
huge wide world thing. We all need to stay focused to make this better
and follow the rules. Corona strong!

31
 Loss of Everything
by Martie West (2020)

One day at a hospital I was sitting in my bed. When I saw someone acting very
zombie like I had no idea what was going on and I was very concerned. I clicked to
the news on the television when it started playing, I saw that some virus was taking
over the whole world. I thought to myself that it looked insane, but I knew I didn’t
even know half of it. As I was thinking about all of this in walked my doctor
changing my eyesight to be put on him. I cleared my thought and began talking.

“Excuse me, what is wrong with that men in the hallway?” I asked him not knowing
for sure if that was from the virus taking over the world. Waiting for an answer to
come out of his mouth.

“He was diagnosed with a new virus called Covid-19. There are many more people
out there acting the same way. So do not go near anyone acting like that its very
dangerous and contagious miss.” The doctor replied and seemed a bit uneasy about
this whole conversation. He even looked a bit scared for a minute but soon recovered
his stature. He walked out leaving the room filled with an empty void and I was in
shock still not understanding the situation completely. In walked a nurse which
made my mind come back to reality once again. She was holding my discharged
papers in her hands and a mask.

“You are being released but make sure you do not under any circumstances go
around anyone. If you do please wear this mask, we are calling this social
distancing.” She said looking very serious and worried.

“Yes ma’am,” I replied then I proceeded to get dressed. I got dressed very slowly and
took my time to the front doors. As soon as I walked out, I put on the mask that way
I make sure I don’t get sick. When I walked out of the two enormous hospital doors

32
it was like the no man land. There was no one as far as the eye could see. I got in
my car to head home, on the way to my house there were no more than two cars
that were seen on the streets. I was trying to figure everything out all the way until
I got to my front door. It was all a blur since I was lost in thought. I walked inside
and didn’t see me sister and couldn’t help but wonder where she could have gone. I
took off my mask and took off my shoes getting ready to sit down. Suddenly, I heard
footsteps on my front porch I looked out my window there on the porch stood my
sister. She was acting like one of them; a zombie. I opened my door to get a better
look at her. I instantly fell to my knees and started crying uncontrollably and she
came towards me like she was trying to hug me. She grabbed me…. OH NO! I began
to act just like them. Lost in a world that don’t know how to fix us. I started walking
not knowing how to fix this problem. Down the road I saw a little girl just like me.
Well how I am now? I walked up to her and she looked sad. She was looking
towards a house; there I saw two parents starring at their little girl so upset. That’s
when I thought about my mom. Where is she, I wondered and like she heard my
thoughts she came up to me sick. Everyone I love is sick and this world isn’t finding
a cure. There is no need to live like this. Save me from my misery. Not knowing
what else to do I go stand in the middle of the road waiting on a car to pass. Finally,
I saw one coming going really fast since there was no one on the roads. As I saw is
getting closer, I looked back at my dear sister and mother… Whispering

“I love you both,” not even knowing if the words came out of my mouth. Darkness
falls….

33
 A Covid Story
by Aidan Cadrette (2020)

It was March 2020, about a week after the national quarantine had been called into effect, due to the
outbreak of coronavirus. Billy was a young man in his twenties who was in his final year of college.
He lived with his parents, Jack and Diane, and two younger sisters, Amanda and Rosanna, at their
home in upstate New York. The whole family was hard at work doing all their duties that they
normally would have been doing if there wasn’t an international COVID-19 pandemic.
Billy’s elderly paternal grandparents had poor health conditions and lived in town. They called Jack
one morning at their home phone…
“Hello, Jack? It’s your mother,” said Jack’s mother.
“Hi, mom. What do you need?” Jack replied.
“We are all out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. I was going to go to the supermarket an—”
“Do not leave the house! If you need anything, I’ll go to the store for you.”
“Okay, then, we need hand sanitizer and toilet paper.”
“Okay, I’ll pick that up for you at the store. Is that all?”
“That’s all. Bye, Jack.”
“Bye,” and Jack hung up the phone.
Jack went into Billy’s bedroom where he was working.
“Billy, guess what,” he said.
“What?” Billy said.
“I want you to come with me to the supermarket.”
“Really? You want me to leave the house and go with you to the supermarket? Absolutely not.”
“But it’s for your grandparents. They’re at a higher risk than us and they need toilet paper. Come
on.”
“Fine. But I’m wearing a mask and gloves.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Billy and Jack got into the car and drove to the town’s only supermarket that sold toilet paper.
When they got there, there were several other cars in the parking lot and the store looked like it just
went through an apocalypse.
“What happened here?” Billy asked.
“Coronavirus happened,” Jack replied.
Billy and Jack parked and went up to the front doors. They went in the store and walked past the
check-out lines to the isles. The whole store was a mess…things were all over the floor and the
lights were out.
“Make sure to be very quiet. There could be other people hiding in the shadows,” Jack whispered.
“Let’s make our way to the back where there’s toilet paper.”
Jack went to the front of one isle and picked out a long lead pipe and said, “Just in case,” and he

34
proceeded around a corner with Billy. They turned a corner and saw a badly wounded man sitting
up against the wall. The man looked up at Billy and Jack and said, “Help.”
Jack and Billy went up to the man and put their face masks on.
“What happened?” Jack said.
“Toilet paper…I just came in for some toilet paper,” the man said. “People are savages in this store.
Th-there’s no time for me…t-toilet paper…there’s st-still some left...”
“We’re going to find that toilet paper,” Billy said. “Let’s go before it’s too late.”
“We should split up. I’ll go left, you go right,” Jack suggested.
“Good.”
Billy and Jack parted ways and searched for the toilet paper. Billy moved slowly through the isles to
the back of the store. He had only been in the store for a few minutes, but to him, it felt like hours.
Eventually, Billy got to the back of the store where there was an empty toilet paper shelf.
“Where’s all the toilet paper?” Billy said out loud, and as he walked closer to the shelf, a dart flew
directly into his neck. Billy passed out a fell to the ground.
Sometime later, Billy woke up and he was tied to a pole. He was at the top shelf of the highest isle
where about ten people were sitting around a small fire and a few were cooking cans of beans.
“Where am I? Who are you?” Said a freaked-out Billy.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe here,” one man said, who appeared to be the leader. “We’re a group of
survivors.”
“Survivors of the coronavirus?”
“Yes, we are surviving the coronavirus pandemic.”
“But it’s just a virus, not the zombie apocalypse. You don’t need to live like hobos in store shelves,”
and Billy looked at one corner and saw dozens of rolls of toilet paper. “And you’re hogging all the
toilet paper?”
“We’re not hogging it; we’re just taking it all in this harsh time so we can thrive. And now you’re
one of us, so you’ll use it as well. We just need our doctor to test you for corona. All of us have
tested negative, and if you don’t, we’re gonna do what we have to do.”
“Why don’t you just let me leave?”
“Oh, you aren’t ever leaving. You’ll go out and tell everybody, the everybody will come and take all
our toilet paper. We need out toilet paper. We can’t live without toilet paper.”
“Then why did you kidnap me if you weren’t gonna let me go?”
“Because, we needed more people for our clan. Safety in numbers.”
“Yeah, but not in this instance.”
“It’s too late now. You’re not leaving. And to mark you as one of us, we’re going to brand you,” and
the leader pulled out a cattle branding iron.
“No, no, no, you’re not branding me!”
“But we are.”
The leader turned around and started heating up the cattle branding iron. And as he was heating up

35
the iron, Jack popped up in a dark corner and looked at Billy who looked back at him. Jack gestured
for Billy to be quiet and moved along the shelf under the top where the group was. He got to under
Billy and untied him.
“If we move quick, we can escape,” Jack whispered.
“But the toilet paper,” Billy whispered back
“We’ll go to another store in the next town.”
A few minutes later, the leader was done heating the iron and turned around to see Billy moving
down the shelf.
“Hey!” He shouted.
“Go, Billy, quick!” Jack shouted. “I’ll take care of these lunatics.”
Billy went down the shelves to the floor.
“You are no match for me,” said the leader.
“Come at me, Pepé Le Pew!” Jack yelled and grabbed his lead pipe as the leader grabbed a wooden
post. All the other people jumped down the shelf and ran into other isles.
At the bottom of the isle, Billy looked up trying to see what was going on, but he could only make
out shadows.
Jack kept on going at the top of the shelf against the leader. After a couple minutes, both men were
worn out.
“You’re done here,” Jack said and swatted the leader who fell all the way to the bottom. Jack sat
down to catch his breathe. Then he gathered up all the toilet paper and climbed down, where Billy
was waiting.
“Let’s go, I got all the toilet paper we need,” Jack said.
“What happened up there?” Billy asked.
“A lot.”
As Jack and Billy left the isle, they walked by the leader, who was laying on the ground. Billy got on
one knee and said, “This is for kidnapping me,” and coughed in his face.
“Come on, that’s just rude,” the leader said.
Billy and Jack left the store and drove to Billy’s grandparents’ house. Billy’s grandmother was on the
other side of the screen door and watched as Billy left the toilet paper on the front steps for her to
bring in later.
“Thank you. We really needed toilet paper,” the grandmother said.
Billy and Jack finished unloading and went up to the door. “No problem,” Jack said.
“Did you remember to get some hand sanitizer?”
Billy and Jack looked at each other.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Jack sighed.

36
 Quarantine
by Kaitlynn Chambers (2020)

Sam, a 10th grader in the year of 2020 living in California became very
stressed out. He texted his friend George from New York, “hey how much
schoolwork do you have?” George replied “not that much but the stuff I have
is time consuming and hard without being with the teachers. The school year
started off normal but then took a crazy turn and put people in a way of
living nobody has seen before. Seniors missed out on last dances, sports
seasons, some even missing their graduation!” George and Sam both had to
self-quarantine in their houses and practice social distancing to prevent
getting the new virus that was changing lives. Covid-19 was a virus that
spread drastically, infecting and killing many. All schools, restaurants, gyms,
“non-essential business” are closed and a mask and gloves must be worn to
go out in public. Sam was baffled about all the places being closed and
stores having shelves stripped of hand sanitizer, soaps, toilet paper and
toiletries… Sam asked his mom if he should order toilet paper online because
they were low at the house but when he looked it up, they were charging
$125 for toilet paper. Sam thought this was outrageous and texted George
“man I’m out of toilet paper, how low are you in New York”. “I’m good here
because my mom went out and panic bought all the necessities” said
George. Sam was not allowed to go to the store because he didn’t have a
mask and didn’t know how to get toilet paper with the stores being out. He
was scared he may have to use old cloth or leaves to use going to the
bathroom. His mom did an Instacart order because they couldn’t go to the
store although the app said it would take 5 days to get their order. Sam was
hoping it would come sooner because he was also running low on food.
Luckily his school had a program going to help families in need in the weird
time. The school had the busses bring food and work to Sam and other kids
houses. The parents could also pick up the food at the school. Kids had to do

37
all their work online on their school laptops and it was a huge transition from
normal life. Sam actually missed school, he wanted to see his friends and his
girlfriend Regina, he called her every day, but it wasn’t the same. Sam felt
bad for Regina because she had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety
and being isolated made it worse and made her feel super lonely. He felt as
he couldn’t help her, and she was always really sad because she couldn’t be
around any of the people who brightened her day. Sam said that he watched
so much YouTube, TikTok, Netflix during this time his head always hurt. His
screen time was at an all-time record and he’d never relied on so much
social media to stay busy. Sam and Regina both tried painting and a bunch
of TikTok trends over the phone to stay busy. Sam also spent most of his
days in his little yard just to get out of the house. Him and his mom were
both working from home and didn’t know how to stay sane. “Hey, have you
seen the freezers they created for the dead bodies in New York city” George
texted Sam. Sam replied, “yeah bro it’s kinda scary and really sad, hope
you’re staying safe”. Sam thought about how his friend was living in New
York, the state with the most cases of Covid-19 and deaths. He hoped that
people would self-quarantine and practice social distancing to stop the
spread of the virus faster.

