Life goes on

Angela Guiao
MSMU Class of 2021

(11/2020) When I woke up this morning, Mom told me I didn’t have to get ready for school. Isn’t that cool? She doesn’t usually let me stay home on a school day but maybe today is a special day. I think today is March-something, but I don’t remember if this is Mom’s birthday month. Oh well. Maybe she’ll let me play videogames.

"Jacob! Theo! Breakfast is ready!" Mom calls from downstairs.

I love the smell of bacon in the morning. It probably is her birthday. She only cooks breakfast on the weekends, usually when Aunt Lisa or Uncle Max comes to visit. I better get up. Ugh. I need to use the bathroom.

"In here!" my older brother Theo snaps from the other side of the bathroom door.

"I gotta pee!" I squeal.

"Sucks for you, loser. Use the bathroom downstairs."

I hate Theo. He got meaner when he turned 13. Mom said it’s because he’s now a teenager, and he’s going through a rebellious phase. I think he’s just a jerk. In three years, when I turn thirteen, I won’t be as terrible as him.

I quickly use the bathroom downstairs and rush to the dining table. If Theo gets to the table first, he’ll definitely eat all the bacon.

"Eat up, honey," Mom says as she pours me a glass of orange juice.

"Is it your birthday today?" I ask between mouthfuls of bacon and eggs.

She laughs, "No honey, it’s not my birthday. Why do you ask?"

I chew quickly so that I can swallow my food and drink a few gulps of juice, "Well then, why is there no school today? Today’s not a holiday, right?"

"It’s because of the pandemic, stupid," Theo snarls as he whizzes into the dining room. In one fluid motion he grabs the rest of the bacon and drinks the rest of my juice.

"Mom!" I scream.

"Theo, get your own juice," Mom sighs while turning around to grab another glass, "but Theo is correct, honey. It’s because of the pandemic."

"Pandemic?" I repeat slowly. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that word before.

Theo laughs, plopping down in his seat, "You don’t know what a pandemic is, huh dummy?"

"I do!" I retort, "I just— I need—"

"You don’t know what a pandemic is," he snickered, grabbing the new glass of juice Mom set on the table and finishing it in three large gulps.

"Theo!" Mom exclaimed, grabbing the empty glass from him. She gave it a quick rinse and filled it up again, this time placing it down directly in front of me.

"A pandemic, honey, is when there is a large outbreak of a certain disease or virus. In this case, there is a spread of the coronavirus."

"The coronavirus?" I said, "What is the coronavirus?"

"It’s like the flu, dummy," said Theo, now chomping on some pancakes. I look at him in disgust. I don’t like pancakes.

"It is," Mom says, stacking the now-empty plates, "but I hear it’s worse than the flu. This is because we don’t have a vaccine. It looks like school will be canceled for the rest of the year."

"The rest of the year!" I shriek, "Why can’t we go to school?"

Theo shoots across the table and grabs my glass of juice again. After gulping it down, he says, "Because the coronavirus travels through your spit, dumdum. You can catch it just by being near someone. We can’t go to school. In fact, we can’t go anywhere because we don’t know who has it. And if we get it, we don’t know if we’ll survive it," he smiles evilly at me.

"Ouch!" he squeals as Mom suddenly whacks a dishtowel against the back of his head.

"This is nothing to joke about, Theo. There are plenty of people who are currently suffering from the coronavirus right now, and we don’t really understand just how serious it can get."

"Sorry," Theo mumbles, rubbing the back of his head.

"What are we gonna do?" I ask, "If we have to stay at home, what are we gonna do?"

"Well for now, just relax," Mom says, "Enjoy your time at home. We all need a little break. We just have to wait and see what happens."

She finishes stacking all the plates, "Theo, come help me wash the dishes," she calls as she heads into the kitchen.

Theo groans before sulking after her.

I rush upstairs to my room. After shutting the door, I open my window and crawl onto the roof of our garage. There is a small spot where the roof lays somewhat flat and makes it perfect for sitting.

The spot has the perfect view of the street we live on, and I can even see most of my neighbors’ houses.

The house across the street from us belongs to Mr. Jameson. He’s really old, and I think he and his wife are retired. I bet they stay home day-after-day. I wonder what they do so that they don’t get bored.

I can’t imagine staying home every day and not going to school. What about all my friends? Nicholas was supposed to trade me his Bryce Harper baseball card on Friday. Now, I don’t even know when I’m even going to see him again.

I sigh.

"What are you frowning about?" a voice calls over.

I look down and I see Mr. Jameson walking on the sidewalk, his cane in one hand and pointing at me with the other.

"Oh nothing, "I call back, "School’s canceled. I don’t know what to do anymore."

Mr. Jameson chuckles. He has one of those deep, slow laughs that you’d imagine a mafia boss to have.

"You’re going to adjust," he answered as he made his way to the crosswalk, "Things are going to change, and they’ll continue to change even until you get as old as I am. And all you do is adjust. Keep living. Find the good. Adjust."

He gave me a small smile before he headed across the street.

He’s right. The coronavirus sucks, and a lot of things are going change.

But no matter what, life goes on.

Read other articles by Angela Tongohan