The Beginning of the End by Lorana Hoopes (readict txt) 📕

Katie shook her head as they walked toward the front entrance for their temperature check. “Not at all. There are stories online this morning that students back east were kicked out of school for not wearing masks or following the six-foot distance rule. And,” she emphasized the word drawing it out, “our governor just declared that students in dorms have to wear their masks in every place except their own room.”

“That is so dumb. Haven’t they read the stories about apartments and people getting sick who never even went out?”

A few months ago, just after the pandemic struck the whole of the United States completely, results began trickling in of people in apartments getting the virus even though they’d never left their house. At first, the people in charge had blamed it on food deliveries, claiming that those people must have ordered groceries or meals that were infected by the delivery drivers and then gotten infected when they touched the items to bring them inside.

That was later debunked though, and the only logical conclusion they were left with was that apartment buildings shared heating and cooling vents which meant that if someone in one apartment was sick, their germs were going into the vents and then being pushed out into everyone else’s houses. With that logic, it made no sense to require masks in a dorm building but not in a dorm room because students would be exposed to the virus when they went into their rooms, but they couldn’t very well mandate that people wear masks in their bedrooms. Lily could barely function all day wearing one; she could not imagine trying to sleep with one on.

“Who knows?” Katie said with a shrug, “but this does not bode well for us. If they are enacting crazy rules like that in states that have opened up more than we have, what does it mean for us?”

A heavy sensation settled in Lily’s stomach. Nothing good. That was for sure.

They reached the front door of the school and waited for one of the teachers to open it. Lily sighed as she thought of last year when the doors of the school had been unlocked. Students had been free to enter and leave as they pleased during certain times, but now, the school was more like a prison. Only one entrance was allowed to be used, and they had to be let into it by the people in charge.

The door swung open, and the two girls stepped inside. Mrs. Brinkley, one of the math teachers, was checking temperatures today, but after marking them clear, she handed them a sheet of paper. Lily’s eyes scanned the print. A mandatory assembly had been called today - by grade levels of course because, even though the school was small, it was impossible for all the grades to be socially distanced in the gym at one time.

“What do you think this is about?” Lily asked as they continued to their lockers.

“I don’t know, but I doubt it’s good.”

Katie was prone to exaggerations, but this time, Lily wholeheartedly agreed.

The Senior assembly time was right after lunch, and Lily’s nerves tightened with each class. Even the short mask break lunch afforded did not entirely calm her nerves. A feeling that something bad was about to be disclosed cloaked her shoulders like an invisible blanket. Katie must have felt the same because for the first time since the two had been friends, she was quiet the entire time.

When the lunch bell rang, the girls tossed their trash away and then returned to the table. The rest of the Seniors and Juniors filled in around them. A moment later, Mr. Shane, the principal appeared with a microphone in hand.

“Thank you all for staying. This won’t be a long assembly, but we’ve noticed a few things we need to address, and we have someone we’d like to introduce you to.”

Another new person? Lily raised an eyebrow in Katie’s direction.

“First, I want to say how good most of you are doing with the new requirements. I know it isn’t easy to wear a mask all day, but most of you are doing a great job. That being said, we are still seeing some people wearing the mask below their nose or around their chin. It is important that the mask be worn correctly. As you know, we are treading a thin line being open like this, and if we are caught not following the rules, we will be shut down and forced to return to online instruction. Also, some of you are moving chairs closer at lunch. It is especially important during lunch that you stay six feet apart as this is when your mask is down and you are eating. That makes you more susceptible. Along with that, it is important that you put your mask back on as soon as you are finished eating. Finally, we have seen people congregating in the hallways. It is important that we try to keep social distancing measures in place, and for now, that means no hugging and no congregating in hallways.”

For now. The words irked Lily. How long had they been hearing them? At first, the people in power had stated these measures were needed for two weeks to flatten the curve. Then, they had said the measures needed to continue to keep the case load down. Now, there were even annoying commercials reminding them that they might be missing birthdays, weddings, and funerals, but that it was only temporary. “Locking down saves lives,” the woman on the commercial said, “not forever, but for now.” However, it was beginning to feel very much like forever to Lily.

“Now, I’m sure many of you know that we have never had an on-site nurse. However, due to the pandemic, we will this year. Her name is Ms. Dickens, and she is going to discuss some new policies with you.”

He stepped back and a woman Lily hadn’t