38
 Phil
by Adam Clark (2020)

One day a man named Phil woke up and started getting ready for work.
He did everything he would do on a normal day. He woke up, He took
a shower, made some coffee and watched the news. So, Phil saw
something weird on the news. Phil decides he should call his friend Jim.
Jim picks up the phone, Phil tells him what he saw on the news, and
Jim says, “NO WAY”. And Phil says, “Yah dude”. But even after seeing
the news Phil continues his day like nothing happened. Phil walks out his
door and what he saw was unbelievable. Phil saw a Lion! What was on
his local news was true! So, Phil runs up to the Lion and wrestles it.
Phil obviously wins and tames the Lion and decides to bring it to work.
So, Phil goes out to his truck, puts the Lion in the bed of his truck
and leaves to go to work. Phil walks into work and steps into his
cubicle ready to sell some exotic animals! Jim works in the cubicle next
to Phil and Jim noticed the Lion on his way into work. “So, you caught
the Lion huh?” says Jim. “Yah good catch eh?” says Phil. “I mean I’ve
seen better but tis not bad for you I guess, I mean I caught a Lion
that was breed with a bear before.” Phil says, “Yah whatever that was
like two years ago!”. So, the two go onto selling exotic animals and
finishing their 8-hour shifts. On their way-out Phil asks Jim if he wants to
go ball at the courts, and Jim says, “Hell Yah!” so they go to the
courts that are only a block away so they walk after picking up a
basketball from Phil’s Truck and checks on the Lion. Before they start a
game of Pig Phil says, “If you win, I’ll buy you dinner but if I win you
have to buy me dinner”. Jim agrees and he take the first shot from the
corner and t bounces off the top of the rim and takes a lucky roll into
the basket. Phil takes the shot and makes it. Jim then takes a shot
from the free throw line and misses it. Phil then capitalizes and takes a
shot from the logo and swishes it. Phil of course misses that shot after
previously missing a free throw. Phil then takes a shot from the perimeter

39
and makes it of course because he played D1 Basketball. Jim takes the
shot and misses it. For a final shot Phil goes for a sky hook because
Jim has never made one before. And of course, Jim misses the sky
hook and then they go out to dinner. Phil gets the most expensive item
on the menu which would be an edible gold coated prime rib. Phil loved
every bite of his meal and so they both went their separate ways home.
Phil gets to his truck and checks on the Lion. The lion is still there and
looks healthy and unharmed. He thinks about how much this lion could
go for and how much money he will make. Phil goes home his usual
route but on his way home Phil gets pulled over by a cop because Phil
was speeding. Phil already knows this isn’t going to go well so he pretty
much just accepts what is about to happen. The cop pulls up to his car
and as he shines his flashlight through the cap window, he sees the
Lion. Phil rolls down his window and the cop says, “you know having a
Lion is illegal right?”. Phil says, “Yah….”. So, the cop asks Phil to get
out of his car. Phil gets out and accepts the fact that he is getting
arrested. Phil gets put into handcuffs, goes into the back of the cop car
and is arrested. The cops from there look further into Phil. They go to
His work site and realize what has been going on and arrest everyone
in the building. Track down all the animals that have been sold and
arrest or fine anyone that has bought the animals. And this is the end.

40
 My COVID Perspective
by Dawson Guyette (2020)

This is a very challenging time we are all going through trying to social distance,
schools closed all around, parents working from home, no sports programs,
limited places to go due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
My mom is a government employee and is currently teleworking from home
Monday-Friday daily. She is very busy paying people benefits for those that are in
need and going through this difficult time. She is very excited to not commute but
yet at times finds it challenging due to so many trying to access the internet that
some days her computer system crashes, and it takes her longer to get the job
done. When that happens, she has to reconnect, secure privacy log-ons and has to
start over. She tries to stay calm, but I know she is frustrated at times.
She has a virtual phone and calls her clients and reassures them that they will get
their benefits and does her best to put them at ease. My mom has weekly
conference calls to regroup and check in with her co-workers to see how
everyone is doing and handling the situation. She has a private setting, so she is
not bothered while she is working, and we are out of school at this time. She has
two breaks one in morning and one in afternoon and gets a lunch. Since school is
out and she is home working she is able to make us lunch and prepare for dinner.
Some days for her are easier than others and I find when its sunny and we have
nice weather it helps and makes her day go by faster. It is true that everyone is in
this together and we will get through it but only if we continue social distancing.
People have to do their part and stay in, sanitize, wash hands frequently and be
safe. You can find things to do at home like cleaning the house and wash counters,
cover face routinely.
I find my mom being a hero since she has been at her same job for almost 24 years
and is good at customer service and helping people. She will take care of others
first before herself. She always helps those in need even if it wasn't Covid 19.
However, she did not have a choice to work at home but she has adapted to the
changes, social distancing, financial impacts, knowing people who have the virus
and just making sure we are all safe, happy and able to get through this together.
I know that we may miss some milestones like prom and graduation but it is not
the end of the world and life will go on. Things may be different but hopefully
makes us stronger, kinder to one another and look at things in a different
perspective. It can be stressful at times but there is always a solution or way to
make things work.
My mom says we should be thankful for those that are in the medical field using
their abilities to help the sick and try to come out with a plan to end or control this

41
pandemic. The doctors and nurses are the first in line trying to assist and working
long hours to make people better. There are building locations and have Epic
Centers to handle the Covid 19 patients and quarantine them to keep the virus
under control and not spread to others. When people are isolated and confined
and they have the medical facilities have the proper protection equipment it
makes a difference on the outcome of saving lives. It’s amazing how everyone
quickly came together in this time of need and disaster situation and how well
people have showed teamwork.
It does seem to get harder before it gets easier, but it will pass. The President and
others are
working hard each day to see about getting everyone back to work, schools
reopened and the Economy functioning again. It may never be normal, but it will
be hopeful that there is a light at the end of this tunnel, and we are moving in the
right direction to eliminate social distancing in the near future. Again, we are all
in this together and will get through this together so make the most of what you
have. We are blessed and grateful that everyone in our family is safe and that
everyone will come out of this together "United Front".

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 Dangerous Wish
by Emalee Herrington (2020)

I only made one simple wish and now I'm stuck in my house alone. Before I get too far into this I
need to start at the beginning, backtrack and tell you how this all began. Hey, I’m Alice Ledword and
I think I’ve started a worldwide pandemic.
“Ugh”.
Friday morning, 5:30am. In my opinion getting up before the sun should be a crime. I decided “you
know what, it’s Friday. Let’s dress up.” So, I grabbed my nicest pair of sweatpants and one of the
hundred hoodies from my bedroom floor. Decided to take some extra time with my hair, a nice
messy bun.
Makeup is optional, and I’ve decided I'm not in the mood, honestly who am I trying to impress? The
same people who’ve been around me for years? It’s not like they stare into my eyes every morning
and ask “What shade of eyeshadow are you wearing today? Cherry red or Strawberry pink?”
I shove the homework I never finished into my bag and head out for another day in what the typical
teen calls “hell”. AKA high school.
As confident as I seem when picking out my look for today there's always that little bit of anxiety,
today it’s a ton of anxiety. I usually wouldn't care about “dressing to impress” but that was before I
knew I’d run into Jake first thing this morning.
Let me tell you about Jake, he’s the kind of guy that makes you feel like there's no one else in the
world you could ever love for about a week. Then he makes the next girl feel the same way and so
on until he’s reached every girl in the grade, then he moves on to the next grade.
Just so happens that last week was my week with Jake, I thought he was everything, blablabla. Now
he’s all over Jennifer. Not gonna waste my breath talking about her.
Seeing him gives me anxiety, I'm pretty sure it gives everyone anxiety, so I try my best to avoid him.
But of course, to make my Friday even better he sees me.
“Hey” Jake says with a little head nod. I ignore it because I can’t let him see that he’s getting to me.
Makes sense in my mind.
Back to where I was before the Jake thing. I walk up the stairs, which feels like it takes forever, and
make it to English class. Teachers pretty neat but I am not feeling the lesson today. Shakespeare isn't
really my thing and definitely not how I wanna spend my morning.
I’m pretty much zoned out all class thinking about how dreadful the rest of the day was gonna be.
Not to mention the school dance that was taking place that evening.
School dances are not my thing. A bunch of people I hate, loud music, and uncomfortable shoes all
at one time. Yay.
Somehow the thought of the dance made me feel really sick. All the sudden I have a headache and
the room is spinning. The bell rings and I make my way to chorus. As I walk in the headache gets
worse, the room is filled with over 50 kids all having their own conversations. I sit down ready to sing
but just moments later I walk out of the room.
I feel like I'm going to pass out, so I decide the next stop is the nurse's office. I never told anyone I
was leaving chorus and I know I'll be marked absent and it'll affect my grade.
Usually the thought of this would make me panic but I was more focused on walking down the stairs.
My legs felt like Jell-O. They were weaker and weaker with every step.
Finally arriving at the door I walk in and she tells me to go into the back room and lay down. She
says she's busy. I stumble into an uncomfortable cot and lay down. I feel like my whole body just
liquified and I couldn't pick my head up.
The nurse came back and asked “What’s wrong?”

43
“I feel dizzy, and sick.”
“Well do you want to lay down for a while or head back to class?”
Laying down was the only option at this moment, there was so much pressure in my head it felt like a
brick had been placed on it but I couldn't get it off.
“I’ll lie here for a while and then head back to class.”
I sent my mom a text, “Hey, just want to let you know I’m in the nurse's office. Feels like I'm gonna
pass out, I'm really sick. Thought you should know in case you get a call saying I need to be picked
up. I feel like death”
She’s the best mom as her reply was, “I need the Netflix password”
Completely ignoring the fact I'm laying down in the nurse's office practically dead.
Okay well maybe dead is overreacting but I feel awful and she cares about watching movies.
I fell asleep for about an hour and woke up to the sound of yelling in the other room, some kid is
getting sent away to a mental facility but that has nothing to do with my story.
I decided the best thing to do would be to go back to class, luckily it's just lunch. I sat in lunch for a
little while, but I felt no better. I laid against my friend, Andrew and complained about how I was
feeling. Typical day, I usually complain.
I wasn't in the mood to sit through any class, so I decided to give my dad a call. I tell him what's
going on, what my mom's response is and to all that he says, “I'm at work so you’re out of luck.”
Thanks dad.
Just as I get off the phone with him my aunt sends me a text, “be there to get you soon”.
I don't know who called her but I was grateful, she grabbed me from school and drove me home. We
didn't talk much but the recent health issue of COVID-19 got brought up. It wasn't a huge thing, just
a little flu taking place in other countries.
I walked in the front door of my house and was greeted by Bella, my little mutt. I still felt horrible. I
made it to the couch and closed my eyes.
I said to myself “I wish I never had to go back to that school.”
What a wish that was. Never actually thought it’d work but here I am, haven't been to school in 5
weeks and won't be going back anytime soon.
Everyone says it's because of the coronavirus, and I mean I will say it is spreading like wildfire and it's
a pretty serious disease but I think the world was just listening to my wish and made it come true.
Well, now that you know the full story you can see how I, Alice Ledword, started a worldwide
pandemic. And I didn’t even have to eat a bat.

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 The Virus
by Connor Shaffer (2020)

A virus has spread throughout the world, called MCD. This virus causes you’re your
brain to swell, causing you to be extremely angry and violent. Essentially turning
you into a zombie. This virus is spread just by direct contact with someone else with
the virus. Side effects are almost instantaneous, they include nausea and a
dramatic increase in temperature. You are advised to kill anyone with the virus on
sight. The government has gone into a complete panic and the are no more laws, the
only goal for anyone is to survive. The amount of people left in the word who are not
infected decreases every single day. A 22-year-old man named Miami does his best
to survive by using as many safety precautions as possible all the time. Miami is in
search for any other people in the world and decides to make his way from New
York and will try to make it all the way through the country to California. Due to
there being no gas stations open, he will have to loot abandoned stores and switch
what car he drives along the way. In his travels, he finds another man, about 20
years older, Wisco. Wisco is a much straighter forward, bold kind of person. But he
seems to have a soft spot. He always talks about his “companion”, Jake. He always
talks about before the virus and how much time he would spend with Jake. Miami
and Wisco decided to team up with each other and go across the country to
California with each other. These two are complete opposites but with the mix
between a nervous, precautionary person ad someone who just wants to get things
done but it somehow works because Miami reminds Wisco of Jake. Along the way
through their travels, they have to defend themselves from these zombie-like people
who only want to kill them. They have to stop and loot stores for food with these
people in them and would have to fight for their survival just to eat. While they are
sharing their pasts with each other on a drive through Mississippi, Wisco tells
Miami that Jake wasn’t just his companion, he was his son. When the catastrophe
struck, Wisco did everything he possibly could to protect him. But one day, he woke
up and his son had started showing symptoms. With no cure, Wisco knew what he
would have to do but he couldn’t kill his own son and best friend. He stayed with

45
him as long as he possibly could which was only a few hours until he knew that he
had to leave. This made Miami realize that the reason Wisco stayed with him is
because he wanted to make up for losing his son and have a second chance and help
Miami with his goals and treat him as his own son. Along their way they came
across more people in Oklahoma. There was a boy and a girl, siblings. Oakland and
Montana. They both have been in hiding and haven’t had food for 2 days. They
begged Wisco and Miami for help, but they did not want any more people with them
to slow them down or potentially turn against them and get them killed. They
finally arrived in California where Miami had been waiting to go too, but it was not
what he expected. He expected salvation from the rest of the world and would be
able to finally rest. But California was just as bad as the rest of the world. This had
been Miami’s dream for months. He no longer knew what he wanted to do. There
was really no one else left in the world and he realized that this could be the ed of
the world. He believed that he was going to die right there. Wisco talked to him and
told him that before he found Miami, he thought it was the end of the world for him,
but Miami gave him hope. Miami realizes that he needs to keep searching for people
so he can come to peace with himself and rest. They pack back up and start heading
north, for Canada. They finally reach Canada. They find a base of people who aren’t
infected and can live there for a while and wait for the world to rebuild itself. The
search was finally over. Miami and Wisco could finally be happy around people that
didn’t want to kill them. They stayed there and eventually this virus died out and
everyone could go back to living a normal life again, with the exception that over
100 million people had died.

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 Julia’s Story
by Marion Falise (2020)

Hi, I’m Julia and it was about halfway through my senior year of high school when 2020
started and things were pretty normal. I live in a small town where nothing big ever really
happens. There was some talk about WW3, but no one really thought too much into it. We
would talk about all the normal stuff boys, homework, and what we were going to do for
the weekend. Of course, the one thing that were most excited for was summer. We would
sit and daydream about what we would do for those endless summer days and how we just
wanted to get out of school. In the beginning of January, we were in school and my friend
Elizabeth came up to me and said, “Have you heard what’s going on over in China?” And of
course, I said no because I had no idea what she was talking about. I immediately went on
Twitter and what I saw amazed me, people had been catching a pretty deadly virus and
China had just reported its first death. Of course, I wasn’t worried yet because how could a
virus spread so fast, right? As the month moved on into February things started to get a little
worse, the first death was reported outside of China and airports had shut down all flights to
China. A few weeks into February the virus had developed a name, COVID-19. Not long
after it had a name the virus had caused its first death in Europe. At the end of February
things started to get even more serious and Italy had started to lock down towns. The virus
had officially spread to the U.S and things were no longer just concerning; they were getting
scary.
As we went into a new month my cheerleading team and I were going to our state
competition that weekend and it was huge. There were people from all over the state and it
was a very cool thing to see. The crowds were huge, and people were packed like sardines,
weird to think about doing anything like that now. My friend Josh had come to the
competition to support me and a few other teammates and we were talking and he said, “Do
you think that they’ll shut down businesses around here?”, I said “They’re going to have to
do something because this virus is spreading pretty quick.” Not even 4 days later our
President told us that we were going under a national emergency, 4 days after that it was
announced that we weren’t allowed to have gatherings of over 50 people. After that was
said there was only one question running through my brain, what about graduation? It was
told to us that schools were being closed along with all other unessential businesses. They
told us that the schools were only going to be closed for a month, not to worry and to do
our work online. After this was announced there was no more talk about boys, homework
or the weekend, just the virus.
It was approaching a month since they had shut down schools and parents and students knew
that school wasn’t going to re-open and they were just waiting for the dreaded email. Things
had gotten very crazy within that one month. In the small town where nothing ever
happened people were wearing masks and gloves everywhere and everyone was terrified.
People were told to stay in their homes unless it was necessary for them to leave. Millions of

47
people all over the world were losing their jobs due to this and unemployment rates haven’t
been higher in a long time. The day before schools were supposed to re-open, they got the
email. In the email it states that schools were to be closed for another month and people
were to stay in their homes. The students had so many mixed feelings about this time
because they didn’t want to be in school, but they didn’t want it to be like this. They
weren’t allowed to see their friends, they weren’t allowed to go to the mall, take vacations
or even enjoy their spring break. We sat inside and did homework.
It was the middle of April at this point and there were so many questions swirling around at
this point, when would it end, when would we be able to leave our houses, and the biggest
one was when will there be a cure? No one had the answers to these questions f course so
that caused even more chaos. It caused many rumors to start and many people had their own
beliefs, I didn’t know what to believe. We didn’t know if we would be in the house for
another month, two months, maybe even three. But if that were the case then the summer
that me and my friends had been dreaming about since the beginning of our senior year. The
summer before we go into the actual world and the summer that we would remember
forever. Even after summer ended what would happen to colleges, would we do online
school? It’s said that even after the virus has come to a halt that it will pick up again and that
it could possibly be seasonal. You may as well have just said this pandemic is going to change
our lives forever.

48
 The Seniors
by Harley Wakeman

Coronavirus. It was all that was on my mind the days following the announcement that the
NCAA Division 1 March Madness Tournament had been canceled. I was in shock that all of my
hard work and dedication would go to waste for this final year. Sure, we still had the regular
season, but everyone knows that the most important part for all D1 players is March Madness.
My basketball season, and most likely career, had been destroyed by something out of my
control.
My college classes have also been canceled. I drove from my dorm at Houston University back
to my hometown Waco when the virus shut everything down. I’m one of the lucky ones that
has a family to support me through this obstacle, and all other obstacles in my life. There’s
me, Hunter, my parents Simon and Carol, and my brother Brian. They help keep my mind off
this tragic situation. They’re the main protection I have from my own thoughts.
Since the virus I’ve been having heartfelt conversations with my family, and distracting myself
with Video Games and Movies. I’ve also messaged my teammates and asked how they’re
doing and what their plans are after the season. Many of them are hoping to get drafted or are
returning to the team next season. I know that neither of these things are attainable for me.
I’ve been a lowly bench player throughout my career, and I’m now a senior. I have no chance
of being chosen for the NBA, or of returning next season. These thoughts have clogged my
mind and I can’t seem to break through them no matter what I do. What if the season was
never canceled? What if I became the hero for my team and became a household name? What
if Houston University would’ve cut down the nets because of me, and this virus has destroyed
all of that? My opportunities and hopes have been crushed.
“Good morning”, my dad said as he entered the kitchen to make some cereal. He saw that I
was currently invested in my phone. “What are you looking at?” he questioned. I’d been
looking at articles about the possible eligibility extension for current seniors. “Nothing, just

49
Instagram” I responded. I didn’t want to get my family’s hopes up. Eligibility has never been
extended due to a virus or world event before. I concluded that it was a lost cause. “Well me
and your mother were discussing going on a walk at Cameron Park.” my father said. I was
quick to answer, “Sounds great.” I had been looking for a way to get out with the family during
these times. “OK, were going to leave at 10 if that sounds good to you.” he said. “Alright, I
can’t wait.” I said as I retreated back to my room to watch more TV.
Walking through the wooded landscapes of Cameron Park was a great way to calm myself and
think more clearly and freely of my situation. During our walk, Brian said “What’s been on your
mind Hunter?” “The future”, I retorted bluntly. “Yeah, I know man” Brain said. “Well what about
it?”, my dad added. “If I’ll ever play basketball again, and what I’ll do without it.” I explained.
“You need to let basketball go for now, Honey,” My mom said, “It’ll eat you up inside and
moving on to other things like getting a job will help your mind focus on that instead of
Basketball.” “Your mother’s right, Hunter. You need to change your focuses and priorities for
now.” Reinforced my dad. “I can see where you guys are coming from, but it’s easier said than
done.” I argued. “That’s why we’re here,” my mom said,” We can help you move your mind to
other things. That’s family.” I realized then how important family was in difficult times. I realized
how much I take them for granted, and how I should be grateful that I had people to help me.
Sports were so much less important to me than my family, and it would be foolish of me to let
it eat me up when the things most important in my life were still right in front of me. “Mom,
you’re right. I need to realize how lucky I am to have you guys, and work with you to refocus.”,
I agreed. “Were always with you, Hunter.” My dad said.
That afternoon I was doing my usual quarantine things, sleeping and playing games. I took a
look at my phone while waiting for a game to start. My phone notification read, “2020 NCAA
seniors given 2021 eligibility.” I sprinted down the stairs and ran into the living room where my
whole family was. I shouted, “You guys need to see this.”

50
 This Isn’t Reality; Its Some Fake Perception
by Anna Pluff (2020)

All evening Andrea was so excited to get ready for her school’s dance that
was previously cancelled. She had been waiting weeks to get ready with her best
friend and wear her new dress. Even though she knew that it didn’t match with the
theme of the dance, she figured that it was on brand for her anyways.
She went to the dance that night and had an amazing time. After all, what’s
better than a night of dancing with a bunch of friends? She never could’ve known
that it would be the last interaction with her friends for a while.
Earlier in that week, there was talking of the COVID 19 virus. Students were
talking about other schools and colleges closing down already because of the
risks associated with it. Andrea was a skeptic though. She never thought that
school would close down, let alone the country. “Yeah, it's a virus, but how could
they close school this late in the school year?” That was Andrea’s constant
response to all of her peers. Nothing. Nothing has ever happened like this in her
life. Her and her peers had learned about 9/11 in history class numerous times but
figured that a national emergency that was caused by something so severe like
that would never happen in her life.
That's just it. When people hear about these historical events, they never
think that they, themselves will ever experience it in their lives. But that's when
the denial sits in because as society, people don't want to think that something
like that could occur while they have to deal with it in their lives. So many people
live blindly to concerns like that, and rightfully so, because if one was constantly
focused on what the next catastrophe could be, they would lose sanity.
The weekend after the dance, Andrea saw her friends from other schools
being ordered to stay home until further notice. Andrea had wondered what her
school district would be deciding. Then the call came. Her school was closed until
April 14th. She was shocked. It finally hit her that this was real. The state was
actually in a national emergency. This was being considered a pandemic caused
by COVID 19.
At first Andrea got stressed because she had no clue what would happen
with schoolwork or the tests that she’d have to take to apply for college next year.
Then she realized that she couldn’t do anything about it. It wasn’t her fault.
Everybody else was going through the same thing that she was. She felt relieved
knowing that she was in the same boat as others. Excitement even started to
overcome her, knowing that she’d be able to sleep in and watch as much Netflix
as she wanted. “Wow. Maybe this is the mini vacation that I need, away from all
51
of this school pressure.” She had been pushing herself all year, to juggle college
classes and extracurriculars. Maybe this was heaven sent.
Weeks went by. The work sent by teachers started trickling in. School
couldn’t just stop after all. Andrea was relaxing, and spending time outside and
with her family. Things were okay. Then Andrea realized that she needed to start
her work at some point. She began completing it. Then the temptation of her
phone became too much. Andrea knew that she had dealt with problems with
procrastination before, but that's how she rolled. The pressure of last-minute
assignments allowed her to focus and give much more effort to her work. It
always worked in the past. So, knowing this, she thought she could continue to
put off the work.
School closings were lengthened by the state until May 15th, and behind the
scenes the work was piling up more than she could’ve imagined. She continued to
stay up until early in the morning and wake up in the late morning/early
afternoon. She started to feel like she was wasting the days away but shoved
down those thoughts. She was on “vacation” and didn’t need to worry about
what time she woke up. Or so she thought.
One morning, Andrea was awoken by her phone going off. She ignored the
notification. When she finally woke up, her phone was blown up by teachers. “Hi
Andrea, just a friendly reminder to get some work into your classes. Just because
you’re out of school doesn’t mean that you don’t have work to get completed.
This usually isn’t like you. I hope everything is well!” Andrea ignored it. She found
out that her school was closed until further notice by the state. “They can’t force
me to do any work. I’m not physically in school!” She continued to justify her
actions, knowing deep down that they would have consequences.
It was weeks later, and the country was still in the midst of the pandemic with no
hope of it ending in sight. Andrea continued to put things off and not pay
attention to her future. It was almost as if not doing her work was a way to cope
with the reality of her situation. Her situation being that she hadn’t had social
interaction in months with her friends or people around her, even though she did
get out in public where everyone wore masks. She quickly realized that going out
in public wasn’t what she thought it was when you don’t have people around you
to make it enjoyable. She was slowly slipping into insanity even though she felt
fine, catching herself doing things she wouldn’t normally have because she didn’t
want to come across as crazy or something. But no one was there to point that out
to her now. She also gave up looking at a calendar because it was just a constant
reminder of the days that she wasted away.

52
 Finally, her family became concerned. They wanted Andrea to keep hope
because this quarantine wouldn’t last forever even though it seemed like it would.
Maybe this was just what the world needed to get things back in check, because
people live in constant chaos without realizing it.
Andrea took what her parents said to heart and came to the conclusion that
even though the world seems like it's on pause and reality no longer exists, it
would come to an end. She still had a future ahead of her that hadn’t even started
yet. Andrea knew she couldn’t continue to live with her bad habits and create a
future for herself that she wanted. So, she got to work, focusing on her future, and
not the overcasting reality of the current pandemic.

53
 Young Corona
by Emily Babbitt (2020)

As a young boy Corona was always picked on, because of his loudmouth. His biggest enemy was
Mr. Deckham, Mr. Deckham was their school’s Science teacher who dabbled in the arts of
English with a good book. Mr. Deckham was the biggest bully to Corona; he would bring up
Coronas’ failing grades every chance he got. Corona was not the most attractive kid either, he
had braces, knotty hair, baggy clothes, and is always on his phone in class. Little did Mr.
Deckham and all the other students at his school know he was planning an awful revenge.
During thanksgiving break some new spread around the high school that the head cheerleader
China caught the flu with very severe symptoms. But with being the head cheerleader she had
to come to school and stay home and keep herself in her room locked up and away from
society. As the days went on Mr. Deckham noticed that Corona wasn’t attending his third block
chemistry class and decided to call home.
“Hello, is this Mrs. Covid?”
‘hi! Yes, this is. May I ask what this phone call is in regards too?”
“Mrs. Covid this phone call is in regards of Corona, he hasn’t shown up to my third block
chemistry class since before Thanksgiving.”
“Oh Mr. Deckham. Corona has been worried sick about Chemistry, you see he has a whole
laboratory in our basement. Corona has become ill the last couple of weeks. He decided it
would be best to keep himself in the basement until he feels better.”
“Well okay then I will send some work home for him, have a nice day Mrs. Covid.”
Deckham sat back in his classroom chair and become overwhelmed with a feeling of suspicion
and doubt. Deckham decided he was going to investigate Mr. Corona’s sickness.
During this time more and more people were coming down with this illness that started with
China, so Deckham called China to his office. “China, I have a few questions for you.”
“Yes sir?”
“Did you get tested for the flu? Have you had contact with Corona Covid before Thanksgiving
break? And what were some odd symptoms you had?”

54
“Mr. Deckham, I get the flu two to three times a year, my parents don’t test me, but this time
was different, I had a loss of smell and taste, raging headache and body aches, I couldn’t
breathe for a while, and I was sick for two weeks. Right before thanksgiving break me and a
Corona were hanging out working on a project about bats for extra credit and after that I
became ill.”
“Ok thank you China, you’re dismissed.”
Deckham decided to make a list of all the victims of this illness and test them for multiple
illnesses. His list was very short, China, Italy, and US. He decided to make a plan called “Our
high school on pause plan” He sent the three kids’ home to isolate for fourteen days or until
their symptoms are completely gone. At this point Corona has still not come out of his house.
When Deckham arrived at the house of the Covid, he was shocked to see Corona open the
door. Corona took Deckham down to the basement to look at his lab.
“So, Corona why haven’t I seen you around school?”
“Well after seeing a lot of kids sent home I decided, I didn’t want to chance being sick. Would
you like a drink Deckham?” Corona said with crazy eyes.
“Sure kid.” Out of the corner of his eye Deckham could see Corona but some powder in the
drink and Deckham knew that was the virus that the other kids got. After receiving the cup
Deckham said “Thank you kid.”
Deckham did not drink the water, he knew better. Corona excused himself to use the
bathroom, due to the amount of ice cream he ate. So Deckham stared to look for something to
bring to the police to investigate. Deckham found a baggie for black powder and put it in his
pocket. After leaving the Covid household Deckham put on gloves a mask and went straight to
the police and turned in the young boy for cause a grand pandemic in their high school. After
the police gathered all the evidence and put Corona in juvenile detention an order was put out
for the entire staff and student body to go home and self-isolate and social distance for 2 weeks
then return to life as normal.

55
 A COVID Story
by Melisa Button (2020)

It was 2020 when all hell in society broke lose. I was only 18 years old and a senior in high
school when the unimaginable happened and now I’m 56 and still remember it like it was
yesterday. I woke up one morning and it was a beautiful day outside I went downstairs to see
my mom and dad watching the news. I sat next to my mom and there was our president on the
news and the headline was “COVID-19 EVERYONE IS BEING QUARANTINED STAY
HOME”. I didn’t know what it meant so I shrugged it off and started getting ready for school. I
was just about to head out the door when my father stopped me and asked where I was going.
I said, “I’m going to school it’s Monday dad” and he said “no, no one is going to school until
April 15th.” “Didn’t you see on the news everyone is being quarantined as of right now people
are being unemployed, and kids are not going to school.” I went back up in my room and
texted my friends asking them what’s going on. My friend Ashley replied with “I don’t know all
the details, no one does but there is this disease called the “Corona Virus” and it’s killing a lot
of people especially the elderly and people who have weak immune systems.” I said, “What
about prom, senior dinner dance, spring sports and most importantly our graduation?” She said,
“I’m not sure they could reschedule it, or we could have our diplomas mailed to us...” My little
brother Sammy came up in my room and was in tears. “Connor, why am I not in school, am I
going to get sick and die like those people?” I pulled him onto my bed and into my arms. “No
Sammy everything is going to be okay I’m here to protect you okay? Ill teach you what you
would be learning in school. What did you leave of with?” In the back of my mind I knew things
were not okay, but he can’t know he is only a kid. “I left of with learning the days of the week”
“alright” I said “today you will learn the days of the week I have a little song for you to help
remember” As I start singing the song as he sings along I realize something. What if this never
stops, what if this virus kills the people we love.

April 14th came along and there was a new announcement that was made on the news. “DUE
TO THE PANDEMIC SCHOOLS ARE NOW CLOSED TILL APRIL 29TH AND NEW WAYS
TO GRADUTAING HAVE BEEN MADE” I ask my mom what that meant, she said she got a
phone call from my principle saying all June 2020 regents are cancelled. I ask her about
graduation and spring sports and prom, she said those decisions haven’t been made yet. New
rules were put into place, if it is necessary to leave you house stay 6 ft away from everyone and
in store limited people are allowed in at a time. I woke up the next morning to my mother
crying on the couch I ask her, “What’s wrong, why are you crying?” “Your grandmother is in
the hospital right now they think she has the virus” she says with tears rolling down her face.

56
“I’m so sorry mom, is she being tested? have they found a cure? A million-questions raced into
my mind. The thing I feared most about this all was losing a loved one. I couldn’t hold back the
tears no more before one dropped, I quickly ran up into my room and closed the door. Tears
ran down my face, I didn’t know what to do anymore. I got on my knees and prayed to god.
“Dear lord please get rid of this virus I can’t lose my grandmother she means the world to me.
What can I do to help?”

The following week I did everything with my family with the fear of losing them. We played
basketball, did yard work, went for walks. While we were eating dinner that night, we got a
phone call from the hospital. My mom answered and was on the phone or a long time. I paced
back and forth wondering what they were talking about. Thirty minutes later my mom hung up
the phone and she said that my grandmother is making a recovery. It was brilliant news to hear,
I was filled with joy. My mom was watching the news and the governor was saying that the
number of people infected has been going down drastically and told us to keep doing what
we’re doing. After hearing that I had a sense of hope. Maybe his will be over soon, and we will
go back the 29th. It was Monday the 27th and my mom called me downstairs and told me to sit
down. “I have some news for you.” “The school called and said that students will be going back
on Wednesday.” I was so happy the pandemic was almost over. I ran upstairs and got on my
knees. “Thank you, lord, thank you for saving us. Thank you for saving my grandmother. Most
of all, thank you for saving me.”

“Wow grandpa, that was an amazing story! Do you think it will happen to us…?” “No Lucy,
everything going to be perfect for you and Georgia.”

57
 Diesel
by Tyler Congden

My name is Diesel and I’m gonna tell you how my life went during the
2020 pandemic with the corona virus. It was April, we were having the
time of our lives. Seniors were excited to graduate, juniors were excited
for prom, and people were excited for spring sports. I was excited for
my prom and baseball to start and my girlfriend Kinsely was excited for
Softball. We practiced with each other every day and she was excited for
prom although I wasn’t because it was scheduled on my eighteenth
birthday which sucked but I she is happy I’m happy. We were going to
the ball field today because tomorrow was the first day of tryouts, but
my mom called me from my room and told me about how we were
being quarantined. “Diesel, have you heard of the corona virus yet” “No”
I replied. “We are all being quarantined no one can leave their house,
and students will be schooled online.” “For how long?” I said. “As of
right now till April 15th” I went to my room to go call Kinsley and tell
her the news. She must have just found out as well since she was in
tears on the phone. She was worried about her softball season because
she only has one more year and then she won’t be able to play again.
I assured her that things will be okay. Later that week I went outside to
go in the woods to go fishing in the crick. While I was out there, I
couldn’t stop thinking about this whole thing. Will it ever end? What if I
lose Kinsley or my family? I caught a couple trout and went back to the
house to get them cleaned and ready to eat. My little sister was sitting
on the couch on call with her teacher for her math class and my mother
was helping my father do chores. I went to my room and went to bed.
The week of April 15th came, and I went into the living room and
turned on the tv. Our governor was on and said that schools will be
continued to be out until April 29th now. My coach texted me and said
that as of right now spring sports are still going to happen due to the
fact June 2020 regents are cancelled. More and more people are being
tested positive and a lot are passing away. I tried not to think about it

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but it’s all that comes to mind. A tear starts coming down my face. My
dog Remington comes onto my bed and starts to comfort me in my time
of need. I turn on my tv and start to play warzone with my friend Cody.
As we were playing time passes and I start to not think about it as
much as I was earlier. The next week came along and I was helping
my dad do yard work and building a pond. We were going to put some
koi fish in there once this was all over, if it ended. My little sister
wanted me to come play basketball with her, so I did. We played PIG
and around the world for a little bit and I let her win. We went inside
once we were done and my mom called us into the kitchen and told us
that the spread of the virus is going down dramatically and that we are
going back to school the 29th. I went to my room and told my girlfriend
she was so happy that she was going to have her season. A lot of the
patients who were infected are recovering to all thanks to the nurses and
scientists who have been doing an amazing job. My little sister came in
and told me that she was happy that she was going to finish her school
year and will be able to see all her teachers and friends again. I was
happy that my loved ones weren’t affected and that I could finish out my
junior year. The year 2020 was definitely a year that I will never forget
and that will go down in history.

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 COVID-19
by Gary LaParr (2020)

It all started in China with the outbreak and it quickly swept its way to the United States. Cooper was
just a small kid in a small town not even bothered by what he heard about this virus. He didn’t think it
could happen where he lived, I mean after all he lived in the middle of nowhere right?

The news constantly had talk on it about this virus that made it hard for you to breath and could
possibly put you in the hospital. It just kept getting worse and worse so eventually the President and
Governor had to step in and take action. All businesses were closed, and schools had to close too,
Cooper realized it was getting bad and he was scared he would get it to. He had asthma so he knew it
could be bad for him to get it. His mom decided to make sure he didn’t go anywhere just so he would
safer from potentially getting it and ending up in the hospital or worse yet die. Cooper was watching the
news and heard no one could travel so he quickly ran to his mom and said, “ Mom we can’t travel
anywhere how are we going to get food?” his mom hugged him and said, “ Don’t worry we can still
leave to get food don’t be silly.” Cooper still didn’t feel any relief from what his mom said but he
decided to not let it bother him. He stayed home every day and helped with cleaning up the yard with
his brothers and he continued with his schoolwork hoping that eventually it would all go away. He tried
to keep himself distracted by doing different things just so he wouldn’t have to think about it. Just when
he thought he would be able to go back to school the school called and said they were closed until April
14th now. The President was implementing new ways to deal with it by putting on masks when out in
public with people and social distancing so you had to be 6 feet away from another person so we could
try to slow this COVID-19 virus down. Coopers family tried to not even leave their yard; they only went
out if absolutely necessary to get groceries. Stores were even getting serious about it too because they
started putting tape on the floor where you had to stand so you didn’t get to close to someone else
when in line to pay for your groceries. They put up plastic shield things on the registers so that there
was a barrier between the cashier and the person buying groceries. Things seemed to be getting pretty
real it seemed to Cooper and then his mom got the call from school that they would now be out till at
least April 30th to see if this would get better. So now Cooper was doing virtual online learning every
day at home with his brothers. That seemed to be working just fine, but he still wished he could go back
to school. When he wasn’t doing homework, he was trying to get outside as much as possible. He
would go explore the woods or ride his go cart and four-wheeler. At least keeping busy was helping
him so he didn’t have to think about it so much. Hopefully it will end soon.

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 As of now Cooper and his family are just doing what they need to do to get along while waiting
for this all to end. The news says every day is getting closer to an end but they still wanna go slow in
opening things up, so it doesn’t make the situation worse again. Cooper isn’t sure if the school will
open back up at the end of this COVID-19 situation but he knows regardless if it does he did his best
to focus on what he needed to do to be sure he learned all he needed to for school. So, the only thing
Cooper can be sure of is that he has his family and they are all safe and healthy and just waiting for
this all to end. He knows there is a light at the end of this all.

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COVID Poems
by Teresa Thompson (2020)

Poem 1

You come in waves

And suffocate me sweetly
When I think I’m okay
You sneak in so discreetly

Each time we meet

You wear a new face
Always different
You know how to greet me

My hands grew cold

Eyes grow weary
So sad I hurt the ones
Who love me dearly

Nights become days

And the days grow so long
A never-ending
Melancholy song

Poem 2

The winds are wild

The lightning strikes
The thunder booms
The storm is coming

The storm represents your fears

And all that you have run away from
They’ve come back for their revenge
Will you face it or run away?

Run away like you did before

let your friends fall like you did before
or face it like you should
help them like you should

chin held high and heart strong

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your blood races
the lightning strikes , the thunder Booms
you will not run away
you will fight

Poem 3

I have a dream I was poisoned with Distress

Hidden deep in the weeping willows
We’re all things are dark and gloomy
It’s a place where all Time stops
Nothing moves, just sadness
There’s so much grief
You can’t imagine the pain in your heart
When you’re there it just seems like it’s you go in a trance
From all the sinus friend in your life and others
What is this Just a dream
or
reality?

Poem 4

If you are anxious that all have been asked to stay home
Take comfort in knowing you’re not alone

Tonight at eight wherever you are

Gaze up at the sky and pick out a star

A moment alone or with people you love

We all share the beautiful sky high above

Take 30 seconds but still in your mind

Reflect on a happy most memorable time

The littlest things can give hearts a lift

if we pause take a moment and cherish our gifts

Poem 5

It is in the dark of night

when insomnia sings me awake

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To the tune of lullabies in rhythm of mindful blight
It is the spotlight of watchful moon in the flickering of uncertain stars
That cradle my fear and anxious thoughts they croon
It is in the view of sunshine where unwanted thoughts stem waiting and ripening in my head
until around my throat that they twine
And echoing in my mind is blissful song of insomnia sewing itself into my skin and daylight
leaves me behind

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 COVID-19
by Shaina Turo

Sue, the essential worker that works at Walmart. She is at high risk working with the public of
catching the Covid-19 virus. Based on the square footage of the store the limit of people is 766
at one time. So really that isn’t a limit I feel it should be around 200 people in the store. To
decrease the chances of catching the coronavirus. Store hours have been changed to help stock
shelves and clean. Seniors can shop only Tuesdays at certain times to keep the seniors safe.
They are also at high risk, the older you get the more medical problems you have. Registers
need to be cleaned with disinfectant spray after each customer. Some customers get frustrated
waiting and start putting groceries on the register belt anyway. Glass shields have been put up
to limit contact with the customers. Gloves and mask or available if you want to wear them.
Less contact the better. There are shortages on items at the stores from people over buying.
Limiting items customers are buying is a good idea because people are panic buying and
purchasing more of certain items than needed. And by doing this it saves an item for the next
person. People are not taking the coronavirus seriously. To get this under control stay home
and don’t put more people at risk.

This virus is affecting small businesses owners, Restaurant’s, Medical Offices, and all Non-
Essentials. Restaurants tried to save themselves from shutting down by doing online orders and
carry out only. Most didn’t make enough in sales to stay up and running. Many businesses have
closed, and people have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and debt too far to reopen. There are
over 3 million people on unemployment. Business owners are trying for loans, but some are not
eligible to get a loan. Marketing is very important to try and save small businesses by having
deals & sales to draw in customers. Businesses are losing customers and employees out of
concern of exposing themselves to greater risks. Employees are also, taking themselves out of
work with no pay and not being eligible for unemployment. Families are going to be really
struggling to pay bills and to buy food. With this being said there will be a lot more theft, and
laws broken. People are getting worried about Mortgages that still need to be paid. Bills are
piling up and people are going bankrupt due to the lack of jobs. Some businesses may not
reopen. The businesses that do reopen it’s going to take a long time to get everything up and
running back to the way it was.

Also, Social Distancing includes Schools being closed to try and get the virus under control. It
was a good idea to close all the Schools and send the college students home. This will decrease
the risk of getting the virus and spreading it to others. Keeping people apart so they are not
breathing and coughing on one another. Some bad things about school being closed is doing
online schooling and some people don’t have internet to keep in touch with teachers. Students

65
will have anxiety, and more stress worrying about keeping up on work. Also, worried about not
graduating in time. School closing has impacted the class of 2020 the most because the senior
class was cut short and they won’t have a graduation after completing 12 years of schooling.

Social distancing can be good for all of us. It gives everyone more time with their families and
finding new hobbies like painting, cooking, skateboarding, getting in shape, eating healthier,
fishing, boxing, learning a language etc. The downside of social distancing is not being able to
hang out with friends and go out and do things like go to the movies, mall, hiking etc. But social
media keeps everyone connected. Summer is not going to be as enjoyable this year, with
campgrounds, water parks, state fair, parades, harbor fest, family reunions, and parties
happening. This is going to cause people depression, and more anxiety. They can’t get out of
the house and hang out with people. This will cause more health issues for some.

In conclusion 2020 will always be remembered. Many people have died and businesses have
shut down permanently.
If people listen and stay 6ft apart (if they have to go out), wash their hands, disinfect and only
go out when absolutely needed the virus will be under control and everyone can return to
normal.
Be safe, stay home and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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 COVID-19
by Jada Johnson (2020)

This story begins with theses group of teens that travel to New York City, who get
stuck at the hotel in New York City and now are in lock down. They all thought it
would be a good thing to go and find a place to stay so they pick New York city to
travel with one another since their all going to different colleges at the end of the
senior year. But now they all understand that it was not a good idea to go to the
biggest pollution because the new virus is going around there because the city has a
lot of people in it. And since nobody understands what stay in and not go places in
less you need food or drinks now it is spreading even more. Matt is the smart one he
always comes up with a plan that helps everyone to not stress about what is going
on. Alyssa is the one who talks a lot but doesn’t understand how serious things can
get she one that party a lot. Derek is the one who is going to medical school he
knows a lot about what is going on. Beth is very quiet person who doesn’t really like
to go places she is very smart when it comes down to science. Matt: what are we
going to do since we are in lock down? Derek: we all need to keep clam do what they
say so that we all don’t get what’s going around. then the girls have a better plan.
Alyssa: I think we could sneak out and go to a party because it’s not that bad of
idea. Beth: I think that’s also a good idea but I could throw the party so that we
don’t have to go out we could order so food and drinks have a little party of our own
so we don’t have to leave the hotel or get caught by other people and get shut down
by the cops. Matt: I don’t think that is a good idea but I’ll tell you what would sound
like a good idea is staying away from each other staying put so that we don’t get a
ticket from the cops and get in trouble I spoke with all our parent and they agreed
to us staying put so that we don’t get what everyone else s getting. You guys should
not throw a party even if the two of you. Dereck: I think I agree with matt you guys
don’t need to go out or each other rooms because we just got here and you could
already have the virus it doesn’t show until couple days you don’t know if you guys
have already got it or not our best bet is to stay put until they come up with a better
plan for everyone make sure you guys what the news to see what I mean there are a
lot of people getting sick of the virus it may be for older people but still there’s lot of
new born and younger kids can get it there are some teens that got it but recovered
from it. I know I’m not a doctor, but I do believe our best bet is to stay put and
believe in our doctors will find a bacterium that will help all of us people that will
be sick. Alyssa: but I am bored I can’t believe that this even happen this our last
year we should be able to do what we want this shouldn’t have happen to us. We
deserve this break from school and life. this trip was to get away from everything

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and have fun now the plans have changed because of the virus. Now we are stuck
here just to be in this hotel that we can’t see each other we can only face time about
what is everyone doing it sucks. We probably won’t even get our graduation or even
walk on the stage because of this virus I can’t believe this is happening to us. Beth:
I know its sucks, but we must listen to the boys they have a point of staying and
stuff I know this is bad for us. So, everyone stays safe we will get through this
together until we come up with a different plan. Matt: I might have a different plan
but our parents told us to stay here until everything is okay but we could take the
train home so that we sneak out and go home to our families I know it may so sound
bad but it will work so that we all make it home. Does anyone agree with the second
plan? Dereck: I don’t like the plan but it will get me home so I wouldn’t mind even
though our chances of getting this is not so high, but I want to go home to my mom.
Alyssa: I think this is a good plan it gets us home and it’s a safer way to get there
especially since its four of us and we can’t gather in places. So, this is our best bet
guys. Beth: I agree with you all I want to go home and see my family I miss them
very much it’s gonna be hard with our parents help being here with us so we are
just gonna travel back this was a very hard time to come all at once we will need to
make plans before colleges next year when this virus blows away . Matt: okay
everyone make sure you are all ready for tomorrow so that we all get on the train
make sure you know what time and what bus to take so meet me at the train so
that I will give you all the things you need to make it home in time meet me at 9.00
am so that you got time to eat a quick meal before leaving and enough time to pack
all of the stuff you brought. Be ready don’t miss the bus guys. Derek: I will be there
on time don’t you worry Matt I will get all the hand sandier stuff we need to use on
the bus and some masks so that we don’t get sick or someone doesn’t pass it to us.
Alyssa: seen you guys soon get a night of sleep be on time like Matt said goodnight
everyone sees you soon. And thank you Derek for the stuff that we will need on the
train. Matt: have a good night everyone sees you then. Next morning matt:
Everyone made it safe no one Is feeling sick or anything. everyone is feeling fine
alright here’s everyone ticket that you need make sure you give it to the man that is
on the train. Matt: It was a long ride home we finally made it home we all are in
good health nobody feels sick or anything are parents were so mad nut they were
happy that we made it home.

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 COVID Poems
by Maddie Shafer

Poem #1

Toilet paper
Neither here, nor there
Pacing down the aisles, all going in one direction
People hoarding all the precious toilet paper
Needing to wipe their butts
They buy close to 40 rolls or more, why?
Do they have IBS? How often are they eating Mexican food?
Do they know that they’re robbing people?
Robbing people of their basic necessities, not giving a care for others
No regard for other human life, no regard for the elderly
No care for the people who can’t take care of themselves efficiently
They take and take and take, but for what?
To return it all back to the store once life goes returns to normal?
Toilet paper could take over the American dollar as the currency
That’s how badly people hoard the precious TP
Wiping their butts with soft cotton
As where some, have to wipe with newspaper or leaves
As they have to use these things more, their hemorrhoids grow
They grow and grow, till they’re reduced to sitting on a doughnut
Then watch how stupid these people look when they return the product
Toilet paper

Poem #2

Social Distancing
The isolation is slowly killing me
My family is driving me absolutely crazy
My mom’s car was broken into, credit card and ID stolen
Her wedding rings fell off in her sleep, she freaked out
As it turns out, they had just fallen off in her sleep
She tried to go to work, her car failed and wouldn’t turn over
She took my precious Rhonda to work, at least she didn’t wreck her
However, my seat was moved backwards, I wasn’t very happy about that
I miss my friends, I miss my small group, I miss the laughs
We still facetime, text, talk, all of that. I just crave their presence
The presence of someone other than my immediate family is all I want
I grocery shop for my great uncle and grandparents, it’s enjoyable
It gets me away from my family, I can turn up my music and just vibe

69
I’m enjoying the time I can spend with my dogs, I miss them during the school day
They make getting work done difficult because they just want to play
I give in to them and then I get lazy and don’t complete it
I don’t miss the stupidity of the teenagers at school
I don’t miss the wild parties seen on Snapchat, they were always overrated
Social Distancing, 6 feet apart is starting to feel like 6 years without other humans

Poem #3
.
The Lacrosse season that wasn’t meant to be
A second lacrosse season was taken from me
The first one was ruined by older girls who thought it was okay to bring me down
They bullied me, called me names, talked behind my back
My only true friend was Kendall Carson, there were some others as well
That’s a big contributor as to who I am today, I no longer take what others give me
I try not to dish it out, but people still try to give it to me, I don’t tolerate that
I try to bring confidence and good feelings to my new team
I didn’t know that my team would get split up before it even started
I was so excited; it’s been 2 years since my last official lacrosse game
There’s not much time left, one more season left and even that isn’t guaranteed
Covid-19 is the stuff of nightmares, it ruins truly, absolutely everything
My heart hurts, one of my best friends got shipped off to her home country because of that
damn virus
Social distancing is never something I want to do again
I love the relaxion, but I hate the “break” feeling
No focus at all, when I can get focused, I get tired and don’t work for long
Isolation is increasing the world’s depression
The world isn’t depressed, it’s in a regenerative state
Humans are the toxicity in the world and the world is recovering
The lacrosse season that wasn’t mean to be (an off-topic poem)

Poem #4

Face Masks
Disposable and hand-sewn ones
Blue ones, pink ones, green ones, red ones
People improvise face masks and look completely stupid in the process
People wear face masks with genitals on them
They say that if you can see what’s on it, then you’re too close
I guess they’re right in some weird way
The face masks aren’t handy for the people with glasses
It just fogs them up and then I can’t see

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Not to mention that it’s allergy season, people are already sick to begin with
These masks get filled with snot and saliva, some people don’t wash them
Some with removable air filters and others without them
The nastiness stays the same
Some people are ignorant and don’t wear them
I don’t want their germs, not that I think they have it, I just don’t trust them
Covid-19 is nasty, I don’t want a nasty flu, I don’t want to die because of it
The face masks are taking over
My face mask has 3D triangles on it
It smells like mint because I keep in in the same compartment as my gum
The face masks aren’t completely effective though
Eventually we won’t even need them
Face Masks

Poem #5

Anxiety
The world is uneasy
We don’t know when we’ll get out of quarantine
High school seniors don’t know if they’ll walk the stage
Juniors don’t know if they’ll get a prom
Exchange students having to be sent back 3 months early
Elderly even more isolated than they were before
Depression runs rampant through the world
People using their own forms of coping
Alcohol, reading, writing, painting, sleeping, marijuana
School doesn’t help with the anxiety or depression
Piling on work each week, more and more
ADD doesn’t help my situation, I certainly can’t focus at my house with this many distractions
It feels like everything is caving in and there’s nothing anyone can do about it
The world is going around, due to the essential workers
I don’t see how Dunkin is essential, but somehow the DMV is not
People are on hold to get their licenses
As the anxiety grows and spreads, the Covid-19 declines
How far will we have to get dragged down as a human race before this virus gets eliminated?
Anxiety

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 A COVID Story
by Eric Hyde (2020)

Even though it has hard to go through not being able to see friends and play sports or other
activities with others, many people are going through much worse. In March 2020, a man comes
down with a medical emergency. His pacemaker is alerting him he needs medical help. He has
no choice. His wife knows she needs to take him but is so worried about him being around
germs. They rush to the hospital. They find out that his pacemaker had gone off before and they
didn’t know it. They want him to have a heart test to see what is going on. He goes in a week
later and the test shows he has significant heart damage. He goes home after the test so scared
about what is going to happen. He will eventually need a surgery but not now – not during this
pandemic. It is his heart, can that wait? They want him to go for a second opinion regarding
surgery or possibly a heart transplant. That night an ambulance is called because he is having
trouble breathing. They rush him to Syracuse. It is the time of COVID-19 and not a great time to
need to go to the hospital. They find out he has pneumonia. How did they not see that when he
was just under for a procedure for his heart and he was sent home? His wife goes with him, but
she is not allowed in the hospital. She is terrified. Will she see him again? Was that their
goodbye? She didn’t even get to give him a hug. He is in the hospital for 5 days. He was even
there for his birthday. He is very thin. He is a strong man, until the next day. His lung
collapsed. He has successfully been through a kidney transplant. He finally came home. She
was so glad to see him, but he did not look well. She said he is 6 feet tall and only ways 145 lbs.
He was home for 4 days and was preparing for heart surgery, however, he ends up having
trouble breathing and he ends up at the hospital again. Again, she has to leave him at the door,
but this time she made sure she gave him a hug and they had serious talks. She also told him
she was going to sit in the parking lot for hours so she was there, and he would feel better
knowing she was close. The doctors put off his surgery, but he was still going to have it. They
needed him healthy first. They checked him for COVID-19 and it was negative. On Monday, he
had a test before surgery, and it showed the damage was even worse than they thought. He
now needed open heart surgery. He was in for 24 hours. His wife had to sit home and wait and
worry. It killed her not to be able to be there with him. What if something happens and I am not
there? The surgery took 4 hours. She got the phone call that he is out of surgery and headed to

72
the ICU. He has a respirator and a heart machine on him. The doctor told her that his heart is
very weak. If he makes it, he will be in the hospital quite a while. She felt like the doctor was
saying to be prepared that the next phone call could be that he didn’t make it. Later that night
they just said he was resting. She felt a little calmer but just really wanted to see him. At 3:30 in
the morning, she gets a phone call that is organs are shutting down. The doctor says his heart is
just so weak and he is very worried. They take him in for surgery. They said his heart isn’t
strong enough to help keep the organs working. At 6 am she receives a phone call that he is out
of surgery but still on the respirator and two heart machines. She just wants him to not be
scared and feel alone. She knows he is strong. The doctor says there is a chance he could start
bleeding and need another surgery. We get a call hours later he was taken in again and already
out because it was an emergency because he is bleeding a lot inside. They had to get that out.
Each time he comes out, we are so thankful he made it. The next two days they have him asleep
with medication. She can’t talk to him but wishes they would put the phone up to his ear so he
can hear her, but they won’t. Things were looking good, so they took him back in for surgery
and took one of the heart machines out. He did well. They had to take him back to surgery to
put the machine back on him. He had 5 surgeries in less than a week. He had a peaceful
weekend; she hopes that means he is building his strength. He did well so they took him off the
machine, then we found out his lung collapsed. He went back in again. She is thankful for the
restful days but scared about how long this might go on and what this really means. On
Monday, they took him off the machine, so far so good. His oxygen level is good. He is still on
one heart machine. She finally got to talk to him. He couldn’t talk he could just listen. The nurse
said tears rolled down his face, but he had a slight smile and then he went back to sleep.
COVID-19 has separated people from school, work, sports, college visits and so much more but
you look at it a lot differently when you understand that you are with your family or can see
your family through a window but some people can’t even be in the same building even when
they are dying.

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COVID Poems
by Travis Bristol

The Virus

I can't see it, taste it or smell it.

is it even real?
I see people on TV begging for help;
Who will get the silent killer next?
It seems unbelievable to me.
So much turmoil, panic and sickness.
Mass graves are shown with no one there to say goodbye.
How can this be?
Maybe this is just a dream;
Please wake me up so it doesn't get me.

Social Distancing

The opposite of what we were taught.

Who is right and who is wrong?
So many new rules to follow;
Stay 6 feet away from everyone,
Keep your face covered in public,
Don't shake hands; just wash your hands.
No places to eat, no malls, no movies, no fun.
Easter without family.
No visits to grandma, because she is old and weak;
We are only allowed to speak.
No vacations away from home, No friends.
When will this all end?

Quarantine with the Family

Mom and dad are home, no work to go to

My sister and niece are here too.
So much noise, too much noise, I can't get away from them.
Trips to the store are less,
but there is so much more stuff in the cupboards to choose from.
I eat more, but not because I am hungry;
I am bored.
We talk more and get along more than we did..
Maybe it’s not so bad to be together so much, too much

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We are all in this together, so we need to stay strong.
I'm glad I have my family to help get me through.

Roxie (my new puppy)

My positive from all the negative around.

A new friend that has come into my life.
Full of joy, love and pee!
A good distraction that keeps me busy;
Something to love and care for.
I am responsible for her, to teach her;
To take up all the extra time I have at home.
She makes me happy;
Something to look forward to.
The best thing to complete my family!
To complete me.

ME

I'm mad, sad and frustrated,

I can't go to the races.
Something I've done since I was born;
Something I look forward to and now it’s taken away.
I feel like I'm going crazy!
I'm used to seeing my friends every weekend.
I miss the thrill of competition; of belonging.
I never thought about not being able to do the things I love.
I'm 17 and I want to be a teenager again and have fun!
My experiences are being taken away from me, I have no control;
Because here I am stuck writing poetry for English!

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 A COVID-19 Story
by Ethan Ware (2020)

As my mother flicks through the stations on the television, all that appears to be showing
is the news information updates on the corona virus. She hadn’t said it out loud to us yet,
but we all know deep down she is terrified. Terrified of what will become of the world we
live in but most of all what will become of us. How many of us will walk out of this
unscathed? How many families will have to suffer including our own? “We need to go out
again and get more supplies”, my father informs us. Mother sets down the remote with a
sigh. “Can’t we just make do with that we have? Haven’t you seen the news? The virus is
everywhere!”, she exclaims. My father solemnly shakes his head. “We ran out of the
necessities. Tyler and I will go.”, he informs my mother. “Why do I have—” I begin to
argue but with the look mu father gives me, I know there is no use. When driving the
streets if Louisiana, it’s like I’m looking into a horror scene. The streets are bare, the local
businesses are now vacant, people are wearing masks and gloves wherever you go and just
the world around us is changing. “Are we going to die?” I ask my father, scared to hear his
answer. “I wish I could answer that son. We need to be more cautious and take the
directions that the doctors are telling us to do to remain safe seriously”, my dad calmly
says. The rest of the drive to the store was silent. When we get to the closest store to grab
the essentials, father and I both put on our masks before going into the store. The walk to
the doors was the most terrifying feeling. The fact that you could walk into those doors
and catch this deadly virus is gut-wrenching to say the least. Upon entering, father and
myself had to get our temperatures taken by men in hazmat suits. If either one of us had a
fever, we would not be allowed to enter. The shelves in the store are empty. It’s survival of
the fittest in this grocery store. Toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and milk have a limit on
how many of the product that you can buy in order to make or at least try to make it fair
for others. Father and I hurry up and grab what we can so we can leave this place. Just
when we are about to leave, we hear as if there is a load of commotion arising. There was
yelling and people gathering around, totally forgetting about social distancing and remain
six feet away from other. There was a couple of guys fighting over toilet paper! The limit

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on the toilet paper, 1 pack per person, must have made someone mad when they were
confronted on having an extra toilet paper in their cart. This virus isn’t only limiting us to
supplies but it is causing conflicts between others. As father and I are about to cash out,
police officers come running in. I overhear an outsider say, “The guys are in the back, one
stabbed the others!”. At that moment, I was shocked. This is causing so much conflict,
selfishness, and now violence. We load the groceries up in the truck and hop in. “So,
Tyler, your mother wanted me to talk to you about school”, my father states. “As of right
now you will not be returning to school due to how fast and rapid the corona virus is
spreading”; the words I never wanted to hear. I casually wipe a single tear from my face
and begin to feel very anxious and upset. “school was my spot ti see my friends and what
about sports? No more of it, just like that? What is happening!?”, I begin to feel very
angry. This virus is ruining everything for me. It’s changing the world we call home! The
way home is silence once again, the radio doing nothing but discussing the virus. Just
more and more positive cases being confirmed and the increase in the number of deaths
is plain disgusting. “Across the United States, twenty-five thousand people have lost their
lives due to this nasty virus. Stay home, social distance yourself and wash your hands, be
smart and stay safe out there everyone.”, the reporter announced. All the way home I
cannot help but think and pray that our country will get through this difficult period.
Once we get home, mother brings out Lysol for father and me to wipe our groceries down
before bringing them into the house. “We never used to have to do this and now I have to
do schoolwork from home and teach myself topics that we would learn in school with no
guidance at all!”, I explain to my father. I follow with a very important question, “How am
I going to graduate?”. My Father was taken back making it known he wanted to avoid this
conversation, but he simply stated, “We will figure it out, it will all fall into place, we will
get through this”. The Corona Virus is very serious and hopefully we will make it through
this together as a nation.

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 A COVID-19 Diary
by Kolby Cappelletti (2020)

MID-MARCH
Dear diary… today COVID-19 or as it is also known as, Corona Virus came on the news. I asked my Mom
what she thought about it and she said it was stupid that people were getting crazy over something as simple as
the Flu, I than asked her what Corona Virus was and she said that all it was, was a different strand of the
common Flu. What she meant was that seeing as it is so new that our bodies aren’t used to it and that was why
people were losing they’re minds.

WEEK 2
Dear diary….. all the schools have closed because of the Virus, I wonder why people are so ridiculous? I asked
my Dad why he thought everyone was losing their minds and he said that it wasn’t that everyone was losing
their minds, it was simple caution. He said “You see son, COVID-19 targets people with weaker immune systems
because they can’t easily defend from it, so Social Distancing is the best thing to do because if a child were to
get it from another child at school and then bring it home to see their Grandmother their Grandmother would be
put in danger.” After he explained it to me, I understood why this was happening.

WEEK 6
Dear diary…. It was getting very boring, but we finally did something today, we went to the store. When we
got to the store my Dad handed me a mask and told me to put it on and when we got in everyone else was
wearing one too for protective purposes. In the first isle we entered though, a guy was coughing, and he wasn’t
wearing a mask, “Let’s go to the next isle” my Dad said, “Ok” I responded. When we got home, I went to my
room and watched YouTube for the rest of the night.

WEEK 7
Dear diary… a whole bunch of celebrities have the virus now, it is getting more annoying by the day, we have
to do computer work instead of paperwork like writing dim short stories about uninteresting topics like COVID-
19 which I think is incredibly stupid. I would rather write about something intriguing, and on paper! I’ve been
busy lately working on a personal project and yet I continuously get more ridiculous computer work from school
which takes up my time, not allowing me to work, which is extremely annoying.

WEEK 8
Dear diary….. I think I’m going to cut off my ears, all I hear now is Corona-this and Corona-that! I could not
possibly care less than I already do about this garbage. My entire family feels the same. I mean they are not
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even paying attention to the real issue; the basic Flu’s kill count is much higher than Corona’s, and you’re not
hearing jack about that are you? I honestly wish people would just shut the heck up about this nonscience
already. People online are literally the worst about this too, and of course we can’t forget the nimrods who are
stocking up on toilet paper and such leaving others in need and shelves empty just to feed their psychosis.

WEEK 9
Dear diary….. I’m honest to God not even sure what day or week it is, I am physically drained every morning
due to this stuff. The news, the media, the people, all of it, I am just done with society losing its mind. I am
going to come straight out and say it…. Corona Virus is being extremely overexaggerated! I am sick and tired of
listening to people whine and complain about this ridiculous virus bull. As soon as people chill the Hell down, I’ll
write again!

WEEK UNKNOWN
Dear diary….. I wish so badly I could curse, but this is for school and that would be inappropriate. Anyways it
doesn’t look like this is going away anytime soon which is really messing a lot of people over with like College
and Graduation and such. I feel bad for those of us who know this is ridiculous and still must deal with it. If I’m
being honest though, this has been the best time of my life. I haven’t had to leave my house, I haven’t had to
deal with my “Friends”, I haven’t had to be near that dreadful and toxic school life. I mean it is, it really is
toxic, all the teachers preach a safe and caring environment for kids and yet they don’t even know what’s going
on in there, it is a dark horrible place in that school. I mean I think I’d feel safer in the middle of North
Korea than I do any day there. So, I guess I’m glad for COVID-19, it has been a freeing and enjoyable break
from Hell.

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 Angel
by Juliana Hernandez (2020)

3 months ago, I didn't even know the word “Corona virus” and now it's stolen
everything I had built for myself. I've been living on the streets for about 2 years now,
ran from a foster home a few months before my 15th birthday and have been on the
run from the state ever since. My last placement wasn't too bad at least not at first,
just an old couple looking for a monthly check. Old lady fed me well enough and left
me alone for the most part but when her old man started kicking the shit out of me
every night and I decided I was done being a pawn of the system and I'd be better
off on my own and caught a bus going to the city and never looked back.

Anyways this isn't a sob story about my shitty childhood it's about how the world has
stopped. It was slow at first like an old drunk trying to walk home, stumbling on the
sidewalk trying to avoid their inevitable face plant into the asphalt. The schools closed,
then the malls, libraries, restaurants, bars one by one each went with the last. I'd
watched it from the beginning on the news every day at the bodega I worked at and
the owner, Mr. Essam would crack jokes about the new disease spreading in china and
tell me in his rough broken English “see this my son, is exactly why you should not
put Muslims in concentration camps eh?”. I'd just laugh, nod my head, and respond
back “whatever you say, you're the boss” not fully understanding what he was talking
about. He's a good man, gave me a cashier job a couple weeks after I had arrived
here even though we both knew I had lied about my age, never asked too many
questions, paid me under the counter and allowed me to sleep in the storage room
during winters. Time and time again he and his wife have offered and pleaded for me
to stay with them but I know they don’t have the space or the money to feed another
mouth, not when their three daughters and four grandchildren all live with them in a
one bedroom apartment so I always politely decline, tell them they worry too much
and I am a bird without a cage and that is how I shall stay.
They left as soon as things started to unravel. He’d tried to stay open because he
said he was “essential,” and finally closed. I have these governors appreciating the
beautiful service I give here” and he’d laugh like he'd told the best joke in history like
our hot dogs weren't inedible and the cat that slept on the doormat didn't have fleas.
But I knew he was stressed; business was very bad, and Mrs. Essam was sick in bed.

It feels like an eternity has passed since he sat me down one day after my shift to
tell me that his whole family including himself would be leaving the city until things got
better and until further notice, he'd be closing down the store. I wasn't too shocked at
the news it was always a matter of “when” he would close not “if” for me, but before I
could respond he reached into the pocket of his stained apron and handed me an
envelope with $200 in it, he raised a hand to silence the protest he knew was coming
“Please Angel, if you will not come with us then you must take the money”. I was at a
loss of what to say so I hugged him, and we said our goodbyes with promises of

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return to one another after this pandemic had ended.

Since then I have hopped from place to place. The shelter I had been regularly staying
at had closed down after an employee tested positive for Covid-19 so I've been
sleeping behind dumpsters, underneath bridges and on benches. The cops have gotten
a lot better about kicking us out of doorways and alleys. I'd like to think it's because
they’re cutting us all a break but I’m positive they just don't want to get that close to
us. “Six feet apart” that's what they say in the grocery stores, the soup kitchen lines
which have stopped giving out hot meals and everywhere else for that matter. Fear
consumes everyone.

Last week I slept outside of a 5 star hotel in the empty parking lot that was lined with
separate sleeping squares, babies cried and old women you'd see on the street and
shrug off as panhandlers prayed into the night in the tongues of their motherland, the
shelters in which they would usually spend the nights are closed, full or more
dangerous than the streets. How sick is it that the hotels are empty, but we sleep on
the pavement outside? Fueled by anger, exhaustion and desperation I had gone into
the hotel and begged the front desk manager to allow us inside. He looked at me with
disgust and I'm sure of the hatred I saw in his eyes when he asked me
condescendingly if I had the money for such a request, I told him I only had about
$200 and he laughed in my face, called me a socialist and had me escorted me out. I
barely know what that word means. How can someone look into my eyes, the eyes of
a homeless kid, see nothing other than pleading with humanity and only worry about
money.

3 days ago I slept in the park and smoked a cigarette with a kid I knew from down
the block and a couple of his friends. He complained about his baseball season being
cut short and I thought about how I hadn't eaten anything all day, His buddy to the
left of me took a drag and bitched about not seeing his girl in a while due to the
new social distancing rules that had been implemented and I thought about how I
hadn't showered in a week. Crazy how we're the same age and they're worried about
prom, sports and relationships and I was sitting there wondering which park bench
looked the comfiest.

Woke up today around sunrise next to a dumpster behind the 7/11 in a sweat and
couldn't breathe, I was coughing up what I hoped was the cause, but nothing came up
and it took too much out of me to keep trying. I eventually wheezed myself back into
a shivering uneasy sleep and willed the sun to stay down for just a little longer.

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 A COVID Story
by Emma Hyde (2020)

It all started the beginning of March 2020. Students, teachers, employees, coaches, and
everyone else started hearing about a virus called “COVID-19”. When I heard about it, I
thought it was just another meme or rumor that a kid started. Turns out, I was very wrong.
When schools started closing in the U.S. I knew that it was real. I felt awful forever thinking
that it was just a false story. I think that I didn’t necessarily know about it because I don’t
usually watch the news on TV or have a news app on my phone. So, the only outlet that I got
information from was my peers at school. I live in a small town called Mexico, NY. I thought
that nothing could happen to us in a small place like ours, plus when it first started it was
occurring in Asia. I was told that people were actually dying from it, and at the time there
wasn’t a cure for that specific illness. Then it started spreading. The Coronavirus was in Europe,
and now New York City. The US government had to start thinking of ways to prevent, stop, or
attempt to keep their citizens safe from it. Eventually, all schools closed, including mine. It was
unbelievable. I never imagined that my junior year would be cut short. I mean, how could
anyone predict this happening? My family and I got together to discuss what we would be doing
for now on since we couldn’t hang out with anyone or go do our normal daily activities. My
Mom and Dad came up with a chore and school to-do list so we could at least have some form
of a schedule. Then, we decided that when we have to go out for essentials, we need to wear
masks. It is important to keep yourself, workers, and other shoppers safe and to wear
protection.

One day, I woke up from a dream. I was hanging out with my friends and we were all having fun
at the mall. This is when I realized that this is what social distancing was doing to me. I missed
my friends. But I know how important it is to stay six feet apart, or just not come in contact
with anyone at all. In my opinion, the longer everyone stays inside and stays away from people
other than your household, the faster we will be able to go back to normal and get rid of the
coronavirus.

It is April 14th and I feel like it is getting very old and tiring. The first two weeks I was
motivated to get schoolwork done, text my family and friends, get as many chores done as I

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can, and just do any activity that I might not have had time for in my usual daily life. Now, I
actually feel worn out. I am an introvert, so thankfully I have been doing okay for staying inside
this long. My brother and I are feeling the same way. We are sleeping in longer and staying up
later. This is a new thing, so we don’t know how to handle it.

Quarantine is getting to many people. But sometimes we need to stop and think about those
who are the essential workers, the ones infected with Corona, family that have members that
are infected, those who do not have enough money to pay for food, and even some people that
got laid off so they can’t make enough money to support their family. I’m not saying to
compare, I’m explaining that if we are getting bored, we can think of ways to support those
people. Recently, my family used chalk to write on our driveway to thank the essential
employees, like our delivery workers, to show how thankful we are that they are still working
and risking their lives to take care of others. Something that you think is little could actually go
a long way.

In the end, I am thankful for my parents, coaches, teachers, essential workers, and others that
are working so hard to make this chaotic time a little better.

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 A COVID Story
by Caden McCormack (2020)

Maxwell looked over his collection with pride, as the clean, white, flowing paper of his tower
helps him keep a survey of his land. Well, what would have been his land if he didn't spend his
savings on toilet paper to resell. Though due to the recent policies of online sellers, his gamble
has not exactly paid off. To top it all off he just got laid off and his ex-wife is keeping the kids
with her for the quarantine. Though it seems he is enjoying his “kingdom” quite well.

Next door, Carl, the 20 something neighbor, looked out the window, the coffee in his hand soon
now staining the floor as he saw the Toilet Paper tower. His neighbor laughed hysterically as he
tossed rolls and bottles of hand sanitizer at the passersby. After contemplating for a moment,
he decided to leave him to his breakdown, starting to make another cup of coffee as soon an
industrial sized bottle of sanitizer broke though the kitchen window. The water and coffee
powder hit the tiled floor, now adding some of the sanitizer into the mix.

Carl ran out, still in his bathrobe as he fully realized the scale of the tower, 6 feet high and just
as wide. Simply looking up at the tower of paper.

“What is wrong with you?!” He shouted as a couple smaller rolls fell from the side.

“Nothing! Who dares come into my kingdom?” Max shouts back as he tosses another roll down,
bopping Carl right into his face.

“You need help Carl!” He shouts as he takes the tossed roll for himself.

“No, I don't need anything, except for me and my kingdom!” He shouts defensively as he now
chucks another container of germ gel.

“Just stop tossing those things down here, I mean, why?”

“Social distancing, you all need to stay away from me, they'll just harm me again.”

“Is the isolation getting to you?” Carl asks as he sips on his third cup today

“Maybe……….” He admits after a brief pause

“Look, I know things have been hard recently, but you can’t just shut yourself off like this, it'll
only make things worse.” He takes the roll tossed and writes something on it using a pen.
“Look, on this paper is my phone and email, call me if you need to talk” He tosses it back to Max

Max grabbed the roll and looked on the written side, it seems like it's legit. Before he could
thank Carl, he already went back into his house. At this point Max wanted to climb down to get
his phone, but he realized he had no clue how to climb down. While it wasn't that high, it still

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was extremely flimsy and unsafe.
Slowly, Max put one foot down on the rolls closest to the side. His foot suddenly jolted as the
rolls soon fell, Max following with it. He managed to kick the side, sending the rest of it down
with him. The bottom of his fallen kingdom managed to at least seem to form a base to cushion
his fall, so he hoped that would prevent him from hitting it hard, then right as he did…..

He woke up, stood up and looked at the manager and assistant manager of the store who he
bought his supply from. Papers and bottles rolled around on the floor as his eyes focused on
the open box with a head sized dent embedded into it.

“Sir. I am so sorry….” The manager’s fear in his eyes from the probable lawsuit became obvious.

“Sorry, no thank you!” He shouted, that thwack just helped me get over my divorce. The two
masked employees simply started back at his second line.

“You’re….. You're 20 years old.” The assistant stated bluntly.

“Oh yea, I don’t have any kids either.” He thinks again for a while. “That was my hometown, I
live in an apartment in Jersey.” He looks off to the wrecked display stand, with people
scavenging for the now free rolls and bottles. “Those numbers are correct; I did talk to my
neighbor before. I'll call him as I head over to the hospital.” He said to the two as he stood up
and started to walk away, the other two just stood there and stared at each other from the
strange man who walked in two minutes ago walked out.

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 Driftwood
by Jade Windey (2020)

Toby placed his forehead against the cool glass of the car window, taking a deep breath. The
paper mask covering his mouth and nose billowed out slightly and folded as he pulled the nose
piece down under his chin. He was a teenage boy, tall and skinny, with messy black hair and
clear blue eyes. He wore a light blue button up shirt underneath a plain white tee, with light
colored jeans cuffed at the ankle. A silver ring could be seen hanging from his left nostril, and
he wore a chain around his neck. His earbuds were jammed into his ears, playing loud music to
drown out the sound of the car that was being driven by his mother.
Everything changed when the virus hit the country: COVID-19. It was a respiratory illness, that
gave the victim a fever, cough, and other mild symptoms. What made it dangerous, however,
was the fact that it seemed simply like a common cold. Most carriers didn’t even know they had
it, and testing was far too expensive for working class people to even consider. There is no cure,
and no vaccine, so if somebody thinks they have it, all they can do is cross their fingers and
pray. It’s illegal now to go into public without a mask, and authorities are urging people to stay
home at all costs.
But the virus had affected more than just the boy’s shopping habits. All schools in the state, and
most in the country had been shut down for weeks. For Toby, this ruined more than a person
could imagine. His eighteenth birthday, graduation, his whole senior year was bust. Having to
stay at home and not even be able to spend one of the most important years of his life had
made him distant and depressed. He wished everything were normal, but alas, it was not the
case.
He stared out the window with an ache in his stomach. An empty, longing feeling radiating
throughout his body. Feeling the car come to a stop, he looked up and realized they were
already home. His mother turned off the ignition and got out of the car. After a moment, Toby
did as well. He helped his mother put way the groceries, music still blasting into his ears, as he
ignored his three younger siblings running around the kitchen. As soon as he was able, he
slipped away to his bedroom.
Sitting on his bed, he took out his earbuds, and laid them and the mask on his nightstand. His
dog Jasper had followed him into the room, so he gestured for him to join him on the bed.
“Hey there old boy… miss me?” He said with a soft smile, as Jasper replied with a small grunt
and a wagging of his tail.
Toby reached down beside his bed, grasping for his old, beat up acoustic guitar he had inherited
from his grandfather. He strummed a few chords, but just as he was getting into playing a song,
his iPhone began to ring. Lifting the phone, he saw the Caller ID read “Emilah.” A smile played
at his lips as he answered the phone, to hear his closes friend’s voice answering on the other
line.
“Hey Em… How’s it going?” He placed the hone between his ear and his shoulder as he spoke
and continued to strum on his guitar.
“Meet me at my house at nine… it’s your eighteenth birthday in a few days so… we’re going out
tonight,” her smile could be heard through the phone, soft music playing in the background.
“Have you gone mad? Where exactly are we going to go? Everything’s closed,” Toby put the

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guitar back down beside his bed and stood up.
“Don’t worry about that, just get dressed and meet me at my house.”
The call cut out before he could respond, so he sighed and looked at the time. It was already
seven-thirty, so he hurried to get into a more suitable outfit. He reached into his closed and
pulled out a black t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and a denim jacket. He pulled on his favorite pair
of combat boots and sat at his desk, working on the small bit of homework he had to finish.
When eight o’clock rolled around, he texted his mother, telling her not to disturb him so he
could go to sleep early. He locked his bedroom door and climbed out the window, beginning his
walk to Emilah’s house. It didn’t take him the full hour, but he knew it would take his friend a
while to get ready, so he got their early and knocked on the door. Emilah was a year older than
him, and already lived in a house with 2 roommates, so he didn’t have to worry about her
parents getting upset. One of the other two roommates let him in, and he waited for Em’ at the
kitchen table.
It was fifteen minutes past nine when she was finally ready. She came out of the bathroom with
a casual outfit of jean shorts and a gray hoodie. Her makeup was over the top, as always. Black,
heavy eyeliner, lots of blush, and glittery lip gloss. It was her signature look, and Toby was
convinced that she was the only person who could pull it off
“So, are you going to tell me where exactly we’re going tonight?” Toby asked as he stood up
from his seat and opened the front door for her.
“Stop asking so many questions. Just relax, and trust me,” She rolled her eyes and lead him out
to her truck.
Toby sat shotgun as Emilah got in the driver’s seat and started the vehicle. As always, he
messed with the radio until he found something they both enjoyed which wasn’t too hard since
they had the same taste in music. Along the ride, Toby and Emilah both sang along to whatever
played on the radio, just enjoying the time out of the house.
After driving for about an hour, they pulled off the road, onto an open beach. Instead of
stopping as soon as they saw water, they continued to drive across the sand until they found a
spot behind a hill, hidden from view. They hopped out of the truck, and Emilah climbed into the
back to sit down. Toby followed suit and his friend pulled two sodas from a small cooler.
“I know this isn’t the best, but once this whole virus thing is over, we can have a party. I just
figured you were getting sick of your brothers and needed a night away,”
For hours they just sat there and listened to the waves, hanging out like everything was normal.
Around midnight, they decided to take a walk down the beach before they had to go home.
They had been walking for a while and spotted a large piece of driftwood up ahead in the sand.
Tony suggested they take a break, so they continued to walk closer, thinking they could sit on it.
When they got closer, however, they realized it wasn’t wood at all, but a man lying in the sand.
They continued forward, since there was a bench up ahead, but as they got within arm’s reach
of the man, Toby looked down and realized he wasn’t breathing.
“Em… call an ambulance or something,” Toby dropped his drink in the sand and knelt down
beside the man to check his pulse. He was a part-time lifeguard and trained in CPR, so he began
to try and help the unconscious man. Within a few minutes, the ambulance arrived.

A couple days later, Toby still couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. He kept
thinking about the ma, wondering if he was okay. He had also developed a small cough, but he

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just wrote it off to the fact that it was a bit chilly the night he hung out with Emilah.
He walked into the kitchen, brewing himself a cup of tea for his sore throat. His mother was
watching the news, so he watched as well as he waited for his water to heat up. It wasn’t long,
though, before his heart dropped. On the TV screen was a photograph of the man from the
other night, but what was really bad was the text beneath his face. “Oliver Harding, 29, dead,”
As he continued to read the screen, he began to feel nauseous, and it took all he had not to
pass out as the words continued to scroll. "Cause of death: COVID-19."

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 Coronavirus
by Meladee Doria (2020)

Morgan lived a pretty basic life, she was blonde, popular and an only child, so she got
whatever she wanted. One morning after a big school dance she woke up to news
that her school would close until further notice because of a dangerous virus that
was spreading fast called “Covid-19”. At first Morgan didn’t really care about all
warnings the politicians gave out to stay home and to keep 6 feet apart from everyone
and she continued to go out with her friends and party. Her parents never tried to tell
her no because she wouldn't listen to them. However, as months continued more and
more of her friends would choose to stay home, which made her very mad. She
thought it was stupid that all of the restaurants and movie theaters had closed and
shopped at grocery stores for fun instead of the mall. Morgan didn’t believe in
wearing a mask outside because it was uncomfortable and ruined her look, so she
simply didn’t wear one. People gave her dirty looks as she would to go about her life
without any masks or cleaning supplies, but Morgan saw these people as idiots who
didn’t know better. Morgan lived in a big beautiful house which was perfect for
partying so she decided to throw a “coronacation” party to bring all of her friends
together since they wouldn’t go into public with her; when she told her parents about
this her mother and father begged her not to because she would be putting them all
at risk. Morgan waved them off and told them they worried too much and because
they couldn’t change their spoiled daughter’s mind, they decided to go stay at their
summer home in the mountain they could self-isolate until the virus was gone.
Morgan could care less where they went, this meant she had the whole house to
herself and her friends. She posted a snap telling everyone to come and celebrate no
school with her and that it was an open invite with plenty of fun for everyone. At least
50 people showed up but not very many of Morgan’s friends, she didn’t care. If her
friends couldn’t come to her party, then she didn’t want to be friends with them
anyways. She had the time of her life, danced, swam and partied with of her new
friends until sunrise. Around 2:30 in the afternoon on Monday she woke up to an
empty trashed house and was very happy. She called the maid Amy on the house

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phone “Amy come clean the house it’s gross”. Amy gave a quiet reply, “Morgan I
cannot; I am home with my family because only essential workers are allowed to
continue with work and….” Morgan rolled her eyes and hung up on her in the middle
of her sentence. So, because the house would stay trashed Morgan decided to trash
it even more and invited her new friends over for a party every night for the rest of the
week. So, every night she danced with her friends, swam, hugged and ignored all of
the orders from the doctors, mayors and her parents. On Saturday Morgan started to
notice that she felt very sick, she took her temperature and it was a big 103 and she
was coughing harder than a chain smoker. She still wasn’t worried though because
the virus was just a conspiracy theory. By Sunday night it has worsened much more
and she couldn’t breathe, she called an ambulance and when they asked if she had
been social distancing she had replied, “no, why should that matter” the medics
looked at her like she was really dumb, and that was probably because she really was.
At the hospital they gave her a test to see if she had Covid-19 but the results wouldn’t
come back for about three days. Morgan has no idea how this could’ve happened and
pouted because everything bad always happens to her. Three days later a nurse in a
hazmat suit came in and said, “Hi Morgan we are extremely sorry to tell you that
you’ve tested positive for the virus”. Morgan told her “you must be mistaken that’s
not possible; I can’t get it! I’m young”. When the nurse tried to explain more to her,
she threw a fit and demanded to see her parents. The nurse calmly told her that
because of new rules they couldn’t allow that, but she would be happy to call them.
Morgan told her she was an idiot and that she needed to leave. Two days passed and
Morgan died still claiming there was no way she had the virus.

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